With the recent Democratic win I've heard some religious Republicans going on about how the country is going to go to hell, and I've seen petitions asking Obama to consider the Christian position on abortion, gay rights, and other issues.
Now, I'm about as Catholic as they come, and yet...I wonder whether we really should be legislating morality.
I guess I don't understand. For one thing, the religious right is selective about what it chooses to legislate. They go after gay marriage because they say it's immoral, and yet they don't make a move to herd people into church, or stop using the Lord's name in vain, or stop adultering (adulterating? adulterring? committing adultery.). I guess some things are absolutely protected under the Bill of Rights, but it just seems like the religious right picks and chooses what it deems as immoral, and uses morality as an excuse to legislate those things.
I also don't understand the overall goal of passing laws based on morality. Perhaps people just don't want to live in a country where those things happen. Well, I have news for ya...those things are going to happen, regardless of laws. Perhaps people think that they're saving souls, that if citizens don't have the opportunity to sin that they'll go to Heaven. I don't know if that's true, that if someone avoids sin out of a desire to stay on the right side of the law that it's the same as avoiding sin out of love of God.
What I do know is that I've never seen someone improve the way they live because they were bullied into it. I also know that I have seen people improve the way they live because they were inspired by someone's example, or touched by someone's love.
Maybe I really am a lousy Catholic because I think this way. I'd be open to hearing someone else's opinion. But this is the way I feel now.
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3 comments:
Danulai,
"Legislating morality" began when God said to Adam "Thou shalt not..." The Ten Commandments are still in effect, though many disregard them. Laws are a tool to help us remember what is good and bad when reason fails us due to stressful circumstance or to conscience malfunction. Law is helpful to those who really want to do the right thing. Just as important, law protects the vulnerable from the 'might is right' dynamic that is ubiquitous in today's world, ensuring some level of justice and preservation of human rights. Laws need to be stated explicitly or confusion and loss of justice results.
God bless.
i'll be honest. i'm not wild about how any religion, in particular catholocism (being a former catholic myself) tries to manipulate people through the threat of divine punishment. the hypocrisy of most religious and moral organizations does little to instill any sort of respect i have for them, any of them.
there isn't a one of them that doesn't demand that their believers hate someone.
the most scary thing to me is that there are people who are willing to die for such monstrosities of thinking.
it's all about power. who has it, who doesn't and who wants it.
yeah, i'm cynical.
Where there is a false religion that manipulates its followers by any means, then that is a truly scary situation. Where there are hypocritical religionists (i.e. wolves posing as shepherds) who misuse their authentic religious beliefs or office to manipulate followers, then that also is scary. But all are answerable to God, whether or not any believe in Him, and Who, by His own report in the Scriptures, does not take kindly to anyone leading his children astray.
The reality of false religions and false prophets, however, does not prove that all religion is false. It only proves that there is a spiritual battle going on for men's souls, between goodness and evil, and the struggle for power by those to whom it does not belong, as power rightfully is God's alone.
The official teaching of the Catholic Church does not teach anyone to hate any person for any reason. Catholic teaching does, however, instruct us to hate evil, ie, anything that goes against love, love being defined as doing the best for someone's welfare, not simple desires. The Ten Commandments are a good summary of love.
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