Tag: religion

I’m Going to Heaven – You’re Not!!

When I began this “Now What” series, I made a deliberate decision to move away from exclusively religious/Christian/Catholic topics. Each installment, however, usually contained a connection or an analogy to a Biblical principal – the purpose being to illustrate that God isn’t “out there,” but right here among all of us. This piece, however, will be different. This time, I’m jumping into the fire.

During his trip to Asia a few weeks ago, Pope Francis, speaking to an interreligious group of young people in Singapore, made the following statement:

Every religion is a way to arrive at God. There are different languages to arrive at God but God is God for all. But my God is more important than your god, is that true? There is only one God and each of has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.

Pope Francis’ message to young people in Singapore –
that all religions are different languages to arrive at
God – generated a firestorm among conservative
Catholics and Christians, clerics and laity alike.

His remarks were widely interpreted – misinterpreted, actually – to claim that every religion is equally true. The backlash was immediate, vitriolic, and often hateful. The extreme reactions wounded my heart deeply, not simply because it deluged Francis with venom. Not only because of the judgmental absolutism. Not just because of the limits it put on God. But because it completely wrote off billions of people as unworthy of God’s love.

Every human being ever born was created in the image of God and wrapped in His infinite and unconditional love. Original sin, however, has separated us from God; only perfection can exist in God’s presence. It is Jesus’ redemptive death that purifies us, as reflected in Scripture: “Jesus said to (Thomas), ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (Jn 14:6) That is an unequivocal statement from Jesus. A universal truth.

Yet…

At this moment in time, there are about 8.2 billion people living on earth. About 2.4 billion are Christian. Assume, for argument’s sake, half of the 5.8 billion non-Christians have at least heard of Jesus, what’s to be said of the nearly three billion people who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the savior? Would the God of unimaginably perfect love create even one person who, by circumstances of birth and culture, has no possible pathway to salvation? 

Islam, with 1.91 billion followers – the second largest
religion to Christianity – considers Mecca, the
birthplace of Muhammed, its holiest site.

If reactions to Pope Francis’ statements are any indication, the answer is unreservedly “yes.” Blowback from Catholic clergy and publications – mostly conservative and historically critical of the pontiff – was delivered with an iron fist in a velvet glove. Texas bishop Joseph Strickland, already removed from his position for challenging the pope on social issues, asked the faithful to pray for Francis. The pope should “clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only Way,” Strickland wrote. “To deny this is to deny Him. If we deny Christ, He will deny us, He cannot deny Himself.” Catholic priest and broadcaster Fr. Calvin Robinson was more direct, writing, “The Scriptures teach us the opposite. The gate to heaven is narrow.” And a Christian publication concluded, “The false doctrine which Francis proclaimed has been around for centuries … Pray for Pope Francis to repent of his false teaching and come to know the true Gospel.”

Many faithful, Catholic and Protestant alike, were not nearly as measured on social media.

  • “As a Catholic I openly say this is a heretic Pope we have, no two ways about it. He has denied Jesus and his teachings.”
  • “The Roman Catholic Church is an abomination invented by an emperor. A complete bastardization.”
  • “The pope needs to read the Bible. All of his heresies are debunked in the Holy Word of God.”
  • “I’ve always known this pope to be corrupt.”
  • “The default condition of mankind is condemnation. There is no need for us to add to it.”
  • “The Pope is misleading too many. Jesus will hold him accountable.”
Online social media contain numerous articles and images vilifying Christianity, especially Pope Francis and the Catholic Church.

Many of these accusations prompt me to recall the many New Testament stories of the Pharisees adhering to the strict letter of the Law. The Gospels, however, are rich with stories of Jesus infusing God’s infinite love and mercy into the Law. Examples include the woman caught in the act of adultery, the apostles “harvesting” grain to eat on the sabbath, and the many instances of healing. In each of these examples, Jesus violated Jewish law. But He used these examples to show that man does not exist to benefit the law, but the law exists for the benefit of man.

Still, I am not so arrogant to believe I know and understand the mind of God. When I face an especially difficult issue, I usually defer to my favorite parable – the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Mt 20:1-16). In it, the landowner pays the same wage to those who worked just one hour as those who worked 12 hours.

The most common interpretation of this parable is that a deathbed conversion by a person with a lifetime of sins will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus – the same reward awaiting a person who’s been faithful for an entire lifetime. The key is accepting Jesus. I believe this with my entire being.

