The process of being elevated to paradise involves a radical self-transformation, and many people are afraid that, during that transformation, they might lose some pivotal element of themselves. This post is intended to address these remaining concerns.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Wouldn't Be Free to Make Decisions in Heaven.
Answer: Once again, as stated in post 2, Heaven does not effect one's ability to make choices or take actions. Your nature remains the same, and you know, at all times, what the right thing to do is, but you can still make decisions from time to time.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Wouldn't Be Powerful, Wise or Rich Enough to be Happy in Heaven.
Answer: Again, since Heaven contains all good things, and perfects everyone, you would be powerful, wise and rich enough in Heaven to be happy.
Fear: I'm Afraid that There Won't Be Adversaries in Heaven, Which Would Make it Boring, Right?
Answer: Heaven contains everything which is good, including all appropriate challenges to bring pleasure and contentment. These challenges just don't endanger, or cause harm anymore. Again, a good example is a video game, or simulation, in which one can test their skills, but they have extra lives in case they mess up.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I'd Lose My Identity in Heaven; Becoming Just One Part of Some Cosmic Collective, Without Self-Identity.
Answer: As stated before, God does everything for a purpose. Therefore, he made human beings for a purpose as well, and he is quite capable of being a perfect collective, without our help. However, if he were to "assimilate" us; just turning us into tiny little clones of himself, there would be no purpose to that, since it would neither add to nor take away from his perfect union. Therefore, we will remain distinct and unique individuals, even if we go to Heaven.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Feelings in Heaven.
Answer: Again, we need to keep in mind these two principles; God does everything for a purpose, and Heaven brings everything to perfection. This includes our feelings. We wouldn't lose them, but they would be improved upon, so that instead of being utterly subjective, they would add to our appreciation of the truth, rather than taking away from it.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Will in Heaven.
Answer: The saints don't eradicate their own will, as some suppose. Rather, they make decisions, by their will, which conform with God's decisions, and since God's decisions are to work for the best, they also decide to work for the best. In short, your will would be perfected; not lost.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Intellect in Heaven.
Answer: The intellect would not be lost, but brought to perfection, just like everything else.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Physical Appearance or Physical Quirks in Heaven.
Answer: Appearance and physical quirks are another utterly subjective element, which we may identify with in passing on Earth, but like everything else, the appearance of people would be brought to perfection in Heaven. However, again, since appearance is subjective, its perfection is merely in its conformity to our will. Therefore, the saints in Heaven look just the way they wish to.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Memories in Heaven.
Answer: Like everything else, memories would be brought to perfection in Heaven. This means that the saints see what happened to them in this life with a greater clarity, and an understanding of God's purpose through it all. However, they don't lose their memories, as such.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Losing My Friends/Relatives in Heaven.
Answer: With the perfection of our intellects, losing track of the people we cared about in life would be impossible, and with perfected emotions, our relationships with them would be far superior to the ones we had on Earth.
Fear: I'm Afraid of Being in Heaven, and Losing My Friends/Relatives in Hell.
Answer: As previously stated, our wills, feelings and intellects would be perfected in Heaven, and we'd have a depth of judgement not possible in this life. Because of this, if anyone didn't make it to Heaven, we would understand why, and we would see God's condemnation of them as an act of respect for their freedom of choice. Furthermore, it would be an exercise of God's perfect justice, which we would love more than any human attachment.
Fear: I'm afraid of losing my selfishness/irritability/anger/some other negative character trait.
Answer: Insofar as these traits are capable of bringing about good, or being used in good ways, we would retain perfected versions of them in Heaven. Our personal distinctiveness, as stated before, would remain; but not the dangerous opportunity of sin.
Fear: I'm afraid I might not make it to Heaven.
Answer: Now you're on the right track.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Why Are You Afraid of Heaven; Part 2; Others.
There are many other people, things and states of being in Heaven, which cause people fear. This post will deal with those; first angels, then sources of our own happiness, then other human beings.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Can't Trust the Angels in Heaven.
Answer: Heaven is a state of closeness to God so complete, that everyone and everything exposed to it must become perfect.
"but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Revelation 21:27
Therefore, the angels in Heaven are perfect, and can be completely trusted, just as God can be. The same is true for the saints in Heaven.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Eternity Would Seem Like Being Frozen in Time.
