I admire the humanitarian services offered by the Catholic Church.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the United States Council of Catholic Bishops, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 90 countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. A member of Caritas International, the worldwide network of Catholic humanitarian agencies, CRS provides relief in emergency situations and helps people in the developing world break the cycle of poverty through community-based, sustainable development initiatives as well as Peacebuilding. Assistance is based solely on need, not race, creed or nationality. Catholic Relief Services is headquartered in the Posner Building in Baltimore, Maryland, while operating numerous field offices on five continents. CRS has approximately 5,000 employees around the world. The agency is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 12 clergy (most of them bishops) and 7 lay people.
Mother Teresa is my hero. She left a life of relative comfort in Europe and went to India to help the poor. To me, this is in keeping with what Jesus taught.
Nam Nice to hear from you. Capitalism was not born in the U.S. It had its origins in the transition of Britain from feudalism to capitalism in the 15th or 16th century.
The main message of Pope Francis speech is, not so much his criticism of capitalism, but his call to the rich to share their wealth. This is in keeping with what Jesus taught. (See the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23)
calmheart The answer to your question is yes. Socrates is my hero. What I admire about him is his humility in regard to knowing. He always said that he did not know. Several persons claimed they knew. He confronted them and his questioning soon made them realize that they did not know what they claimed to know. Also, his statement: "The unexamined life is not worth living".
I also engage in writing poetry(some posted on Poetry Corner); this gives me a balance so I do not get a headache.
What about you? Why did you choose the name "calmheart"?
I truly admire your spirit and your determination to cope with your illness. Keep it up!
Spending time outdoors in Nature and exercising is great therapy as you have noted. Continue walking outdoors and enjoying it, my friend.
There are also spiritual benefits as mentioned in the blog and as GG pointed out: "nature does invoke a deep feeling of connectedness with our true beings, it is healing, peaceful and refreshing.
Thanks for pointing out some of the different ways we are affected by Nature deprivation and the apparent consequences. It appears that as a consequence of our constant preoccupation with devices of modern technology and a reduction in our interaction with Nature, especially for children, "the rates of Brain Tumours and Eye and Ear tumours in Chidren has risen hugely as it has in Adults too". Indeed, this is most shocking news.
We are part of Nature and Nature is part of us. As Albert Einstein says: "A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you are saying that the above stated verses do not apply to the persons I specified, that is:
"people (who) have lived their entire lives and died without knowledge of any religion that may make the claim to be the true and only path to God."
I accept that.
I am inclined to believe that such persons would have had an awareness of some "higher being", and they may have felt a sense of awe that may have motivated them into some form of worship of this being. This refers to your point (1) God exists.
I cannot express any view that they may also have an awareness of sinfulness, salvation and grace as you have outlined. Unfortunately, we cannot communicate with them to find out how they viewed the situation, for they have long since passed on.
Serendipity I think you and I have been down this road before. As I mentioned, I am referring to a specific group of human beings, that is:
"people (who) have lived their entire lives and died without knowledge of any religion that may make the claim to be the true and only path to God."
How could such people have the faith required in John 3:16, (according to the Bible), "to be saved", if they were never informed of its message?
Please focus on this. I respect your knowledge of Christian theology. However, most of what you have said is not necessary and is not relevant to the issue I have raised.
The only relevant part is:
"During the Old Testament times (and the times before that) apparently it was not normative to believe, in order to be saved, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the dead."
However, you seem uncertain of the validity of the claim that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God who died for our sins and rose from the dead was not a requirement in order to be saved since you said apparently.
If you had stated it as an absolute fact, I would have been satisfied and said "end of story"! But due to the uncertainty of your statement, you have not dealt with the issue.
Until you could make such a statement with certainty, you have not dealt with the issue. Please bear this in mind should you wish to comment further.
Take Care, my friend, and thanks, again, for your input.
Serendipity How are you, my good friend. Thanks for your input.
God has left a witness that can speak to all people, at all times, in all places. Creation informs us that a powerful, intelligent, faithful, righteous, Divine Being exists and that he made everything we see. God has left a witness in the work of his hands that has pointed many men and women to him who had no prior knowledge of the true God.
I accept what you stated above. I refer to it as Nature, instead of Creation. As an individual, even as a young child, I experience a powerful awareness of communicating with some being, entity, etc. when I am with Nature which I am comfortable with referring to as God. I think many people feel the same way. However, this has nothing to do with any religion or religious teaching, Christianity or otherwise. I would like to think that the so-called primitive person deep in the jungle, away from civilization as we know it, experiences or is capable of experiencing a similar feeling. If you state that this is the voice of God, I accept that.
