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Correct Answer? By J. Reagan

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/11/02 at 9:11 AM

THE PROBLEM: Pollsters who deal only in religious matters tells us that between 75% and 80% of those who live in the U.S. Label themselves  as “Christian”.  This means that between 225 and 240 million people label themselves as followers of Jesus Christ.  Yet, by any theological, moral, philosophical, or cultural standard, the US is a pagan nation with a notable lack of Christian morality: 50 million abortions, rampant pornography, illegal drugs, greed (often called “inflation”).

Does anyone really think that  all this can be attributed to the 20% of non-Christians in the country? Pollsters further tell us that Catholics are no better than any others in espousing the cultural immoralities. Between 60-80% of Catholics approve abortion, divorce, pre-marital sex, cohabitation, Mass  as optional, same-sex relationships etc.

The same high percentages do not accept/ believe some of the basic doctrines of the faith.  63% do not believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine.  Some do not think morality is any of the Church’s business, especially regarding sex and marriage. I wonder if this is why Our Lord spoke of hell far more than of heaven.

HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT? During the Middle Ages, the Church took the best of the ancient Greek and Roman  world and Christianized it.  The Renaissance  took some of the worst of the ancient world, ignored the Church’s contribution, secularized society and philosophy, and declared, “Now we have the answer”.  The Reformation  took the truths of Revelation and reason, and disputed, distorted, and destroyed many of them.  And they cried, “Now we have the answer”.

Rationalism/Enlightenment said religion is the cause of too many problems.  Man needs only his reason the build a perfect life for himself. Forget the supernatural nonsense. We will think our way to a Utopia on earth.  Science became the new religion.  And they smiled and said, “Now we have the answer.”

Romanticism- it took no time at all to discover that people do not really want to think very much. Rousseau said that everyone can’t think well, but everyone can feel.  Emotions and feeling became to the guidelines and norms.  And they danced for joy and said, “Now we have the answer.

On and on the crazy ideas went until nowadays we are told…there is no objective truth;  truth is subjective; contradictions are quite acceptable; opinion is what counts; moral and intellectual judgments are taboo; religion has the status of a hobby; God is made in man’s image….if He is thought of at all.

THE EFFECTS: The result of these centuries of false and anti-human philosophies is a crushing and  irrational secularism sweeping the part of the world that was once called “Christendom”. Religion, the most far-reaching and important activity of humans has been relegated to  the level of one’s personal likes, such as television programs, in the dominant cultural philosophy.  But religion is still given lip-service once in a while and Jesus Christ is usually listed as a “great philosopher”, a great moralist, a great teacher in the same breath as Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius or Lao-Tse.

In reality, that idea simply does not work. Christ is  either God or a fraud…often, as we say, a nutcase. Why? Because too many times He claimed to be God. The first sign hat He might be what he claimed lies in the hundreds of prediction about Him and His life, made by many prophets, who did not know one another because they lived at different times. All these prophecies were centered on one person and every one was fulfilled in that same person. No one predicted Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Martin Luther etc.

Imagine trying to predicts particular details of the life of descendant who will live five centuries from now.Impossible. Yet, this is just what happened in the case of Christ…and no one else.

Jesus Himself prophesied the betrayal by  Judas, the denial by Peter,  His own resurrection, and the destruction of Jerusalem.

We are familiar with the Gospel miracles so we need not labor over them. They are historical facts. And there were at least hundreds because the Gospels, in several places, tell is that “He healed all in that district”.  These miracles were done on His own authority and using his own power.  No other religious founder claimed to be God or  performed miracles. At most, they claimed a special relationship with God.

We must remember that the Resurrection is the one surpassing miracle never duplicated in the entire history of the world.  It is a  historical fact.  We have conquered space and the ocean, but not the six-foot hole.

CONCLUSION: But what about us? We don’t live in  the time of Christ. How do we connect?

Our Lord told us that He would be with us for all time. He is with us and we are with Him in the Catholic Church. The Church is the visible representative of Christ on earth. Like her founder, she is the only source of salvation, the only source of truth, infallible and miraculous in her spiritual activity: the Sacraments.  The Catholic Church is the one true Church.All other churches that call themselves Christian are deficient to some degree. But, this is not a good time to be a Catholic because of the scandals. The Church has never enjoyed a “Golden Age”.  Our Lord predicted multitude of trouble and so has it been .mostly because of the clergy.  However, He promised : “I am with you all days…the gates of hell will not prevail.” The scandals prove the divinity of the Church, the two natures in the Church. The Church will survive.