Answer: Being frozen in time means being unable to take any action, but this is not the case with eternal beings, like God and the angels, who can take action. To learn the nature of eternity, it helps to study the state of God's being. Although God can act wherever and whenever he pleases, his essential nature does not change.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Many people neglect the fact that eternity is BIGGER than time, not smaller. Being in eternity makes it impossible to change the nature of who you are, but it does not forbid you from taking any action.
Fear: I'm Afraid that the Nature of Eternity Would Make Missions, Accomplishments, Adventures, Etc, Impossible, Because Things Need to Progress Forward Through Time if you Want to Experience Any of That.
Answer: Since eternity makes actions possible, but not changes to your fundamental nature, missions, accomplishments and adventures are the very sorts of things that it does not make impossible. Furthermore, being eternal also means being able to experience every adventure in the world simultaneously, without ever sacrificing your own genuine safety. A bit like playing a hundred thousand video games at once, without any risk of being overwhelmed.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Heaven Won't Have Animals, Plants, Mountains, Etc...
Answer: Heaven will contain the perfections of everything that was good here on Earth. Therefore, it will contain not only animals, plants, mountains, etc, but perfect animals, plants and mountains, all perfected by God.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Heaven Will Consist Only of a Bunch of People, Running Around Serving Each Other, and Never Enjoying Anything.
Answer: When one is exposed to absolute perfection, enjoyment of it is guaranteed, no matter what else you happen to be doing. Therefore, even if we did spend time serving one another in Heaven, it wouldn't lessen our enjoyment, as it does on Earth.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Everyone in Heaven Will Be Boring.
Answer: To be boring means to fall short of perfection in some area, and God's presence in Heaven perfects everyone, as stated above. Therefore, no on in Heaven will be boring.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Somebody in Heaven Will Have it Out For Me.
Answer: As stated above with the angels, the saints in Heaven are trustworthy. Therefore, no one in Heaven has it out for you.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Can't Trust the Angels in Heaven.
Answer: Heaven is a state of closeness to God so complete, that everyone and everything exposed to it must become perfect.
"but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Revelation 21:27
Therefore, the angels in Heaven are perfect, and can be completely trusted, just as God can be. The same is true for the saints in Heaven.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Eternity Would Seem Like Being Frozen in Time.
Answer: Being frozen in time means being unable to take any action, but this is not the case with eternal beings, like God and the angels, who can take action. To learn the nature of eternity, it helps to study the state of God's being. Although God can act wherever and whenever he pleases, his essential nature does not change.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8
Many people neglect the fact that eternity is BIGGER than time, not smaller. Being in eternity makes it impossible to change the nature of who you are, but it does not forbid you from taking any action.
Fear: I'm Afraid that the Nature of Eternity Would Make Missions, Accomplishments, Adventures, Etc, Impossible, Because Things Need to Progress Forward Through Time if you Want to Experience Any of That.
Answer: Since eternity makes actions possible, but not changes to your fundamental nature, missions, accomplishments and adventures are the very sorts of things that it does not make impossible. Furthermore, being eternal also means being able to experience every adventure in the world simultaneously, without ever sacrificing your own genuine safety. A bit like playing a hundred thousand video games at once, without any risk of being overwhelmed.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Heaven Won't Have Animals, Plants, Mountains, Etc...
Answer: Heaven will contain the perfections of everything that was good here on Earth. Therefore, it will contain not only animals, plants, mountains, etc, but perfect animals, plants and mountains, all perfected by God.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Heaven Will Consist Only of a Bunch of People, Running Around Serving Each Other, and Never Enjoying Anything.
Answer: When one is exposed to absolute perfection, enjoyment of it is guaranteed, no matter what else you happen to be doing. Therefore, even if we did spend time serving one another in Heaven, it wouldn't lessen our enjoyment, as it does on Earth.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Everyone in Heaven Will Be Boring.
Answer: To be boring means to fall short of perfection in some area, and God's presence in Heaven perfects everyone, as stated above. Therefore, no on in Heaven will be boring.
Fear: I'm Afraid that Somebody in Heaven Will Have it Out For Me.
Answer: As stated above with the angels, the saints in Heaven are trustworthy. Therefore, no one in Heaven has it out for you.