Yet…

Those who know me are not surprised I see an additional interpretation here.

Just like the workers who showed up at dawn, Jesus gave me my requirements for my eternal reward – believe in Him, and work for Him. The deal he makes with others – their requirements for eternal life with him in heaven – is simply not my concern. “Take what is yours and go,” says landowner/Jesus. “What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states emphatically and unequivocally that Jesus Christ is the mediator of the world, the only way of salvation (846). Yet, it recognizes its most important dogma can not and should not be used to limit the power and the reach of Almighty God.

This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church: Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation (847).

None of us has any idea how and when Jesus will enter into this equation. That’s not for us to know. It is not for us to put limits on God’s grace by refusing to recognize He can reach these people in His own way and in His own time. He will bestow His grace to anyone He wishes. That’s all I need to know. That, and to be thankful for blessing me with His grace during my own time on earth.

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An Argument Against School Prayer

I’m assuming there’s a good chance, after reading the title, that you’re ready to put up your dukes. That’s okay; I get it. But before this gets personal, let me re-establish my bona fides: I am a devout and lifelong Catholic who went to public school K-8 before moving to a private, Catholic high school where we prayed at the beginning of every school day and before each and every class. We even had special Masses. Things you would expect in a Catholic school.

And, really, that’s my point. We all shared a common religion – except for my friend Howie Rothstein, but he chose to be there so he was cool with it. Students who go to public schools, however, have no choice. There’s no common religion. So why do school prayer advocates want to require prayer in public schools?

Advocates say school prayer reminds students of a higher power and can help remedy societal ills such as bullying, violence, teenage pregnancy and more.

“Our nation has lost its way in having lost a belief of a higher power,” said one local school board member in Florida. “I hope it brings back our country to its foundation.”

Other advocates say school prayer can address maladies such as bullying, increased violence, mass shootings, teenage pregnancy, illegal drug use and more.

Okay. So which religion has such blanket transformative power? Remember, in public schools, all religions by law would enjoy equal favor. Most religious people in the U.S. belong to one of the many various branches of Christianity, so obviously Christian prayer would be included. What about a Jewish prayer? That should be okay – our Christian heritage is rooted in Judaism. Would parents welcome Islamic prayer in this political climate? Moreover, required school prayer would also legitimize atheism, Wiccan, and even Satanism, giving them a seat at the school-prayer altar. Do we really want our kids to pray “Dear God” on Monday and “Dear Satan” by Friday?

It’s doubtful this is what school prayer advocates
have in mind, yet this is what is possible if
prayer is ever required in public schools

If our Christian majority claims requiring prayer in public schools is necessary to remedy the ills of society, then we must not be fulfilling our responsibilities outside the classroom. Does that sound harsh? Well, it is harsh. But it’s also harsh to hear a 14-year-old boy defy me in the classroom by saying, “I’m not going to let some minimum-wage substitute nobody tell me what to do.” It’s even harsher when a police officer has to ask my wife, a full-time school teacher who’s been physically pushed around in class, “Do you want to press charges, Mrs. Casella?” Is school prayer the best way to address these bad behaviors?

It’s not the 1950s any more. Requiring prayer in public schools will not bring Wally and the Beaver back to the classroom. Heck, even Beavis and Butthead are long gone.

It’s ironic that a people blessed with free will by our Creator wants to force its will on other people to whom God has also granted free will. Forced prayer is the equivalent of beating someone until morale improves. It’s not just counter-productive; it’s contrary to God’s plan for us. So where does that leave us?

This truism probably dates back to the first schoolhouse exam.
We are blessed to be in a nation in which no one can
prevent us from praying,

When parents send their kids to school, teachers act in loco parentis; in the absence of parents, teachers must act in the best interests of the kids. But parents still need to act like parents when they are there. And we all need to act as Christians all the time.

Jesus, commenting on the Pharisees, told his followers to “do what they say, not what they do.” As adults, we can distinguish that difference. Our kids can’t. Children do what we do; what we say matters less. And, because the largest single religious group in America is “None,” too many kids are not being exposed to the most important influence in our lives – actually, in the universe. That makes our example so much more important than ever. We must spread God’s love, peace and joy through our actions – not by force – to everyone we encounter, especially our children.

We want people to think “I want what they have.” That’s meaningful evangelization. That’s our commission straight from Jesus.

And that will have a far greater affect than any required school prayer ever could.

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