|
During most of the 20th century, the Democratic Party was made up of Catholics and Jews in the Northeast and Baptists in the South. The leaders and the members of the party attended services and practiced their religion, but they did not talk about religion in the party except in the most general terms.
Being forced to choose between “being saved” or “doing good works” is presenting a false dichotomy, as did the sterile debate over “faith” and “works” during the Reformation. Thanks to the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue, both sides now agree that we are saved by our faith in Jesus Christ not by our works, but our faith in Jesus compels us to do works of charity and justice.
In looking at Iraq, we need to ask two questions: What do we owe the Iraqi people, and what are we capable of delivering?
No matter what you think about the justification for initiating the Iraq war (I think it was unjustified), the issue of withdrawing is a separate question. Some Catholic ethicists (including the U.S. bishops and the Vatican) think that the U.S. has a moral obligation to fix things before it leaves. Others believe such a view is naïve—the U.S. is incapable of fixing Iraq and in fact is making matters worse.
I believe in heaven because I believe that God loves us so much that he would not let us simply disappear. I believe in hell because I believe we are free to reject God.
What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions
Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith
Comments (128)