Posted on 12/03/2002 7:25:01 PM PST by Notwithstanding
I would say that today relativism predominates. It seems that whoever is not a relativist is someone who is intolerant. To think that one can understand the essential truth is already seen as something intolerant.
However, in reality this exclusion of truth is a type of very grave intolerance and reduces essential things of human life to subjectivism. In this way, in essential things we no longer have a common view. Each one can and should decide as he can. So we lose the ethical foundations of our common life.
Christ is totally different from all the founders of other religions, and he cannot be reduced to a Buddha, a Socrates or a Confucius. He is really the bridge between heaven and earth, the light of truth who has appeared to us.
The gift of knowing Jesus does not mean that there are no important fragments of truth in other religions. In the light of Christ, we can establish a fruitful dialogue with a point of reference in which we can see how all these fragments of truth contribute to greater depth in our faith and to an authentic spiritual community of humanity...
Above all, it is important to know sacred Scripture, the living testimony of the Gospels, both of the Synoptics as well as the Gospel of St. John, in order to hear the authentic voice.
In the second place, the great councils, especially the Council of Chalcedon, as well as subsequent councils that clarified the meaning of that great formula on Christ, true God and true man. The novelty that he is really the Son of God, and really man, is not an appearance; on the contrary, it unites God to man.
In the third place, I suggest further study in the paschal mystery: to know this mystery of the suffering and resurrection of the Lord, and in this way to know what redemption is; the novelty that God, in the person of Jesus, suffers, bears our sufferings, shares our life, and in this way creates the passage to authentic life in the resurrection.
This relates to the whole problem of human deliverance, which today is understood in the paschal mystery; on one hand it is related to the concrete life of our time and, on the other, it is represented in the liturgy. I think this nexus between liturgy and life is central, both founded in the paschal mystery.
(Excerpt) Read more at geocities.com ...
Ratzinger's been telling us this for years and he is right!
It is BAD when your god commands you to fly airplanes into buildings.
It is GOOD when your god kills all the first born or a nation.
Not exactly, because Einstein used his discoveries as a mathematical modeling tool, and as any model, it is not exactly what G_d wants, in the artistical sense, at the very least. There are two pronged approach to G_d, one is through thinking and modeling and the other is through verifying G_d's word as revealed in the Bible. It is a complete science of trying the theory one what exactly happened. What Einstein did was only model G_d but did not test the theory on revealed concepts.
Another form of subconscious revelation that does not involve modelisation but empirical life, is the way Samurais never refuse a combat, considering doing their job a right, rejecting other privileges that would interfere. This is the sort of Judeo-Christian faith found in others' activities. But again, you need the Bible to see if their behavior fits the revealed word and the commentaries of scholars and scientists.
This is a primary distinction between Deism and Christianity. Deism rejects revelation and relies solely upon reason. Christianity interprets reason through the filter of revelation (Bible, Church teachings, etc.).
I have a comment and a question. First, I don't think equality is evil, but I do think it is unnatural and counterproductive for our species.
Nature will not allow us to ever ever create a society in which equality is possible simply because nature (of which we are a part) does not create all of us equally . thank God.
The reason I say equality is not not necessarily evil is because in terms of opportunity, it is a positive thing. A society can, in fact, strive to give each individual sufficient opportunity to take advantage of and develop the skills with which he/she was blessed. To do otherwise is to waste potential. To try and make those who are less talented equal to those who are more talented is a wate of time and resources.
Now my question. The author seems fairly self-assured about the uniqueness of Christianity. Although I do not dispute his claim in terms of comparison to other major religions, I am forced to wonder if he is a scholar with adequate credentials to make such a bold claim. In fact, there may be / have been other lesser known religions with similar qualities. I am not a religious scholar either, so I don't know.
It is BAD when your god commands you to fly airplanes into buildings.
It is GOOD when your god kills all the first born or a nation.
The author seems fairly self-assured about the uniqueness of Christianity. Although I do not dispute his claim in terms of comparison to other major religions, I am forced to wonder if he is a scholar with adequate credentials to make such a bold claim. In fact, there may be / have been other lesser known religions with similar qualities.
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