Sympathy
That’s what I get for trying to be sympathetic in 140
characters or less.
Of course “Doctrine is [the] substrate of all ritual,
liturgy, spirituality, prayer, theology, etc.”
Tell me something I don’t already know.
But many churches are already playing with a felt “need for doctrinal
evolution.”
At the risk of telling you something you already know,[1] theology does not simply
evolve. Theology is forever settled in
heavenly places in Christ: thus it never changes. Nor is it negotiable. Indeed, it cannot change: because the love
between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; as well as the love of the Son
as God, together with the love of the Son as man is perfect and complete. No issues of distrust or misunderstanding can
ever arise within the Trinity, or within Theanthropos. Theology has been perfect from the foundation
of the world; since long before Creation in the infinity of eternity past. The Λόγος[2] never changes.
Theology never changes.
Man, on the other hand, is blinded and dead because of
sin. So dead man must be brought back to
life, still groping in the dark to learn anything. To this end: God has promised the Holy Ghost
to lead and teach us. This is truly a
new light in the world, so that man is no longer compelled to grope in the
dark; provided that individual men and women recognize their need as children,
and ask the Father for His gift of this Holy Ghost.
Doctrine does not evolve either. Doctrine grows as the Holy Ghost teaches man
the unchangeable and unchanging theology of heaven. Man, however, is dull witted, so the teaching
process is slow and tedious. This means
that even the Magisterium is not somehow or other wrong; rather it is
incomplete: it cannot be completed until Jesus returns.
What men and women are all too willing to call “doctrinal
evolution” is all too frequently self-willed doctrinal revolution: just another
example of angry man shaking his fist at God.
Man persists in a war against God that he cannot possibly win; a war
pitted against the only Person, Who truly loves him, even in his misery of
blindness and death.
This “doctrinal evolution” is usually introduced by some
sort of subterfuge. “We’re so glad that
the Holy Ghost has led us to this change.”
“You are not being loving.” “Science
has now discovered that….” And so on,
and so on, ad infinitum, ad nauseam.
Doctrine does not evolve.
Doctrine is taught by the Holy Ghost, and learned by those men and women
who have been baptized by the Holy Ghost into The Church.
As I noted before, “I see the need for more careful
application of absolution.” While many
churches have denied the need for penance, others are now grasping to find any
means of kindly accountability. It is
true that priests or pastors have no way of knowing that a confessor has a truly
penitent heart. However, priests and
pastors have every right in the conduct of their office to demand and expect accountability
for sin. This is nothing more or less
than observing that penance is a necessary and vital step in the process from
confession to absolution.
Priests and pastors, in the privacy of the confessional, are
under no obligation to announce absolution to a murder, who refuses to denounce
and renounce the sin of murder, vowing never to murder again. It is perfectly reasonable to expect the
murderer, after denouncing and renouncing all such murders, to then work out
his full penance by admitting and by pleading guilty to such murders before
lawful civil authorities. Then and only
then, when the ex-murderer has happily accepted the due punishment of the law,
should the priest or pastor announce absolution.
Similarly, adulterers and adulteresses must denounce and
renounce the sin of adultery, vowing to break off the relationship and never
commit adultery again. Anyone returning
with a second confession of adultery should expect increased pressure in the
form of penance. Priests and pastors
have every right to enquire if this is the first incidence of adultery. If the behavior is oft repeated, part of the
penance might include public exposure, as with murder, even if no punishment is
attached by law.
Homosexuals must denounce and renounce the sin of homosexuality,
vowing to break off the relationship and never commit homosexual acts again. Priests and pastors are under no obligation
to commune two males, or two females coming arm and arm to the table. Deacons should firmly guide them away from
the table and explain the nature and the necessity of confession before
communion.
In like manner, sins of Sodomy may not be simply excused in
marriage or in solo. Masturbation is a
serious sin. Priests and pastors have
every obligation to assure themselves that the confessor experiences
healing. So called “69” or “going down
on it” is also a serious sin, even in marriage.
The sinner must be healed if absolution is to have any meaning.
God did not design either male or female genitalia for the anus,
hand, or mouth under any condition. God only
designed male or female genitalia for each other within the state of holy matrimony:
as we learn when God brought Eve to Adam and blessed them.
Hence, all marriages, whether civil or clerical, or even
common law, are holy marriages, not to be trivialized by man. So yes, divorce is a great evil, and ought to
be forbidden. Yet, even Moses, was so overwhelmed
by the wickedness of man that he tolerated divorce, seeking a greater
good. In other words, if genuine remorse
was possible, Moses granted an “economia”, even though divorce is strictly
forbidden in the Law: as are idolatry, usury, slavery, and dozens of other
sins, at which we no longer cringe.
Shame on us.
The key to this is a “need for more careful application of
absolution.” Which is to say, we all
need to do a great deal of learning and thinking about the ways we apply
accountability in our lives and in our churches. We need to listen more carefully to what the
Holy Ghost has to teach from the Word of God.
I have every prayer and sympathy for the pain of many or our
churches as they struggle to be faithful to God.
I have no sympathy for those so-called churches or
individuals that have deliberately set themselves against God: I may only pray
for their genuine repentance and healing.
However, the penalty that they now experience; this they willfully
and deliberately brought upon themselves.
Nevertheless, it gives me no comfort to observe that they
will get what they deserve, since I am a person who has experienced the
kindness and absolution of God, and will not get what I deserve. My penance will continue to be earnestly
sought and maintained by God’s infinite grace, which is also my hope and prayer
for you.
YOS
[1] I
apologize if I am doing this. I have no
desire to talk down to you, or anyone else.
My only desire is to address you as brother or sister, complete equals
in our standing before God. However, I
must strive for completeness. I really
don’t know where you are in your journey before God, as you don’t know where I
am on mine. So perhaps my wisecrack, “Tell
me something I don’t already know,” was uncalled for. I apologize for that too.
[2] The
Logos, Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s Word.
[3] If
you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations, please repost,
share, or use any of them as you wish.
No rights are reserved. They are
designed and intended for your free participation. They were freely received, and are freely
given. No other permission is required
for their use.
No comments:
Post a Comment