To Teach the Christian Faith

(10/8/09 - My Catholic column for Newman University newspaper The Vantage)

As a convert led into the Catholic Church via answered prayers, I love it that I am now blessed to be able to write a faith-based column for the campus newspaper. Yet, there’s been a little controversy among some who read my article “On Martyrdom” a few weeks ago. In one sense, it’s expected when discussing moral issues. We have various appreciations of moral truths and are at different levels of union with God, some deeply, some not yet established.

Personally, I fell in love with Jesus Christ at my initial conversion experience when I came to the personal appreciation that my personal sins were, in part, the reason He offered Himself up as the loving sacrifice for the Father’s just punishment for sin. “We love, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

As my prayer life deepened I had clearly answered prayers that led me directly into the Catholic Church via the RCIA classes. I began going intellectually deeper via the depth of Catholic talk radio (locally 1360AM) which introduced me to apologetics, scholarly accounts of Church history, and the Early Church Fathers. My answered prayers and the intellectual power of Catholic apologetics are the bases for my book coming out in a few weeks, Praying Made Me Catholic: With the Biblical and Historical Reasons I Must Remain Catholic. Having come to an appreciation that the Catholic Church is the original Christian Church founded by Christ, I fell in love with Her also: “the Bride of Christ.” From there I knew I wanted to pursuit a theology degree to teach The Faith.

I started college at the University of Wisconsin, Marshfield. Eventually, I knew I’d transfer to a Catholic university for theology classes. Meanwhile, as a Catholic interested in social justice, the best thing I did was take philosophy and sociology classes (my double minor) and join the campus club Students Opposing Acts of Prejudice (S.O.A.P).

Being a secular university I became friends with a variety of personalities from many backgrounds. I established several good friendships with people from every section of the LGBT community. As my friends, they knew my theological convictions clashed with their lifestyles, yet as we interacted they came to know I still loved them due to their inherent dignity and infinite value as precious souls created by God. My conviction is that I am not to exclude anyone from myself, but love them even in their sins, as out Lord did, but not to love their sin, thereby seeking their good and to be willing to assist them in their freedom if they desire such.

At the UW we had a well known Christian club on campus, but the members came across as condescending, and thus none of my LGBT friends would be members very long. So I took it upon myself to found a Catholic club, the first in over 30 years. Despite the moral calling of Divine Revelation, my LGBT friends felt more welcome as I would express the Church’s teaching that, “They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives…” (CCC 2358).

Eventually I moved my family from Wisconsin here to Newman last fall because the school was initiating the Masters in Theology. At the same time, I had just finished the manuscript of Praying Made Me Catholic.

Clearly, I’ve not stopped writing since, as I am now writing for the Vantage as another outlet to express the ancient Christian faith. Yet, knowing that not everyone at Newman is a Catholic Christian, I tend to use apologetics when discussing matters (e.g., Scripture, Church history), as they are basic and easier to understand. As well, knowing that not everyone is Christian, when discussing moral issues I tend to address them according to the Natural Law. Natural Law is more approachable by basic human reason, as most of us share the same physiology and moral sensitivities.

This brings me back to the matter of controversy about my article a few weeks ago. I’ll admit, when addressing moral issues, I tend to be staunchly dogmatic. I’m sure this has much to do with my conversion experience, when my awareness of personal sin became heightened. When one makes union with the holiness of God one becomes very aware of the problem of sin. Yet, as I said last week, as Christians, when communicating with others, we are called to discuss issues like sin. Yet, we’re to do so in a non-condemnatory and compassionate way, sympathetic by the fact that none of us are perfect and we all have to battle temptations.

What has saddened me now, however, is how in the process of discussing matters of sin, some people have taken it personally and read my piece selectively. Again, when discussing moral issues controversy will be expected. Yet, I intentionally and clearly discouraged hate and discrimination. Of the LGBT community I said, “It is right that they should not be denied employment and housing…” (my anti-discrimination) “…as should be the case of anyone, as everyone needs to support themselves no matter where they are in their spiritual lives” (my rationale).

What’s unfortunate is how some people attempt to undermine the universal moral principles the majority of humans defend, whether Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., by vainly slandering them with inaccurate catchphrases like “judgmental,” “hypocritical” and “hate speech.” Those who slander me specifically do so to their own embarrassment when they discover that I have several close friends in the LGBT community!

In calling attention to “universal moral principles” is to say that they are not solely my morals, as I am not their author. They’re not even the morals solely of the Church, as She is not their author. God is the author of the moral principles of the Natural Law; thus they are easily accepted by most humans. Yet, it is up to the Church (clerics and laypeople) to articulate and uphold these moral principles, promote the holiness of virtue, and expose the destructive nature of sin in people’s spiritual and social lives. To go against the moral principles of Natural Law is to go against God, not me or the Church. Thus I don’t take such slander personally.

In contrast, there are various speculations of such organizations as the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association. Yet, they do not speak for God, and so their findings and theories are analyzed for what they are truly worth, some analytically good, some empty speculation. Yet, some organizations are deceptive when alleging that their findings are more than speculative. They may be compelling, but many compelling speculations over the centuries were dismissed when greater discovery and understanding came.

In the end, there will always be some who never choose God’s holy moral calling. Some even claim to have God in their lives while living contradictory ways. Thus Jesus made the analogy of people to good and bad trees, whereby we “will know them by their fruits” (see Matthew 7:15-23). Still, if Christians are speaking or writing lovingly, yet honestly (like pointing out certain actions as inherently sinful), they cannot be afraid to teach the truths of Natural Law, be intimidated by slander, or worse persecution.

Elementary philosophy tells us authentic truths are not a subjective. If two so-called “truths” contradict one another, either one or both is false. Yet, the moral truths of Natural Law have never been denied by most humans as merely speculative. Only recently does moral relativist philosophy do so. Still, the majority of people see through it, and thus we continue to protect people against such potential chaos with laws against breaking universal moral truths. As Christians we must love everyone enough to tell them the truth.