Moralists Shun Democracy

[ironmonk]

Then you get King Henry VIII.... kings have to much power.

Monarchy is not better than a republic.

A republic governed by the Church laws would be the ideal gov.

-ironmonk

[p0lar_bear]

Don John of Austria

Are you saying that John Paul II is not a "really thinking moralist"?

"The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it ensures the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility both of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate" (Centesimus Annus, no. 46 (1991)).

(I know we have a similar discussion in progress, but I just couldn't resist )

[Don John of Austria]

polar I don't know sometimes I would Question his thought processes, but he might just be in the minority of thinking morsalist who are wrong on this matter.

[cmotherofpirl]

This guy is a classic liberal: anybody can have any opinion they want as long as it agrees with ours.

He must worek on a college campus.

[cmotherofpirl]

What newspaper is this anyway?

[gopherball33]

this is what i would say: Hey, buddy, you may not be Christian, but we are called to alert people if what they are doing is sinful. Why are you telling Christians to not do this? It is not a bad thing that a Christian does this. If you do not choose to take heed from these warnings, then ignore them and go about your life.

[cmotherofpirl]

Yep.

You can also say :

I might not agree with your free speech, but I will die defending your right to make it.

Will you die defending my right to my free speech?

[Winchester]

I wouldn't. I would not die for the vague ideal of "free speech," which seems to include the rights of such as NAMBLA to preach about the right to molest children. I would not die so someone could stand in front of poorly educated college students and pontificate on the virtues of abortion.

To die to protect someone's "right" to speak idiocy is lunacy.

[p0lar_bear]

Don John,

I think the Holy Father's conclusions are obvious, especially given his understanding of the dignity of the human person and of work.

I think that the Holy Father is one of the most learned (and eloquent) philosophers and theologians of our time. Also, from my readin, it does not seems that he is in the minority on this. Even if he were in the minority, I still agree with him.

I think forms of government that refuse men participation in the process and decisions of the political and economic spheres offend human dignity.

[cmotherofpirl]

I wouldn't. I would not die for the vague ideal of "free speech," which seems to include the rights of such as NAMBLA to preach about the right to molest children. I would not die so someone could stand in front of poorly educated college students and pontificate on the virtues of abortion.

To die to protect someone's "right" to speak idiocy is lunacy.

You miss the point.

THe guarantee of free speech protects us all: catholic and hate-monger alike.

Without it, PC wins every time.

[immaculata]

Here's the rough draft of the letter we plan to send in.. Matthew still needs to make his changes and add his input, but it'll go something like this:

Re: Lucas D. Herr’s August 26th letter, “Moralists Shun Democracy.” Mr. Herr basically states that any ‘right-wing fundamentalist’ who does not agree with his version of morality should keep their “mouths shut and their pen caps on.” Since when does freedom of speech only cover one person’s viewpoint? The right to free speech protects everyone, Christian and atheist alike.

Recent letters in the Forum condemning homosexuality, premarital sex, trashy television and several other so-called “American freedoms” have horribly offended Mr. Herr. He sees nothing wrong with the values and morals of every red-blooded American. Perhaps we need to clarify the definition of morality. The word comes from the Latin moralis, which means a manner or way of acting. Christian morality, while based on the fundamentals of right and wrong, is not a negative morality. Far from being a long list of “don’ts,” it is instead the way we respond to God’s love. We act in a certain way or manner not because we are afraid of being condemned to hell, but as a way of returning the love that God has shown us.

We are not free to determine our own standard of morality, however. Every human being is born with the Natural Law imprinted on his or her heart, the basic instinct of right and wrong. Temptation and sin pervert this Law, however, and our values are turned upside down. Evil becomes our deepest longing, while good becomes evil because it stands in our way. Isaiah 5:20 warns us, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil!” We right-winged moralists know that what comes out of our mouths and pens is legitimately moral because we follow the teachings of Christ rather than the twisted illusions of the world.

What Mr. Herr fails to realize is that he claims as freedom is actually bondage. From his red-blooded indulgences, we are plagued with STD’s, abuse, AIDS, depression and suicide. The paradox of Christian morality is that the more we follow the rules, the more free we become. The basic rules of morality are not there to restrict us, but rather to set us free- free to live in peace without fear or worry. Freedom is not the highest of all values, but must be subordinated to the truth. Otherwise, our so-called ‘freedom’ is merely an illusion.

No matter how much breath and ink we waste preaching our Christian morality, atheists still have the right to do whatever they want. That’s the beauty of our American society; we cannot force them to share our views. They have the right to ignore us, to disagree with us. They do not, however, have the right to take away our freedom of speech. Mr. Herr labels all moralists as fascists, and claims that we are standing in the way of liberal Americans enjoying the freedoms of the democracy given to us by our forefathers. What he fails to realize again, however is that America is not a democracy- we are a republic. In a true democracy, every member of the society votes on every issue, while in a republic we elect representatives to make decisions for us. Our forefathers hated the idea of a democracy, because society will sink to the lowest common denominator. The freedoms that our fathers fought for are not the freedoms that Mr. Herr accuses moralists of attacking.

Christian morality is not narrow-minded, nor is it fascist. We have the right to state our opinions, just as atheists have the right to insult us. Whether or not they agree with us makes no difference, they still do not have the right to tell us to sit down and shut up. It seems to me that moralists are not the narrow-minded ones in this situation.

[Didacus]

Please include this...

 

 

 

America IS NOT a democracy. America is a Republic. The founding fathers hated democracy... and shunned it.

In democracy, society always sinks to the lowest common denominator.

 

 

 

God Bless!

ironmonk

Long live democracy!!!

I agre with on Monk onceonce again (in part).