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choices, Christianity, Grace, love, sin
If you do not keep up with the comments on this blog, Jessica once emailed me, you miss the best bits. That was typically modest of her, and whilst we all appreciate how busy she is, I think I speak for many (for once) in saying that we miss her presence, but never forget it is her blog. What put me in mind of that was a link posted by Servus Fidelis yesterday. It was to a piece by Msgr. Charles Pope of the diocese of Washington. I was very taken by it, and recommend it highly, but what I want to dwell on here is what he had to say about God’s wrath.
It has been a theme of mine here that modern churches dwell too much on Jesus who forgives everything, and in so doing they miss out the central part of Christ’s message – a call to repentance; if we are not conscious that we have something of which to repent, that is of sin, then how can we begin to realise why we need Christ?
Msgr. Pope tells us that ‘God’s wrath’ is the revelation of the results of our wickedness:
The wrath of God is our experience of the total incompatibility of unrepented sin before the holiness of God. The unrepentant sinner cannot endure the presence, and the holiness of God, There is for such a one wailing and grinding of teeth, anger and even rage when confronted by the existence of God and the demands of His justice and holiness. God’s wrath does not mean in some simplistic sense that God is “mad” as if being emotionally worked up to fury. God is not moody and unstable. God is not subject to temper tantrums like we are. Rather this, God is holy, and the unrepentant sinner cannot endure his holiness, but experiences it as wrath.
Now that I liked. I’ve always held that the idea of God as a bad-tempered Father throwing temper tantrums was no more than a projection of our own worst selves on to God. We don’t want to confront our sins, we say, in the words of Isaiah:
Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.
Aye, we want to hear that it is not us, it is ‘our nature’; we wish to be perpetual victims. There’s nothing wrong with adultery, it was my genes (or her jeans); homosexuality is not contrary to God’s law because God doesn’t exist, or if he does, he’ll understand and love us all the same, and if necessary we’ll offer novel interpretations of St Paul to take away the sting: ‘right things’, there are no such things, there are only things which harm no other person and are pleasing to us. Tell us more about how it isn’t our fault; indeed, if you can tell us it is good for us, all the better.
Paul tells us in Romans where that leads:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
As Msgr Pope says, that is our times to a tee.
God’s wrath is that we are given over to our sins. If, looking around us, we think that what our wisdom is creating is good, then we shall continue down the road until enlightenment come. God is not punishing us, any more than he exiles us from his presence if we end in hell. We are the ones who, in the folly of our pride exile ourselves. We call our wickedness goodness and we cannot see the face of God even as through a glass darkly. Like Caliban in The Tempest we cannot bear to look in the mirror lest we see how monstrous we are.
The wrath of God is not to come, it is here and it is now, and it is every soul who exiles themself from Him by insisting that they are qualified to tell God what is and is not good. Like the children of Israel of old we have erred and strayed from His ways like lost sheep. The answer then, now and always is we turn to the Lord our God in humility and repentance. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise.
Carl D'Agostino said:
“I’ve always held that the idea of God as a bad-tempered Father throwing temper tantrums was no more than a projection of our own worst selves on to God. ”
“God is not subject to temper tantrums like we are. Rather this, God is holy, and the unrepentant sinner cannot endure his holiness, but experiences it as wrath.”
I think this is a very sensible commentary on the matter.
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Thank you Carl. I think much harm has followed from this projection of God as some kind of angry old man.
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Servus Fidelis said:
It does seem that we have been abandoned to our sin and that the response we make is to justify our actions as good and compassionate and caring. We have exalted specialists in the sciences to our aid in accepting our sins, curing or treating our mental and bodily diseases and have enlisted the help of the government and the legal system to perpetuate our sinful ways and to make sure that there is no earthly penalty due.
We dig ourselves deeper into the ground and further from the light because the light makes us shrink in fear so we have ended up detesting the light. What it will take for us to seek the light might require a bit of self revelation; a realization that we are somehow responsible for our plight and we have great need to amend our way of life and return to the old ways and faith of our forefathers.
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
It may well be, my friend, that it is only by drinking this cup to its bitter dregs that a faithless generation will come to where it needs to be.
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Servus Fidelis said:
I fear so. Like C said yesterday, the article was rather sobering. No easy way out I’m afraid.
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
It is indeed – but those who need sobering up will not heed it.
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Servus Fidelis said:
That is a real problem: wish we had a 12 step program for them. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Well, Jesus offered a two step one to make it really simple – repent and follow me! 🙂
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Servus Fidelis said:
That will never work, Geoffrey! They want more scientific proof and a pill they can take to wean them off of their sin. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Yup – that’s for sure 🙂
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Servus Fidelis said:
Well Obama is hard at work on the Kevorkian pill – that might work on this problem. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Maybe he could trial it? 🙂
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Servus Fidelis said:
He’s only trying it on the conservatives at this time until it’s perfected. He wants it to be as painful as possible. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Coward – he should step up the plate. Perhaps offer it to Biden first 🙂
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Servus Fidelis said:
Biden was the guinea pig for his zombie pill. Seems to be working very well. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
True – but Biden started off with the natural advantage of that being his great talent 🙂
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Servus Fidelis said:
You have a point. It may be that he passed away years ago and that the zombie pill is what keeps him going. Very sneaky plan by the President. 🙂
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
Very – he’s good at that 🙂
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St Bosco said:
This is the age of grace.Easy salvation. Just ask Jesus to come show himself. No fuss no muss.Some rightly call this the New Testament times. Those who think these times are the wrath of god will be surprised. Anyway, if one reads the book of Rev, one will know the wrath is to come. Jesus will tread the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God. As i explain in one of my top notch posts, the 70th week of Daniel is on its way. A week is meant to be 7 days or yrs. But Rev says its 7 yrs. Which lines up with Daniel. 7 yrs of what, you might ask? 7 yrs of old testament times. The holy ghost is removed and with it his body, the saved. Then god pours out the viles unto the earth. men will seek death but cant find it. That means when you try to kill yourself, by jumping off a building, youll hit the ground but still be alive. Hurting and battered but alive. The boils and the sun burning people and the locust will make you want out. Do you still think we are experiencing gods wrath? Think of me when youre in line to recieve some mark in order to buy sell or work.
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St Bosco said:
-Please allow me to post what a good catholic told me today.Ive seen kinda the same thing here befor. But never the eloquence that this devotee has,;\
All of this tumult and corruption is a confirmation that the Church was indeed built by Christ.
jackofalltrades165 3 hours ago
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St Bosco said:
I cant stop laughing.
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Geoffrey RS Sales said:
I can see why he went the anonymous route.
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St Bosco said:
I was going to invite that guy Jack here but he uses such bad language that he keeps getting deleted. I dont want that kind into good sister Jess site.But he is the good catholic that pales the fair weather catholics in here.
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