Why Are You Afraid of Heaven; Part 1; God.
The First possible reason to be afraid of Heaven is God, and what he wants from us. This can be divided into two categories; a lack of trust in the nature of God, and a lack of trust in his will for us. This post will address each in turn.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Can't Trust God to Make Me Happy in Heaven.
Answer: God is the source of all Truth.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
Jesus specifically says here that he is the truth, and therefore, he cannot lie. Some have a problem with this claim, saying that because God is omnipotent, he can do anything; even lie. However, this is specifically denied in the Summa Theologica; when the question is brought up of whether or not God can sin.
"To sin is to fall short of a perfect action; hence to be able to sin is to be able to fall short in action, which is repugnant to omnipotence. Therefore it is that God cannot sin, because of His omnipotence."
Summa Theologica, First Part, Question 25, Article 3
Because God can neither sin, nor lie, nor deliberately cause any harm, he can be perfectly trusted to provide people with happiness in his presence.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God's Heavenly Happiness Would Seem Somehow Artificial, Like a Drug.
Answer: "God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:27
Since we only exist because God designed us, there is no one better to repair us when we're injured or unfulfilled, or aren't performing at peak efficiency. For example, if a technician designs a thousand cars; all based on the same design, he knows which kinds of oil and gasoline will be best for running them, and if, as stated above, that technician was also incapable of lying, then he would need to service each car properly when it was brought to him for repairs.
Now, the fuel that our souls need is happiness. Because of this, the happiness that God could provide us with is guaranteed to be much purer and more reliable than the kind found in any other place, and furthermore, it would feel more natural to us than the happinesses of this life; not less natural, because this happiness is what we were originally designed to run on. Therefore, God's happiness wouldn't feel artificial.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Desire Any Good Things Other Than Him.
Answer: "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
Therefore, God does all things for some purpose, though we might not understand it immediately. Now, God clearly created the physical universe, and he wouldn't have done this, if it served only to distract people from him. Therefore, God wants us to love both himself and his creations. However, he wants us to love his creations because of their goodness, so since he's more good than any creation, he wants us to love him more than any creation.
The real hang-up about this point is that I've often heard it said that we have to stay detached from things that are "not God." In order to understand these words, one needs to understand, at least on some level; the nature of God.
"Hence it is manifest that God alone has every kind of perfection by His own essence"
Summa Theologica; First Part, Question 6, Article 3
In short, in order to be the standard by which all good things are judged, God needs to have the combined and infinitely magnified goodnesses of everyone and everything you've ever seen, and much more besides. This paints a much different picture of God than the conventional one. Suddenly, he is both perfect being and perfect universe. Since the imperfect universe is only imperfect by relation to him, he must be perfect in ways that the universe is not, and must be able to fill the same void in human beings that the universe does, but to a much greater degree.
To simplify it, "worldly things" just means imperfect things, but "Godly things" means things that are perfect. To say that in Heaven, jars, or golf, or tea will come to a screeching halt is a bit incomplete, since God is the perfection of jars, the perfection of golf, the perfection of tea, etc... We look forward to his beauty, so that we can finally enjoy his perfection, and furthermore, the perfection of those around him as well, since no one can enter Heaven without being perfected.
This is a big issue when reading the writings of the saints, because most of them understood this so much, that it was almost second nature to them, but when they compared God and the world, and said that they loved God more than the world, they viewed God as more of a universe than a man. To say that you love sitting in a blank room with one man; no matter how fantastic, more than the entire world is a little silly, but to say that you love God's perfection AS a world more than the physical world's imperfection is far less silly, and in fact, is really very reasonable.
So, God does want us to desire good things in addition to him, but what he really wants is for us to desire the perfect things found only in his being/universe.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Have Any Fears.
Answer: "I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one."
Luke 12:5
Therefore, God clearly wants us to be afraid; at least in this life. However, in Heaven, no one has the power to cast you into Gehenna. Therefore, there would be no one to be afraid of there.
The problem is that many people think of fear as being the same thing as thrills and excitement, and it's not. Thrills and excitement are good things, felt when we're experiencing pleasure, while fear is an unpleasant emotion felt when we or someone/something we care about is in danger. It can paralyze us, and keep us from reaching our full potential, and we wouldn't really mind losing our fears, if the source of those fears was gone; provided that we could still experience pleasant thrills.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Have Any Dreams or Ambitions.
