A Catholic “Battle Plan” for the 21st Century Culture War
A Catholic “Battle Plan” for the 21st Century Culture War
The Stable Trinitarian “Core”
By: J. P. Hubert, Jr. MD FACS
“If you are surprised to be told that our entire civilization is in crisis, I welcome you back to earth and hope you had a nice vacation on the moon”. This startling quote from Peter Kreeft’s new book How to Win the Culture War, serves as a backdrop for a discussion of basic Catholic Catechesis and apologetics (1). Kreeft argues effectively that we are in a monumental spiritual battle the likes of which the world may not have seen since just before the world wide flood of Noah. He diagnoses the problem as one of “Spiritual Warfare” between the forces of light and darkness, good and evil. His thesis is that since the time of the “enlightenment” and particularly the past 35 years, there has been a gradual moving away from the orthodox Catholic Christian faith which has now grown to one of monumental proportions culminating in an apostasy the answer to which is primarily spiritual. Some thoughtful Evangelical Protestant Christians have come to similar conclusion utilizing slightly different terminology. Colson and Pearcey in their book; How Now Shall we Live writes as follows: “The culture war is not just about abortion, homosexual rights, or the decline of public education. These are only the skirmishes. The real war is a cosmic struggle between worldviews--between the Christian worldview and the various secular and spiritual worldviews arrayed against it” (2). Others have suggested that the Catholic Faith is presently on “life-support” by virtue of so many Catholics having been tempted to believe the lie that man is capable of creating his own world without the need for a divine Creator and “Sustainer” in the traditional sense. This has emanated from post enlightenment Rationalism, Existentialism, Humanism and social Darwinism slowly and methodically insinuating their way into the thinking of Catholic intellectuals in Theology, Philosophy and academia. The recent Sexual Abuse scandal in the Catholic Church is but a symptom of a much deeper spiritual Crisis in personal holiness as has been suggested by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. In the thinking of Kreeft, Keane, Varacalli and others, as well as this author, a radical approach is now needed. The following is an attempt to describe the beginnings of that approach by returning to basic “Core” elements of Catholic Trinitarian (Christocentric) doctrine.
The proper appreciation of Catholic Christianity is dependent upon the understanding of a number of important concepts which define the pivotal doctrines or dogmas of the Catholic Faith. The actual dogmas have been published elsewhere and are dependent upon “3” fundamental and unchangeable elements or tenets. These are absolutely necessary in order to keep the “Core” components of Christian Monotheism intact. The following represents a brief outline of these elements and their significance.
Catholic Christianity is based upon a “tripartite” (Trinitarian schemata) set of truths which the Church received by Divine Revelation from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as God is a perpetual Trinity (or family) in Unity of 3 persons in 1 being, or 3 who’s in 1 what, the Church’s teaching itself (in reflecting the Holy Trinity) is based upon 3 basic truths as follows:
1. God Created the universe from nothing (Ex-Nihilo) and as such, the universe is finite not infinite, “In the beginning, God Created the heavens and the Earth”, (Genesis 1: 1). This was a truly creative (finished) act, not a process of becoming or an “Evolution” either cosmologically or biologically. It is also the first element or the Creation tenet. Part of it includes the creation of all living things and Human Beings. God created man, (male and female) in the image of the Trinity “let us make man in our image”, (Genesis 1: 26) both male and female (Genesis 1: 27). Adam was created from pre-existent matter (“the slime or dust of the earth”) which God had already brought into existence, and Eve was formed from Adam in some way physically (Genesis 2: 21-22). Adam and Eve were thus actual first parents from whom all other human beings have been derived by biological propagation. This eliminates multiple first parents (polygenism). It also means in light of the data from molecular biology, genetics, and reproductive physiology amassed over the past 50 years, that Biological evolution of Adam and Eve from lower (more primitive) bi-pedal primates is impossible from a Catholic Theological perspective. The only question which is still debatable according to Catholic Church magisterial teaching is to what extent (if any) God utilized already existent “organic” material in HIS special creation of Adam, (addressed by Pope Pius XII in his 1950 encyclical, Humani Generis # 36, a short quotation from which follows):
“For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter --for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faithful” (3).
