Christian, I Presume?
by Leon J. Suprenant, Jr.

When I was in law school, I had a classmate named Barry (not his real name). At the time, I was not practicing my faith and by no means was a paragon of virtuous living. Despite my own low standards, I thought Barry’s carousing lifestyle crossed the bounds of propriety. He even confided to me that while he was home one weekend he made his girlfriend have an abortion, because he was not willing to take responsibility for his actions.

One day, months later, Barry out of the blue told me, "It’s time for a revival." It was then that I learned that he was a part-time preacher who from time to time would go barnstorming through Missouri and Arkansas, inviting people to become "saved."

I was shocked. I admitted that I had no room to talk, since in my estimation I was no longer a Catholic or even a Christian. Even so, the disparity between Barry’s faith and his ongoing debauchery confused and scandalized me. He eventually explained that I had to learn to separate faith from daily life. I told him—with less refinement and charity than I’d use today—what I thought of a religion I could test drive but not take home. My burning intuition was that a religion that did not affect who I was and how I lived was not worth my time.

All Saints’ Day

An analogous situation arises today in the context of funerals. As many of us know, the dominant mindset is that the deceased assuredly is "in a better place," and thus the funeral rite itself should be nothing other than a mini-canonization.

Assuredly we entrust the deceased to the mercy of God, who alone judges hearts. We also must be compassionate and consoling to those who are mourning, offering them solid grounds for hope that their departed loved one is indeed with the Lord. In this regard, it is entirely fitting to recall the good deeds and accomplishments of the deceased to buoy our hope in his or her resurrection.

Yet the current trend goes even further. Our contemporaries assume the deceased is in heaven, so the only real concern is helping friends and family cope with the temporal loss. This approach effectively does away with the need to pray and offer sacrifice for the deceased, which Scripture describes as a "very excellent and noble" practice (cf. 2 Mac. 12:43; Catechism, no. 1032). It also derails a teachable moment: The reality of death affords all of us the opportunity to consider our own mortality and thus seek to be in right relationship with God. An objective observer at many funerals today could easily conclude that it really doesn’t matter how one lives, because everyone’s eternal fate is the same.

False Hopes

Both my encounter with Barry and the experience at many funerals today reflect the error of presumption, which takes many forms (cf. Catechism, no. 2092). One form of presumption is the timeless heresy of Pelagianism, which holds that happiness is attainable by merely human effort, without the necessity of grace. This is manifested today by those who place all their hope in technological progress. Another example of presumption, commonly seen at funerals, is the attitude that in the end God will forgive us irrespective of our cooperation with grace. Following this view, heaven is the inevitable and more or less universal sequel to this life.

Christian fundamentalism is yet another form of presumption. Granted, Barry’s case is an extreme example of the "once saved, always saved" mentality. Most Bible Christians would be aghast at Barry’s lifestyle. Further, they rightly affirm in the midst of our largely secular and indifferent society the centrality of our faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:12; 1 Cor. 3:11). Even so, the necessity of a "born again" experience is typically explained in a way that leaves no room for human freedom. Once "saved," the individual can’t "lose" his salvation, even through mortal sin (for more information on this subject, call us toll-free at 1-800-MY-FAITH for our Faith Fact entitled "Persevering to the End: The Biblical Reality of Mortal Sin").

Journey Home

"When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage, and enter the presence of God?" This antiphon, taken from Monday Morning Prayer, week II in the Liturgy of the Hours, summarizes the attitude of the Christian in this life. This proper attitude can be summed up in one word, hope.

Tragically, many people today live in despair, and fail to see any purpose in life. Others fall prey to presumption, believing that when all is said and done our actions are irrelevant to our salvation. But the truth is that we are neither "lost in the cosmos" nor helpless pawns in the drama of salvation history. Rather, we are pilgrims on a journey to our true home (cf. 2 Cor. 5:6-10). Our Baptisms make us members of God’s family, but mark only the beginning of our journey home to the Father.