Answer: As with fears, hopes would cease to be in paradise; not because of despair, but because there's no reason to hope when you already have what you hope for. Being in possession of happiness, and every other good thing would make ambitions obsolete.
However, in this life, we don't have everything we could desire, and because of that, hope, dreams and ambitions towards perfection are not only good, but a virtue.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Fulfill Any Ambitions in Heaven.
Answer: Being truly happy means having all good things, all at once and constantly. Since "good things" are anything which can be desired for their own sake, heavenly happiness means having everything desirable. Therefore, all possible ambitions would be fulfilled by heavenly happiness.
Fear: I'm Afraid that I Can't Trust God to Make Me Happy in Heaven.
Answer: God is the source of all Truth.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
Jesus specifically says here that he is the truth, and therefore, he cannot lie. Some have a problem with this claim, saying that because God is omnipotent, he can do anything; even lie. However, this is specifically denied in the Summa Theologica; when the question is brought up of whether or not God can sin.
"To sin is to fall short of a perfect action; hence to be able to sin is to be able to fall short in action, which is repugnant to omnipotence. Therefore it is that God cannot sin, because of His omnipotence."
Summa Theologica, First Part, Question 25, Article 3
Because God can neither sin, nor lie, nor deliberately cause any harm, he can be perfectly trusted to provide people with happiness in his presence.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God's Heavenly Happiness Would Seem Somehow Artificial, Like a Drug.
Answer: "God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them."
Genesis 1:27
Since we only exist because God designed us, there is no one better to repair us when we're injured or unfulfilled, or aren't performing at peak efficiency. For example, if a technician designs a thousand cars; all based on the same design, he knows which kinds of oil and gasoline will be best for running them, and if, as stated above, that technician was also incapable of lying, then he would need to service each car properly when it was brought to him for repairs.
Now, the fuel that our souls need is happiness. Because of this, the happiness that God could provide us with is guaranteed to be much purer and more reliable than the kind found in any other place, and furthermore, it would feel more natural to us than the happinesses of this life; not less natural, because this happiness is what we were originally designed to run on. Therefore, God's happiness wouldn't feel artificial.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Desire Any Good Things Other Than Him.
Answer: "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28
Therefore, God does all things for some purpose, though we might not understand it immediately. Now, God clearly created the physical universe, and he wouldn't have done this, if it served only to distract people from him. Therefore, God wants us to love both himself and his creations. However, he wants us to love his creations because of their goodness, so since he's more good than any creation, he wants us to love him more than any creation.
The real hang-up about this point is that I've often heard it said that we have to stay detached from things that are "not God." In order to understand these words, one needs to understand, at least on some level; the nature of God.
"Hence it is manifest that God alone has every kind of perfection by His own essence"
Summa Theologica; First Part, Question 6, Article 3
In short, in order to be the standard by which all good things are judged, God needs to have the combined and infinitely magnified goodnesses of everyone and everything you've ever seen, and much more besides. This paints a much different picture of God than the conventional one. Suddenly, he is both perfect being and perfect universe. Since the imperfect universe is only imperfect by relation to him, he must be perfect in ways that the universe is not, and must be able to fill the same void in human beings that the universe does, but to a much greater degree.
To simplify it, "worldly things" just means imperfect things, but "Godly things" means things that are perfect. To say that in Heaven, jars, or golf, or tea will come to a screeching halt is a bit incomplete, since God is the perfection of jars, the perfection of golf, the perfection of tea, etc... We look forward to his beauty, so that we can finally enjoy his perfection, and furthermore, the perfection of those around him as well, since no one can enter Heaven without being perfected.
This is a big issue when reading the writings of the saints, because most of them understood this so much, that it was almost second nature to them, but when they compared God and the world, and said that they loved God more than the world, they viewed God as more of a universe than a man. To say that you love sitting in a blank room with one man; no matter how fantastic, more than the entire world is a little silly, but to say that you love God's perfection AS a world more than the physical world's imperfection is far less silly, and in fact, is really very reasonable.
So, God does want us to desire good things in addition to him, but what he really wants is for us to desire the perfect things found only in his being/universe.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Have Any Fears.