Interestingly, since the publication of the above referenced Encyclical in 1950, it is becoming increasingly apparent that evolution of man from more primitive life forms is a scientific impossibility primarily because of the complex and specified nature of DNA, (the molecular basis of life) which the Creator God has utilized in “bringing forth the creatures of the world after their own kind”, (Genesis. 1: 20-35), [Douay-Rheims Version], (4). This means that the “research” mentioned by Pope Pius XII has largely been completed and found wanting in light of contemporary Molecular Biology, Information Theory and Probability analysis (5). Thus in this author’s opinion and that of many others, it is now time for the Magisterium to proclaim that the case is closed (once and for all) and that Man was “Specially” Created by God both body and soul. This is completely consistent with the scriptural exegesis of the first 1850 years of the Catholic Church including contemporary magisterial teaching on the matter notwithstanding some public/private comments of Pope John Paul II (non Ex-Cathedra) which have perhaps suggested otherwise. It is also consistent with both philosophical and scientific considerations regarding all relevant data in the absence of a-priori commitments to metaphysical and scientific naturalism (Scientism). Recognizing that the Church always proceeds slowly and with due deliberation and caution, one can only hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will move the Holy See to complete this needed dogmatic statement of faith and doctrine before any further attrition and degradation in Catholic faith and practice ensues. It is more than time to reassert the fact that only Divine Revelation can provide knowledge which is beyond all doubt. The best of science and philosophy can never fundamentally approach that level of accuracy, precision and truth since both are dependent upon the reason of man which is wounded by virtue of the “fall from grace”. Therefore, now more than ever we must return to the only source of absolute Truth which exists, the Divine Revelation that comes to us from the Triune Creator God himself.
2. God gave Adam and Eve a simple command and in so doing subjected them to a test of obedience. They failed and “fell from grace”, and lost their direct favored relationship with the Triune God. This is information which can only be deduced from Divine Revelation, it represents the second major element or “tenet” of the Church’s teaching and is called “The Fall”. As a result, physical and spiritual death came into the world, and Adam and Eve lost personal intimate fellowship with their Creator. This also means that Adam and Eve, who were immortal prior to the “fall from grace”, could now become sick and would eventually; die physically just as they had already spiritually died as a result of their rebellion. God took “pity” on his creation and promised to send a savior to restore the broken relationship, (Genesis 3: 15), the so-called protoevangelium or “nascent” first Gospel.
3. God in the fullness of time, through the power of the Holy Spirit became an actual physical man in the person of Jesus of Nazareth through HIS incarnation in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the only sinless totally human creature by divine and miraculous intercession in advance of Christ’s atoning work on the Cross which was applied to her extra-time dimensionally), thus creating a God/man in perfect hypostatic union, fully divine and fully human. This God/man suffered the hideous death of a derelict on a Roman Cross in order to “pay the ransom” owed for the sins of the world which had begun with the “Original Sin” of Adam and Eve. This means Christ (the sinless guiltless “lamb”), assumed the sin and guilt of those who could not save themselves. It also means that God the Son was declared guilty despite HIS innocence so that those of us who were guilty could be judged innocent. This is truly the most incredible story ever told. It is the third and final element or tenet of the Church’s teaching, the Redemption or Salvation tenet.
