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?

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."

All from one and One for All

All men are implicated in Adam's sin, as St Paul affirms: "By one man's disobedience many [that is all men] were made sinners": "sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned..." The apostle contrasts the universality of sin and death with the universality of salvation in Christ. "Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.: (CCC 402)

Romans 5:18 shows us yet another reason to dismiss the concept of an elect group God has chosen for salvation. If we can agree that ALL men are prone to sin as a result of one man's disobedience in the garden, then it should be apparent that God's plan of salvation, in motion since the first moment of man's fall, would be to reconcile ALL men to Him again.

There are too many verses in Scripture which indicate that Christ died for all men to afford a belief in a predetermined elect group. Instead, the elect are merely those men who respond to the invitation each of us has received. Our free will determines our membership in the elect groups Scripture repeatedly references.

When Your Life Is "In The Pit"

"And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, "Behold, we are your servants." But Joseph said to them, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones." (Genesis 50:17-21)

Now I don't know of many pits where I live, but I'm pretty sure that if my siblings tossed me in one and left me for thieves to find me and sell me into slavery, I'd probably be inclined to hold a grudge against them and plot ways to get even should I ever be given the opportunity. Yet here we have Joseph, who never considered a negative response to his predicament. He was a slave and a prisoner as a result of actions out of his control, yet as a result of his faith and good will, God used his situation, not just to Joseph's personal success, but to the safety and well being of all of Egypt and Canaan.

In the story of Joseph and Egypt, we see that God can (and often does) take a bad situation and use it to His advantage. But for His plan to work, we have to accept the unfortunate situations that we are given, and remain faithful to God in the midst of our suffering. In that regard, our free will does play a role in God's salvation plan.

Consider if Joseph had taken his brothers into slavery when they came to him for food. Similarly, what if Noah had chosen not to heed God's advice to build an ark? What if Mary had said "No" to God's plan? Would God have failed in His plan to reconcile man to Himself? Unlikely -- He is God and He can do anything. Likely He would have worked with other events in history to bring about salvation, and we would now be honoring a Rebekah or a Therese as our blessed mother.

Our call then is to graciously accept our lot in life, and know that although it may seem pointless that we should have to suffer unnecessarily, perhaps if we handle our grief with humility and faith, a thousand years from now humanity will look back and credit our heroic struggles as part of God's redemptive plan.

Not Such A "Little Angel" After All

St. Augustine says: "'Angel' is the name of the office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit,' from what they do, 'angel.'" With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they "always behold the face of my Father who is in Heaven" they are the "mighty ones who do His word, hearkening to the voice of His word." (CCC 329)

As good as It's A Wonderful Life is, it imparts an incorrect understanding of angels. Angels are not what becomes of men when they die and go to Heaven. Angels are a separate creature created by God to be his heavenly messengers. Among the many examples in Scripture, we can see that they closed the earthly paradise (Gen 3:24), protected Lot (Gen 19:15), saved Hagar and her child (Gen 21:17), stayed Abraham's hand (Gen 22:12), led the People of God (Exodus 23:23), assisted the prophets (Judges 6:11; Isaiah 6:6; 1 Kings 19:5), and announced the birth of Christ and His precursor (Luke 1:19, 26; Luke 2:13-14) .

While the creation of angels are not explicitly stated in the Bible, their existence is. The Church proclaims that angels were created prior to man in the fourth Lateran Council (1). Since they do not have corporeal bodies like us, their response to God's love did not require time and reflection to grow and mature. As soon as they were created and received grace, they had the opportunity to respond to God's love and thus be welcomed into bliss (2). Tradition also tells us that some of these spiritual creatures rebelled against God when they learned that their role included serving mankind. The leader of these fallen spirits was Satan, who was the tempter in the garden.

From "On the Celestial Hierarchies" authored by St Dionysius, we have a listing the hierarchy of the angelic ranks in order of their proximity to God: Seraphim (Isaiah 6:2), Cherubim (Numbers 7:89), Thrones (1 Col 1:16), Dominions (1 Col 1:16), Virtues (Eph 1:21), Powers (1 Col 1:16), Principalities (1 Col 1:16), Archangels (1 Thess 4:15), and Angels.

The general doctrine that the angels are our appointed guardians is considered to be a point of faith, but that each individual member of the human race has his own individual guardian angel is not of faith. (3) However, several doctors of the Church taught that the angels were indeed our guardians and in the Gospels we find some support: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father" (Matt 18:10).

While angels are a unique creation of God in that they are purely spiritual, man is equally unique in that among all of God's creation only humans are both spiritual and corporeal (CCC 327). Just as Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven, we believe that upon our final judgment our glorified bodies will be resurrected and joined once again with our spiritual nature, and thus we will not be angels, but sons of God in eternal communion with Him. All I can say to that is "Alleluia!" for I am not having much success with this non-glorified body I've been given here on Earth!

Sorry Clarence, but there's no need to listen for the ring of Zuzu Bailey's bell. Her teacher was mistaken.

Faith of Our Fathers

God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son. (Genesis 22:8)

A man waits faithfully for one hundred years to have his only son by his wife as promised by God. And then God commands him to go out and kill that son as a sacrifice for Him, and he does it without question, even up to the point that he has the son strapped to the altar with a knife raised. THAT is steadfast faith in God. I do not have it, and must admit that it would be a hard thing even to ask for as truthfully I do not want to be put to a similar test of faith.

