Father,
How to descibe my journey in faith. Started as a Southern Baptist, got disillusioned, studied most major religions, became agnositic, and then tripped over God when I wasn’t looking.

From studing the major religons I formed a couple of ‘truths about religons.

1. In order for a religon to survive in the long term it must codify a successful society. In other words people that live by the tenets of that religon will survive and prosper.

2. In order for a religon to survive in the long term it must have a mechanism of change.

Number 2 bothered me for a long time…how could a religon be the ‘truth’ if it must have a mechanism of change? Finally when ‘I tripped over God’ I realized that religon is mans imperfect attempt to manifest God. If they satisfy #1 they are close but they occasionally may need some ‘tweaking’ to bring them more in line.

Number 1 goes to the heart of your comment “At the heart of the UDHR is a conviction that the human race is capable of agreeing upon certain tenets of universal morality that are necessary for the peaceful existence of nations and for the genuine flourishing of their citizens.”. Those tenets have been recorded in any successful long term religon. One can easily argue with the gradual disintegration of the US that the tenets this country is following are not creating a successful society anymore. We are living on in the shadow of our former glory. Our country has lost its ties to the tenets that created the successful society that we were when we were more closely tied to Gods teachings and the results are dismal.

One additional comment on number 1. I think the closer the tenets of a religon are to God’s will the smoother and more successful the society will function. Unfortunately the further the tenets of a religon are from Gods will the more marginal the society will be that is created. There are examples of both in the world as well as those that crop up and a barely recognized before their demise.

Thank you for the forum. I hope it is a raging success,
JDC

Jonathan,

I will reserve my opinion of this forum, to see where it leads. I am an unmarried male, no children, IT professional, and am unaffiliated religiously, spiritually, and politically. I will attempt to bring what logic and rationality I can to my postings.

As to your subject for this posting, the UDHR, while I agree with most of it’s tenets, I would have to question the basis for some of them. For example, “Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.” Is there really an absolute moral basis for “periodic holidays with pay?” Granted, it is a nice thought, but an inalienable human right? Perhaps one test for any inalienable right might be, if you are alone on a island, unclaimed by any nation, without any influence or coercion from outside sources, are your inalienable rights being violated? I think the basics, the American version anyway, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would be covered. But if your sitting on that beach, then where are your paid holidays? Likewise, “Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.” A great and noble thought, as well as necessary, I think, for any rational country in the global arena, but inalienable? Again, sitting on that beach, who exactly is violating your rights?

KenInKC
“Generalizations are ALWAYS wrong.” - Unknown

I am a happily married father of three adult children, U.S. Army veteran, and retired university professor. My orthodox Christianity and conservative philosophy survived the aggressive radical-left indoctrination that pervades American colleges and universities. Then, as one of the three faculty members who were orthodox Christians and conservatives in my university, I observed this indoctrination from another perspective.

I still remember vividly an experience I had as a doctoral student. One of my professors was preaching one of his favorite themes: there is no such thing as absolute truth – truth is always relative, influenced by different circumstances. Finally not able to remain silent any longer, I raised my hand and the professor asked me if I had a question. I told him I had two questions. First, could it be possible that, instead of truth changing with different circumstances, different circumstances change our perception of truth? Second, was he telling us that there are absolutely no absolutes? After looking at me in stunned silence for a while, he told me I was bringing up issues that would take too much of the class’ time to discuss them. Could he and I discuss them sometime when we had coffee together? That time never occurred.

Father Jonathon, I respect your intelligence, knowledge and wisdom. I have, nevertheless, respectfully expressed disagreement with you a few times, and will probably do that again. What you are doing here is good.

Greetings!

Thanks for paving the way for this discussion. I am almost 28 years old and was raised Catholic although my mom is Catholic and my dad is Protestant. Coming from that mix, I have always said I am Christian first. It’s funny my dad always asks people if they are Christians and common response he receives is “I’m Catholic.” Although I think the Catholic faith is wonderful (I am a practicing Catholic), I think that some Catholics forget that they are Christians simultaneously because one can’t be Catholic without being Christian. I am looking forward to learning more about my faith and the faith of others through this discussion.

I agree with you that it society has lost its moral compass in lots of ways. I think people tend to fall in line with the majority and they say, “Well everyone is doing it” almost like a justification of some sorts. I would love for younger people especially to be taught it’s all right to stand up and alone (sometimes) for what they believe in. I think that community is great and very much needed but I think the beauty of uniqueness is being faded from society. I am challenged by that every day working in a corporate evironment with a mix of values and ideals.

In short, I think this discussion help me a great deal become more assertive and less timid. My dad always asks me, “What would you rather have a flower that is protected and sheltered or one that can weather the storm?” I look forward to being challenged and my perspective to be broadened and tested. I’ll get my raincoat!

God bless and thanks again! Keep up the good work, Fr. J!