So, the Christ..God or Fraud. Does It Really Matter? Absolutely. It’s a matter of life and death;.eternal life or death. Unless we answer this question correctly and live accordingly, we may hear some the most frightening words in the Bible, “Because you have denied me before men, (and that’s what an incorrect answer is.) I will deny you before My Father.” Those who have the correct relationship with Christ and the Church will be able, not only to say, but to know:”Now we have the answer”.  And there is no other.

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Is God God Or Are You God?

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/09/22 at 9:11 AM

One of the characteristics that distinguishes  humans from animals and all other creatures is that humans can and do wonder about things, about the purpose or the reason something is what it is or does what it does. Animals never wonder about the circumstances of their lives. They live by instinct which never changes; they would have no reason to wonder because they can’t change anything anyway.  Adam and Eve’s dog would be right at home with your dog, but they would be awestruck by human life today. That’s because we humans can ponder purpose and make changes if we so desire.

It is very important to know the purpose of whatever we are dealing with because, if we do not know the true purpose of something or someone, we may end up not using it, misusing it, damaging or even destroying the thing. Small children do this routinely. This also applies to people; think of the misuse and destruction of people by Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot in the modern era alone. They saw other people only as means to an end.

Throughout life  we deal with many intermediate purposes and goals such as education, marriage, family career etc. These differ from person to person and culture to culture. Some are successful in reaching their goals while others, not understanding the nature of goals, flounder through life. Half the marriages in the U.S. fail because at least  one spouse does not understand the nature and purpose of marriage.  Schools today are failing in a tragic way because they changed their purpose from the acquisition of knowledge to politically correct socialization.

I don’t think many would dispute that the country has many seemingly insoluble problems; drugs, crime, abuse at all levels, illegal immigration etc. I suggest that the reason is that  in the U.S. (and most of the Western world)  the most important purpose of all has been forgotten or ignored, i.e. the purpose of man himself . The purpose of anything is usually determined by the maker. Man was made by God in the beginning, and it is  God who assigned man his purpose which will never change regardless of how man deals with it. God does not adjust Himself to contemporary cultural whims. Anyone who does not know or does not care that he or she is made in the image and likeness of God is doomed to the ultimate failure which is not to be a saint.

Man has a divine goal or purpose which is his final union with God for eternity. This is what God has set up, and He has also set up definite ways to reach that goal which are not subject to human interpretations. On the other hand, man can reject his purpose and set up his own idea of purpose, but if we set up any purpose that does not  conform to divine purpose,  he will live a substandard human life.

Many are going through life today with no ultimate goal in mind. They are like a person who drives without a destination. When the gas runs out, he is nowhere and there’s no gas. Going through life without an eye on eternity  may cause one to lose the very purpose of life itself. No matter  what circumstances we find ourselves in, for good or bad, we all will arrive  at that six-foot hole. That’s the end of striving. You made it or you didn’t.  Hell is realizing that you “blew it…. badly”.

The real purpose of human life is to know, love, and serve God while on earth and spend eternity in His presence. Anything less is risky. One of the great saints of the Church used to have as his norm, “Quid ad aeternitatem?”.. How does this affect eternity? We live in a world which, at least in practice, does not believe in eternity at all. How many people have you seen die on TV with no thought whatsoever of an afterlife? Death is the end. Be that as it may,  it does not affect God’s purpose for people. We will knock on the door of eternity someday. If you have pursued your God-given goal, the door will not be opened by  a fellow in a red suit carrying a pitchfork.

The most important question is: “Is God God or are you  God?” If you decide that YOU are God by your lifestyle, then you are a fool, as the Psalm says. And there are no fools in heaven.

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What is Truth? By J. Reagan

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/09/07 at 9:11 AM

St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the most brilliant philosopher-theologians in the history of the Catholic Church. His definition of truth, which is still valid today, is that truth is the conformity/agreement of the mind to reality. This means that objective truth lies outside of us, outside the human mind. The human mind discovers/learns/ finds truth; it does not invent it.