To summarize then, the all important Trinitarian teaching of the Catholic Church and all orthodox Christian Monotheism is; CREATION, FALL, REDEMPTION. Christianity requires these “3” elements in order for it to have internal consistency, and in order for it to be non-contradictory. If any of the “3” is lost, Christianity falls as a logical set of propositions (of its own weight). This is true from a Philosophical perspective which is self-evident in light of human reason. With all “3” intact, orthodox Christianity is a completely internally and externally consistent philosophical system, free of contradiction. As such it represents the only truly consistent and non-contradictory complete religious system in the history of the world. This of course is a “stumbling block” to post-modern sensibilities much as the Gospel of Christ and HIS “Bread of Life Discourse” was to first century Palestinian ears; (John 6: 52-71), (CCC # 1338), (6). As Disciples of Christ we are duty bound to proclaim this Truth in Love lest we fail in the Great Commission of our Lord, (Matthew 28: 18-19); “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (RSVCE).
Christians must resist all attempts to change, adulterate or otherwise alter any of these “3” fundamental underlying elements which are necessary and critical to the Gospel message and the Christian faith as found in Scripture, Tradition, and continuous Magisterial teaching. In the past several hundred years, tremendous attempts have been made to destroy the Catholic faith. The most significant attack has come in the form of a denial of a literal Creation of the universe from nothing (Ex-Nihilo) and of the Creation of the first man (Adam) in adult form as well as the formation of the first woman Eve from Adam in some physical way. This attack has centered on the “CREATION” tenet and has come in the form of Naturalistic, Secular Humanistic and Existentialist philosophy coupled with Darwinian evolution and Freudian Psychology. A result has been that the second tenet The Fall from grace has also come under suspicion and along with it Original Sin, the concept of sin at all, and personal responsibility for our own sin. The predictable next step is to deny the need for a Savior since there is no need for salvation in the absence of sin. This can be seen by the paucity of homilies that are preached on Sin in Catholic Churches nowadays and by the low attendance at the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) despite record increases in rates of Eucharistic communion, a fact which suggests that many of the faithful have fallen into apostasy and are presently violating not only Church teaching, but New Testament Scripture itself, specifically the teaching of St. Paul who warns about the need to receive “worthily” and only after appropriate self-examination, (I Corinthians 11: 26, 27 and 29); “for as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come, Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord, For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord”, (Douay-Rheims Version).
Once all of this becomes the commonly accepted view, Catholic Christianity bears no resemblance to orthodox Christianity, the faith that was handed down for over 1500 years and is in danger of contributing to an idolatrous form of New Age (Neo-Pagan) Spirituality. Beginning almost 500 years ago, with the development of Humanism, Existentialism, Rationalism, Naturalism and eventually Higher Criticism, Darwinism, Freudianism and Marxism, the Catholic Church has been progressively and systematically assaulted from all “fronts”. Tragically, most of the blame for this disaster in the past 150 years (particularly the past 40 years) can be laid at the feet of certain Catholic Clergy, Theologians and Academicians who have abandoned the orthodox faith in the acceptance of a lie (7) which they have then widely and forcefully promulgated on an unsuspecting laity. Some have no doubt done so out of ignorance, some by way of premeditation such as Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Darwinian Evolutionist) who was formally sanctioned by the Church, and some out of sloth, intellectual laziness, or chronic personal sin which “clouded” their reasoning. All have failed to recognize that Right faith must proceed from right belief in order that it is productive of good fruit (works of love). This is the Catholic Christian (salvific) gospel message of FAITH through grace, working in HOPE and LOVE which was taught by Christ himself and so forcefully articulated by St. Paul in his many New Testament epistles. These are the “3” timeless Christian theological virtues which St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas (8) so beautifully harmonized with the best of Greco-Roman philosophy.
Christ could not have been more clear about what the “test” would be for entrance into HIS kingdom (John 8: 12), “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life”, and (John 8: 5), “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death”. See also, (John 10: 9), “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” and this from (John 12: 26), “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me”. Note that in (John 13: vs. 34 and 35) Christ says the following: “I give you a new commandment, love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another”, and (John 14: 15); “If you love me, obey my commandments” (NABFC). All of these verses make it crystal clear that Christ expects and commands that we have the Faith which loves, that is the faith that works in real time, not simply a feeling of “warmth”, fellowship, or intellectual ascent. Every one of the verses cited above utilizes action verbs. Christ was not asking us simply for cognitive assent to what HE has done; HE was commanding us to follow him by demonstrating it and working it out in real space/time, through Works of selfless (agape) love. This is the main reason why Catholic Christianity has always emphasized the charitable care (agape or selfless love) of the poor and downtrodden in our midst and forms an important part of the social Gospel of the Catholic Church.
