Ad Dominum

I promised to begin a discussion of some of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. I have decided to begin with Nostra Aetate (NA), not because of any hierarchical significance, but because it is brief, if I may be so honest. Do not let its brevity deceive you, however, because its importance reaches far beyond its shortness of length.

I have found that when dealing with things like this it is best to just go straight through it, so we shall, in the same spirit of brevity that marks this document.

Section 1:

The Church has decided to examine her “relationship to non-Christian religions” because ties between different people are becoming stronger. In other words, the world is shrinking. Think back to the 1960’s, and then look at today, and see how true this really is! Never before have people all over the world been so “close” to each other.

NA goes on to say that all people have one origin, God, and one final goal, God. From birth to death we are all tied intrinsically to God. Not only do all people have one common origin and one destination, but God’s “saving design” extends to all of us.

The last part of section #1 lists questions that all people throughout human history have asked. Because they are fundamental questions, I will list them here:

1. What is man?
2. What is the meaning, the aim of our life?
3. What is moral good, what sin?
4. Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve?
5. What is the road to true happiness?
6. What are death, judgment, and retribution after death?
7. Whence do we come, and where are we going?

Section 2:

Now begins the journey through civilizations and time of experiences of God and the Divine. There is an acknowledgment by the Church that many people in many places and many times have recognized a Supreme Being, and sometimes even a “Father,” or a personified God. The Church goes on to say that cosmological questions grow in perplexity as cultures grow in perplexity. NA goes on to mention some religious traditions specifically:

1. Hinduism: Contemplation of God through complex myths and philosophical inquiry. They seek to be free from the “anguish of the human condition” through ascetical practices, meditation, and a recognition of God “with love and trust.”
2. Buddhism: People attempt to attain liberation (nirvana) from the “insufficiency of this changeable world” through illumination, either on their own, or through Divine assistance. (This is true. Many people do not realize this, but there are as many ways to be a Buddhist as there are ways to be a Christian. For example, the Dalai Lama would have little in common in practice, ritual, or “theology” with most Buddhists in Thailand, who are mostly Theravada Buddhists, and the same goes for Theravada Buddhists and the Zen Buddhists of Japan.)

NA goes on to say that the Church does not reject anything that is true and good in these other religions. This has profound implications. Not only does the Church not reject these truths in other religions, but she holds them “with sincere reverence,” especially those “ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men.” Even with all of this, the Church maintains- in the same paragraph- that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life,” where people may find the fullness of religious life.

Ending this second section, the Church asks all Christians to “recognize, preserve, and promote” the spiritual and moral values and the socio-economic values that are found in other religions.

Sections 3, 4, and 5 will come tomorrow.

Based on what we have seen so far, I cannot see any objections to any of this as justifiable, either in Scripture or Tradition, unless one counts “religious” wars of greed of money and power as Tradition, which I do not, and in which case we really shouldn’t be talking very much. It would be detrimental to my peace.

If I may make one final note from our discussion of section 2. “The Church does not reject anything that is true and good in these other religions.” I know that this is very “surface” and trivial, but I greatly admire the “eastern” practice of burning incense sticks at shrines and places of worship. Many times this is done for the same reason that we Christians light candles, whether vigil, tea, or taper. Anglican Wanderings has an article that mentions where, at a visit to a church, an image of Our Lady was found, complete with votive candles and incense sticks for the faithful to light before the image. I would find this devotion extremely uplifting, and I have no doubt that others would, as well. I would love to see this practice spread. But please don’t read too much of my opinion into NA; that isn’t my purpose.

Pax et bonum.