Seeds of the Word

1. Engaging Culture: Finding God's "Seeds of the Word" Everywhere

Before sowing the Word, one looks for semina verbi (seeds of the word) already present among the people one seeks to evangelize.

Evangelization strategy. Christians should not avoid popular culture but engage with it, seeking opportunities to evangelize. This approach, modeled by early Church figures like Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria, and affirmed by Vatican II, sees elements of truth in secular works as preparation for the Gospel. It's about finding common ground, not retreating from the world.

Uncovering fragments. The integrated icon of Christian doctrine, once whole, has exploded into "charred and distorted fragments" scattered across the contemporary cultural environment. The evangelist's task is to exercise an "analogical imagination" to discern these "bits and pieces" of the Gospel message in unexpected places, from films to literature. This allows for a point of departure for dialogue, making the Word of Christ less alien.

Examples in culture. This means seeing images of Jesus in figures like Superman or Andy Dufresne, sensing divine love in Rooster Cogburn, or discerning Augustine's anthropology in Eat, Pray, Love. These are not adequate presentations of the Word itself, but they are "seeds of the Word" that can provide a foundation for evangelization, much like Paul's altar to the "Unknown God" in Athens.

2. Beyond Secular Fantasies: Science and Faith are Allies, Not Enemies

It is a longstanding conviction of the Church that since God is one and since all truth comes from God, there can finally be no conflict between the truths of revelation and the truths discoverable through the exercise of human reason.

Debunking the myth. Modern secularism often perpetuates the myth of an inherent conflict between science and faith, frequently using the Galileo incident as a central narrative. However, this is a "shadowboxing affair," as Catholicism does not define itself against science. The Church rejoices in scientific discoveries, believing all truth comes from God.

Historical harmony. Historically, many founders of modern science were devoutly religious, and the modern physical sciences emerged within a Christian cultural context that presumed universal intelligibility. Examples include:

• Copernicus (priest)
• Gregor Mendel (monk, father of genetics)
• Newton, Kepler, Pascal, Leibniz (devoutly religious)
• Georges Le Maitre (priest, Big Bang theory formulator)
  The Vatican itself sponsors observatories and supports high-level dialogue with the sciences.

Truth's unity. The Church maintains that there can be no ultimate conflict between revelation and reason because God is the source of all truth. Films like Angels and Demons perpetuate a "modern fantasy" where science "protects" the Church from itself, but this misrepresents a relationship that is, in reality, one of profound compatibility and mutual respect.

3. Christ as the Anti-Scapegoat: God's Solidarity with Victims

Jesus doesn’t sanction scapegoating violence; he interrupts it.

Scapegoating's prevalence. Human societies, from ancient times to the present, often rely on a "scapegoating mechanism" to discharge tensions and achieve unity through shared hatred. This tendency to find someone to blame is evident in historical practices like Aztec human sacrifice or Roman gladiatorial combat, and even in modern phenomena like gossip.

Biblical subversion. The Bible consistently undermines this master/slave dynamic, recounting history from the perspective of the "other," the outsider, and the oppressed. The prophets of Israel urged compassion for the alien, stranger, widow, and orphan, reminding the people they were once slaves. This unique perspective culminates in Jesus, who "emptied himself and took the form of a slave."

Christ as victim. Christianity uniquely unmasks and delegitimizes the scapegoating mechanism by placing God's utter identification not with the perpetrators of violence, but with the scapegoated victim. The crucified Jesus becomes the ultimate innocent victim of a religiously-sanctioned mob, demonstrating that God stands with the suffering. Films like The Stoning of Soraya M., though depicting barbarism, can powerfully portray Christ figures in their innocent suffering.

4. True Freedom in God's Plan: Rejecting False Autonomy and Determinism

God’s freedom does not suppress human freedom, but rather enables and awakens it.

The false dilemma. Modern thought often presents human freedom and divine will as competing forces, locked in a "zero-sum game" where one's gain is the other's loss. Films like The Adjustment Bureau exemplify this "bad theology," portraying God's "Plan" as an overwhelming, strictly enforced fate against scrappy human liberty.