Fr. Jonathon,

My wife and I appreciate, so much, your efforts in the media! You are actually my brother, Michael’s spiritual advisor for the Legionaries. He’s about 6′5″ and has a Dutch surname that means, “from the creek”. Take good care of him…we love him! He’s on track to be ordained within a couple of years, and we’re eagerly awaiting a trip to Rome to celebrate the occasion.

God bless!

Hello Father,
I am a native Texan. Displaced in the New Jersey Philadelphia area. I am a single mother with 3 children and I work in the healthcare University based hospital so often I come across troubling moral and ethical issues. I have read your articles for some time now and truely enjoy them. I look forward to this forum. The previous post are positive and insightful. The world is quite different sometimes up here from the midwest and south. Very interseting and I have met some wonderful people. Thanks for a place to have a good read and a place to share thoughts and ideas.

Father Jonathan,

I am a mid-life female engineer in seminary for chaplaincy/pastoral counseling. I am a United Methodist but enjoy the Catholic Church, also.

I have read your responses for quite some time now and find you to be an intelligent, thoughtful and loving voice of reason in a time when it is truly needed.

The issues of moral relativism, humanism, secularism, pluralism (the list goes on) fascinate me and I look forward to thoughtful, intriguing, and kind debates and discussions between those who believe, those who don’t and those who are unsure. All have something of great value to contribute just as all have something to learn.

Blessings,

NS
Northeast US

Father Jonathan,

Good morning! I am delighted to have this opportunity to talk with you. I am a happily-married, home-schooling mother of two teenagers and a school teacher by trade. I am very proud to be a Christian in the United States of America. I have been following your articles in the Opinion section of Fox News online for several months now. It is refreshing to read what you write. You express your opinions related to a variety of situations and issues without compromising your faith. Thank you for allowing others the opportunity to do the same. I look forward to hearing from all who will express themselves in a polite manner. I believe we can all learn from each other - because someone has a different faith or is from a different denomination does not make him impossible to learn from. (It doesn’t mean you buy into everything he says either.) My faith is the key defining point in my life, therefore, it is part of every decision I make. (Or, at least it should be a part of each decision.) That doesn’t mean I will preach in every situation I find myself. It does mean that it (my faith) should influence how I treat others and how I allow myself to be treated by others.

I didn’t mean to say so much. I did mean to say, once again, thank you for this opportunity!

Sincerely -
Sheryll

This is great. I hope it goes according to plan.
Please let me start by stating that I am a man of faith; Christianity. I’d also like to apologize to anyone who feels the Christian Church has done him or her wrong. The role of the Church is not to tear down, but to build up. I hate no one, and I feel it’s wrong, as a Christian, to espouse anything other than love for others, regardless of faith, sexual orientation, political views, and any and every other reason some find to hate. I can love someone but feel he or she is wrong in behavior. I can respect others while disagreeing with them. A disagreement on my part does not constitute hatred, bigotry, or any kind of phobia. I don’t and won’t claim to be right all the time.
I hope to see this forum move along in a civil, respectful manner. I would love to grow in wisdom as Solomon did. Maybe this forum will help me with that. I am looking forward to discussing some heavy and some not so heavy matters. Thank you Reverend Morris!

Will I belong here? I’m not Catholic, but I studied religion in college. I also noticed the similarities in ethical behavior that exist in the world’s major religions, and wondered why religion continues to separate us instead of unite us. Sounds like an interesting discussion I’d like to share with other calm, thoughtful, polite folks.

Father,

Can you help me understand how a fundamentalist ideology can weaken common-sense morality?

Thanks Fr. Jonathan for all of your insight into a troubled world. I credit the Catholic Church with saving my life! I grew up in a chaotic, dysfunctional family, but by the grace of God, my Mother had myself and brothers in Catholic Schools. The Nuns and school were my anchor and helped to instill in me the values I hold dear.
I am a mother of two and wife for nearly 23 years. I’m also a “reformed” social worker. I have seen the total devastation of families by “well intentioned” programs. I no longer believe that the system we have works and see the breakdown of the family as our greatest challenge. Only when our society decides it truly values life and family will we begin to turn the tide.
God Bless-L

Father Jonathan is assuming that humankind is basically good, which is refuted by Scripture in Genesis with the fall of man.
If humans can “come together’ and use a “common sense” morality, then the cross of Christ was an overreaction, with Christ, not as substitute for our sins, but only a cheerleader.
It just doesn’t make sense.

Either Father Jonathan needs to declare that Christ is the only way of salvation, which is what Jesus Himself said, as recorded in the Gospel of John, or the priest is just another relativist himself.

You can’t have it both ways. Either Jesus Christ is Who He says He is, or He isn’t.
He is.
And the only way of salvation.
Not because I say so, but because He says so in Scripture. And if Scripture cannot be trusted, then God has left us alone to figure this out by ourselves, and how can a sinful mind discern the truth?

Father Jonathan is just another example of what is wrong with Christianity today: it serves to be popular with the world. Jesus wasn’t.
He was nailed to a tree.
But rose again. Believe on Him and be saved!

Father Jonathan

Great idea for a forum. I look forward to participating. I am a retired Army Evac Pilot currently living in North Carolina. I was raised a Roman Catholic and my middle son was just confirmed

A couple of thoughts. I believe Moral relativism and a lack of self responsibility are destroying our society. I constantly hear “Who are we to Judge” I believe we, as a society, should be more Judgmental and hold people to a moral standard.

Regards,

Steve

An old ex navy seal living in a secular country called Germany. However, there is a resurgence in the youth of the country thanks to having a German Pope. Father Jonathan you are a brave man to open up a forum to the public and I do admire you for this fact. I read and enjoy your columns on Fox and find them very sensible and intelligent thought. Here is hoping that everyone will consider that each person has an opinion and to really understand a subject it must be turned inside out three times over to grasp the issues behind that opinion. Not so with the word of God as this is straight forward in that he loves all of us period. Growing up an studying the bible in a Baptist church I found and questioned the pastor on lots of issues starting with Adam and Eve searching for the truth. I attended services in Mehtodist, Lutheran, Church of Christ, Mormon and Catholic searching for this truth. What I experienced was that all the different people believed in one thing for certain and that was God. Hows each of these churches express that believe is open to discussion on many fronts. I asked several of my Jewish friends about these truths and came away with the same answers that I was given in all the other churches. A person must believe and have true faith with God. I hope that everyone will work with each other to help all of us find the truth and correct way home. God Bless All.

I am a 62 year old retired college graduate, who, with my husband raised 3 children AND worked at home as a potter until the children all graduated from college. I then became a realtor. My husband is 65, a veteran of the USAF and a retired corporate executive. Our parents required hard work from us and we required it from our children. We live very modestly in a very small home in Texas. We have one car that is two years old. It is not an SUV. We have always lived under our means and saved everywhere we could. Now we are retired and we enjoy a simple uncomplicated life. Are we wrong to have no sympathy for those who bought more than they could afford and contributed to the real estate slow down? Are we equally wrong to blame do nothing politicians in Washington, whose policies have gotten us so dependent on OPEC? We do need change, but not the kind offered by Obama, who wants to manage the whole country, but couldn’t manage to separate himself from a really bad situation with his church. The change we need is from status quo politicians to true leadership. Is anyone in Washington listening?

What a great idea, but what are you going to do with it? Do you have any means to implement any kind of change as a result of this? Thousands of blogs already exist, thousands more discussion forums. Al252130 is right. Like all forums this will devolve into those who agree with each other patting one another’s backs, and a few trolls dropping by for flame wars. If you did actually manage to sift through all of that, and discover a genuine common sense morality, will it be lost when this server crashes? Or is it going to actually go someplace and do some good? Personal take. . . . common sense quickly takes a back seat to idealogical beliefs and you don’t stand a chance. You can’t stand a chance because common sense requires critical thinking and rational thought and you’re not allowed to do that if it questions certain dogma. Good luck tho, I’ll pop in some times and watch the flame wars when it’s dull at work.

d
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I’ll keep it short and sweet; I’m a 25-year-old member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who is discontent with society insisting my ideas, opinions and beliefs are old-fashioned, out-of-date and irrelevant. Whether or not anybody listens, I’m going to participate in these discussions and look forward to hearing other peoples’ ideas and opinions as well.

I am an active Catholic and enjoy theology. I would like a forum where instead of reading how wrong the other person is, a place where how religion effects our lives. Too much is made of our differences and not enough support is givin to the faith by those seeking love. We are challenged by popular life styles of the time. It has been that way in history, but never with this level of media exposure.

It would be interesting to hear how people are holding thier beliefs together with their families and socially with their peers when asked thier opinions. Does the need to feel “in” sway their statements, do they hold back, do they express their opinion with understanding and love.

God Bless you Father and your readers. I hope this effort is successful.

Fascinating.
I was raised Catholic, but now prefer to describe myself as a humanist who refuses to let others think for me. I question everything. I’m also an independent voter.
I teach public high school, and right now my students and I are exploring the connection between Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and their influence on Dante’s Inferno; We will focus on morality, spirituality, and logical reasoning, and discuss their connections with each other. Your forum will be one of the topics of our next discussion tomorrow. I anticipate that we shall follow your forum with interest. Thank you, S. Roth

To K in NC,

I too spent some number of years frustrated with the church, In my case, it was the Catholic Church, although I suspect that many of us can be tempted to “bag it all” as far as organized religion is concerned. It took me a while to begin to understand what the true meaning of “The Body of Christ” really is. It is we Christians, and we collectively need each other to function. I wish I could have explained this to my sons when they were younger. The church is not buildings and regulations and money and such. The true presence of Christ in the world is brought by our willingness to show Him to each other. (Since we are Him, so to speak)
We cannot do that if we separate ourselves from each other. I recommend highly a bible study program by Scott Hahn titled “Our Father’s Plan”. Using this as a topic for a one year study, our group was able to more effectivley understand the whole creation story and where we fit into this plan. I hope people can discover, maybe through this blog, the true beauty of being human, and the awesome responsibility to live up to the calling which our humanity demands.

