Sometimes I just don’t know what to write for this column. I suppose I’m just tired, running out of ideas. Or simply at a loss of words.
Let me share bits from what I’ve been reading lately.
I’ve been reading about Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is a canonized saint of the Catholic Church. He unequivocally believed that the fulfillment of life was to be reunited with God — to experience what he called a “beatific vision.” He further believed that once created, each person found the way back to God through Jesus Christ and the Grace of God. In view of this why he was so enamored with Aristotle, whom he called “the philosopher”?
What Aquinas saw in Aristotle was an affirmation of human freedom and autonomy. Aquinas was fully aware that hus beliefs on Jesus Christ, God, and grace were matters of faith — they were not knowledge. We humans often have to make our way in this life without certainty. Aquinas believed that humanity had the offer of grace, but that each person is responsible for how he used his powers of reason and choice. Duty is not some childish obedience to biblical or church legalism. Such a duty would demean both God and man. Our human responsibility is founded on free choice.
Fear will keep you locked up in some imaginary jail because you were not allowed to choose.
God in his great love and grace allowed Adam and Eve to choose even at the risk of rejecting Him.