| What is true religion? A compilation of direct and paraphrased quotes from theology manuals Laurence Gonzaga
The reason why I researched this particular doctrine is due to my presentation on John Calvin and the modern exposition of “classical reformed theology”. I presented the principles of reformed thought according to Dr. R.C. Sproul, in his book, What is Reformed Theology: Understanding the Basics. In the first chapter he contrasts what he believes is true Christianity, one that is theocentric (God-centered), with what other denominations teach, namely the Roman Catholic religion, which could be described by some as anthropocentric (man-centered). The distinction is simple, the reformed theologians claim that they give primacy in their theology to God, and so the doctrine of God, namely His Sovereignty, is paramount. And so, all other doctrines must flow from this reality. For example, on the question of man's freedom, it would seem that if man's freedom must be preserved, over and above God's freedom to do as he wills, this limits God, and so they would see the doctrine of man's freedom as erroneous. Another example is the question of the atonement. Did Christ die for man to show forth the dignity of fallen man, or the glory of God? Depending on how you answer that, may make you a true Christian, or a heretic in their eyes. In any case, Sproul further contrasts theology with religion. He claims that theology is the study of God, whereas religion is the study of man's behaviors in response to God. For reformed theologians, God is the focal point, and so they would reject the use of the term religion, and favor theology. At first glance, this understanding of what theology is and what religion is was attractive to me. But, as it turned out, I myself did not understand what religion really is from the perspective of Catholic theology. Having surveyed some older sources, it became clear to me that religion is more than just one of many systems of worship of God, gods, godesses, etc. It is man's response to his duty to the Almighty and Everliving God. I tried to select passages from these sources which did not just repeat what the other sources stated.
AMDG. Laurence Gonzaga
Religion may come from the word relegere, which means to gather together. It may also come from re-eligere, which means to choose again. But most likely it comes from religare, which means to bind fast. It is the whole order or arrangement whereby man is subject to God. Objectively, it is the collection of truths and services where man orders his entire life toward God, which includes three essentials: (1) intellect – doctrines and dogmas about God, about man, and about the way to God; (2) will – the rule of precepts; and (3) worship, whereby man professes by his actions the Supreme Lordship of God. Subjectively, it is man's voluntary ordering of his life toward God by accepting moral truths and undertaking obligations of worship. The special acts of religion are: faith, adoration, thanksgiving, petition, and penance for sins. Religion can be natural, derived from pure reason alone and reflecting upon the natural world. Religion is supernatural when it is derived from revealed truth from Revelation. This religion is Primeval when it pertains to Adam and the patriarchs, Mosaic when it pertains to religion promulgated by Moses, and Christian when it relates to religion preached by Christ (Manual of Dogmatic Theology, Vol. 1, p. 11-12).
“Religion consists in a knowledge of God and a life corresponding to the will of God. Religion is not a matter of feeling; it is a matter of the will and of action, and consists in following out the principles that God has laid down... Man becomes like to God when all his thought and action resemble the divine thought and action. The commandments of God are a mirror, in which we recognize whether our actions are like or unlike those of God” (The Catechism Explained, p. 75). “But a mere knowledge of the truths of religion is not sufficient; they must also be practiced” (p. 80).
We owe our being and existence to our Absolute Lord, and because we are so dependent on God, we owe him due reverence, more than we owe towards our parents. “We are obliged to submit to him. We are obliged to observe the “Ten Commandments” which he himself proclaims to us through our conscience; these commandments are built into our very nature: every human being, in fact every child who has reached the age of reason, knows them even without revelation. This attitude towards God is religion. By the word religion we mean a relationship of reverent submission and subjection of man towards God. It is man's fundamental attitude and relationship towards God... religion takes possession of the whole man: understanding, will, and feeling... Without religion, man sinks to the level of the beast... religion is the strongest tie which binds men together... Religion is an absolute necessity for the existence of human society... A religion which has its roots in God as Lord and Master is also the best protection for our personal liberty.” Even the pagan philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Cicero, unaided by divine revelation, but relying only on pure reason articulated the importance of religion in society. (Dogmatic Theology for the Laity, p. 17-19).
