“Liberal Religion”

 John Henry Newman  1848  Grammar of Assent  Anglican to Catholic  Became a cardinal…he found truth in Catholicism  Intellectual father of Vatican II

 Oratorians of Birmingham  Live in a community without a specific line of work.  Independent of a clerical kingdom  Poverty, intellectuals, minimal comforts  Talk is forbidden at breakfast!  Newman lived this way and spent his intellectual life combating “liberal religion”

 What is “liberal religion”?  Relativism?  Humanism?  Agnosticism?  Religious Freedom?  Newman set out to identify “liberal religion” and prove why it is intellectual thievery—it robs you of truth

 Newman’s life at the Oratory  Simple  Rosary  Books  Vestments  Weigel draws you into the simplicity and tangibility of Newman’s life. Catholicism is gritty and always tangible!

 Page 70 identifies what Newman saw as “liberal religion”  No positive truth in religion  One creed is as good as another  Revealed religion is not a truth, but a taste…allowing us to believe in whatever strikes our fancy  Denying the need for doctrine  In other words---relativism

 To reference a movie to support this idea:  Disney’s The Incredibles  Dash is told by his mother “Everyone is special” to which Dash replies: “What you really mean is everyone is special, then no one is special”.  Read Newman’s Roman address (page 70)

 Page 71- From shadows to truth  Newman existed in shadows until he found truth in the Catholic Church  According to Newman, liberal religion has no internal brake; no way of determining where opinion ends and truth begins.  It is my opinion that = 5  It is my opinion that life begins at birth  It is my opinion that there is a superior race

 Culture tells us it is intolerant to declare “the Truth”…rather it is acceptable to have my truth and your truth both equally true.  “illative sense” (page 72)  Edith Stein’s life and search for truth…  Could you die for truth? Consider this: Could you die for what someone else says is truth?

 Liberal religion says humans are not capable of understanding truth- it insults your intelligence.  Catholicism is revealed religion, not invented religion. A gift.  God made us with an intellect and free will so we could know Him and choose him. He wanted us to know who He is!! (Recall St. Augustine... We are restless until we rest in Thee)

 Obedience  Catholic communities like the Marianists  Newman believed that liberal religion robs us of the joy it is to live obedient, mature faith lives.  Are you joy-filled in confusion, indecisive, swirling with no direction?

 “You approach the Church in the way of reason, you enter it in the spirit of light”- Cardinal Newman  Christianity understood as opinion or hobby and not truth, it’s dying out.  Cardinal Newman staked his life on the judgment that liberal religion and revealed religion aren’t two forms of the same thing- they’re different.

 Page 77- Weigel struggles to accept this teaching by Newman!  Weigel’s professor, who advised the Second Vatican Council, described a “theologians’ paradise”…vying for authority, egos in the balance. This led to “liberal Catholicism” because the TRUTH was being strayed from in order to satisfy intellectual egos.

 Liberation theology-  Liberationists seek to change the object to which theology devotes its attention. They reject, with disdain, the notion that getting people to heaven is more important than getting them tolerable living conditions. Liberation theology is an attempt to change people's minds about what is most decisive and significant in their lives. In other words, liberation theology is a cultural challenge

 Feminist theology- the male dominance in the Bible and Church keep women inferior.  The Hartford Appeal- challenged the view that modern thought is superior to past forms of understanding reality  Insists that we did not invent God; God invented us  Denied that all religions are equally valid  We worship God not because it makes us feel good, but because God is to be worshiped- this arises from our desire to know, love and adore God.

 The truth that God invites us to a personal encounter with Him through Jesus Christ is not something we can make up ourselves. It’s something we receive as a gift.

 Reason out:  What is the truth? Why?  If all beliefs are accepted as truth, what does that do for us as humans?  How do we know God is eternal and creator?  How do we know it is the truth that His only son died for our sins?  If we accept this truth and live by it, are we condemning others? Are we intolerant?  Augustine, Edith Stein, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Moore, St. Francis- they found truth.