What arises in our own minds is opinion which may or may conform well to reality. It is the role of the human mind to seek objective truth. That is how God designed the mind. Some times it takes eons to discover a truth or set of truths. Ex. The laws of aerodynamics have existed probably since the beginning of time, but they were discovered only in the last century.

We live in a world in which too many believe that truth is manufactured by the human mind, that man does not discover truth, but determines it. This attitude is far more prevalent is matters of the spiritual and the intellectual spheres like religion, morality, ethics, education, government, etc. In these areas opinion, often the loudest, becomes “truth”.

But truth comes from God and when man dares to usurp that authority, the consequences can be disastrous. Frederick Hegel, a nineteenth century philosopher, when told that his theories did not fit the facts, said,  in effect, that was just too bad for the facts. He was one of the founders of Communism. As a result of this invented “truth,” millions of people were enslaved and worse for almost a century.

The theory of evolution is much in a news today. Honest scientists will admit that evolution is far from a proven theory. About 90-95% of contemporary scientists admit they are materialists and act as thought evolution were a fact.  If it’s not matter, it doesn’t matter.”

Materialism is a philosophy; it is not science, but scientists prefer pretending evolution is a fact because, as Thomas Huxley, an associate of Darwin, said that he liked the idea of evolution because if man were merely a high-grade monkey, he is not responsible for his actions, and, therefore,  he could continue to what do we call sin. In fact,  evolution has long since  passed from the realm of science and has become a quasi religion among many scientists. That’s why there is a kind of frenzy about protecting the theory of evolution against the inroads of logic or fact.

The ACLU is so vehemently anti-Christian that is quite willing to distort and manipulate facts to make the U.S. Constitution say whatever the organization wants it to say. The result has been constantly invented “truth” aimed at the Christian community.

If we do not live in the real world, must then live in a world of whim, fantasy, opinion, subjectivism, etc. Only by living in the real world can we even hope to live a fully human life.

In a world that denies objective truth in matters transcendental and spiritual, and tells us that opinion is a good substitute for truth, we have the words of Christ (Jn 14:5) that He and He alone is the embodiment of truth, that He is the only source of truth.  If we ignore that, we do so at great peril not only to out temporal life, but to our eternal life.

Remember this: an idea  is not true because we say it is or because we believe it is, or because the majority favors it is, an idea is true only if it conforms to objective reality.

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Freedom, a Paradox By J. Reagan

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/08/24 at 9:00 AM

We humans are the only creatures that do not have to act in a predetermined way; we can radically alter the circumstances of our lives if we so wish. A tree will grow in the same spot year after year and follow its prearranged cycles. A dog will never live like a fish and a cat will never fly. Humans have found ways to both live under water and fly.

People have a moral dimension that other creatures do not have. We can produce a Mother Teresa and a Hitler, great saints and great sinners, and every level in between. The reason is that humans have the power of choice, of free will; we can decide to do or not to do something.

The Greeks of the ancient world, who helped lay of the foundation of our own civilization, were the thinkers of their time. They thought about almost every aspect of human existence. They delved into mathematics, physics, medicine, music, and literature. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Hippocrates, are among the more notable of them. They even had an atomic theory.

Their philosophers pondered the question of free will and its significance. They came to the conclusion that there is a paradox (apparent contradiction) in the matter of free will. They said that there are two kinds of freedom of the will, a “freedom from” and a “freedom to”. The former is negative and the latter is positive. “Freedom from” is the idea that no one should tell us what we can and cannot do, that we are free agents answerable only to ourselves.

The paradox here is that when we set out to be totally free of inhibitions, laws, rules etc, we eventually become, not free, but enslaved to our desires. They very things we thought would show our freedom bind us in a grip of negative habits and vice, and which, under our own power, would be proportionately difficult to overcome. Thus unlimited freedom turns into slavery.

“Freedom to” has its own paradox. In order to be free to accomplish anything of value or anything worthwhile, we must be willing to restrict, limit and restrain our free will. The reason you can read this essay is that I have limited myself to using certain words, in a certain order and arrangement. I could have used many of the other thousands of English words, but the result would be a different message or none at all…jibberish. I happen to enjoy choirs, but only because the choir members agree to follow a certain pattern of notes with no deviations. Imagine what would happen if the choir members decided that “no one was going to tell them what to sing”, and they all sang different hymns at the same time.