Christ was also very explicit with respect to those who would attempt to mislead or otherwise destroy the true faith of those entrusted to their care, (Matt. 18: 6 and 7); “But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea, woe to the world because of scandals, for it must needs be that scandals come: but nevertheless, woe to that man by whom the scandals come” (Douay-Rheims version). While many theologians, heretics, and “dissenters” have attempted to adulterate the Truth that is the Gospel; Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterial teaching still affirm it. Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life has first affirmed it, and the historic orthodox Catholic Church preserves and “hands on” that which she was given from her founder. This must always be so, since she has no power to add to or subtract from what she was given by her “Head”, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is precisely why the dogmas of the Catholic Church are unchangeable despite their largely misunderstood nature by many well-meaning and not so well meaning contemporary “dissenters”.
As thoughtful and well catechized Catholic Christians we have a responsibility, in fact a duty and a command from our Blessed Lord to reverse over 35 years of heretical “experiential” and “feelings” based catechetics which have been almost totally devoid of sound doctrine, faith and practice, that is, an understanding of Creed, Code and Cult, or what Catholics believe, what they do (how they live), and how they worship, a concept that has been beautifully articulated by Professor Peter Kreeft of Boston College in his book Catholic Christianity (9). We now have 2 full generations of Catholics who not only do not know Catholic doctrine in particular, but know nothing of Christianity in general other than superficial “platitudes” that bear almost no resemblance to the orthodox faith of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This tragic situation can only be rectified by first coming to a proper “diagnosis” and then the instituting of a radical form of “treatment”. The “diagnosis” is that orthodox faith has been replaced by a “feelings” or “experiential” based conglomeration of loosely knit principles with which the individual attempts to synthesize the meaning of existence utilizing their own life experiences. This is Existentialism, coupled with elements of Freudian Psychology, Darwinian Evolution, and Dialectical Materialism and as such bears no resemblance to the faith of our fathers in the Church, or the faith which Christ himself instituted. Thus in the 1970’s thousands of Priests and Nuns abandoned their vocations “en-mass” to embrace various forms of radical feminism, homosexuality, liberation theology, and perverted forms of “social justice” modeled after Marx and Hegel. The rapidity with which this occurred is staggering and unprecedented in the history of the Church, a point well made by Gerard Keane in his excellent book; “Creation Rediscovered” (10). Similar tragic examples of “lost faith” have been documented among the laity during the same time period.
Joseph A. Varacalli, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Nassau Community College - S.U.N.Y., has written about the disintegration of American society and specifically the failed community of Catholic America. He describes a troubling:
“‘secularization from within’ — the widespread internal dissent, (emphasis mine), that has overtaken those social institutions of the Catholic Church that were originally consciously designed to carry the message of Catholic social teaching and has rendered them ineffective as agents of Catholic socialization”.
