Category: Ethics

The Desert Fathers of Egypt were the first hermits. They withdrew from society at the very time that society was being Christianized. As the church became popular, it compromised its standards. Those hungry for God flew into the desert to find a real encounter with the living God.

The Desert Fathers

As Thomas Merton writes about the Desert Fathers:

“These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenants and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster…. These men seem to have thought… that there is really no such thing as a ‘Christian state.’ They seem to have doubted that Christianity and politics could ever be mixed to such an extent as to produce a fully Christian society.”

Politics

People think politics is the answer, it is not. A country is only as good as it’s individual citizens. If what a better society, make better citizens. Changing the politicians doesn’t change people’s hearts.

Sick Society

A wise man once said, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a sick society.” Our society is sick, because its citizens are sick. They have a fallen nature that twists all they think, say, or do. Sin is selfishness, and selfishness is the root of all moral evil.

Gnostic Christianity began as one of many kinds of Christianity. It followed the teachings of the apostles Paul, Thomas, and John.

Unfortunately, the organized institutional Church joined up with the imperial Roman Empire and decided that only one form of Christianity would be tolerated. Therefore, gnostic Christianity became a persecuted group, and eventually died out or merged with the Catholic Church.

But Christians are beginning to stir. They’re beginning to wonder if a great mistake was made by marrying church and state. And the resulting Christianity has tried to control the hearts and minds of the entire world.

It’s in the midst of this inner questioning, that gng Gnostic Christianity is beginning to have a revival. That is not a bad thing, that’s a good thing. Is not a heresy, it is a better way of being Christian.

Abortion is a tough subject to address, with a lot of disagreement. I believe that the Episcopal Church has taken the wisest position on the subject. I agree with them when they state the following:

All human life is sacred from its inception until death. The Church takes seriously its obligation to help form the consciences of its members concerning this sacredness. Human life, therefore, should be initiated only advisedly and in full accord with this understanding of the power to conceive and give birth which is bestowed by God. It is the responsibility of our congregations to assist their members in becoming informed concerning the spiritual and physiological aspects of sex and sexuality.

The Book of Common Prayer affirms that “the birth of a child is a joyous and solemn occasion in the life of a family. It is also an occasion for rejoicing in the Christian community” (p. 440). As Christians we also affirm responsible family planning.

We regard all abortion as having a tragic dimension, calling for the concern and compassion of all the Christian community.

While we acknowledge that in this country it is the legal right of every woman to have a medically safe abortion, as Christians we believe strongly that if this right is exercised, it should be used only in extreme situations. We emphatically oppose abortion as a means of birth control, family planning, sex selection, or any reason of mere convenience.

In those cases where an abortion is being considered, members of this Church are urged to seek the dictates of their conscience in prayer, to seek the advice and counsel of members of the Christian community and where appropriate, the sacramental life of this Church.

Whenever members of this Church are consulted with regard to a problem pregnancy, they are to explore, with grave seriousness, with the person or persons seeking advice and counsel, as alternatives to abortion, other positive courses of action, including, but not limited to, the following possibilities: the parents raising the child; another family member raising the child; making the child available for adoption.

It is the responsibility of members of this Church, especially the clergy, to become aware of local agencies and resources which will assist those faced with problem pregnancies.

We believe that legislation concerning abortions will not address the root of the problem. We therefore express our deep conviction that any proposed legislation on the part of national or state governments regarding abortions must take special care to see that the individual conscience is respected, and that the responsibility of individuals to reach informed decisions in this matter is acknowledged and honored as the position of this Church; and be it further

Resolved, That this 71st General Convention of the Episcopal Church express its unequivocal opposition to any legislative, executive or judicial action on the part of local, state or national governments that abridges the right of a woman to reach an informed decision about the termination of pregnancy or that would limit the access of a woman to safe means of acting on her decision.

Citation:

General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, 1994 (New York: General Convention, 1995), pp. 323-25.

A popular meme says:

So if guns kill people, I guess pencils misspell words, cars drive drunk, and spoons make people fat.

Guns are designed to kill, pencils are not designed to misspell words, cars are not designed to drive drunk, and spoons are not designed to make people fat. But guns are designed to kill. That’s their purpose. These things are not equivalent.

When guns are used to kill people it is a crime. When a pencil is used to misspell a word it is a mistake. When cars are operated by drunk drivers it’s a crime. And when spoons are used to overeat it’s an unwise choice. Notice that only two of these things kill people, and therefore are crimes. But only one of these things is designed to do so

Just as you need to have a license to drive a car, you should need to have a license to own a gun. And for the same reason. Both can kill people if they are misused. And just as drunk drivers lose their license if they drive drunk, people who are mentally or criminally dangerous should lose their license to own a gun.

“The root of all sin is selfishness, separating first from God and then from man.” – Andrew Murray

“We hold the essential principle of sin to be selfishness.” – A. H. Strong

“We have also seen, that all sin is selfishness.” – Charles Finney

This agrees with the Bible. It says that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4 KJV). The law is love (Matt 22:37-40), that is why “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10 NKJV). And we know that “Love isn’t selfish” (1 Cor. 13:5 CEV), therefore sin is selfishness. It is refusing to love God will all our heart, but instead loving ourselves with all our heart.

Sin is a wrong aim. It is the aim or motive to look out for oneself first and foremost. It is making oneself the center of the universe, the supreme good, the most important person in the world.

In other words, everyone must bow to the whims and wishes of the self, whether by force, guilt, or playing the poor me card. “My way or the highway,” is the philosophy of selfishness. I must be the center of attention, whether by being good or by being bad. It is all about I, me, and mine.

People confuse sin with sins. Sin is the aim of the will, sins are the acts of the will. Sin deals with the motive, the root from which all actions flow. Sins deal with the motion of the will, the fruit of the root, seen in thoughts, words, and deeds.

Selfish acts reveal a selfish aim. Too many people try to stop the selfish acts without changing the selfish aim. You cannot serve self and please God. You cannot serve two masters. Either God sits on the throne of your heart, or self sits on the throne.

Repentance is about changing the aim of the will. It is not about being sorry, although that is a part of it. It is also not about doing better. Rather, it is about changing the aim, not just the acts. For if you change the aim of the will, you will automatically change the acts. A good tree will naturally produce good fruit. The tree is the aim of your will. The fruit are the acts that are thereby produced.

If you are repeatedly doing things that you know are wrong, it is because you have not put God first in your life. You have not died to self. You have not blown out your selfish desires. You are still attached to the illusion that you are an independent entity. You are still spiritually blind.