Tuesday, March 12, 2013
445. What does God prohibit by his command, “You shall not have other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2)? (part 5 continuation)
(Comp 445 repetition) This commandment
forbids: * Polytheism and idolatry, which divinizes creatures, power, money, or
even demons. * Superstition which is a departure from the worship due to the
true God and which also expresses itself in various forms of divination, magic,
sorcery and spiritism. * Irreligion which is evidenced: in tempting God by word
or deed; in sacrilege, which profanes sacred persons or sacred things, above
all the Eucharist; and in simony, which involves the buying or selling of
spiritual things. * Atheism which rejects the existence of God, founded often
on a false conception of human autonomy. * Agnosticism which affirms that
nothing can be known about God, and involves indifferentism and practical
atheism.
“In brief”
(CCC 2140) Since it rejects or
denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the first
commandment.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 2123) "Many… of our contemporaries either do not
at all perceive, or explicitly reject, this intimate and vital bond of man to
God. Atheism must therefore be regarded as one of the most serious problems of
our time" (GS 19 § 1). (CCC 2124) The name "atheism" covers many
very different phenomena. One common form is the practical materialism which
restricts its needs and aspirations to space and time. Atheistic humanism
falsely considers man to be "an end to himself, and the sole maker, with
supreme control, of his own history" (GS 20 § 1). Another form of
contemporary atheism looks for the liberation of man through economic and
social liberation. "It holds that religion, of its very nature, thwarts
such emancipation by raising man's hopes in a future life, thus both deceiving
him and discouraging him from working for a better form of life on earth"
(GS 20 § 2).
Reflection
(CCC 2125) Since it rejects or denies the existence of God,
atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion (Cf. Rom 1:18). The
imputability of this offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the
intentions and the circumstances. "Believers can have more than a little
to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about
their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail
in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather
than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion" (GS 19 § 3). (CCC 2126)
Atheism is often based on a false conception of human autonomy, exaggerated to
the point of refusing any dependence on God (Cf. GS 20 § 1). Yet, "to
acknowledge God is in no way to oppose the dignity of man, since such dignity
is grounded and brought to perfection in God...." (GS 21 § 3) "For
the Church knows full well that her message is in harmony with the most secret
desires of the human heart" (GS 21 § 7). [IT CONTINUES]
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