In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, the concept of contemporary culture can be substituted for the word "people" when Jesus at Caesarea Philippi asks his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
In their responses, the disciples of Jesus indicate the confusion of the culture, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Then in answer to the persistent question of Jesus, "But who do you say that I am?" - Simon Peter replies at last, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
This confusion of a prevailing culture and the witness of truth by Christ's disciples is a drama that has played out many times in human history over the past 2,000 years.
In an address earlier this year, Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, highly respected American theologian, said: "All of us today are immersed in a culture that lacks abiding truths and fixed moral norms. But there is no necessity for our culture to have taken this negative turn. Ancient philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle, had refuted the materialism, relativism, subjectivism and hedonism of their day and had shown the validity of metaphysical knowledge. Western thought followed in the path of cognitive realism for many centuries before the revival of agnosticism in the Renaissance. Catholic believers and indeed all clear thinkers have good reasons not to be engulfed in the superficial trends of the times. In his great encyclical 'Faith and Reason,' Pope John Paul II summoned philosophy to resume its original quest for eternal truth and wisdom."
In a 2004 address, Cardinal Dulles touched on similar themes: "Christian faith and morals, though they appeal to all that is best in human nature, normally encounter no little resistance. Without considerable help from on high, humanity cannot rise to its full stature, especially because it labors under the burden of original sin. It is to be expected therefore that people will generally be more inclined toward self - indulgence than toward loving self - sacrifice. They will have difficulty believing the Gospel of Christ, which seems foolish to those who judge by the standards of the world. Christians should always expect to encounter a measure of rejection and opposition. The very absence of hostility may be a sign that the Church has fallen short of her mission and yielded to the standards of the world."
In examining American culture, Cardinal Dulles noted, "The growing pluralism raises questions about the linkage between Christianity and our national institutions, such as marriage and divorce. Even committed Catholics have problems about bringing the laws of the nation into accord with Catholic teaching. There is a widespread tendency to affirm that all citizens have a right to hold their own opinions and to abide by their own moral standards unless these opinions and practices constitute a manifest threat to the peace and order of society. Many contend that prohibitions against homosexuality, contraception, divorce, abortion and assisted suicide are inadmissible in a nation as religiously diverse as our own. In some quarters polygamy and same - sex marriages are being promoted as consonant with the new cultural situation."
Cardinal Dulles added that well - instructed Catholics have clear positions on some of these questions. He said, "While granting that the denominational standards of any one religion should be binding only on its own members, they will insist that actions forbidden by natural law, especially where human rights are involved, should not be commanded or even encouraged by the positive legislation. They will also claim that Catholics, in the name of freedom of conscience, should never be required to support behavior that their Church condemns as immoral."
Reviewing the challenges to moral and cultural renewal, Cardinal Dulles noted that the forces of unbelief, prevalent in many sectors of contemporary culture, are not simply external to the Church. "Like other Americans, Christians tend to see reality through the lens of the prevailing culture. The present struggle, consequently, is not simply between the Church and secular society, but to some extent within the Church, as she seeks to assimilate the sound elements in the culture and to prevent herself from being contaminated by what is unsound.
"The challenges are numerous and grave. Superficial notions of freedom and equality, the burgeoning of religious pluralism, the domination of technology, the excesses of critical thinking, the pragmatic notion of truth, and the sensate culture fostered by the electronic media and the forces of commercialism: these are only some of the forces that assail the Church and counter her message to the world."
Cardinal Dulles concluded, "A merely negative response will not suffice. Christians have too long remained on the defensive. It is time for a counteroffensive - not pugnacious or angry, but loving and patient. As believers, we must put hard questions to our adversaries and demand answers from them. And we must be willing to pay a price for fidelity."
MEH