Hi Father,

I am so excited to have the opportunity to participate in this forum! I have been reading your articles for a long time and tend to agree with you most of the time. I appreciate the way you approach so many difficult subjects, and the conviction of your faith; which is so apparent and inspiring in your articles.

I am a married mother of 1 child. We are all “cradle” Catholics, and though we do practice our faith, we don’t always live it the way we should. I tend to vote conservatively, though I am moderate on some social issues (but very much pro-life!!!!). I am in my late 20s, my son is in a public elementary school and attends our parish religious education classes.

I hope this forum continues to be a stimulating discussion of where the moral compass of the US and other countries around the world should be pointed.

God Bless,
JFA

I go to catholic church. I am furious abut actress Sharon Stone’s comment about china’s earthquick. Ms. Stone said it could be Karma for what chinese government did to tibet. It is a natural disaster and such a human tragedy. 60,000 people died and many children were killed by callapsed building. I can not believe when 60,000 people died and many are children, she could say such heartless thing. Either she is a bitch, heartless person or she is on drug that day, did not know what was her saying. She is a representative for Christian Dior, guess what, I used to use Dior cosmetics and now, I will not spend a cent on Dior unless they droped her completely. If they hire such stupid, hearless woman, I guess the product can not be that good.

Member of the US Military for 34 years, still currently serving.
Self-educated/deliberate christian who grew up in a household without strong spiritual influence. My adult children on the other hand, were encouraged to seek moral and spiritual growth through christian worship and seem to have a found a strong relationship with God that they share with my grandchildren.
Father Jonathan fan for some time.
I hail from Reno, NV.
“Common-Sense Morality”? Of course! Human societies cannot exist without it and even if one does not believe in God, the church and the teaching of Jesus Christ are good places to find a point of reference for one’s moral compass…one has to start somewhere. Maybe “The 10 Commandments” would be more acceptable to the spiritually-challenged if we just started calling them “10 Common Sense Rules for a Prosperous, Successful, Human Society”.

I am a great-grandfather, Sunday school teacher and board member of our church. Conservative would be how others describe me, though I have some pretty radical ideas. Ex-serviceman who was stationed in a secular/muslim country. Moral relativism is just a way to avoid thinking about our individual responsibilties to not sin. Sin. A word to be avoided at all costs in our society. Jesus died for my sin, I deserve eternal damnation and I know it. Only by having a personal relationship with our Savior do I escape my just deserts. Not perfect and never will be, but a great improvement over the person I was who spent many years in the “far country” away from the Father. I think moral relativists deep down have a fear they are too bad to be accepted by God, not understanding that He loves them as much as any one else, so they resolve to not recognize His rules. For many years I participated in Sin, big time.
After an attempted suicide, I turned my life over to God. All those years I never knew true happiness, joy, peace or satisfaction. If the disobedient children would but take a single step toward the Father, they would find He is there to accept them with open arms. Moral relativism, the religion of evolution and the present condition of the world are interconnected. No matter the question, God has the answer.
I know that many will disregard me as a fundamentalist Christian, but know this: I started our as an ardent evolutionist, atheist, socialist and as morally relativist as they come. I have seen the other side of the coin and it is pointless, hopeless and cruel. I fought God for many years, rejected Him on numerous occasions, but He never gave up on me. He never gives up on the vilest sinner. As Christians we should live as if our hair is on fire! Jesus could return tomorrow. If he does, will we be able to to face Him? Have we done today what we should? If you are disillusioned with the church,
change it! Change it to what it should be through prayer and right living and right action. I know I come off as simplistic, but after all none of us are as smart as we think we are. God knows best.

Read and meditate on His Word. If you think this life and world are the pits, you are right. That is why it is called life and not called party time. This life is a preparation for eternity. Your don’t have to agree with me (even thought I am right), search the scriptures and prove me wrong. Give God a chance and see if your life is not improved. Don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it.

I was reading Proverbs 1 to my son last night and realized afresh just how simple and straightforward the scriptures are. If every father would teach his son these simple truths we could eliminate crime in our streets and with it the dependency that we have upon society to meet the needs of individuals who become wards of the state…any state. The simple message there is that when one person fails to value the person and property of another, the end result is that the one commiting the crime is the one who pays the most. Read it for yourself. Fathers (and mothers, too) teach your children these things.