Classical Christian view. Classical Christian theology, rooted in the Incarnation, teaches that divinity and humanity are not competitors. Jesus is not less human because he is divine; rather, his divinity perfects and enhances his humanity. Therefore, God's will does not suppress human freedom but guides and fulfills it, much like a good piano teacher's plan enables a student's ultimate liberty to play.

Purpose and joy. When a person falls in love with God, their ethical commitments and aesthetic pleasures become focused and satisfying. Without this religious ordering, as seen in Woody Allen's characters in Vicky, Christina, Barcelona, life devolves into restless unhappiness. True joy and purpose are found not in absolute self-assertion, but in aligning one's will with the divine love, as expressed in Dante's "In your will, O Lord, is our peace."

5. The Peril of Reductionism: Why Catholicism Cannot Be Stripped Down

My fear is that a Catholicism reduced to social justice will, in short order, perhaps a generation or two, wither away.

Faith and institution. Some contemporary voices, particularly in "liberal Catholicism," advocate for a "faith" or "spirituality" divorced from the institutional Church, often due to disillusionment with flawed clergy. However, the Catholic faith is inextricably linked to its hierarchical structure, which transmits authentic teaching and sacraments. Severing this connection, akin to the ancient Donatist heresy, ignores that Christ works through imperfect ministers.

Beyond social justice. Many reduce Catholicism to a passion for social justice, inclusivity, and equality, often without mentioning core doctrines like the Trinity, Incarnation, or redemption. While social teaching is vital, it flows necessarily from and is subordinated to these doctrinal convictions. Caring for the poor is rooted in our connection through creation and redemption, and nourished by the Eucharist, not merely a humanist ideal.

The "perennial philosophy." Spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle, while offering insights compatible with Christianity (e.g., overcoming the ego, the "pain-body"), often present an impersonal view of God and interpret salvation as a transformation of consciousness. This "perennial philosophy" differs fundamentally from the biblical God, who is a personal Creator, not an impersonal force, and whose salvation is a transfiguration of the entire self through grace.

6. Politics Under God: The Necessity of Transcendent Moral Foundations

Take God and creation out of the calculus, and Jefferson’s claim becomes anything but self-evident.

God as foundation of rights. Thomas Jefferson's assertion that "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights" is profoundly theological. Without the belief in a Creator God who makes all people equally his children and destines them for eternal life, concepts of universal equality and inalienable rights lose their self-evident foundation. Classical thinkers, lacking this Christian heritage, saw deep inequalities as natural.

Tyranny's root. When God is denied or marginalized in the public sphere, political power tends to become absolute, leading to tyranny. The dysfunctional totalitarian regimes of the last century (Hitler, Stalin, Mao) explicitly denied God, resulting in the systematic negation of human dignity and rights. A nation "under God" implies a limit to political power, as rulers are subject to a higher criterion of truth and justice.

Dialogue and judgment. While dialogue and open debate are crucial for democracy, they are means to an end: judgment and truth. A "fetishism of dialogue" that perpetually delays decision, especially on moral absolutes like the direct killing of the innocent (e.g., abortion), is dangerous. It can devolve into an "anything-goes" tolerance that despairs of reason, effectively silencing principled moral arguments and allowing the "will of the stronger" to prevail.

7. The Enduring Power of Sin: A Biblical Lens on Human Dysfunction

An interviewer asked me just a few days ago, “How could this (the scandal) have happened?” and I responded, “Sin.”

Sin's pervasive reality. The Bible, with its clear-eyed realism, teaches that human beings, though made in God's image, are fallen and compromised by original sin. It honestly recounts widespread depravity—rape, theft, murder, political corruption, sexual abuse—even among God's chosen instruments. This biblical perspective helps us understand that scandals, like the clergy sex abuse crisis, are not surprising but rather manifestations of this fundamental human brokenness.

The Church's enemies. The Church, as the "new Israel," faces opposition from a sinful world, just as ancient Israel did from its enemies. While the sexual abuse of children is a global epidemic across all sectors of society, media coverage often disproportionately targets the Catholic Church, sometimes fueled by anti-Catholic prejudice or a desire to marginalize the Church's voice on moral issues. This external pressure, however, can also serve a divine purpose.