Answer: "I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one."
Luke 12:5
Therefore, God clearly wants us to be afraid; at least in this life. However, in Heaven, no one has the power to cast you into Gehenna. Therefore, there would be no one to be afraid of there.
The problem is that many people think of fear as being the same thing as thrills and excitement, and it's not. Thrills and excitement are good things, felt when we're experiencing pleasure, while fear is an unpleasant emotion felt when we or someone/something we care about is in danger. It can paralyze us, and keep us from reaching our full potential, and we wouldn't really mind losing our fears, if the source of those fears was gone; provided that we could still experience pleasant thrills.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Have Any Dreams or Ambitions.
Answer: As with fears, hopes would cease to be in paradise; not because of despair, but because there's no reason to hope when you already have what you hope for. Being in possession of happiness, and every other good thing would make ambitions obsolete.
However, in this life, we don't have everything we could desire, and because of that, hope, dreams and ambitions towards perfection are not only good, but a virtue.
Fear: I'm Afraid that God Doesn't Want Me to Fulfill Any Ambitions in Heaven.
Answer: Being truly happy means having all good things, all at once and constantly. Since "good things" are anything which can be desired for their own sake, heavenly happiness means having everything desirable. Therefore, all possible ambitions would be fulfilled by heavenly happiness.
Truth & Life Dramatized Audio New Testament
By Zondervan
Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 4 of 5
This is a different translation of the bible than I'm used to, but word for word, it's all accurate enough. For this reason, I feel no hesitation about giving it five for five on the Catholic-ometer.
On top of this, they managed to get some fantastic voice talent on board for this project; with John Rhys-Davies and Malcolm Mcdowell being among the most recognizable voices in the cast, and admittedly, some of the best as well.
The sound effects are perfect as well; sounding entirely right and being put in at just the right places.
So why didn't I get perfect enjoyment out of this?
Well, the background music is a little blah, and repeats endlessly in most chapters, but that's not the real problem.
I don't know whose fault this was; whether it was something the actors brought up, or whether it's the director's fault, or whether the producers just stepped in and said "no" at a certain point, but when the actors speak their lines, there's a frequent sense that they're not really involved in what they're saying.
Don't get me wrong. They sound interested when they should be interested, and nervous when they should be nervous, and incredulous when they should be incredulous, but they also sound incredulous when they should be sad, and nervous when they should be angry. Jesus sounds more curious than angry when calling the pharasees a brood of vipers, and Saint Paul reflects very little discomfort when talking to the Galatians, who he was furious with.
It seems like there was some wrong-headed attempt to make the early Christians sound as bland and unthreatening as possible. I say this is wrong-headed, because Jesus was a very authoritative man. In fact, these are the only words in the gospel that actually tell us how he spoke. "He taught them as one having authority."
"When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."
Matthew 7:28-29
If the strength of Jesus' words was so remarkable, why go out of the way to make him sound weak-voiced? Why do the same for Peter and the apostles?
The early apostles were not wispy, insubstantial and half-awake. They were bold, daring and brave, and they shouted the teachings of Jesus to the heavens with passion and authority. That (combined with the blessing of the Holy Spirit) is how they were able to win over ten thousand people. They didn't do it by being tame and unobtrusive.
Too many Christians today seem to have forgotten that serving God is always a war, and it's a war that has the sword of the spirit as its weapon, where people are martyred for the faith, and bear witness with as much strength as they can. There's a continual current among the faithful today to confuse God's peace with worldly peace; to think that we can follow God and also sit around all dreamy-eyed and wistful. The path to salvation requires a greater effort than that, and it's time we all realized it.
I did enjoy this presentation, but I still say that the early church fathers preached strongly, with fiery charisma, like Bishop Sheen, and they should have been represented as such.
Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 4 of 5
This is a different translation of the bible than I'm used to, but word for word, it's all accurate enough. For this reason, I feel no hesitation about giving it five for five on the Catholic-ometer.
On top of this, they managed to get some fantastic voice talent on board for this project; with John Rhys-Davies and Malcolm Mcdowell being among the most recognizable voices in the cast, and admittedly, some of the best as well.
The sound effects are perfect as well; sounding entirely right and being put in at just the right places.
So why didn't I get perfect enjoyment out of this?
