How does one teach their children ‘Well, it’s OK for your friend to do XYZ, but it’s NOT OK for you, you’re a Catholic and ‘No’, even though they will burn in the fires of hell…it’s not nice to talk about that and we are not the ones to judge.”
BUT WAIT! Aren’t we called to evangelize? Aren’t we called to help save our neighbors from the fiery depths of hell? I know I’m being a bit facetious here BUT truly think about it…is it more Christian like to keep our mouths shut when we are witness to grave immorality and we KNOW these acts are jeopardizing the souls of our friends and family? Or is it our calling to try & help our loved ones in hopes that we can find ourselves together in heaven one day? We have become so over concerned about what OTHERS will think of us if we should take stand on something we know is morally right or wrong that we are forgetting about what GOD is thinking about us by our inaction.
One of my favorite quotes speaks to this: "Silence in the face of evil, is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."—Dietrich Bonhoeffer. If your not familiar with Ol’ Dietrich, do yourself a favor & do a quick bit of homework on him…a remarkable man.
“Political Correctness” has crippled our society by allowing immorality to take hold and religion to be forced underground. The religiously faithful people have been made scared to even allow their voices to be heard in fear of ridicule, public attacks and being labeled ‘uncaring’, ‘close minded’, even ‘uneducated’ etc. I contend that if we REALLY cared, we’d be fighting for our loved ones souls and not caring about what the current social standards are.
Check out this bloggers post (& even the posts after it) on this topic, it hits the “nail on the head.”
http://blog.adw.org/2011/09/catholic-orthodoxy-is-not-bigotry-a-response-to-the-hate-filled-comments-received-by-a-catholic-blogger/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=catholic-orthodoxy-is-not-bigotry-a-response-to-the-hate-filled-comments-received-by-a-catholic-bloggerEnjoy!
2 comments:
Ooh! A place for comments! I promise I won't make you regret having this feature. Now, I know I am not an Orthodox ANYTHING. And yes, I am certainly more live and let live, kumbayah, gasp, left leaning than you are. BUt I both agree and disagree with you on parts of the whole PC debate (and not just 'cause I own a Mac.)
By no means should anyone be prohibited from practicing their beliefs or evangelizing their beliefs, because, sure, if you know the way, you are obligated to share that with others. I don't see how any of that makes someone Un-PC. And yes, I am crazed by the groups (any group) who rails against those who "ram their beliefs down our throats" but they they do the same. The difference is the venue and the persistence. If someone witnesses to me about whatever, I am apt to listen politely (and with interest even) when the conversation reaches its end, or if I reach a point where I realize I have nothing else constructive to add to the conversation, I can politely excuse myself and move on without feeling bad. The trouble begins when the person or group being witnessed is a captive audience, or the person doing the witnessing is a person with power over the person being forced to listen - ie - teachers to students, anyone in the workplace to other workers (during work hours) or public officials to "we the people" WHILE THEY ARE WEARING THEIR MANTLE OF OFFICE. That's when sharing one's beliefs becomes unPC. When someone is just Jane Q. Public, or is addressing those who want to learn more - evangelize away. This is not to say that Jane the salesgirl shouldn't be able to say," Listen to what my Priest/Rabbi/Minister/Coven Leader said yesterday at the lunch table, its just that she should have the courtesy to refrain when someone says, "No thanks, I'd rather not discuss it." Likewise, if Jane and her 3 coworkers who worship together want to discuss their Holy Books at lunch, it is more polite to do so in someone's office/private table/corner deli, than in the single break room where others are forced to be party to their conversation while they nuke and wolf down their Hot Pockets.
Speaking out against a group's beliefs when it comes to things that are illegal - abuse, violence, rape, harassment - is also not being Un PC, that's upholding the law.
Then there is the grey area. Best example is my personal pet peeve - the loud in your face "Christian" evangelists who pull up in their van covered with hateful messages and stand outside our ice cream shop and preach death and damnation to everyone. They war with my wish to defend free speech.
I think it comes down to civility and common sense, friend Liz. It is a shame we have to legislate everything these days, but none of us ever think that OUR beliefs could be offensive, after all we are good, moral, loving people, but there is a time and a place for forwarding our own agendas and quite a few people are bad at observing the boundaries of polite society.
Ok, off my soapbox. LOVE your site Liz. You have a gift for communication. I love that we can discuss, even when we disagree. Be well.
Jen
Thank you as always Jennifer...write often!
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