Father, thanks for the effort. I am struck by the irony; however. We are seeking answers from one another when we should be seeking wisdom at the Throne of Grace. Is this nothing more than man demanding his way over that of God? Will we spend as much time listening for God’s “small voice” in these matters as we do blogging OUR thoughts?

Two generations of folks have been taught to look at the world in mirror to find out how they fit in. They should be looking through a window. The mirror reflects and keeps our image as the focul point. Through the window we see only a slight reflection of ourself and the focus is beyond.

Thanks, John

Father Jonathan

Great idea for a forum. I look forward to participating. I am a retired Army Evac Pilot currently living in North Carolina. I was raised a Roman Catholic and my middle son was just confirmed

A couple of thoughts. I believe Moral relativism and a lack of self responsibilty are destroying our society. I constantly hear “Who are we to Judge” I believe we, as a society, should be more Judgemental and hold people to a moral standard.

Regards,

Steve

THANK YOU, Father!!!!!

Maybe now the “silent majority” will start voicing their opinions and learn how to be assertive in voicing how in reality they lived their lives. I believe that the majority of people live by more conservative morals and standards than the media and Hollywood would let you to believe. However, other people will never know if “silent majority” doesn’t speak out.

God Bless

Hello, Father.

I have been watching you on FOX since Pope John Paul II’s death. You are a great comfort to me, just like the old days in Catholic school. I miss them. It’s been over 30 years since my last confession. Of course I’m not proud of it, but you make me think about my faith. Your manner is calm helpful to me in my own pain. We need more priests like you. I will pray for that to happen in my lifetime.

Denise in NJ

Father, I am a lapsed Lutheran and love reading you on the Fox website. Can you recommend a good book that will help me with the Bible? ( I was confirmed many years ago ) I am lapsed because it seems that church has become more of a business than a place of worship and learning. My beliefs haven’t changed, but I think it is important to always seek knowledge. I remind myself daily that what I see on the news and what I experience daily seem to be so different. It is overwhelming to think about all the suffering and I guess it all boils down to how we individually live our lives and how we raise our children. Lead by example etc. What is lacking is our collective voice. Their will always be suffering and horror and thank goodness, always God to comfort and lead, if we would just listen.

Look forward to this

Father J,

You are a brave man, opening a venue for people to send in their comments. However, after reading your columns for several months I believe that the majority of the respondents will play by the rules and maintain a forum where intellectual honesty is prized above all.

Dear Fr. Morris,

First the demographics you requested. First and foremost, I’m a husband, a father, and a grandfather. Secondly, I’m a software engineer in Cincinnati, Ohio. I don’t consider myself to be religious, but I do know that there is more to this universe than man can explain. I do believe that the search for truth and meaning are as perpetual as the need for nourishment and exercise.

I’m looking forward to being a part of this forum and seeing the fruits of it. However, I’ve been a part of various online forums and my experience has been that when a diverse group communicate, a significant amount of moderation is required to keep it on point. All it takes is one divisive message to bring down a topic.

With regard to Ly’s comment that morality is not subjective, I must completely disagree. When I walk past a panhandler and refuse to give him my spare change, a passerby may think I’m heartless because didn’t help someone in need. However it my be my feeling that giving the panhandler money would perpetuate a drinking or drug habit, and that giving food to a shelter is a better way of helping.

I kill a man who breaks into my house because I believe he’s a threat to my family. from this subject’s perspective, I was morally right to do so. But if the burglar has a wife and kids, from their perspective I was not.

Morality is inherently subjective. It is defined by out beliefs, cultural or spiritual, and colored by our experiences and perceptions.

Sincerely,
Bob

I’m Katie from Texas. I am a believer in Jesus Christ, believing His death and resurrection are my salvation. I was raised Southern Baptist, but now attend a Vineyard church, which I love! I found myself turning 50 years old, getting a divorce after 28 years of marriage, and working as a customer service rep selling toilet paper (really! I do! God does have a sense of humor). I am on my own for the first time. This isnt exactly what I had planned for my life! I am leaning on the God who loves me in this difficult world. I enjoy your columns Father Jonathan, looking forward to reading about others ideas and opinions on things. God bless!

Hello again, A question for any atheist or agnostic… I’m wondering what it is that makes a person not believe. Is it the lack of anything that one can reach out and touch or see with their own eyes (like looking up and seeing that the sky is blue)? Or is it just an empty feeling inside? I imagine some people loose their faith after a great loss or hardship.
I’m trying to understand these viewpoints better. Thank you.
Laura

Thank you for your contribution, using your talents to place many moral issues before the public here and with your appearances on Fox News. I am a 55 year old Catholic lawyer in Iowa, married to a public health nurse for 31 years. We have four grown children all college graduates. The oldest is a patent lawyer and also a previous Jesuit
Volunteer, married now and just a new parent. Second child is in a masters program in international public health and a former Peace Corp volunteer. Third child is a Chef at a major university and our forth child is set to begin teaching Catholic Theolgy in a Catholic school here in Iowa. I have two step-brother priests one with the Legionaires and another with a Diocese in Wisconsin. I have met several Legionaires and was always impressed with their dedication and the joy they expressed. Thanks again!