Well, the background music is a little blah, and repeats endlessly in most chapters, but that's not the real problem.
I don't know whose fault this was; whether it was something the actors brought up, or whether it's the director's fault, or whether the producers just stepped in and said "no" at a certain point, but when the actors speak their lines, there's a frequent sense that they're not really involved in what they're saying.
Don't get me wrong. They sound interested when they should be interested, and nervous when they should be nervous, and incredulous when they should be incredulous, but they also sound incredulous when they should be sad, and nervous when they should be angry. Jesus sounds more curious than angry when calling the pharasees a brood of vipers, and Saint Paul reflects very little discomfort when talking to the Galatians, who he was furious with.
It seems like there was some wrong-headed attempt to make the early Christians sound as bland and unthreatening as possible. I say this is wrong-headed, because Jesus was a very authoritative man. In fact, these are the only words in the gospel that actually tell us how he spoke. "He taught them as one having authority."
"When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes."
Matthew 7:28-29
If the strength of Jesus' words was so remarkable, why go out of the way to make him sound weak-voiced? Why do the same for Peter and the apostles?
The early apostles were not wispy, insubstantial and half-awake. They were bold, daring and brave, and they shouted the teachings of Jesus to the heavens with passion and authority. That (combined with the blessing of the Holy Spirit) is how they were able to win over ten thousand people. They didn't do it by being tame and unobtrusive.
Too many Christians today seem to have forgotten that serving God is always a war, and it's a war that has the sword of the spirit as its weapon, where people are martyred for the faith, and bear witness with as much strength as they can. There's a continual current among the faithful today to confuse God's peace with worldly peace; to think that we can follow God and also sit around all dreamy-eyed and wistful. The path to salvation requires a greater effort than that, and it's time we all realized it.
I did enjoy this presentation, but I still say that the early church fathers preached strongly, with fiery charisma, like Bishop Sheen, and they should have been represented as such.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Fulfillment of All Desire
By Ralph Martin
Catholic-ometer: 4.5 of 5
Enjoyability: 2.5 of 5
Let me start this off by just saying the number one problem with this book. Its title is wrong. A good title for this book would have been "the stages to salvation" or something else that paints it as what it really is; a study of the experiences of a few saints in their spiritual development.
Why is this a problem? Because chances are, if you pick up a book entitled "the fulfillment of all desire," you are doing so because you have very big desires and are looking for a way to fulfill them. At no point does this book take that tack; at least not directly.
This is a big problem for this book, but it's not the only one. The second big problem is that like most modern students of theology, the author seems to assume that he's talking to other theologians, and doesn't take the time to properly-define his terms; terms like "God," "love," "truth," "peace," "worldly," and "sin." Without the proper definitions of these terms, an amateur will find himself easily thrown by the complex and contradictory-sounded ideas contained herein, and may even be in danger of losing their faith from reading this book.
I hate having to do this, because I've heard good things about Ralph Martin, and all he's done for the modern church, but this book is certainly not for beginners. In fact, I strongly suggest reading at least the first three sections of the Summa Theologica (the ones having to do with sacred doctrine and God,) before even attempting to read this, mainly because those segments contain pivotal information about the nature of God, which is neccesary for deriving any real benefit from this book.
To start with, Ralph Martin's study of the levels of holiness found in the lives of the saints should be taken as just that; a study. It contains no doctrine of the church, nor any moral guidance of any sort; only the experiences and writings of various saints, regarding their personal journeys of spiritual growth. Unfortunately, these descriptions of perfect holiness can lead people to feel hopeless and despairing over not being holy enough, which probably wasn't the intent, nor should it be taken as such. This element made the book harder to enjoy, but I would still have given it five stars, if not for this next point.
The book frequently states that our emotional attachments to God and worldly things have some bearing on our eternal souls. This is not true. God is the source of all truth, and because of that, he trades only in truthful things. By and large, human emotions are entirely subjective, so while it's certainly beneficial if you can link your emotions to God, it's not required for admission into paradise.
What is required, is that we link our will to his. The will is a very different thing from both the emotions and the intellect, because our will is what we use to make decisions. This is why God can command us to "love the Lord your God." He wouldn't give us the command to love him unless we could do it on command, and we cannot change our feelings when someone commands us to.