Man is the only creature that can conceive of and try to attain goals. No goal is reached in a haphazard way. Plans must be made, and part of those plans are restricted choices we must make to be successful. If one wishes to become a doctor, he/she must, long before, set out on a prescribed  course of study, and restrict himself or herself to whatever aids in the pursuit of the goal.

We live in a “Sez who?” society. Authority at every level, divine, parental, civil, educational, ecclesiastical , is being questioned and/or ignored if anyone so desires; each one becomes his or her own lawmaker. We forget that legitimate authority comes from God, and, therefore, obliges us to obey lawful rules. Too many people in authority have brought disrespect and disregard on themselves. Nevertheless, when we look around us, we see all too often the fruits of the “Sez who? Society”: dangerous addictions, high crime rate, low church attendance, rampant illicit sex, abortion, deficient education, evolution as fact, greed at every level (called “inflation”),  scientism (the belief that only science has all the answers), etc.

The Greeks had it right, BUT, because they did not have the benefit of Revelation, their idea of freedom is valid, but incomplete because they had only human reason to work with. It was not until the coming of Christ that we learned the true meaning of freedom. “The truth shall make you free.”

Because the Greek philosophers’ ideas of freedom were limited,  they relied on human reason alone, and, while they did develop some sound ideas, they were, nevertheless, incomplete and insufficient. They based everything on the idea of restraints and lack of restraints which is valid only to a certain extent. After all, it was a pagan world they lived in. We have the guidance of divine Revelation. It tells us that the real origin and basis for freedom is truth. “The truth shall make you free.”

Christ Himself referred to Himself as “the Truth.” The Gospels tell us that part of the mission of Christ on earth was to tell us how to find complete and necessary truth because it is only in truth that we find real freedom. Ever notice that false gods always seem to reduce freedom? The followers of Islam certainly have diminished freedom.

It does not require much observation to realize that we live in a world filled with errors and lies in all areas of life: ecclesiastical, political, moral, economic, social, scientific, educational, etc. Note also that the more error and falsehood involved, the more freedom is diminished. Ex. Darwinism has become a religion in the scientific world. Any opponent speaks out risks danger of grave consequences to his position and status. The same attitude is developing in the matter of global warming. The elites have decided that it exists, and anyone who questions it is subject to ridicule, ostracism, etc. In both Darwinism and global warming, contrary facts are not given a hearing. This means a loss of freedom to make our own judgments in such matters.

It is truth that makes us free. It is Christ who gives us true freedom. We can better understand this by using the terms the Greek philosophers used, “freedom from” and “freedom to”.  In Christ, we have a “freedom from”

ANXIETY: Christ Himself told us we need not be anxious about anything because God is in control of the world and whatever happens in it. With Him as our guide, we are assured that whatever comes to pass, good or bad, it will be to our advantage eventually.

ERROR:    Using the inspired Word of God and the  Catholic Church as a beacon of truth and  standard of behavior, we can judge and evaluate the myriad false ideas being tossed around today.

DOUBT:  The suicide bomber can only hope that his actions will bring him to heaven.(They won’t.) The Christian who believes in Christ and His promises KNOWS what his destiny is.

FEAR OF DEATH: The modern world seems to have a mania for staying alive as long as possible. Of course, the reason is that too many think that the grave is the end of the story. The Christian knows that death for him/her leads to the second and better part of life as  his/her soul goes to meet with Christ while the body remains temporarily on earth.

In short, believing the truth of Christ rescues us from the baneful effects of our sinful human nature, and gives us freedom that the non-saved can’t even imagine.

There is a positive side the God’s freedom, the “freedom to.”

Human freedom is tenuous, and fickle, and can be dangerous when misused; too much freedom often leads to disaster.

God’s freedom is infinite, constant, and eternal.

We are free to be all that God has designed us to be, free to be what no human power can give, free to reach our full potential which is eternal union with God.