However, a serious problem arises, that I have mentioned in my response to Ken, when there is an insistence to believe in the teachings of some religion, whatever it may be.
Acts 4:12 (English Standard Version) states: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
My question applies to persons who have lived their entire lives and died without knowledge of any religion. How could they have the faith required in John 3:16 if they were never informed of its message?
Ken I viewed the Bible verses in Revelation that you mentioned. Rev 20:12 states: "...And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books." There is no mention of believing in Jesus which is a necessary condition to avoid eternal punishment(in Hell) and gain eternal life(in Heaven) according to John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
If one's works(alone) will be used to judge one after death, I can accept that. I think there is general acceptance of the fairness of this worldwide, independent of any religion. However, the Bible stresses that we are saved through our faith and not through our works. Is this a contradiction? My question applies to persons who have lived their entire lives and died without knowledge of any religion. How could they have the faith required in John 3:16 if they were never informed of its message?
Ken I personally agree with the Buddhist position that you mentioned. I have experienced it myself, in some measure, and I think other persons have also done the same.
Ken When I asked the question, "How could such people and their ancestors have heard the message of any "outside" religion?", I was including persons from the very dawn of civilization. It is extremely unlikely that Reading and Writing such as we know now would have existed at that time. I cannot see the apostle Paul, in his statement re "prophetic writings" referring to such persons in the scripture you quoted:
Romans 16:25-26 - "Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith."
You are right in saying that it is an obscure passage of scripture.
Prenge Thanks for your comment. I have noted your point but I think that the two kinds of righteousness you have mentioned are linked with religious teaching or dogma. This blog attempts to examine the situation of persons who have not been exposed to any religious teaching or dogma, as we know it.
ek Thanks for your comment. I understand the position you have stated. However, those missionaries and others may disagree. They may feel it is their duty as a Christian to spread the message to the entire world, based upon what is stated in the Bible. Mark 16:15 (English Standard Version): And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." Acceptance of the message, once it is heard, is the responsibility of those who have heard it. They would agree with your mother's position.
ek Nice to see you on the blog scene again! We really should be grateful for each new day. As they say, JOIE DE VIVRE! LOVE and LIFE: a great combination!
Thanks for the information which is truly amazing.
Trees are sanctuaries Whoever knows how to speak to them whoever knows how to listen to them can learn the truth They do not preach learning and precepts they preach undeterred by particulars the ancient law of life - Herman Hesse
I am very happy for you that you met and married your husband in four weeks time and that you had twenty years of married life(should I say blissful) until his death. I agree that sometimes casting love out to the universe and going with the "flow" works too! I also agree that the "so-called experts opinions(based on scientific research) are not "cast in stone". I think your case is exceptional(and you are an exceptional person).
However, I think that, in general, the information in this blog may provide a useful "guide" to the "average person" seeking to get married and maintaining the marriage. I invite comments from others on this.
Thanks for your comment. I am aware of the divorce rate that you mentioned. In fact, I did a full blog on it earlier entitled "Marriage: Failure & Success", in which I quoted divorce statistics from two different sources. (You may not have viewed it; I did not see any comment from you.)
Your statement re "the growing rate of mental illness" is interesting. How is it linked to marriage and divorce?
In summary, it seems that marriage can be fulfilling and satisfying initially but only up to a point. Both parties may become restless and want to explore, more fully, certain unfulfilled aspects of their lives , perhaps independently so, on their own, especially after the children are mature enough. At this point, they may decide to go their separate ways, resulting in divorce. The liberation of women mainly through education and economic independence, in comparison to a generation or two ago, has contributed to their desire for personal self-fulfilment.
lou I added some stats from another source, that include figures for Canada. Based on info from additional sources that I have viewed, the figure, overall, seems to be slightly over 40%. It is definitely lower than the USA. In fact, it is reported that there has been a decline in the divorce rate in Canada over the past few years.
LJ Thanks for the info. According to Wikipedia: The only countries that do not allow divorce are the Philippines and the Vatican City, an ecclesiastical state, which has no procedure for divorce. However, it does allow for legal separation, annulment and marriage "voids".
According to Philippine Daily Inquirer: The number of marriage annulment cases in the Philippines has risen by 40 percent in the last decade with at least 22 cases filed every day, according to a report by the Catholic bishops? news agency.
online today!socrates44 Blog Comments (1,088)
Pope Francis has it right when it comes to money
NamSorry for any possible misinterpretation!