Frankly, I'm still waiting for the English word "love" to be totally abandoned by Christians, because it has so many definitions, that it no longer carries the meaning that we need it to. The word I prefer to use is always "charity." Charity is not emotional. It's a choice; a decision of beneficence and service, which we make with our will; not our feelings.
The objective of the Catholic faith is not to somehow emote with God on some supernatural level; it's to pledge ourselves continually to the benefit of others, in obedience to his command, so that he, in his infinite justice and mercy, can pledge himself to our benefit.
This is my third major problem with the book. It may have been written by a man, but for the life of me, I wouldn't have been able to tell. Emotions and relationships pop up all over this book, which, without heavy re-interpretation of those terms, comes off as being extremely womany.
Ultimately, had I been an amateur Catholic, picking this book up, without any previous knowledge of theology, my impression would have been this; "the author of this book thinks that God is an emotional, abusive father figure who's waiting for us all to get enough stockholme syndrome to love him in spite of it. Furthermore, if we can't completely give up our feelings, wills, fears, desires, and everything else that makes us unique and distinct from him, we're all going to be stuck in Hell."
Fortunately, I do know better than to think this, but a mere five years ago, this is what I actually would have thought.
As I said, so many of this book's problems could have been solved by just using more clear logic and less hearsay, and defining its terms a little better. As things are, I think that this book, while not specifically unfaithful, is very dangerous in the hands of amateurs, and could even inspire a pathological fear of Heaven in the unprepared.
To help prevent this, I'm going to be adding a few blog posts in the near future called "Why are you Afraid of Heaven?" In these, I'll explore all the possible reasons to be afraid of Heaven, and why each one is unfounded, but I won't do that here.
In short, don't take this as the bible, since it's not completely right. You might get something out of it; I know I did, but it wasn't a pleasant read.
Catholic-ometer: 4.5 of 5
Enjoyability: 2.5 of 5
Let me start this off by just saying the number one problem with this book. Its title is wrong. A good title for this book would have been "the stages to salvation" or something else that paints it as what it really is; a study of the experiences of a few saints in their spiritual development.
Why is this a problem? Because chances are, if you pick up a book entitled "the fulfillment of all desire," you are doing so because you have very big desires and are looking for a way to fulfill them. At no point does this book take that tack; at least not directly.
This is a big problem for this book, but it's not the only one. The second big problem is that like most modern students of theology, the author seems to assume that he's talking to other theologians, and doesn't take the time to properly-define his terms; terms like "God," "love," "truth," "peace," "worldly," and "sin." Without the proper definitions of these terms, an amateur will find himself easily thrown by the complex and contradictory-sounded ideas contained herein, and may even be in danger of losing their faith from reading this book.
I hate having to do this, because I've heard good things about Ralph Martin, and all he's done for the modern church, but this book is certainly not for beginners. In fact, I strongly suggest reading at least the first three sections of the Summa Theologica (the ones having to do with sacred doctrine and God,) before even attempting to read this, mainly because those segments contain pivotal information about the nature of God, which is neccesary for deriving any real benefit from this book.
To start with, Ralph Martin's study of the levels of holiness found in the lives of the saints should be taken as just that; a study. It contains no doctrine of the church, nor any moral guidance of any sort; only the experiences and writings of various saints, regarding their personal journeys of spiritual growth. Unfortunately, these descriptions of perfect holiness can lead people to feel hopeless and despairing over not being holy enough, which probably wasn't the intent, nor should it be taken as such. This element made the book harder to enjoy, but I would still have given it five stars, if not for this next point.
The book frequently states that our emotional attachments to God and worldly things have some bearing on our eternal souls. This is not true. God is the source of all truth, and because of that, he trades only in truthful things. By and large, human emotions are entirely subjective, so while it's certainly beneficial if you can link your emotions to God, it's not required for admission into paradise.
What is required, is that we link our will to his. The will is a very different thing from both the emotions and the intellect, because our will is what we use to make decisions. This is why God can command us to "love the Lord your God." He wouldn't give us the command to love him unless we could do it on command, and we cannot change our feelings when someone commands us to.