“However, the bubble — at least from an orthodox Catholic perspective — was soon to burst. The opportunity to grasp what Fr. Richard John Neuhaus has since termed a “Catholic moment” in American civilization was lost, at least temporarily, during the post-Vatican II period (1965+) as the result of a confluence of factors, standing in what the classical sociologist Max Weber would call an “elective affinity;” one internal to the Catholic community, the other external to it. Internally, the assimilationist or “Americanist” wing of the institution, successfully articulating a quite selective, progressive (and heterodox) understanding of the vision of the theology of Vatican II, rose to power. Externally, the social change and antinomian movements of the era profoundly challenged the status quo throughout American society, the Catholic Church included. The goal of “aggiornamento” was taken on with a vengeance leading — in many cases, quite intentionally — to a severe case of the decomposition and defilement of the Church’s once impressive plausibility structure, thus weakening considerably its ability to socialize its members into an authentic Catholic worldview. Major components of the infrastructure of the Catholic Church underwent an internal secularization, became hallowed out and provided a thin veneer for what was actually and practically the promotion of non-religious belief and activity. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, what I’ve termed a “new Catholic knowledge class” lead the assimilation of the once faithful to such secular commitments as socialism/ Marxism, feminism, bourgeois materialism, new age, sexual liberation including homosexuality, the therapeutic mentality, and radical individualism all proceeding merrily along under the guise of authentic religious development or, failing that, required religious innovation, (emphasis mine). With the defilement of the Catholic plausibility during the immediate post-Vatican II period, the Catholic Church, qua institution, has lost whatever power and status it had gained during the previous decades-witness a string of defeats from Roe v. Wade (1972) to human embryonic stem cell research (2001)”, (11).
Thus the Catholic Church in the United States has seen millions of its former members leave the Church for other false religious systems such as atheism, agnosticism, materialism, New Age Paganism and even evangelical Protestantism. The latter while being incompatible with Catholicism on certain fundamental (key) doctrines has the advantage of presenting a largely Christocentric form of Monotheism which stresses personal faith in Christ and the Counter-Cultural approach which characterized the early Church. As Catholics we are indebted to our evangelical Protestant brothers for their efforts in preserving that “counter cultural” milieu and approach to genuine Christianity. Interestingly, Evangelical Protestantism has largely maintained a belief in the “Core” Creation/Fall/Redemption orthodox Christian elements and the growth in their congregations is reflective of that truth. This should come as no surprise to Bible Catholics who understand that the Truth will always be reflected in the “Good Fruits” that are born to right belief and practice, (Matthew 7: 17-18), “Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit”, (NABFC).
The radical treatment for our present condition is to re-establish the full gospel (scripture and catechetical based) teaching of the Catholic Church, including the “3” essential elements of CREATION/FALL/REDEMPTION. This means that the tragic “experiential based” catechesis of the past 35 years must be recognized as the failure it is, discarded once and for all, and replaced with thoughtful, well integrated, doctrinally based dogmatic theology which reestablishes the proper formation of Christian faith. It must not be a return to “mindless” catechetical formulae (strong on memorization and weak on explanation and understanding) which fail to derive the justification for Catholic belief which is amenable to Reason. To the contrary, it must be fully explained by use of reason, such that the faith which comes though grace can be informed, not blind, and thus consistent with Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterial teaching. The latest encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, Fides et. Ratio “faith and reason”(12) is an excellent starting point for our repair of the Catholic Church in the 21st century along with a profound renewal in personal Holiness.
St. James, (James 2: 14-26), wrote that faith in Christ was a faith which works in love and that faith without works is dead, (James 2: 26). St. Paul emphasized that Christian agape (selfless love) should be motivated out of understanding and right belief, not a blind faith that contradicts reason and understanding. In fact as Christians, we are encouraged to “test everything; hold fast to what is good and abstain from every form of evil” (I Thessalonians 5; 21-22). As such it is our duty and responsibility to teach the Catholic Faith, to preach, and live that Faith in its glorious fullness. St. James teaches that the tongue has great power (James 2:1-12), just as our Lord Jesus Christ spoke Creation into existence. We must control our speech and utilize it properly in building up the Kingdom of God on Earth in order to comply with New Testament Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church. Once this is re-established through a revival of Dogmatic Theology based on sound catechesis and the restoration of a proper foundation, we can then move on to re-establishing a fuller understanding of uniquely Catholic Moral Theology which allows us to live our Faith more freely, fully and abundantly “and you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free”, (John 8: 32). We all recognize that it is difficult to learn how to run before learning to walk. As a result, much of the failure of Catholics to live in accord with Catholic Moral Theological principles on abortion, contraception and the like is a result of never understanding them fully or in their proper context “anthropologically” in the first place. As St. Paul teaches in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 25, we are to “speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, for we are members one of another”, and in chapter 5, verse 6; “Let no one deceive you with empty arguments for because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient”, and in verse 17; “do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord”, (NABFC). This is without doubt a huge Cross to bear in the 21st century in light of the virtual loss of Catholic orthodoxy, but one which we will not carry alone, since our Lord has promised to be with us to the end of time, (Matthew 28: 2); “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age”. We can take great comfort in knowing that the power of the Holy Spirit will be with us in our efforts, (John 14: 16-17); “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it” (NABFC). Let us not fail in our time of testing. Let us commence in helping to restore the health of HIS Mystical Body on earth with Christ as its head in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord the font from whom all blessings flow.