The Greeks said that true freedom lies in restraint. So too is it in the Christian life. We call this restraint obedience to God’s will. That is the source of man’s true freedom because it will lead to eternal glory in which human freedom becomes perfect, and a more mentally peaceful existence on earth. That is God’s plan for us.

There will be no “freedom from” in Heaven because there will be no  doubts, fears, anxieties, or errors, etc. The least free person is the habitual sinner. Listen to his last lament.

“The past has deceived me; the present torments me; and the future terrifies me.”

The true Christian, free in Christ, will never need to utter these words.

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A Trilogy of the Unreal: Part 1 – Separation of Church and State

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/07/28 at 10:10 AM

Separation of Church and State – Anti-Christian groups such as the ACLU, activist judges and secularists in general have used this mantra to force Christians (rarely do they use it against any other religion) to act against their basic beliefs. No public prayers. No Nativity scenes. No religious symbols. No invocation of the Christian God.

This idea of separation of Church and State is found in no official document of the Founding Fathers of the United States. It is not in the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence or any writings of the early builders of this country. What the Constitution does say is that this country will not have an official, government-approved religion such as the Anglican Church in England.

This idea of separation of Church and State was hijacked from a private letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a friend. It had no official force whatsoever, but the phrase has been treated by Christianity’s enemies as a quasi divine revelation.

The motivation is totally anti-Christian/Catholic because when Muslims celebrate Islamic holidays on public property, not a word is ever said by these advocates of separation. This gross hypocrisy demonstrates the bias in the whole effort.

The next time you hear or read about someone or some group “nobly” defending the people from the “onslaught of religion,” realize that the whole thing is totally fake. They care nothing about Church or State; they just want to “stick it” to the Christians.

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A Trilogy of the Unreal: Part 2 – “Jesus” Might Offend

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/07/28 at 9:11 AM

For some time now, it as become fashionable to tell Christian clergy and laity that they may not invoke the name of Jesus in prayers in any public supported forum. After all, not everyone  is a Christian, and they may be “offended” by hearing the name of the Christian God. (To which I say, “Let them be “offended”; it’s rank hypocrisy anyway.) I would be neither surprised or offended if a rabbi mentioned Yahweh, or a Muslim referred to Allah, or a Buddhist mentioned Buddha.

This is still another example of the modern world’s attitude that religion is really not very important, and that belief and practice can be and should be tailored to the contemporary culture. Certainly any religion that claims to be true and can prove it like Christianity is utterly taboo. After all, truth is what we decide is true; there can’t be any such thing as objective truth.

This attitude of religious indifferentism is really inimical to human nature. Man is created with a religious bent. He may neglect or ignore it, but it is still there. Another part of inborn human nature is to seek the truth; it is part of our ability to think rationally. Society cannot exist without truth; it would devolve in chaos in no time. The problem with religious indifferentism is that it ignores contradictions which are fatal to correct thinking. Christianity believes in a triune God (3 Persons); Islam, in a unitary god (one person); Buddhism in no gods because it is basically a philosophy of this life; Hinduism believes in 300,000,000 (million) gods. They are all acceptable? It doesn’t matter?

There are those who say that God has abandoned the U.S. to its stupidities and religious nonsense. Perhaps; perhaps not! It would not be the first time that God hardened hearts because of obdurate evil.

I know an Anglican priest who, when told he could not invoke the name of Jesus in his prayer,  simply used the phrase “Christ our Lord” instead.  Everyone knew what he meant.

Those who denigrate Christianity so as not to “offend” someone are just another version of the anti-Christian atmosphere becoming more prevalent in this society. If these people were sincere, they would forbid all religions to curtail their prayers and invocations; they don’t.

Finally, denial of religious truth is a sign of the unreality which seems to be the hallmark of contemporary society. There is a term for those who think the unreal is real.

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A Trilogy of the Unreal: Part 3 – The Reality of Evil

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/07/28 at 9:09 AM

There are those who contend that the U.S. has become awash in sin, corruption and evil of all kinds. They can offer rather convincing statistics to support their belief. They cite the high abortion rate (55 million), the billion-dollar pornography industry, the high numbers of illegitimate births and the explosion of sexually transmitted diseases and more.

