Is Christianity Intolerant?

This is a claim that is thrown at Christianity a great deal. The claim goes somewhere along these lines: we are intolerant of other faiths because we believe in the Words of our Lord that He is the Way the Truth and the Life. Some how we are expected to be apologetic over our beliefs, that this whole Jesus or nothing stance is intolerant. That Christianity is not accepting of who people are. Here is what the great Bishop Fulton Sheen had to say about the intolerance claim:

Christian love bears evil, but it does not tolerate it.

It does penance for the sins of others, but it is not broadminded about sin.

The cry for tolerance never induces it to quench its hatred of the evil philosophies that have entered into contest with the Truth.

It forgives the sinner, and it hates the sin; it is unmerciful to the error in his mind.

The sinner it will always take back into the bosom of the Mystical Body;
but his lie will never be taken into the treasury of His Wisdom.

Real love involves real hatred:
whoever has lost the power of moral indignation and the urge to drive the buyers and sellers from the temples
has also lost a living, fervent love of Truth.

Charity, then, is not a mild philosophy of "live and let live";
it is not a species of sloppy sentiment.

Charity is the infusion of the Spirit of God,
which makes us love the beautiful and hate the morally ugly.

So in a way Christianity is intolerant. It is a faith that is intolerant of sin because our Lord was. However, one of the great mysteries of Christianity is that while it is indeed intolerant of sin it is the only religion that is truly tolerant of the sinner. It is the only faith that really accepts people for who they really are, sinners. It does not sugar coat or place false masks on who people are. Because"...all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God..."

God bless

Which Church Father are you?

You are St. Justin Martyr!

You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers.

I am not sure about that nor am I sure if this shows the accuracy of the test or not but it is all in fun.

Take the quiz:

http://www.fathersofthechurch.com/quiz

Pax tecum!

We are back!

Wow it has been over two years since our last post. A lot has gone on since our last post and keeping up with a blog was difficult. We finished college, got married, moved and bought a home and most importantly we welcomed a new member into our family who was Baptized in our new Parish.

Anyways to get things started again we think we will post today's Gospel reading from our most Holy Church:

Mark 2: 18 - 22
18	Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"
19	And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20	The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.
21	No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; if he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.
22	And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins."

God bless you all!

Abba

I want to surrender daily to Your plans for my life. I know that when You call, You equip. I acknowledge that if You should call me to the most remote places on earth, You will move Your people to help send me.

Strengthen my conviction that Jesus is the only Savior for the world and fortify my resolve to proclaim that truth even when the enemy would oppose me. Holy Spirit, embolden me to live the gospel at home, at work, and everywhere I go in this world so that Your salvation may reach the ends of the earth. Amen

Pax Tecum

G.K. Chesterton:

Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all. If you are merely a sceptic, you must sooner or later ask yourself the question, "Why should anything go right; even observation and deduction? Why should not good logic be as misleading as bad logic? They are both movements in the mind of a bewildered ape?" The young sceptic says, "I have a right to think for myself." But the old sceptic, the complete sceptic, says, "I have no right to think for myself. I have no right to think at all. -G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy

Hebrews 4:11-16:

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Saint of the Day:

St. Thomas Becket (1118-1170)

A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December 29, 1170.

His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162), resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life!

Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven years. When he returned to England, he suspected it would mean certain death. Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops favored by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral.

Thomas Becket remains a hero-saint down to our own times.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1244

Pax Tecum

The Immaculate Conception:

December 8th is a Holy day of obligation for Catholics. The Immaculate Conception is often misunderstood by non-Catholics and Catholics alike. The Immaculate Conception is not the same as the Virgin Birth, rather it is the doctrine of the Church that Mary, the Mother of God was conceived without the stain of original sin. A lot of people take exception to this doctrine thinking that this equates Mary to some level of divinity. This is not so. Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin by the Grace of God, not by her own doing. Since it is a Holy day of obligation I invite everyone to take the time to read up on the Immacute Conception.

For further reading on the Immaculate Conception:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm


Pax Tecum