Short Takes Zero

  Heaven and Hell <snip> Heaven is the natural result of choosing the will of God over self. When self is emptied (in humility and self giving charity), God has room to enter. When God indwells a soul He brings order to it. A soul with God has peace. When a soul enters eternity in this state, the happiness which is given is infinite. God is an infinitely simple principle who perfectly harmonizes and unites everything in heaven around Him. Happiness is the abiding in harmony and unity. In hell, rather than everything being harmonized, everything acts independently. Each person, and each faculty within each person vies for supremacy. The result is unending conflict and torment. This is the end result of attempting to be one's own god. The forces of liberalism in society, which turns authentic freedom under law into arbitrary license, is creating hell on earth. The attraction of liberalism is an apparent freedom from constraint. However, it is a refusal to act in accordance with

  Hell is Organic, not Artificial <snip> Divine justice is also organic and natural, rather than arbitrary and artificial. God does not set such-and-such a standard, and if we fail to live up to this standard He condemns us. It is not like that at all. Hell, rather, is the natural consequence of one's option for evil. When mortal sin is committed, something seriously wrong is chosen for selfish advantage. Taking someone's life because you want his property is an example. More common, is modern idolatry where God and His law are ignored for selfish advantage. This act of choosing a serious evil causes a hideous deformity to appear in the soul. A deformed act of will causes a deformed state of soul. This is a natural cause and effect link. Now the grace of God is completely incompatible with this deformity, so that when this deformity appears God's grace must depart. Mortal sin and God's grace are contradictory so it is impossible for them to be simultaneous. If a s

  The Intrinsic Value of the Human Person <snip> Apart from Revelation, it is difficult to find a direct proof from natural law for the inviolability, sanctity, and dignity of the human person. This is because what is readily visible is the human person as that which procures pleasure, power, or possessions for society. Many people, seeing only these visible aspects believes that this is the purpose of human life. True love and reverence [on the other hand] opens the eyes to the intrinsic value of the human person. Pride and concupiscence, on the other hand, causes blindness in this sphere. Many in our society are not esteemed as valuable if they do not produce for society. However, an indirect rational proof for the intrinsic value of human life can be given. We can do this by looking at the consequences of denying it. We can study communism as it existed in the former Soviet Union. Countless millions were killed, enslaved, or unjustly imprisoned under this regime. It's basi

  Euthanasia and Doctor Assisted Suicide <snip> There is a connection between contraception and euthanasia. With euthanasia the personal sphere is also treated as a mere means [as contraception treats the other as a mere means to pleasure]. It could be the means to pleasure, power, status, or possessions. If this is the case, when a human being is deemed unfit to procure these advantages, the euthanasia mindset says that that human being must die. The euthanasia mindset also fails to see that the personal is an end in itself. Like the contraceptive mindset, the euthanasia mindset declares that what is personal is to be disposed of for selfish gain. The abortion mindset says the same thing. This euthanasia mindset is also present in those who would mistreat a person, if that person cannot procure some advantage for them, or if that person stands in the way of their own selfish advantage. Many of these adult bullies are around today. With the personal, there is a dignity and a sanc

  Argument Against Contraception <snip> The evil of contraception can be understood by natural law as well. Contraception is the deliberate insertion of a dysfunction into the human body (the pill) or the sexual act itself (the condom) to avoid conception. The evil of contraception is primarily ontological. In contraception that which is eminently personal is being disrupted in its integrity (this is why natural forms of birth control, when used appropriately, are not wrong). The personal transcends the non-personal. It is permissible to manipulate the non-personal, within bounds, for human advantage (such as the cutting of trees or the killing of animals for human consumption). However, it is not permissible to do this sort of thing with the human person. While the non-personal is a means, the personal is an end in itself. The personal has a sanctity or a dignity so that it is wrong to treat it as a mere means. The integrity of the personal sphere must never be disrupted for per

  Argument Against Sex Before Marriage <snip> God's law against premarital sex can also be seen in the light of natural law. A few decades ago, when a Christian world-view was predominate in our culture, most people adhered to God's law and waited until marriage to have sex. In this day and age, when Christian culture has been largely rejected, most people do not wait until marriage for sex. Much of the rejection of Christian culture has been caused by the academia. Although there can be a valid science of psychology, as psychology is taught today, it claims that all actions are motivated by some sort of personal gain - that we only do good to receive some benefit in return. It is not acknowledged that good can be done simply because it is good. All transcendence is denied with this. This is related to the practice of sex before marriage. In the modern anti-Christian secular humanist world view, one's partner is seen only as a means of procuring pleasure and happiness