There are even more who contend that there is nothing wrong and that those who do “evil” are not immoral at all, but are merely exercising their free choice to determine for themselves what their personal moral code will be. (Can a society survive without objective moral codes?)

Why do we call evil “evil?” It is the opposite of good and in order to call anything evil, we must be familiar with a standard of goodness. If we did not know what was morally good, we could never judge anything to be morally evil because there would be no standard of comparison. The only absolute standard of goodness is God and His moral law which binds all humans to obedience whether they believe it or like it or not. When an action or a series of actions violates the natural moral law, it is considered to be evil or sinful.

A problem arises when a society rejects God, at least in practice as has American society. The standard of moral goodness is changed from the infallible God to fellow human beings in various positions of power: legislators, judges, media. They tend to set the standard based usually on personal and subjective preferences. Those who do not like the restrictions of divine law to begin with easily succumb to the lure of evil now described as a good, or at least no longer evil. (None of this changes God’s mind at all.)

Machiavelli, the author of “The Prince”, taught that humans were basically evil in action and intent. Jean Jacques Rousseau, the French “philosopher”, taught that people are all basically good and that society corrupts them . . . forgetting that a society is composed of people.  St. Paul called men sinners, but he did not say they were evil. The Church teachers that, because of Original Sin, man has a tendency to sin and evil and does fall, but is not per se evil because there is the possibility of forgiveness for the repentant. Evil does not seek forgiveness because real evil sees nothing to be forgiven for because it does not see its evil actions as evil.

There is an objective standard of moral goodness and moral evil (sin). This is imposed by the Creator and its validity and force does not depend on human acceptance of the standards. This is the standard by which all humans will be judged. Too many people think they are free to change divine law to suit themselves. The Supreme Court attempted this in Roe vs Wade. The problem is that God did not agree. A city council cannot change state law and a state cannot change federal law, and humans cannot change divine law . . . even though they attempt to do rather frequently.

The safest course is to strive to be on God’s side if for no other reason that no human or group of humans has even a scintilla of divine intelligence. Why follow the ignorant and weak? “Right is still right even if no one is right and wrong is still wrong even if every one is wrong.”

The choice is ours, choosing human “wisdom” because it appeals to us is at least risky. Choosing divine wisdom is not always to our liking, but it will keep us on the right road. And only the right road will reach the destination.

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Mind Over Matter

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/06/16 at 12:00 AM

A major problem nowadays is that too many people (including too many Catholics) think that a statement or idea is true merely because they think or believe it is true. In other words, the individual has assigned to himself the task of determining what is true or false. Modern American culture is based on the idea that each one may decide for himself what he can think, believe and do in the moral order. When it comes to physical matters, no one disputes the laws of nature. Only a fool would think he could repeal the law of gravity. Yet, too many decide they are at liberty to repeal or ignore whatever ideas or laws they don’t happen to like. As a result what is really important in life is left to subjective interpretation, usually of those who have no intellectual background to decide on such matters as the nature and destiny of man. When anyone claims the right to reject natural order or divine law, he is on a very slippery slope.

Let’s revisit the concept of truth. Truth is a concern only of humans. Animals are not even aware of truth. Their nature and destiny is something they never ponder. Previously in these pages I stated that truth is reality: what really is, not what we think is. St. Thomas Aquinas, arguably one of the most brilliant men who ever lived said that truth is the conformity (agreement) of the mind with reality. Note: he did not say that truth is the agreement of reality with someone’s mind.

This reality, of course, refers what is called objective reality. There is such a thing as legitimate subjective reality such as favorites foods, or books, or people. We naturally develop favorites in such matters and no can say that your choice is wrong. Another may have a different choice, but both are right. My favorite flavor is probably coffee, and if yours is vanilla, so be it. But, when we try to make subjective evaluations of objective reality, then a choice can be judged to be in error. For example, a person decides that the Ten Commandments are out of date and need to be re-evaluated. (Ted Turner actually  proposed this idea.)

Read the rest of this entry »

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A Helluva Place

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/05/10 at 11:15 AM

When a society or an individual rejects God, as does ours, at least in practice, the ability to think logically and rationally about the really important questions of human life (namely Where did I come from?, Why am I here?, Where am I going?, How do I get there?) is notably diminished.  These questions are either ignored or answered erroneously. (Remember, an idea or fact is not true because YOU think it is, or even sincerely believe it is; it is  true only if the idea or fact conforms to reality.)