Religion is a living union of man with God. It is also the homage paid by man to God. “We speak of true religion, and of false religions. The true religion is that which pays to the true God that homage sanctioned by Himself or dictated by reason. Those religions are false in which either a false god is worshiped or a false worship is paid to the true God. This idolatry is false, because it worships false gods; Mohammedanism is false, because it offers to the true God a false worship. The true religion alone deserves to bear the name of religion, because it puts man in proper relation to God”. Justice cannot exist without religion. Those who attempt to undermine religion bring ruin upon society and are therefore enemies of their country. “Religion is not only the expression of fear, but of joy and gratitude as well.” Natural religion is those truths which can be gathered from what God has revealed in nature, and can be arrived at by the light of unaided human reason. The science of religion is the queen of all sciences. The subject of religion is God and those things relating to God (Handbook of the Christian Religion, p. 1-5).
“No man can be good without religion... Religion is a form of JUSTICE. This means that it is concerned with what is right , and not merely with what is pleasant, useful, fashionable, or consoling... Many people look upon religion as a source of pleasure for themselves; they even derive gentle entertainment from it. For them it is little more than a pastime, a hobby or a luxury. When they feel like it, they practice it; when they do not, they neglect it... But their motive is the obtaining of pleasure for themselves. This is a perversion... These people are not interested in doing their duty to God; they want Him to serve them. For them the center of their universe is self, not God... Nowadays, religion has become identified with the service, not of God, but of man. Man is the god of the universe. Philanthropy has come to be regarded as better than prayer; it is now often thought that it is better to build homes for men than temples for God... Duty to God the Creator is more important than duty to man the creature. But duty to God implies duty to man. In fact, duty to man will only be properly fulfilled by those who are faithful to their higher duties to God... Multitudes of men today are indifferent to the practice of religion. They boast that they are Christians... But how do they differ from the pagans? To the personal practice of religion they are quite indifferent. In other words they are quite indifferent to God... Religion matters more than anything else in life. It is the one supremely important thing. It must occupy the most important place in every person's life--and actually in the life of every nation as well” (This is the Faith, p. 15-22)
“'Religion' whereby we pay our debt to God” (ST, Ia IIae q. 60 a. 3). “But Divine worship is the act of a virtue, viz. religion, which, as Tully says (De Invent. ii) 'offers worship and ceremony to the Godhead'” (ST, Ia IIae q. 99 a. 3, obj 2). “Justice alone, of all the virtues, implies the notion of duty. Consequently moral matters are determinable by law in so far as they belong to justice: of which virtue religion is a part, as Tully says (De Invent. ii). Wherefore the legal just cannot be anything foreign to the ceremonial and judicial precepts” (ST, Ia IIae q. 99 a. 5). “Augustine says that moderation should be observed, lest good conduct should become a burden to the faithful. For he says in reply to the queries of Januarius (Ep. lv) that, 'whereas God in His mercy wished religion to be a free service rendered by the public solemnization of a small number of most manifest sacraments, certain persons make it a slave’s burden; so much so that the state of the Jews who were subject to the sacraments of the Law, and not to the presumptuous devices of man, was more tolerable.'” (ST, Ia IIae q. 107 a. 4). “The sum total of the Christian religion consists in mercy, as regards external works: but the inward love of charity, whereby we are united to God preponderates over both love and mercy for our neighbor” (ST, IIa IIae q. 30 a. 4). “...in so far as it is directed to placate God, it has the character of a sacrifice, and thus it is commanded by religion” (ST, IIa IIae q. 32 a. 1). “The first is when a man changes his state of life, for instance, by entering religion, for then he gives away all his possessions for Christ’s sake, and does the deed of perfection by transferring himself to another state” (ST, IIa IIae q. 32 a. 6). “In this respect “religion” is annexed to justice since, according to Tully (De invent. ii, 53), it consists in offering service and ceremonial rites or worship to “some superior nature that men call divine” (ST, IIa IIae q. 80 a. 1). “Εὐσέβεια [piety] means “good worship” and consequently is the same as religion, wherefore he says that it is the science of “the service of God” (he speaks after the manner of Socrates who said that ‘all the virtues are sciences’)‡: and “holiness” comes to the same, as we shall state further on (q. 81, a. 8)” (ST, IIa IIae q. 80 a. 1). (p. 1413-1418). |
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