Återigen är det First Things som får lysa upp mitt grådaskiga inre. Denna gång är det en ärkebiskop i Denver som skriver under rubriken Renewing the Church, Converting the World [1]. Han börjar:
I’d like to start with a proposition. Here it is: To be a Christian is to believe in history.
Think about the Bible. All the great world religions have sacred books: the Qur’an, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Analects of Confucius. What those sacred texts have in common is that they’re essentially wisdom literature. They’re collections of noble teachings aimed at helping believers live ethically and find the right path to peace or happiness or enlightenment.
The Bible also aims to make people wise. But it does much more. It seeks to lead them to salvation, which is much more than enlightenment. The Bible’s starting point is totally different from any other sacred book. The first words are: ”In the beginning . . .” The Bible begins with a step-by-step report of the first day in the history of the world.
Och vidare:
To be a Christian means believing that you are part of a vast historical project. And it’s not our project. It’s God’s. We believe that since the beginning of time God has been working out his own hidden purposes in the history of nations and in the biography of every person. He’s still unfolding his purposes today, and each of us here has a necessary part to play in his divine plan. Again, no other religion makes anywhere near these kinds of claims about the meaning of human life””and not just “human life” in general, but each and every individual human life. God willed each of us to be here. He loves us personally.
Och slutligen:
So I leave you with this: Be men who love well. Be the Catholic men God intended you to be. Be men of courage and fidelity to your God, your wives, your families, and your Church. Put your belief into practice. Do everything for the glory of God, even the little things you have to do each day. Love those who don’t love you. Love””expecting nothing in return. Love””and those you love will find Jesus, too. Love””and through your actions, God will change this world.
Men varför nöja sig med mina korta utdrag? Läs hela texten!