God is the source and standard of Truth , and we must measure what we consider to be true against the divine standard of Truth.  If we are not in conformity with it, it is we who are in error, not God.

If this erroneous thinking is not corrected, or if divine Truth is rejected or ignored, the new standard of truth becomes one based on the faulty thinking of the  movers and shakers of the society and divine Truth is lost which, of course, does not affect God at all, but leaves those who subscribe to  errors as victims of their own choices.  At the same time, divine Truth  (found in Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the early Church) still has an impact due to the Natural Moral Law imprinted on the human soul.  Some of these doctrines (truths) being ignored or rejected are not to the liking of those whose “truth” is dictated by the culture.  One of these is the doctrine of Hell.  Scripture says it is real, painful, frustrating, and has no means of escape or release … ever.

Since many people do not want to deal with the doctrine of Hell, they either simply deny that it exists (without any convincing arguments) or they amend the doctrine to claim God is “so good” that He could never make hell eternal … even though He said it was eternal. Everyone, they say, gets out sometime and goes to Heaven (the false doctrine of universal salvation).  Consoling, but false!

Because God is truth and cannot deceive (if He could, He would not be God because He would have this deficiency and would not be perfect, as God must be) we know that Hell does exist whether anyone believes it or not.  It is an objective fact based on Scripture. “ I don’t believe in Scripture, so there.”  So what!  It’s still true!

What is this place called Hell?  What is it like?

We really don’t know precisely.  No one has ever returned to tell us about it.  Perhaps the reason is that such a report might frighten us into morality, and that would lead to questions about a person’s sincerity and true motivation.

Hell is described by Christ as a place of never-ending torment and punishment for those whose life has been marked by rejection of God, at least in practice and who die in a state of unrepented serious sin.  “Come on!  I don’t believe that.”  So what!  It’s still true!

According to Scripture, Hell has an element of serious pain by fire, a fire that burns but does not consume because those in Hell are immortal.  They cannot die again, so the fire rages non-stop, without any end in sight.

Those condemned to Hell feel also an acute sense of loss, concerning their forfeited salvation which can never be rectified.  They realize (probably at the point after death) that they made a colossal mistake by their own free will by refusing to follow God’s plan for their lives.  They will spend all eternity regretting their own stupidity and realizing that what they gained in life by rejecting God was not worth it compared to the consequences of their actions.  They realize that to avoid Hell would have been easy … obey God rather than the warped culture and its false prophets.  All the material things they thought were so important and necessary in life such a power, popularity, sex, drugs, etc., are long gone, and they know they had been a fools who are forever reminded of their bad judgments and choices throughout life.

Hell is the consequence of a choice.  Every human is given the ability to chose God or Satan, just as the fallen angels were.  God has never condemned anyone to Hell; He merely ratified our choice.  Even the false idols we were so fond of in life did not cause us to sin; it was our choice to follow the wrong road.  I suspect that when those in Hell review their lives, they will have to admit that they are there because, in effect, they preferred to be there by  their bad choices and poor judgments.

Hell is real, and many people in our irreligious culture are heading there because of their own adoration of the culture.  “I believe God is just too good to have created such a place.”  Really?  Dream on!   The fact that someone does not believe in Hell means nothing.  (If I don’t accept a truth, that’s too bad for me, not the the truth.)

Hell is not a predestination for anyone; it can be avoided.  How?  By rejecting what the moral law rejects, by  developing a true relationship with God instead of with the transient lures of a corrupt society, by obedience to the divine Will.  We were designed to have a relationship with God; it is a part of our human nature set by the Creator.  The habitual sinner violates his own nature which is God-oriented.  Follow the truth of God, because after we die, there is no chance for repentance.  Let’s not be one of those who the second after death looks around and says: “Well, I’ll be damned.”

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And the Blind Shall Lead

In 08 Musings by Jack Reagan on 2012/04/27 at 9:11 AM

The problem with false philosophies (false ideas) is that they are . . . false.  As a result they cannot be ultimately successful in their goals.  The reason they are false or erroneous is that they do not deal with reality.  Whatever philosophies or sets of ideas refuse to acknowledge objective reality are doomed from the outset.

