I Have Freewill To Obsess On Predestination!

I was reading Exodus this morning and came across the use of the word "freewill" in the Revised Standard Version I am reading. I had been under the impression that "predestinists" claimed the term was not used in Scripture.

For fun, I ran a word search at BibleGateway.com, and here are the results:

Use of word freewill: 22 times
Use of word predestined: 4 times

Seems that freewill wins in this unofficial face off. At the very least, I am heartened to see that the term freewill DOES appear in Scripture. Since the Word can not contradict itself, we must assume there is a way for the two terms to exist in harmony. My answer is that the concept of predestination is applied from God's timeless point of view, who knows all things. He knows the choices we will freely choose to make.

What's yours?

I Now Pronounce You God and Church

At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church: "the Church indeed. . . by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse." (CCC 507)

Wow. That's some deep imagery and symbolism.

The Cathechism also points out that by being born of a virgin, there can be no doubt that Jesus is the Son of God. While God could have brought Jesus into this world through the ordinary means of procreation (namely, an earthly mother AND father), the method he chose provides us with a new Adam. While the old Adam was born of the earth, the new Adam is born of Heaven.

We can further see in Jesus' virgin birth how we too can be "born" into God's family through the Sacrament of Baptism whereby we are given new life "not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (CCC 505). As the Catechism goes on to say:

The acceptance of this [new] life [in Christ] is virginal because it is entirely the Spirit's gift to man. The spousal character of the human vocation in relation to God is fulfilled perfectly in Mary's virginal motherhood.

Again I say, "Wow."

Not My Will, But Yours Be Done

Similarly, at the sixth ecumenical council, Constantinople III in 681, the Church confessed that Christ possesses two wills and two natural operations, divine and human. They are not opposed to each other, but cooperate in such a way that the Word made flesh willed humanly in obedience to his Father all that he had decided divinely with the Father and the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Christ's human will "does not resist or oppose but rather submits to his divine and almighty will." (CCC 475)

Jesus was fully God and fully man. My friends and I have often discussed whether Jesus, the man, new that he was the Son of God, and if so, did he know from his birth or was it slowly revealed to his human nature over time?

I tend to believe that while he knew of his divinity from the beginning, his humanity still had the free will to choose his path in life, and had to consciously choose to follow the divine will of the trinitarian God which is why he can be a role model to us for his obedience.

Remember that when Adam was created, he was in full communion with God just as Jesus was in his humanity. Jesus IS the new Adam because he shared the same humanity of Adam. Where Adam gave into temptation, Jesus resisted and remained obedient to God. His obedience is a model to us, and while our tendency to sin can be overwhelming at times, we can see that it is possible to submit fully to the will of the Father.

(I've written this blog at least three times, and have yet to put my thoughts accurately into words. I suppose smarter theologians than I have tried, and surely they were as frustrated as I, but I suppose that's why its faith, and not science, to understand the mystery of Jesus' dual nature!)

Building Up God's House

This is what the LORD then said to Moses: "Tell the Israelites to take up a collection for me. From every man you shall accept the contribution that his heart prompts him to give me. These are the contributions you shall accept from them: gold, silver and bronze; violet, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; rams' skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst." (Exodus 25:1-8)

I have sometimes heard others wonder aloud why we give our money to build big, fancy churches rather than putting that money to better use such as a charity for orphaned children or AIDS victims. Wouldn't Jesus want us to take care of His children instead of building huge cathedrals?

Certainly we are called to take care of those less fortunate then ourselves, and we should give a portion of our wealth (be it money, time or talent) to those in need. But as Catholics, we also should give a portion of our wealth to building the house of God much as God commanded Moses to do in Exodus 25.

In this chapter we read about God giving specific instructions on how the Jewish people are to construct the ark which will hold the rod, manna, and commandments as well as how to construct what would become the holy of holies where God would reside among His people.

As Catholics, we believe that Christ is present in a unique way when we celebrate the Eucharist. At the moment of the consecration, Jesus is present in body, blood, soul and divinity and remains so as long as the consecrated host and wine turned blood are in our midst. The tabernacle in a Catholic church becomes for us a holy of holies since God is truly residing with us.

For those who are not Catholic (or do not truly believe that Christ is uniquely present in the Eucharist) I can understand why there might be doubt about putting large sums of money into a building. After all, is a gymnasium or a classroom not sufficient for a service which amounts to a bible study given by a wise pastor or minister? In such scenarios I would be inclined to agree that extravagant buildings with rich tapestries, colorful murals and precious metallic accoutrement are simply means of showing off one's wealth.