Thank you for your kind invitation, Father Jonathon. Kindness- whatever happened to it? It’s certainly not included in any of the ideologies you mentioned above. Come to think of it, it’s not included in any other ideologies, nor in secular humanism. Maybe that’s where the problem is- none of them address the hearts and souls of humanity, only their heads. Christianity, on the other hand, does the opposite: It speaks to our hearts and souls- and yet we still see as through a glass darkly. But not to worry- we still receive all the illumination we need. And so, we are enjoined to be in the (secular) world but not of it.
The more I compare and contrast Christianity with secularism, the starker the shortcomings of secularism become. Maybe somebody else can help me out and expand on this?
Speaking from my own experience, Christianity can be experienced even by a child. Very little intellect is required. I attended Catholic school up to the fourth grade (public school thereafter) and during that time I had already acquired a reverence and devotion to the Faith. I drifted away from it during public school, becoming imbued with liberal secularist notions. At the age of 29, I reacquired it again through a life-changing event. After that, I gradually unsubscribed from nearly all my former liberal secularist notions, being no longer impressed with their offerings and shortcomings. For example, their ‘compassion’ and ‘empathy’ are political expressions they use to power their political machine. At the personal level, these become mere sentimentality, not heartfelt. I know this because I was a secular liberal and that’s what I felt. Secular liberals don’t really need religion because they’re actually secular humanists. Repentance is not necessary. When they appear to be religious, it’s only a veneer they use to be more widely accepted. Once they gain that acceptance, religion gets quickly shown to the back of the bus. And watch out when secular humanists reinterpret Christianity!
Well, I hope that’s a decent place to start. I’m 61yo from Austin, Tx., the only city in Texas that went blue at the last presidential election. But like that Neil Diamond song says ~…”Austin’s home but it ain’t mine no more”~. Ciao!

Father J– thanks for your response. OK, so you got me on the numbers thing. How many were killed depends on which Inquisition you are talking about, how well they kept records, etc., and historians only agree that we’ll never know the true figure. But it really doesn’t even matter to the point. My point is that THUS FAR in human history, an increasing moral relativism has been beneficial–and note that the Stalin and Mao and Pol Pot were NOT practicing moral relativism at all; they were simply promoting moral absolutism through their own prism. I think absolutism in ANY form leads to disaster. Furthermore, to those who point out the “moral relativism” of those who stand by while atrocities happen: I don’t think that’s really moral relativism. Psychologists would say that humans in such positions tend to justify things to themselves to make them seem acceptable. We all do it. It’s not moral relativism because you convince yourself that what you are doing IS moral. Moral relativism can go too far when we accept, for instance, that Muslim (or other) subjugation of women is acceptable because “it’s their beliefs, and who are we to judge” Note that this is not a poor argument in most cases- like the rights of Appalachian snake handlers. So that’s why I say it’s a balance, and not an easy one. I still think that the world at large could do with more relativism.

We have a choice. We can look around at the world and see everything going badly, or we can look around at the world and see all the blessing we have. I’m not saying to ignore all the negative aspects. That is escapism and not reality. I’m just saying everything is not falling apart either. There are many great people doing wonderful work in our communities, churches, workplace, etc. The truth is…many of us need to SLOW DOWN. Our lives have become too busy, making it almost impossible to get involved or volunteer. Instead we are always looking for the next person to do what we lack the time to do. This kind of mentality has allowed us to become complacent to our fellow man and our society as a whole. I once heard someone say that if you want to change the world start in your own community.

Oh, and next time you’re stuck in traffic and someone lets you in…try waving! Or have we all just become too busy.

Peace to all.

Father Jonathan,
I am a married Christian woman living in the Midwest with my husband and our dog. Even though I am not Catholic I have been drawn to your column by your thoughtful insights into scripture, your humanity, your humility, and your ability to speak about troubling issues. It shows when someone it “bearing fruit” from the father. Thank you!

I hope this forum will be a place where everyone can have a voice about whatever topic is on point. I do think our society has been hijacked by relatavism, materialism and fundamentalistic ideology. We are a society of the haves and have nots and the gap is getting even larger, but it has been my experience that most of the “haves” don’t care about the “have nots”. I just have to remember God is in control and He has a plan.
God Bless!