Frankly, I'm still waiting for the English word "love" to be totally abandoned by Christians, because it has so many definitions, that it no longer carries the meaning that we need it to. The word I prefer to use is always "charity." Charity is not emotional. It's a choice; a decision of beneficence and service, which we make with our will; not our feelings.
The objective of the Catholic faith is not to somehow emote with God on some supernatural level; it's to pledge ourselves continually to the benefit of others, in obedience to his command, so that he, in his infinite justice and mercy, can pledge himself to our benefit.
This is my third major problem with the book. It may have been written by a man, but for the life of me, I wouldn't have been able to tell. Emotions and relationships pop up all over this book, which, without heavy re-interpretation of those terms, comes off as being extremely womany.
Ultimately, had I been an amateur Catholic, picking this book up, without any previous knowledge of theology, my impression would have been this; "the author of this book thinks that God is an emotional, abusive father figure who's waiting for us all to get enough stockholme syndrome to love him in spite of it. Furthermore, if we can't completely give up our feelings, wills, fears, desires, and everything else that makes us unique and distinct from him, we're all going to be stuck in Hell."
Fortunately, I do know better than to think this, but a mere five years ago, this is what I actually would have thought.
As I said, so many of this book's problems could have been solved by just using more clear logic and less hearsay, and defining its terms a little better. As things are, I think that this book, while not specifically unfaithful, is very dangerous in the hands of amateurs, and could even inspire a pathological fear of Heaven in the unprepared.
To help prevent this, I'm going to be adding a few blog posts in the near future called "Why are you Afraid of Heaven?" In these, I'll explore all the possible reasons to be afraid of Heaven, and why each one is unfounded, but I won't do that here.
In short, don't take this as the bible, since it's not completely right. You might get something out of it; I know I did, but it wasn't a pleasant read.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen - A Man for All Media
By Gregory Joseph Ladd
Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 5 of 5
What can I say? For faithfulness in the face of adversity, Archbishop Sheen is a favorite. I suspect all this praise may have embarrassed him a little bit, but it's certainly well-deserved. This book is relatively short; just under one hundred and fifty pages, without much text. I was able to finish it in two days, but it contains many good quotes, and some excellent photos of the archbisop receiving honors and working with those who needed his help. Any danger of sliding into celebrity-worship is handily dispelled by the archbishop's magnificent wisdom, found in the quotes in these pages.
The back cover puts stress on the wrong things; seeming to focus more on cultural diversity that the truthfulness, wisdom and faith that the good archbishop really stood for. Still, it's a small enough thing that even I'm not bothered by it, and it's worth it, for everything else that this book contains.
Through the Year with Fulton Sheen
By Fulton Sheen and Henry Dieterich
Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 5 of 5
Yeah, I know. Another five for five, but it's Bishop Sheen we're talking about. He's mainly quoted in snippets, so you may not get the full message he was trying to deliver in some cases, but it never hurts you to read what he wrote and said.
This book gives you quotes by Bishop Sheen for each day of the year; really good quotes, and even the forward, and the endorsements on the back do nothing to take away from those quotes. Once the book gets underway, Bishop Sheen's magnificent wit and insight take over, and once again, it's a fantastic read, though perhaps not as organized as, say, "The Life of Christ." I didn't wait the whole year before finishing it, because I was eager to get at the wisdom contained herein, and that's just what I got. Daily Quotes by Bishop Sheen. You expect it, and that's just about what the whole book consists of; just as advertised.
I'm satisfied and impressed, so thumbs up for this one.
Catholic-ometer: 5 of 5
Enjoyability: 5 of 5
Yeah, I know. Another five for five, but it's Bishop Sheen we're talking about. He's mainly quoted in snippets, so you may not get the full message he was trying to deliver in some cases, but it never hurts you to read what he wrote and said.
This book gives you quotes by Bishop Sheen for each day of the year; really good quotes, and even the forward, and the endorsements on the back do nothing to take away from those quotes. Once the book gets underway, Bishop Sheen's magnificent wit and insight take over, and once again, it's a fantastic read, though perhaps not as organized as, say, "The Life of Christ." I didn't wait the whole year before finishing it, because I was eager to get at the wisdom contained herein, and that's just what I got. Daily Quotes by Bishop Sheen. You expect it, and that's just about what the whole book consists of; just as advertised.
I'm satisfied and impressed, so thumbs up for this one.
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