References:
1. Kreeft, Peter. How to Win the Culture War: A Christian Battle Plan for a Society in Crisis, Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002.
2. Colson, Charles W. How Now Shall We Live? Wheaton Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1999, p. 17.
3. Pope Pius XII, Humani Generis. Rome: The Holy See, 1950, nos. 5, 6, 9, 36, 37, 38, 43.
4. Douay-Rheims Bible (1989 edition), Rockford, Ill.: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1989.
5. Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, New York: The Free Press, 1996; Dembsky, William A. Intelligent Design: The Bridge between Science and Theology, Downer’s Grove Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1999; Overman, Dean. A case Against Accident and Self-Organization. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Pub., 1997, Yockey, Hubert. Information Theory and Molecular Biology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, Johnson, Philip E. Darwin on Trial, Downers Grove Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993; Moreland, J.P. Scaling the Secular City, Grand Rapids Mi.: Baker Book House, 1987; Meyer, Stephen C. Book Chapter; The Methodological Equivalence of Design and Descent, in; Moreland, J.P. The Creation Hypothesis, Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1994; Whitcomb, John C. and Henry M. Morris. The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and its Scientific Implications, Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co. 1961; Brown, Walt. In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, seventh edition, Phoenix, Arizona: Center for Scientific Research, 2001; Keane, Gerard J. Creation Rediscovered: Evolution and the Importance of the Origins Debate, Rockford, Ill.: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. 1999; Davis, Percival, and Dean Kenyon. Of Pandas and People: The Central Question of Biological Origins, Dallas: Haughton Publishing Co. 1993; Denton Michael. Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, London: Burnett Books Limited, 1985. (U.S. distributor: Woodbine House, Bethesda, MD; Dembski, William A. No Free Lunch: Why Specified Complexity cannot be purchased without Intelligence, Lanham, Md. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2002; Thaxton, Charles B. et.al. The Mystery of Life’s Origin: Reassessing Current Theories, Dallas Tx.: Lewis and Stanley, 1984.
6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, Washington: United
States Catholic Conference, 1997.
7. Pope John Paul II, encyclical letter, Veritatis Splendor, Vatican City: LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA, 1993.
“As a result of that mysterious original sin, committed at the prompting of Satan, the one who is "a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44), man is constantly tempted to turn his gaze away from the living and true God in order to direct it towards idols (cf. 1
Thessalonians 1:9), exchanging "the truth about God for a lie", (emphasis mine), (Rom 1: 25). Man's capacity to know the truth is also darkened, and his will to submit to it is weakened. Thus, giving himself over to relativism and skepticism (cf. John
18: 38), he goes off in search of an illusory freedom apart from truth
itself”.
8. Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica. Vol. 1, Westminister, Md.: Christian Classics.
9. Kreeft, Peter J. Catholic Christianity: A Complete Catechism of Catholic Beliefs based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001.
10. Keane, Gerard J. Creation Rediscovered: Evolution and the Importance of the Origins Debate, Rockford, Ill.: Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. 1999.
11. Joseph A. Varacalli. "Catholic Social Thought and American Civilization." The Homiletic & Pastoral Review (October 2002): 11-19.
12. Pope John Paul II, encyclical letter, Fides et Ratio. Rome: The Holy See, 1998.