When someone tells you that “X” is a virtue or that “X” is true, don’t just believe them, ask questions regardless of who they are. If they push back and claim authority, ask even more questions. Anything that is true is defensible.
No genuine authority appeals solely to its own authority. Truth always has a foundation and an answer.
If someone uses religious terminology, or hints are religious thought, or even calls themselves a Christian, but at the same time, practices something that we find distasteful or that the Church has historically identified as sinful, we ought not condemn or judge them. That is not our responsibility.
If someone is on a path where they are open to or interested in the Christian faith, we ought to do all we can to love them, support them, and encourage them. If they cannot find love in the Church or from other Christians, then something is seriously wrong.
When a parent offers a child the choice of PBJ or chicken nuggets, the child does have the freedom to choose but the parent is setting the boundaries. When human beings live their lives, they freely choose to think, speak, and act but in very much the same way, he has the freedom to choose but God is setting the boundaries.
Mankind is in a position to freely choose, even if those decisions are negative and destructive. Without that freedom, man is nothing more than a puppet. God created man for relationship and man has the choice to love God in return or to not. To be truly human is to love.
While the current depraved state of our nation is a horrible event to witness, as Christians we should not fear. The Church has always taught and believed that sin brings death. This is true not just for the individual but also for a nation and a culture.
The decline into corruption and depravity that we are witnessing is nothing new. This exact pattern has taken place throughout history. We should be saddened by the suffering and death that is taking place but at the same time, we know that the Church will never be defeated or eradicated.
In the face of the decline of an entire nation, the individual can do little, but we are all called to pray and to love those with whom we interact and know, which is far greater than any socio-economic-political effort. A small rock rolling downhill can be stopped with little to no effort, but a ten-ton boulder cannot. We must be aware of the problem, avoid following the decline, and do what we can for ourselves and our loved ones.
