Worlds Apart

Lots of hot-button issues in the news these days — abortion debates, #LGBTPride month, and much more. Why can we not find common ground with those who disagree with us?

We can’t find common ground because the issues are deeper than just abortion or gay rights. The issue is two widely different worldviews.

One worldview, the Traditional Christian worldview, sees the universe as having been created by God and instilled with objective meaning and reality. Human beings are in His image and have a specific destiny (Heaven) and a specific way to attain that (holiness through union with Christ and living like Him). God has revealed truths about Himself, the universe, human beings and our destiny, through Scripture and passed down through unchanging tradition, since God and human nature does not change. God loves us, but calls us to a life of holiness and self-denial.

The other worldview, the Modern Secular worldview, sees the universe as a random product of evolution. Human beings are a more advanced species but still essentially the same as animals. Their destiny is just to make the world a better place (usually defined as one where there is less suffering). Right and wrong, religion and truth, are nothing but cultural constructs that can be changed because all is subjective. If a modern secular believes in God, then He only exists to make us happy and to love us without judging.

This is the essential basis for the disagreement between both sides of the spectrum (pro-life/pro-choice, pro-LGBT/pro-traditional marriage). That is why the two sides can never and will never find common ground – the issues are so much deeper than just the hot-button topics that we see daily in the newspaper. The rift goes all the way to our different cosmologies.

___

Photo: Saketh Garuda on Unsplash / PD-US.
Fr. Joseph Gill

Fr. Joseph Gill

Fr. Joseph Gill grew up in a musical family in Frederick, MD, the oldest of five children. His father taught him piano from a young age, and his mother often sang in the church choir. He began writing songs very young, honing his skill further when he received his first guitar. After his conversion, he dedicated his life and his songwriting to the Lord. Fr. Gill was ordained a Catholic priest in May 2013. He is currently serving at the Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist, Stamford, Connecticut. He shares his homilies at The Cross Stands While the World Turns.

Leave a Replay

1 thought on “Worlds Apart”

  1. Father Gill, I believe all of the one world view, believers (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, etc) should agree that all should pray for the needed help to acquire all the essential attributes/actions that God determines are needed for a truly living faith as opposed to a dead or dying faith. Do you see the potential for good if a few ministers of all different faiths, joined together and publicly encouraged all to pray for the graces needed to acquire all those actions? Will you be one of the first to lead the way in this?
    How do we help the others who do not “believe” there is a God (which is not always the same as believing there is no God)? If we truly believe God must be infinite goodness and infinitely all-knowing, all-loving and all-powerful, then we should believe that God must be infinitely good and powerful enough to create free will such that He can accomplish His intent of reconciling all things (2 Cor 5:19) without violating anyone’s free will and therefore He must have created free will such that He can convert the whole world by His grace and His answers to the questions that He wants all to honestly seek His answers to. Question: Should we pray for God to give us the verifiable evidence and questions that He wants all to seek His answers to, and the grace to desire to share those questions and evidence with others?

Leave a Reply to Douglas Kraeger Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Sign up for our Newsletter

Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit