“The American Constitution does resemble the Spanish Inquisition in this: that it is founded on a creed. America is the only nation in the world that is founded on creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence; perhaps the only piece of practical politics that is also theoretical politics and also great literature. It enunciates that all men are equal in their claim to justice, that governments exist to give them that justice, and that their authority is for that reason just. It certainly does condemn anarchism. and it does also by inference condemn atheism, since it clearly names the Creator as the ultimate authority from whom these equal rights are derived. Nobody expects a modern political system to proceed logically in the application of such dogmas, and in the matter of God and Government it is naturally God whose claim is taken more lightly. The point is that there is a creed, if not about divine, at least about human things.” G.K. Chesterton: What I Saw in America
Imagine what Chesterton would have written if had witnessed this:
Major U.S. city officially condemns Catholic Church
'Instructs members to defy 'Holy Office of Inquisition'
They are doing so because those darn Catholics just won’t get behind the gay agenda and proclaim it to be the source and summit of what is good and oh so much fun.
If you are not already please check out Christopher West’s series on the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae (at Catholic Exchange click on Today), where he states:
“What about homosexuality? Our culture is impotent to resist the “gay agenda” because we have already accepted its basic premise with contraception — the reduction of sex to the exchange of pleasure. When openness to life is no longer an intrinsic part of the sexual equation, why does sexual behavior have to be with the opposite sex?”
Also if you only read one encyclical read Humanae Vitae.
I like that quote by West, very succinct. It seems like most of the people that I meet who are against gay marriage (many of them quite vocally) also engage in contraceptive activity. Unfortunately, the opportunity rarely arises to present West's argument (and then I'll probably be dismissed as a papist :) ).
ReplyDeleteWe always can find a way to dismiss the truth with a little lie. Catholics can't be right because of the Pope and Chesterton can't be right because of his anti-Semitism.
ReplyDeleteI have also read and heard that many protestants that have read Humanae Vitae have come to see the truth in it most notably Kimberly Hahn, Scott’s bride, who read that document before her conversion.