One of the chief reasons the world is in such chaos, when no problems seem to be able to be solved, is that it is awash in false ideas and has been for a long time:  Nazism, fascism, secularism, communism, extreme environmentalism, hedonism, religious indifferentism (all religions are equal), atheism and more.  False philosophies originally have some appeal because the false element attracts certain followers, but eventually, and inevitably, their basic errors will be revealed.  For example, extreme environmentalism teaches that planet earth is totally under human control and is, thus, a denial of Divine Providence.  Humans who cannot even accurately predict weather assume that it is up to them to regulate the earth’s temperatures.  Again, a lack of reality.

How do we know or at least suspect that some ideas are false?

What does the philosophy say about God?  God is the ultimate reality in the universe and in human lives. When a philosophy derides, ignores, rejects, passes over or does not deem God very important in life, it is a false philosophy because it ignores reality.  (Remember, reality is what it is even if you have a different idea about it.) Secularism is a dominant philosophy is the U.S. And Europe. This set of beliefs teaches that religion is, at best, a purely personal activity such as a hobby and , therefore, is irrelevant to public life.  (God did not  design man to be a secularist.)  The government at all levels, education and the media are hotbeds of secular philosophy and aren’t they shining examples of dealing with reality?  The philosopher Voltaire said that man will be ruled by God or he will be ruled by tyrants. The government is tyrannical in its incompetence, the schools are tyrannical in their decades-long drive to de-educate for reality, and the media is tyrannical in its manipulation of facts  to produce ideological “news.”  Without a realistic attitude toward  God, false philosophies begin as bad judgments about what is truth and ultimately fail as did Communism.

What does the philosophy say about morality.  Man has a moral aspect that animals do not have.  The most vicious animal never sins because he has no moral sense.  Man is aware of the idea of moral right and wrong.  Real morality is based on the Natural Law (“Do good; avoid evil,” a law implanted in the human mind, that comes from God) and valid human thinking.  Moral rules can be distorted, ejected, ignored or distorted.  Judge Robert Bork was denied a seat of the Supreme Court because he said the Natural Law was part of reality, and anything based on God is not popular in the U.S. nowadays.

If a philosophy advocates or justifies what used to be called sin, it should be deemed a false philosophy.  The current agitation about same-sex “marriage” is a case in point.  Thousands of years of human experience are to be rejected in favor of unrealistic and unnatural alliances.  It’s not a matter of freedom and equality; it’s about reality. Have humans been wrong about marriage until the last few decades?  A set of ideas that allows abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research must be judged to be a false philosophy, and those who support them must adjudged to be in error.  More than 55,000,000 unborn babies have been killed in the U.S. because 7 members of the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution unrealistically.

What does the philosophy say about man?  Sacred Scripture (which has been proven many times to be authentic) tells us that humans are the most important beings on earth because we have an eternal destiny.  No other creature does.  Moreover, man has the potential to be an adopted child of God and to live for all eternity with God . . . or without Him.

A philosophy that does not incorporate the dignity of man into its belief system will not be able to deal with man realistically or effectively.  If man is not a child of God, he becomes automatically a child of the state which cares nothing about the human soul.

This can ultimately lead to totalitarianism in varying degrees.  There are those who warn that Americans are losing their freedom because of coercive government rules and regulations.  I took care of my health insurance for years without Obamacare.  Why do he and his cronies assume they can do a better job?  (They can’t.)

Some secularists see man as no more significant than a fly (speciesism).  If we are no more significant than an amoeba, it becomes logical to “live it up” before you die.

The problem with that world view is that those who believe it are just wrong.  Man has been a religious being from the beginning even if he believed in false gods.

One could add other criteria for determining false philosophies, but any false set of ideas will include at least one (and probably all) of the above.  False philosophies have no hope of delivering what they offer because they start out in unreality.  But many people are swept up in these false ideas and a false idea is still false regardless of how many fans it has.  There will come a last moment for all of us.  If you have followed the blindness of false philosophies, your last moment will be unpleasant . . . if you are even aware of your status.

Let us remember the lament of the lost sinner: “The past has deceived me, the present torments me, and the future terrifies me.”