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"Eat
Your
Veggies!"
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- A young child speaks to a parent. "Mommy, why do I have to eat these vegetables? I don't like them, they taste awful. Why do I have to eat them?" To which the response comes back: "Because I say so, EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!"
- A young child speaks to a parent. "Mommy, why do I have to eat these vegetables? I don't like them, they taste awful. Why do I have to eat them?" To which the response comes back: "Well my dear child, vegetables are good for you, they will make you healthy and strong. That is why mommy wants you to eat your vegetables." To which the child response: "Oh thank you for telling me they are good for me. I will eat my vegetables."
Perhaps we might suggest a further take on the first example above. A child complains to a parent that they do not want to go to Mass. They argue, "why do I have to go to Mass if I don't want to?" The parent answers, "because I say so, it's the rule in this house, everyone goes to Mass on Sunday."
In theology there is a principle know as "Voluntarism". It is the doctrine of the primacy of the will. This takes on a variety of forms, for instance, it proposes that in God his will takes precedence over his intellect, with the result that truth and goodness are what they are because God wants them that way. This idea is also known as the "Divine Command Theory."
But because we are created in the image and likeness of God, we have been given both will and intellect. So not only are we capable of learning what God wants of us, but we can also learn why - why veggies in other words. Obviously God wants us to both know as well as understand the truth of his creation and our place and purpose within it.
There are two strong influences at work in our world today, one is fundamentalism and the other is atheism. The fundamentalist contends that God has spoken, it's written in the book, read and obey. The atheist on the other hand contends that there is no God, so there is no law, no rules given for us to obey, so do what you want to do; it's a world by man's design - no veggies if you don't want.
Between these two ideologies stands the Church with its long history of both seeking God's Word that reveals God's will, as well as intellectual study of that Word, delving ever deeper and deeper into its meaning for our lives. Today, our western society is becoming increasingly secular, drifting further and further away from the inclusion of any divine truth in the design of world affairs. There is no valued place for religion in today's secular society. Fundamentalist see this only in apocalyptic terms, vowing a holy war of purification and a return to obedience to God's law.
So here we are with two quite different tasks before us. With those who are influenced by fundamentalist ideologies we must engage in a dialogue about divine revelation and how to find God's truth in the written word. But we must strive to demonstrate that scripture is the Word of God but not necessarily the literal words of God. The holy books are a record of God speaking his truth to man, but filtered through man's ability to grasp it and understand it. God wants each generation to study scripture, to pray scripture, to meditate on the scriptures, seeking, knocking, asking for an ever deeper understanding of its message for our age.
To those who are influenced by secular and God-absent ideologies a different dialog is needed. We must become "living words", an incarnation of the truth of God by our lives. "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Mtt. 5:16 Parents must show their children an example of someone living their faith, how God matters to them, how they have learnt from God what makes for a true and happy life, how love of God and neighbour is the first principle of their way of living. This must be an ongoing dialog, not an acrimonious and nagging debate, but an open sharing of their religious life as it informs their daily life in the world.
People of faith must reject outright the pressure to be silent about their beliefs, that religious notions belong only behind the closed doors of churches. Secularist can be as rigid as fundamentalists in their ideology. But religious thought is quite capable of holding its own in any intellectual scrutiny it is subjected to. But we must be prepared to answer the challenges that this age is putting forward. This is the job the New Evangelists face. The New Evangelist is one who has taken God's Word to prayer and asked the Spirit to uncover its wisdom and truth, listening over and over until it becomes clear. At the same time, the New Evangelist must be well versed in the language of reason so they can articulate with clarity the reasoning behind their faith. But their greatest argument will be the evangelist's life and the goodness it manifests for all the world to see. ("Eat your veggies, I did, and look at me.")
For another consideration of these ideas, Fr. Robert Barron has two excellent videos:
In theology there is a principle know as "Voluntarism". It is the doctrine of the primacy of the will. This takes on a variety of forms, for instance, it proposes that in God his will takes precedence over his intellect, with the result that truth and goodness are what they are because God wants them that way. This idea is also known as the "Divine Command Theory."
But because we are created in the image and likeness of God, we have been given both will and intellect. So not only are we capable of learning what God wants of us, but we can also learn why - why veggies in other words. Obviously God wants us to both know as well as understand the truth of his creation and our place and purpose within it.
There are two strong influences at work in our world today, one is fundamentalism and the other is atheism. The fundamentalist contends that God has spoken, it's written in the book, read and obey. The atheist on the other hand contends that there is no God, so there is no law, no rules given for us to obey, so do what you want to do; it's a world by man's design - no veggies if you don't want.
Between these two ideologies stands the Church with its long history of both seeking God's Word that reveals God's will, as well as intellectual study of that Word, delving ever deeper and deeper into its meaning for our lives. Today, our western society is becoming increasingly secular, drifting further and further away from the inclusion of any divine truth in the design of world affairs. There is no valued place for religion in today's secular society. Fundamentalist see this only in apocalyptic terms, vowing a holy war of purification and a return to obedience to God's law.
So here we are with two quite different tasks before us. With those who are influenced by fundamentalist ideologies we must engage in a dialogue about divine revelation and how to find God's truth in the written word. But we must strive to demonstrate that scripture is the Word of God but not necessarily the literal words of God. The holy books are a record of God speaking his truth to man, but filtered through man's ability to grasp it and understand it. God wants each generation to study scripture, to pray scripture, to meditate on the scriptures, seeking, knocking, asking for an ever deeper understanding of its message for our age.
To those who are influenced by secular and God-absent ideologies a different dialog is needed. We must become "living words", an incarnation of the truth of God by our lives. "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Mtt. 5:16 Parents must show their children an example of someone living their faith, how God matters to them, how they have learnt from God what makes for a true and happy life, how love of God and neighbour is the first principle of their way of living. This must be an ongoing dialog, not an acrimonious and nagging debate, but an open sharing of their religious life as it informs their daily life in the world.
People of faith must reject outright the pressure to be silent about their beliefs, that religious notions belong only behind the closed doors of churches. Secularist can be as rigid as fundamentalists in their ideology. But religious thought is quite capable of holding its own in any intellectual scrutiny it is subjected to. But we must be prepared to answer the challenges that this age is putting forward. This is the job the New Evangelists face. The New Evangelist is one who has taken God's Word to prayer and asked the Spirit to uncover its wisdom and truth, listening over and over until it becomes clear. At the same time, the New Evangelist must be well versed in the language of reason so they can articulate with clarity the reasoning behind their faith. But their greatest argument will be the evangelist's life and the goodness it manifests for all the world to see. ("Eat your veggies, I did, and look at me.")
For another consideration of these ideas, Fr. Robert Barron has two excellent videos:
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