Chastisement and purification. From a biblical perspective, God often uses suffering and even enemies to chastise and purify His people, leading to repentance and renovation. The current crisis, though painful, can be seen as a means by which God is cleansing the Church, preparing it for renewal. This calls for courage, spiritual vision, and a willingness to withstand the "beleaguered" feeling, trusting that God brings life out of death.

8. Modernity's Blind Spots: The Spiritual Cost of Heroic Materialism

But, concludes Clark, heroic materialism—however impressive and practically beneficial it might be—is never enough to satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart, and therefore never a sufficient organizing ideal for a human society.

The illusion of mastery. The modern era, driven by Francis Bacon's "knowledge is power" and Descartes' "mastery of nature," has produced immense technological advancements and convenience. However, this success has fostered a "hyper-confidence, even an arrogance," leading modern people to believe they are masters of nature, spiritually dangerous as it ignores human finitude and contingency.

Soullessness of materialism. As observed by Kenneth Clark in Civilisation, the triumph of "heroic materialism" in Western culture, while impressive, has led to a "soullessness and superficiality." Modern cities, dominated by monuments to economic power rather than religious or political edifices, vividly reveal a culture where material gain is the highest value, failing to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.

The fading narrative. This materialist narrative often eclipses the Christian story, leading to a "disenchanted universe" where ultimate meaning and transcendent reference are lost. The "childfree life," for example, reflects a focus on private desire and self-creation, rather than values that condition the will like family, society, or God's command to "be fruitful and multiply." This shift, where individual choice becomes sovereign, can lead to a "sadness of the heart."

9. The Shaping of Character: Our Actions Define Who We Become

Every time I perform a moral act, I am building up my character, and every time I perform an unethical act, I am compromising my character.

Moral physics. Karol Wojtyła (Pope St. John Paul II) taught that every ethical decision not only results in a particular act but also contributes to the person one is becoming. A sufficient number of virtuous acts shapes character for future virtuous behavior, while vicious acts misshape it, making right choices difficult. This is a "spiritual or moral physics," a basic law of human formation.

Beyond "good person" facade. A common modern misconception is that one can engage in self-absorbed or destructive behaviors while remaining, "deep down," a "good person." This dualism, separating the "self" from the body and its actions, is battled by Catholic philosophy. In reality, habitual selfish behavior inevitably warps one's character, turning a person into what they repeatedly do.

Sexuality and character. This principle applies acutely to sexual behavior. The "hookup culture," characterized by casual and impersonal sexual encounters, is doing "terrible damage" to young people. While society tells them they can behave as they like and still be "good," their consciences often reveal the truth: selfish and irresponsible sexual acts are shaping them into selfish and irresponsible people, leading to depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.

10. The Unseen Battle: Christianity's Enduring Challenge to Secularism

My wager, as a person of faith, is that everyone—and that includes Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins—implicitly wants God, and hence remains permanently fascinated by the things of God.

Atheism's fervor. The aggressive presence of atheists in public discourse, often employing "vitriolic rhetoric" and ridiculing religious belief as "superstitious," signals a "wake-up call" for believers. This fervor, however, also reveals a deeper, perhaps unconscious, fascination with the things of God, suggesting that even those who profess to want to eliminate religious ideas are "secretly seeking out the things of God."

Theological depth vs. caricature. Critics often misrepresent God as a "sky fairy" or "invisible friend," or reduce Jesus to a "nonthreatening" moral sage. Classical theology, however, understands God not as a being in the world, but as ipsum esse (the sheer act of being itself), the unconditioned cause of the universe. This profound understanding of God as unconditioned justice and truth is what truly fuels the passion for setting things right, even in those who deny Him.

Christianity's subversive power. A "defanged, privatized, spiritual teacher poses little threat to the status quo." But the true Jesus, the Son of God, crucified and risen, is a "permanent and very dangerous threat" to corrupt and violent authorities. His resurrection affirms God's power over worldly tyrants, challenging any political or social status quo that claims absolute allegiance. The Church's mission is to boldly proclaim this "impossibly good news," even when it runs against the grain of secular indifference.

Last updated: August 18, 2025