Are We Better Off?
I currently have Heretics by G. K. Chesterton close enough to the top of the bedside reading pile that it is getting frequent attention. Reading Chesterton causes much the same in waking thought as too much pepperoni pizza is reputed to cause in dreaming thought. (I don’t know. I don’t eat pepperoni anything.) Perhaps I should clear my bedside of Chesterton, I might actually get more sleep. Anyway. I was stuck by something this evening. In this day and age, we easily condemn those who killed others in the name of their religion. In fact, I make it a point to tell the stories of Catholic Martyrs of the English Reformation on a regular basis on this blog. I do not believe we should kill…especially in the name of Our Lord. That said. Does it follow that because others sinned in the vigorous defense of their fath, that we are more holy because we do not share that particular sin? I don’t think so.
Are we unwilling to vigorously fight heresy because we have greater charity than our brothers and sisters who killed in the name of religion? If that is the case, wouldn’t we see greater evidence of that in the way we treat each other?
Or are we are more tepid in our beliefs?
What does it say about us and the passion of our faith if Satan cannot at least tempt us to kill in defense of it? Are we tepid because we recognize in ourselves that to be more fervent would be to live with the temptation to uncharitable behavior? Are we better off as tepid believers?
What would true Unity with our brothers and sisters in faith free us to do?