If I could comment on a couple of the entries before this one:
- Judas is a religeous name, silly. It figured prominently in the New Testament.
- I appreciate the forum being moderated and don’t mind the delay. There’s a young adolescent out there somewhere eager to practice his cursing vocabulary. I’m glad he’s being blocked.
- JD, I hope you stay with us. I too was a fierce atheist for many years. Our paths were quite different, as I grew up in the Church. In my case, a crisis led to a loss of faith. What I’ve learned in the many, many intervening years is that is very difficult to find one’s faith again once it’s been extinguished. I do believe — and it is a personal judgment — that God tries hard to communicate with us. Not sure why, but apparently He does. Many, many people, though, have simply grown up without faith, and you have something to teach us of your perspective.
- The Spanish Inquisition took place in the 1400’s. Let it go already! That was a different time and a different place. Use it as a reference for extremism, if you will, or in any other thoughtful way, but please don’t whip it out as some of care blanche on the evil of certainty.
- In return, I will try hard not to point repeatedly at Hitler and the Holocaust as proof that God couldn’t possibly care about the fate of individuals. Promise!
Thanks for listening, guys.

I’m Katie from Texas. I was raised Southern Baptist, but now attend a Vineyard Church. I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I didnt expect to find myself, at 50 years old, divorced after 28 years of marriage, and on my own for the very time in my life! I am a customer service representative. I sell toilet paper for a living…..really, I do. (God has a sense of humor). This isnt exactly what I had planned. I’m leaning on the God who loves me in these difficult times, and love to talk to all kinds of people about all kinds of things. I enjoy your columns Father Jonathan. God bless!

Father Jonathan,

Like many of the other posts above, I am very excited to participate in what will (hopefully) be a new kind of forum. This is my first time posting to any online forum, and while I read the “comments” section to many online articles, I have become quite disappointed with the “flame wars”, personal attacks, and immaturity (”look, I am the first post”) of many online comments. I have thought about writing to you directly before, but I got busy and forgot about it (or, I just “chickened out”). Maybe this forum will be an opportunity for people with diverse perspectives, opinions, thoughts, etc. to come together and respectfully discuss them. Only time will tell.

I grew us essentially non-religious, though my parents had been raised Catholic, I took First Communion there, and we visited the church for special occasions (Christmas, Easter, the anniversary of my grandfather’s death, etc.) In high school, I learned more about Jesus through an organization called Young Life, and today I consider myself a practicing non-denominational Christian (some call me/us “born again”, though it is not a phrase I hear much in California). I attend a non-denominational church, and participate in 3 small-group Bible studies: one with my wife, and others with just other men. I have 3 children, ages 12, 8, and 3. I work full-time in the technology industry as a financial manager (budgets, analysis, etc.) Politically, I am mostly independent, conservative on economic issues, and registered as a Libertarian, though I am not a “contributing member” of the LP (I am also a little cynical with respect to most politicians from all parties).

As for my thoughts on your comments, and the intent of this forum. First, I agree with one (or more) of the posts above that spoke to the ability of individual governments, let alone “groups of governments” to honor and respect human rights. Generally speaking, (I think) history shows us that governments have existed to “respect” the powerful, elite, etc., and not those most in need of respect and support (poor, physically weak, children, elderly, etc.) So, while the UDHR is a fine “document”, it is my opinion that only when individuals decide that every life is worth respecting, and when individuals demand that from their governments, that we will “see” universal respect for human rights.

As I alluded to above, I read quite a few articles on the internet that are “news”, or “news-related”. I usually read through the comments, as well, and am hoping that a more “grown-up” environment for discussion and debate might come to fruition here on the FOX Forum. I might be naive (as other posters have suggested), but I am willing to be and optimist, and give the benefit of the doubt, even if in the end I turn out to have been wrong. What is the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”?

Regards,
Mike

If this double posts forgive me….

As an Orthodox Christian I believe there are universal truths regardless of religion, origin or upbringing.
The idea of a forum that will honestly discuss respectfully, with open dialogue about morality, human rights and any other worthy issue is a great idea. I hope to see honest and sincere post without the typical pandering of the few who do not really want to discuss, listen and contemplate anothers point of view.

Dear Father,

I am a cradle Catholic, married dad of 6 in southeast Texas, originally from New Orleans. I always enjoy reading your columns… I think of them as articles found on Catholic.com but on a site for all to see.

When first heard the term “moral relativism” several years ago, it struct me like a tun of bricks and sort of summed-up the perfect definition for our imperfect world. Once I put this into terms in my own life, I started to realize the changes I had to make. To understand that it doesn’t really matter how good you are compared to another, that are and will be judged individually and that there is no “bell curve”… wow, it’s powerful. And honestly that is when I realized the power of the Holy Eucharist.

Glad to be a part of the discussion and will continue to pray for you.

Mike L

Originally a native Texan I have been privileged with the opportunity to A) earn a university engineering BS degree, and B) to live and work in various countries around the globe these past 26 years. Those experiences have contributed greatly to helping me continue my understanding of history, and perhaps more importantly, the human condition.