But if in fact God is truly present in that place, then shouldn't we offer Him the very best that we can? A Catholic Church IS the House of God, and to do anything less than to give him our first fruits would be to disrespect His sovereignty and power.

In Matthew 26:6-11 we see Jesus affirming the actions of a woman who pours costly perfumed oil on Him. His disciples argued that the oil could have been sold to provide for the poor, but Jesus rebukes them stating that the poor will always be there, but He will not always be there. Should we assume then that Jesus covets the oil or claims to be more important than the lowly poor? Surely not. Instead our Lord is affirming the command the Father gave to the Israelites by confirming that they should offer their best for their Messiah.

We as Catholic Christians are called to do nothing less.

Seeing is Believing

You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. (Exodus 20:4-5)

Protestants break this commandment out as a separate one of the ten given to Moses (and combine coveting of neighbor's wife and goods). Many of them will typically point to this commandment when arguing that Catholics use statues and icons in their worship which is forbidden.

I can see where their confusion comes from, but I believe they are misinterpreting this verse in the Old Testament. My understanding of this rule is that God is telling the Israelites to neither (a) create a statue and worship THAT STATUE, nor (b) do not worship created things in place of the Creator. On both counts, Catholics are not at fault. We do not create icons and statues in order to worship the statue itself, nor do we worship any of God's created things.

Some non-Catholics are misguided in thinking that we worship Mary or the saints, both things that are created by God. In fact, we do not worship these men and women, but rather honor them as examples of brothers and sisters who provide models for a grace-filled life and faith in God.

When we place artwork in our churches of Jesus or the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove or a tongue of fire), we are not worshiping the artwork but using it as a visual representation -- something that we can focus our senses on to assist in our prayer life. God incorporates man's senses in to all His covenants. Whether we see a rainbow in the sky, read about Jesus curing a blind man with mud and spit, or see John the Baptist baptizing Christ in the Jordan, we see how God understands that we as humans are created to incorporate our senses into how we worship Him. The very fact that He sent His Son to become man suggests that He desired for us to SEE him in a tangible way.

So do not design a sculpture out of dollar bills and worship the materials in the sculpture. Do not embalm a cow and pray for "udder" happiness. And do not wear a lucky rabbit's foot, a charm bracelet, or carry a special coin in your pocket and place your faith in the object itself. But if you hang a crucifix in your home, or burn incense, or place a holy card of St Christopher in your car to serve as reminders that we should trust in God and turn to Him at all times, then delight your senses while proclaiming Him as the Lord your God!

"As We Forgive Others..."

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)

Do you ever stop to think about the meaning behind the words in the Lord's Prayer? During Mass we pray, "... forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others who trespass against us." We are literally asking God to forgive us in the same manner as we forgive others. That kind of goes back to the Golden Rule. When I review some of the grudges I have held on to in the past and consider how I would feel about God holding similar grudges against myself, I begin to see how I need to focus more on the words "as we forgive others" rather than the "forgive us."

Witness to the Trinity

The title "Son of God" signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God his Father: he is the only Son of the Father; he is God himself. To be a Christian, one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (CCC 454)

from Has the Witness Committed Perjury?:
"When I look up a definition for 'Christian' I begin to see how Jehovah's (and other unlikely faiths) claim Christianity on a technicality. The term Christian is defined generically as 'a person who is a follower of Jesus and his teachings,' and Christ is defined merely as 'the anointed one or messiah.' I'm certain a Jehovah would admit that Jesus is a key figure in their beliefs, being that he is the "new Adam" now residing in Heaven as God's right hand man."

I was thinking about my blog entry earlier this month regarding the faith of the Watchtower Society. It still bothers me that they claim to be Christians when so much of what they claim to believe is contrary to what a Christian professes.

Before a friendly, neighborhood Jehovah argues that Jesus (aka Michael, the archangel) can be the son yet not God, I submit for evidence John 1:1 and John 1:14 to be read together in context. (I looked these verses up in the Witness' translation of Holy Scripture and see that they refer to the word as "was a god" rather than "was God" (note the lack of uppercase letter in the former):

John 1:1
New World Translation:
In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.

New American Bible:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14
New World Translation:
So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth.

New American Bible:
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.

Based on the New World Translation, I gather that a JW may claim belief in Jesus' sonship, but must not profess faith in the Trinity. However, the early Church was very clear in stating that the "consubstantial trinity" exists as three persons in one God.That Truth is a central dogma of the Christian faith.