Be Ye Doers of the Word

These words are inscribed in the pulpit of our church, big enough for all to see: “Be Ye Doers of the Word and not Just Hearers.”  The Biblical quote puts it this way: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22 NIV).  I often wonder how many see this inscription or know what it means.  This is a declarative statement; it is in the form of a military command.  It says, do it, not just hear it; or suffer the consequences. 

Many of my fellow progressive Catholics follow just what suits them and ignore the rest; what we call “Cafeteria Catholics.”  This is a losing proposition.  If you tell your son or daughter to do something, do you expect him or her to do it, or just hear it?  If neither one does it, what is your reaction? These same progressive Catholics, for example, are very pro-abortion.  Are they doing what the Bible commands as pointed out earlier?  Our current president, Joe Biden, is famous for saying that he follows the church on abortion, but he will not impose this on anyone else.  Excuse me?  So, if I believe that murder is a moral evil, I won’t impose this on others?  We live in a society with rules, and if we violate the rules, we’re punished, right?  Can I run a red light, for instance, and not get a ticket if a policeman is behind me?  Will the policeman say to me, I believe in the red-light rule, but I will not hold anyone else to it? 

I’m using the Bible here as a source, but we don’t need it to prove that murder, for example, is a moral evil.  Do atheists believe that murder is a moral evil?  Do they believe that stealing is wrong?  If not, just take their stuff and see if they complain.  We also have what is called Natural Law, which states that human beings possess intrinsic values that govern their reasoning and behavior.  Most of us know automatically, and without being taught, that to steal or murder is wrong.  How do we know it?  Natural Law.  Robert George is a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University and one of the finest philosophers of our day.  Click here for his take on Natural Law.

Another common practice is to believe, as many of my friends do, that religion is a “private matter.”  As Lieutenant Columbo would say, can I ask you one final question?  What is your definition of religion being “a private matter?” Do we go to church and pray but after we leave the church, we do whatever we want and resume our non-religious, secular ways?  If this is the case, why do we go to church? Click here for a short analysis of why religion cannot logically be a private matter.

Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest, was giant of a man. He was a prolific writer and philosopher who started the magazine called First Things.  Neuhaus published a famous book called “The Naked Public Square” where he argued why religion cannot and must not be a private matter.  Click here for a First Things article on why this is so.  In the early 2000s I had the privilege of hearing Father Neuhaus speak at a conference in Chicago.  He was not only eloquent but a powerful intellectual of the highest order. Unfortunately, he died in 2009 at an early age.