I have been reading your comments these past few months and have been impressed with the reasoned positions you take. Obviously (in my opinion) the benefit of having a “classical” education, thus, encouraging me to make a contribution to your forum; and hopefully learn something.

I suspect you already know why the UDHR has fallen by the wayside, the same reason why the philosophies of “absolute truth”, the Platonic view, have been cast aside in favor of “secular humanism” and “relativism”. How did this happen? How could reasonable men come to the conclusion that the search for truth could be bad? (I also suspect you know the answer to that as well)

I would propose this question to the forum as a way to begin a discussion. If we can understand why the UDHR has “failed”, then perhaps we can understand how to make it succeed.

Regards,
MarkD7

Well Father, I think this is a good idea to have this forum and to have lively discussion. To begin with and this may be off topic, I bought your new book “The Promise: God’s Purpose and Plan for when Life Hurts”. It was a great read! I’d recommend it to anyone. Most insightful on how we can heal from the spiritual, emotional, and even physical scars left behind by suffering and obtain that sanctifying grace. Reminds me of John Paul II’s encyclical on suffering which for me was life changing.

I am a life long active Catholic Christian, I have two grown children, both struggling with faith in a world
that is increasingly devoid of not just faith, but moral vision. It concerns me how we have
allowed so few people in this country to dictate our values and delude the nation into godlessness,
not a few of which claim to be Catholic.

While I agree with what the UN proposed, I tend to believe that it may be to late. I struggle
with the belief that the only power left with any voice is fame and money and we know where that leads.
Even the power of prayer, which can move mountains, is diluted by the divisions in the christian family, one of the failures I am sure Jesus knew would happen and caused Him much suffering
during his passion

The biggest problem I see, is that you and I on an individual basis can agree on the tenets of
morality, but the leaders of most of the nations in the world that lead us and speak for us are not Christian, even when they sometimes claim to be.

My hope is that this forum will prove to me I am wrong, that there is hope. Thanks Fr. J for
the opportunity.

I believe that this forum is a great idea and I’d like to echo the positive comments posted so far. I would like to to see that when we get into debatable topics that we be required to include evidence to back up our positions. This will further enhance the credibility of the forum while spreading knowledge to those who may not have formed an opinion.

Looking forward to spirited conversations!

Hi Father,
A great idea! So how do we start? And how to focus the discussion?
I am a medical scientist. Father of four. Born and raised in Poland. Needless to say, a Catholic. I love the phrase that you used: “a common sense morality”. An issue that is often missed in discussions about morality is that it simply works. Always did and I suspect always will. And this may possibly be a common denominator for many of us.
For Believers (as myself), God gave us a sense of what is good and what is not to help us use our free will wisely. Primarily to help us, as His Children, not to please Him (although He certainly enjoys seeing us doing good). For Darwinists (as myself), any form of morality that does not help us (as individuals or as society) would be rapidly selected against, implicating that all moral systems that have been around for a while must work, must help us with ourselves, our families, societies. As a school kid, I was taught about a “communist ethics” and “higher” communist morality. I do not hear about it much these days. It is gone. So are multiple other systems claiming to be morality. Some survive longer than others, guarded by oppression and fear.
For this reason, I believe that the simplest (although not absolute) test of “good-bad” with regard to morality is to see if it works, if it is effective. Since waiting is often not an option, we can at least consider what are the implications of particular proposals and under what condition a proposed system can work. So many times in history great-sounding ideas resulted in so much misery. “Social justice, equality and social security” of communism leading to impoverishment and moral and biologic declines of whole nations, “safety” of “universal” or “national” health services, resulting in patient waiting for months for basic surgical procedures, “environmental protection” leading to millions of malaria deaths….
While I do believe that new developments in our world can modify the consequences of some choices and can affect their moral value, I think we should remember that the world as we know it (and usually like it.. most days) has developed based on the “traditional” (meaning effective) moral values and should be very careful rejecting any of them.
Pawel

Dear Father,

I am a doctor and a Maronite Catholic from Alabama. We have met by email several times and I sincerely regreted not being able to attend your book signing event in Georgia.

One of my favorite christian speakers is Fr. Mitch Pacwa of EWTN fame. While I rarely watch TV, he is frequently a guest pastor at our church. You have a wonderful way of presenting basic christian ideals in a modern light. A light that has the warmth of compassion. Fr. Mitch has an equally wonderful way of talking about history in a way that illustrates that the modern day of 2000 years ago is fundamentally no different than the modern day of today. Relativism, materialism, liberalism and the need to ‘fit in’ have not changed in thousands of years. I am reminded of a long out of print book written by Earnest Gann where the elderly fisherman is complaining that ‘kids didn’t want to do real work anymor