OsullivanB

Friday, 1. May 2009, 15:26

Hi Penfold, Of course I accept what you say. But my enquiry was deliberately put in a broad form "the changing status of usury". I think we might agree that the teaching has at the very least developed. But I suspect that we may both feel that there are things more relevant to salvation than this arcane issue, and I would be happy to let it drop. It is a subject which interests me quite a lot when it comes to mind, but not one which preoccupies me. I haven't been able to find a book which deals with the development of the Church's approach. Perhaps that would be a project for my retirement. Though that may not be a good idea. I have no wish to give ammunition to the detractors of this world.

Penfold

Friday, 1. May 2009, 16:17

I think that it is a shame that the church has always just fallen short of a universal ban on charging interest on loans.

Penfold

Friday, 1. May 2009, 08:47

... What concerns me is that that New Advent is selective for a purpose ...

Quote:

 

The problem is that many of us have accepted things as matters of faith because they were taught to us by people we trusted or feared. In later life this 'faith' is challenged by empirical information and reason. As we grow in wisdom we discern what things are true Articles of Faith and what is simply the explanation given to us as children for a concept that would have been too difficult to comprehend at the time.
St Thomas Aquinas addresses the matter in De Veritate, Q xiv . art 1.

I prefer simpler analogy. Many of you are parents and all of us were once children, so we are familiar with fairy stories, myths and legends. How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa Clause and for how long did you continue to pretend to believe because you liked the idea of the presents.
As children we believed the stories told to us by our parents because we knew no better as time goes by we grow in knowledge, but not necessarily wisdom. Armed with knowledge we challenge the teachings of our parents. Some are too scared to express their doubts and rebel later when away from home. Others are respectful of their parents’ authority but find a way to argue their cause with reason and engage in a positive growth in not only understanding but also knowledge of the information given to them by their parents and all remain friends and all is harmonious. Most of us found the middle path of rebellion within the family home and endured the rows and arguments but in love and charity grew and came to a level of respect for our parents whereby we were able to accept some of the 'Faith' they had shared with us and gently dispose of some of the 'Myths like Santa Clause' sorry if that shatters anyone’s illusions but sorry I don't believe in Santa and haven't since I was 3 (Unless of cause Santa smells of whiskey and St Bruno which is the same perfume my father wore)
I digress
Some of what we were taught as children as Doctrine and immutable church teaching was in fact only an elaborate tale told by the church, or our parents and teachers, as a way of explaining an inner truth. Just as you as parents will tell your children stories about the birth of Jesus and the Virginity of Mary without getting into a complicated explanation of the facts of life. In time as they grow older the explanations you gave them as infants won’t work and you will have to evolve the story or come clean and tell them the whole truth as you understand it. What is even more valuable is if you can find a way at some point of expressing your feelings and explaining to them why a particular article of faith is important to you. Alas sometimes when questioned you reolise that the only reason you have for accepting a particular article of faith is because of some nugget of wisdom passed onto you by your parent which when examined closely is not actually all that robust. It was a fine explanation in its day but in the modern world of empirical science and secularisation it is insufficient as an explanation for your offspring.
As a parent you then have a choice, you could just say, ‘it is as it is because I have said so,’ or you could openly admit that you don't know but believe that this item of faith is as it is because that is what you were taught and in honest enquiry help yourself and your child discover a more substantial explanation. The Church is like a parent and at times it has stamped its authority on a particular teaching and said that’s it there is to be no more discussion and at times it has admitted that it is unsure but that within a particular context and with prior knowledge they believe that the truth can be found in a particular line of enquiry but confirm that experience and wisdom have ruled out another avenue of enquiry.

Again how many of you as parents have admonished your children for no other reason than you are tiered of their constant nagging and silly questions, later as you calm down and reflect you may attempt a reconciliation by trying to answer the question in a fuller way than you may have attempted before, or you may resort to the old tactic oft used of passing the buck, "Ask your father/mother" or “what did the priest say on Sunday.” I was always amused, although sometimes irritated by the inopportune timing, when parents would try to get me to endorse whatever gem of wisdom they had tried to pass on to their child. I tried very hard, sadly not always successfully, to avoid embarrassing the parent by explaining that the child’s explanation was actually correct.
The authority of the church must be respected and any who seek to challenge its teaching would need to be very sure of their information. It is possible that the church like a parent may change its explanation or alter its position in light of new information or in a particular circumstance but it will never and can never alter the basic articles of faith. The problem is some people still believe in Santa Clause and will not accept that it was just a story told by their parents.