Catholic Apologetics Online

Choose a topic from Vol 3:

God

Man

Religion

The Religion of the Bible

The Christian Religion

A Definite Christian Faith

The Problem of Reunion

The Truth of Catholicism

The Church and the Bible

The Dogmas of the Catholic Church

Moral Teachings of the Catholic Church

The Church in Her Worship

The Church and Social Welfare

Charity

1000. Does Christianity expect me to love my neighbor when I don't even like him?

Yes. And it can be done. You must not mix up "loving" with "liking." Likes and dislikes concern your feelings. But love is a matter of the will to benefit another. It is bent on securing the good of another. "Liking" is a pleasure to self. "Loving" thinks not of self but of another's welfare. Thus you can like a person whom you do not love. If, to satisfy the pleasant feelings another awakens within you, you cooperate with him in evil conduct, you do not love him, for you assist in what is to his harm. But if, on the other hand, you do not like a man, yet overlook his faults, will his good and do all you can for his true welfare, then you love that man. In practice you are his friend, even though you experience no friendly "feelings" towards him.Another thing to remember is this. When Christianity bids you love your neighbor whether you like him or not, it really means that you must let your love of God overflow to your neighbor. You really see, not your neighbor, but God; and without diverting your attention from God, you let your love of Him extend to all whom He thought worth making and loving. Your neighbor may have such faults that you can never get to like him. But you must abstract from those faults, never let your repugnance influence your conduct, and will only his good for the love of God.

1001. Give me the man who will help those in trouble from pure sympathy, with no thought of the love of God, and no expectation of any reward. For the motive then is entirely unselfish.

That is one of the most dangerous sentences I have ever read out during these Sessions, and contains more mistakes than I have time to catalog. I will content myself with saying that such principles are injurious to God, to a man's own dignity, and to all his fellow human beings. Likewise the supposition that such conduct is unselfish is wrong, as also the supposition that Christian charity is selfish. Now that is a pretty strong indictment. But let us see.Firstly, you advocate kindness to others without any thought of the love of God: That is straight out rebellion, because God commands us to love each other for His sake. But, apart from God's command, to cut God out is blasphemy. We are to give up the service of God for the service of man. Protestants began with their cry, "Believe in Christ and be saved." They advocated "Faith without works." Now their successors are crying, "Works without faith." You say, "Give me the man who lives for his fellow men." Do you mean that man comes first, and God comes second? Or will you cut God right out, proudly asserting that "you" do not need God's help? It is the old, or rather the new cry, "Religion is the opium of the people." Why are you so anxious to do without the help of Almighty God? And since when did the higher motive of love for God render actions worse than when done for the lower motive of love for man? Arnold Lunn well describes your attitude:"There was an old man of MoldaviaWho did not believe in his Saviour,But erected insteadWith himself at the headA religion of decorous behaviour."Secondly, such a doctrine is injurious to a man's own dignity. That is the very thing you think to safeguard. But remember that there is more nobility and dignity in being made for God than in being made for so ignoble a specimen as oneself. It is a degradation to despise God's approval for self-esteem.Thirdly, such a doctrine is injurious to all your fellow men. In their case also, it is better to love them for the love of God than merely for the love of themselves. You advocate the banishing of Christian motives from charity. But Christianity gave charity to the world. Cut out Christianity, and charity won't linger long. Robbed of religion, men will tend to selfishness, not to self-sacrifice. Experience shows how mad it is to expect a humanity concentrated exclusively on itself to breed unselfishness.Fourthly, is even the motive you propose unselfish? You speak of "pure sympathy." But what is sympathy? It means "to suffer with." If you see others sad, the sight saddens you. And your own sadness impels you to relieve the distress of another, and you secure happiness in the feeling that the cause of your own distress is removed. It is a case of, "I can't bear the sight of your misery, old chap. Go and have a feed." And the benefactor walks off relieved and smugly self-satisfied.If you won't admit that analysis, ask yourself why you advocate unselfishness at all. Why "ought" men to be unselfish? It is because it is a moral responsibility towards self, or towards his fellow men, or towards God. If towards self only, then self is subject to no one, but monarch of all it surveys. That is the self-assertion of pride. If it is towards his fellow men, then humanity itself is supreme, and the worship of humanity is the new idolatry to replace the true God. Finally, the supposition that Christian charity for the love of God, and with an expectation of a reward, is selfish, and excludes pure sympathy, is simply absurd. Pure sympathy is present, but sanctified. And selfishness is excluded, because the Christian knows that, although God "will" reward supernatural charity, the essence of Christianity is to love and serve God, not to labor for enjoyment. We love God for Himself, not for ourselves. It would be selfish to work for one's own happiness, knowing that God's glory would result. But it is not selfish to work for God's glory, knowing that one's own happiness will result. What else could result from serving God? Misery? Christian charity is the only possible law, men loving the God who made them, and letting their love of God overflow to all God's creatures. And the most unselfish people in history were those like St. Francis of Assisi, or St. Vincent de Paul, the very men who loved God most. And any other standard, call it philanthropy or humanitarianism, is an insult to God; injurious to man's personal dignity; and destructive of the welfare of the human race.

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MORE FROM VOLUME 3

• About the Author
• Preface
  - Msgr Fulton J Sheen
• Author's Foreword
  - Dr Rumble, MSC

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