n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4
the Lord, is contrary to the order of heaven. The whole history of the world
attests to the truth that heaven does not come naturally to us, and neither does
freedom. As the famous saying from the old Pogo comic strip says: “We have
met the enemy, and he is us.”
The battle to preserve the nation’s civil freedom, therefore, begins with our
own individual repentance, and willingness to lay down the life of our natural
proprium (the love of self and the world) in the service of our “country” in
heaven. The agency that promotes this transformation of individuals that the
civil order (and thus freedom) of the country depends upon is the Church.
Other agencies may help, but it is the Church – the church militant – that
trains the front-line soldiers in this spiritual battle.
(WEO)
real progress
C. S. Lewis observed that if a group of hikers have taken a wrong turn and
gotten on the wrong path, the true “progressives” are those who recognize that
fact and want to go back and get on the right path.
(WEO)
how long ‘til closing time?
In a recent editorial I quoted the late John Wooten, noted basketball coach
and sage, who famously observed: “All progress is change, but not all change
is progress.”
We witness the difference every day, with our world awash in technological
“progress” as much of our culture is in decline.
My parents were born just after the Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty
Hawk and lived to see men land on the moon. They witnessed the advent of
automobiles, television and computers. Now smart phones have a short shelf
life before the next new thing. We can tinker with genes, operate on embryos,
and produce babies from test tubes, and will not be surprised by whatever
comes next. No one is dazzled anymore. But we worry about where we are
headed.
With every new technical marvel and medical miracle comes the question:
not just, “What can we do, but what should we do – and not do?”
Albert Einstein warned: “The concern for man and his destiny must
always be the chief interest for all technical effort. Never forget it among your
diagrams and equations.”
Now more than ever, amid this wondrous spectacle of science and
technology, we need a sure sense of where the stepping stones are leading us,
and whether we want to go down every road opened to us.
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