But is the story of Abraham and Isaac not a fantastic foreshadowing to the redemptive act of God when He offers His only Son as a sacrifice to us? Even more so that we celebrate that act of supreme love each week upon an altar? And that in God's mercy, we celebrate that act not with knives and fire, but with the simple species of bread and wine? Our God certainly likes His paradoxes.

Blasphemy!

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. (Mark 3:29)

As a Catholic I have always been taught that this verse tells us that the only unforgivable sin is that of despair. To despair by turning one's back on God and refusing to accept that He can forgive our sins is in effect blaspheming His name. It is blasphemous to suggest that God is incapable of granting us forgiveness when we err. If we choose to turn our back on Him and deny Him, we will be left unforgiven and hardened of heart.

Gomorrah No-More-Ah

for we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it. (Genesis 19:13)

I often wonder just how bad the people in Sodom were to incur the wrath of God? Then I think of modern times and wonder how far we are from suffering a similar fate?

Random Thoughts - I

Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar and called on the name of the Lord. (Gen 12:8)

According to wikipedia, Bethel is north of Jerusalem and Bethlehem is south of Jerusalem. I thought we had learned in Bible Study that it was the same city which I found interesting since it would suggest that Jesus' Jewish ancestry, going all the way back to Abraham, all revolved around the same exact spot. Either way, the Old Testament makes one pause to consider the spans of generations it covers, especially for Americans, whose country is just over 200 years old.

But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sar'ai, Abram's wife. (Gen 12:17)

It's no wonder Judaism was never adopted in Egypt! The house of Pharaoh was inflicted not once, but twice by the God of the Jews! Makes one wonder why Pharaoh in Moses' time was so unbelieving after the first of God's plagues. Just further proof that history repeats itself yet man never seems to take notice...

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

The last words of Peter Parker's uncle Ben before he dies make up the title of this entry. I don't think we need to be able to shoot webs from our wrists for that statement to apply to ourselves.


I can remember at one time believing (and making jokes about) the fact that woman was responsible for the fall of man! After all, she was the one that ate from the tree first, and then brought a piece to share with her husband who would have trusted her, as his wife, not to lead him into danger.

Only later did a wise person point out that had Adam been vigilant in his role as protector of his wife, perhaps the serpent might never have been able to tempt her. A tough pill to swallow for all of us husbands!

I also read a recent thread on Phatmass' forums questioning a hypothetical scenario in which the woman ate of the tree, but the man refused. Would we now be an all male society? Would God have taken another rib and perfected the woman? Would Eve have been kicked out of the garden without alimony thus making divorce acceptable in God's eyes?

Amidst these humorous responses, the idea was brought forth that if man and woman become one flesh in marriage, do they share in their sins? As mentioned above, Adam was at fault even before taking a bite of the fruit by not being a protector to his wife. If my wife sins because I as her husband was not their to help her in her holiness, am I also guilty for my lack of aid?

Feminists don't realize what they are giving up by trivializing the role of the man. Then again are we as men not responsible for giving them a reason to downplay our role in society? Perhaps if we were the providers and protectors that we were created to be, rather than the selfish, immature boys that we tend to be, women would not have the notion to downplay our necessity.

I think it's time men took Uncle Ben's last words as their personal mantra, and learn from the mistakes our forefathers made. Might I suggest all men consider becoming an e5 man, and put charity toward women in your lives higher on your priority list? Looking in the mirror, I realize this will require large quantities of discipline and prayer. Will you join me?

If Wisdom Comes With Age, Adam Was A Wise Guy!

Thus all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. (Gen 5:5)

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to be a part of a men's Bible Study group. At the time, one of the gentleman asked why we separated the men and women for this study. Aside from just personal choice, we pointed out that men tend to want explanations on the literal sense of the Bible while women tend to accept the message without sweating the details. The lifetimes of the early humans is a perfect example.

The question came up early in Genesis regarding the ages of the patriarchs of our faith. We naturally looked for any official Church teaching and finding none, began to put forth reasons this might be. Some leaned on the fact that the story of Creation was not meant to be take quite so literally, and that ages were merely symbolic of the importance of each person. Others suggested that in those years, time was not measured in the same sense that we think of it -- the Roman calendar and the cuckoo clock were yet to be discovered Still others reasoned that God ordered long life spans in order to allow time for the people to be fruitful enough to populate the world!

I like to think that it stems from the fact that our original parents ate from the Tree of Life while in Eden. The fruit from that tree would have gained them eternal life with the Father. When they were tossed out on their heels for their sin, the effects of that fruit did not immediately subside. Therefore we see throughout Genesis that the ages of our earliest ancestors were great in number, but generally dropped off as the amount of time since the fall of man increased.

Note that this is not official Church teaching. They do not speculate on age just as they do not specify whether a Catholic in good standing must believe in Creation or Evolution or some combination of the two. She only requires that "by faith we understand that the universe was ordered by the Word of God, so that what is visible came into being through the invisible" (Hebrews 11:3). Further more, the Church recognizes that the early chapters of Genesis "remain the principal source for catechesis on the mysteries of the 'beginning': creation, fall, and promise of salvation" (CCC 289).

But alas, the debate between Creation and Evolution is best left for another entry.