God’s grace is never absent during the journey, but it mysteriously respects our freedom to cooperate as disciples and even as coworkers (cf. 1 Cor. 3:9). Our cooperation is substantially aided by prayer, the sacraments, and growth in virtue. For example, we need to grow in fortitude and patience so that we may hold firm in difficulties, and in the end say with Job, "Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope" (Job 13:15).

In our own time, we have no greater "witness to hope" than our Holy Father. Despite personal tragedies, the relentless Nazi and Communist oppression of his homeland, and the myriad challenges and sufferings that go with being the Roman Pontiff for nearly a quarter of a century, Pope John Paul II’s life has borne a loud, compelling witness to the hope that is in him (cf. 1 Pet. 3:15). In his book, aptly entitled Crossing the Threshold of Hope, he readily admits that the Gospel is demanding. But when he counsels all people to "Be not afraid!" he is not watering down the Gospel, but rather affirming that God’s demands never exceed our human abilities to cooperate with His grace (pp. 222-23).

Where Are We Going?

Having a destination in mind makes all the difference. Think about two drivers on a freeway. The first driver is just out for a drive "to kill time." The second driver is en route to her daughter’s wedding in another city. Note that there is a difference not only in destination. The fact that the second driver has a specific destination doesn’t lessen the importance of her drive. To the contrary, the fact that she has a specific goal in mind actually invests the drive with meaning and significance.

In his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, Pope John Paul II affirms how hope ties together our heavenly goal and earthly existence: "The basic attitude of hope on the one hand encourages the Christian not to lose sight of the final goal which gives meaning and value to life, and on the other, offers solid and profound reasons for a daily commitment to transform reality in order to make it correspond to God’s plan (no. 46; see also Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, no. 21).

If we’re not on our way to our eternal home, where are we going?

Win Souls, Not Arguments

Remembering our goal helps us in many aspects of the Christian life. In this issue devoted to apologetics, I’d like us to consider how a firm understanding of our goal helps us to see the complementarity of apologetics and ecumenism, two disciplines that are critically important yet too frequently pitted against each other.

The error comes in when we put the emphasis on the argument rather than the person. When that occurs, apologetics is reduced to winning arguments and ecumenism is wrongly viewed as avoiding or even conceding arguments. Rather, the goal must always be to lead others in truth and charity into full communion in the Catholic Church, the Family of God.

Pope John Paul II has emphasized that ecumenism "is not just some sort of ‘appendix’ which is added to the Church’s traditional activity," but rather "an organic part of her life and work" that "must pervade all that she is and does" (Ut Unum Sint, no. 20). While he sees Christian unity as being at the very heart of Christ’s mission, he firmly rejects doctrinal compromise as incompatible with fidelity to the Gospel.

At the same time, apologetics must focus primarily on building Catholic unity: removing unnecessary stumbling blocks, clarifying misconceptions, and demonstrating the reasonableness and consistency of Church teaching, even while recognizing that ultimately faith is a grace, and not simply the result of having enough information or reading the right books. In addition to the fine articles in this issue, I recommend the tape set "Winning Souls Not Arguments" by Curtis Martin and Pat Madrid (Emmaus Road Publishing, 1-800-398-5470), which reflects authentic apologetics in action.

Return to the Source

Pope John Paul II can’t quote often enough a statement by Pope Paul VI to the effect that people today are more inclined to listen to witnesses, not teachers. No matter how eloquent our arguments are or how extensive our apologetics library has become, ultimately the most effective witness to hope today is a Christian life that exudes authenticity, devotion, and joy.

This truth, for our own good and for the good of all those with whom we desire full communion in the Church, should lead us frequently back to Our Eucharistic Lord. St. Paul wrote: "I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27). Through regular prayer and reception of the sacraments, we ensure that the good work begun in us by the Lord will reach its happy fulfillment in the glories of heaven.

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