Josiah Concept Ministries

It seems to be fashionable these days to put ourselves (that is, humans) at the center of our theology.  James White has been addressing items like this on his recent Dividing Line webcasts.  Now I see an example of man-centered theology on Jimmy Akin’s blog in the form of the following comments to this post on mortal sins:

The gravity of the matter is based on the harm done

I suppose you could define ‘harm’ in such a way as to cover every case, but used in the commonly understood manner it is a very poor absolute criteria to determine graveness.

If I worship a golden calf in the privacy of my own room, what harm have I done? If you say I am harming my chances of eternal beatitude, then your criteria becomes meaningless and circular.

The same could be said of a multitude of other sins that have no impact on anyone except oneself such as masturbation, which incidentally the vast majority of those professionally trained in the medical and psychological fields consider ‘healthy’ behavior. But as Catholics we know this to be gravely immoral in all cases.

Of course my problem is with Steve asking “If I worship a golden calf in the privacy of my own room, what harm have I done?”  I didn’t think anyone would have to even ask that question.  And the responses to it aren’t much better.  Tim J, who I usually respect, said:

Well, the problem is you have worshiped simply nothing, and in doing so you have acted out a lie. You have deceived yourself, which harms you. You have also perverted the worship you owe to the true God, which is unjust.

If you look at the Old Testament, idol worship is not proscribed because it harms others, but because - in a way - it robs the worshiper. It takes his piety, energy and devotion and gives him nothing in return. It also is an affront to God, cutting against the grain of the universe He created. It “harms” God, by way of insult (though God can’t be harmed in the same sense that we can).

SDG, who writes guest blog posts from time to time, added “As others have indicated, you gravely harm yourself by turning your will away from its true end.”

So, the main trouble here is that worshipping idols robs the worshipper?  You harm yourself?  God forbids idol worship because it is unfair to us?  That thought process is completely outrageous!  God is the very reason for our existence.  To worship an idol robs Him of deserved worship.  True, worshipping an idol will never bring our own lives fulfillment, but that fact should be considered secondary to denying God His well-deserved worship.  These responses deal only with the harm inflicted upon yourself, as if the offense committed against God is only an afterthought.

What can we expect from a religion that authorizes worship of saints, angels, and Mary?  Finally, we encounter this:

The harm done in worshipping the golden calf is infinite, because you have given the honors due to God alone to something that is not-God, and denied God what should be His.  “Harm” is not simply “harm to other people.”

Thank you, WRY!  Someone with some sense.

The reasoning in those comments must truly offend God.  I’m sorry that Jimmy didn’t address those issues in his own blog or the comments section, and I pray God reveals this to him.

I think that that post has truly shown me once and for all that Catholicism, with all of its laws and precepts, is in the end a man-centered theology.