Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study
House notes/rules…
1. Meetup is https://meetu.ps/c/4mYPW/F6KR3/a, Zoom Meeting Logon information is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952
2. The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog, usually within a day.
3. See The Chosen. Knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check it out: The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
4. Respectfulness. Of course we will discuss differences between religions and even between Christian denominations, but we agree to use respectful words and tones in doing so. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ (I myself owe part of my return to the faith to them).
5. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct; however, that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn the Bible, explain the Catholic faith – what it means and especially its origins in Scripture and Jesus Christ – and helping people develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
6. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can email the group via Meetup, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net.
Opening Prayer Glory Be to You, My Father, Yahweh, Elohim, the One and Only God. From your Mind, your Word, and your Love comes all spiritual and material existence, And our sentient human nature possessing both. Thus, we are able to share in Your attributes of love, order, reason, free-will, justice, mercy, beauty, and joy. Speaking of which, Lord, our topic tonight is Justice and we know You are perfect Justice So as we engage in this topic tonight, grant us wisdom and understanding so that we can apply justthinking ourselves. And as you taught us to pray: Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily Bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen. Upcoming Catholic Holy Days Ordinary Time: Jan 10 to March 2. Lent: Wed, March 2 to Holy Thursday, April 14. Upcoming Jewish Holy Days: Purim (March 16-17) 14th of the month of Adar. Hebrew months:
1-Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah)-Sept 2-Marcheshvan - Oct 3-Kislev (Hanukkah) – Nov/Dec 4-Tevet - Jan 5-Shevat (5 ½ AA*) 6-Adar - March *Leap Year every 3 yrs, add Adar Aleph 7-Nisan (Passover/Easter) 8-Iyar – May 9-Sivan (Shavuot/Pentecost) 10-Tammuz – June/July 11-Av – July/Aug 12-Elul – Aug/Sept
Justice and Judgment
Before we can discuss judgment, we must discuss justice; because judgment comes from our sense of justice.
If I may make a bold claim, justice comes from God. We will show that in this discussion but you can have that in the back of your mind while we proceed.
Q: Who doesn’t want it justice? Can you think of anyone?
Everything that humans are passionate can usually be connected in some way to their sense of justice (or injustice).
Q: What is justice? Justice (jus-tiz): the quality of being fair or just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness
the moral principle determining just conduct; impartial in one’s dealings
the administering of deserved punishment or reward.
applying rules, laws, and standards fairly to everyone.
Maybe we can get some help from other sources.
Justice is the opposite of arbitrariness. It requires that where two cases are relevantly alike, they should be treated in the same way. – Stanford Encyclopedia
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, equity and fairness, as well as the administration of the law... – Science Daily
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve. The interpretation of what constitutes "deserving" is impacted by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspectives, including the concepts of moral correctness based on ethics, rationality, law, religion, equity, and fairness. Consequently, the application of justice differs in every culture. – Wikipedia
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. – The United States Constitution
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. – The Declaration of Independence
Q: We might conclude from all this that Justice is … which of the following?
a) essential to being human b) doing the right thing c) key to social happiness d) based on “good” e) difficult to define
Q: When an injustice happens, which of these represent a just response, or “justified”?
a) resentment b) getting even/revenge c) hatred d) violence/destruction e) murder
Q: If an injustice happens, and humans respond with the actions immediately above, what justice might come of it?
Resentment – what is accomplished beyond the internal disability this creates?
Revenge – what is the chance of causing greater harm than the infraction? Then getting even wasn’t even, so another response is needed to make things even? What are the chances that both parties will ever agree that things are even?
Hatred – see resentment.
Violence/destruction – what are the chances of collateral violence and destruction to innocent parties? How will the scales of justice be balanced again?
Murder – see all the above.
This is an example of using evil to accomplish a good. If that continues, it will only spiral out of control. Fighting fire with fire makes a bigger fire.
When fighting evil with evil, there is only one, very happy winner.
Quandary: Humanity has a ubiquitous belief in having/imposing justice; at the same time, our failure to live up to it is equally ubiquitous.
Justice is such a powerful idea with humans that people use it to find support for causes that are not necessarily valid. This is how cult leaders find followings. If you want create a cause for whatever, just make a case for injustice. In fact, evil is always most effective when it dresses itself up as goodness. We even get a warning from Jesus about this when he says to beware of “false prophets.” We all have a responsibility to discern good from bad, and Jesus gives us a clue how: “You will know them by their fruits.”
Q: What does Jesus mean by their fruits?
Jesus means humility, caring about others - especially the less fortunate, and willing to be a shining example of what is preached.
Q: Justice seems to be grounded in one’s idea of right and wrong. However, in the absence of any absolute right and wrong, how do we really know what is just or unjust?
We base it on our own opinions. Human “opinion” isn’t meant to be a bad word, but when anyone else’s opinion about what justice is or is not is just as good as yours, then opinion is the shoe that fits.
Q: So if we agree that humans decide who is right, then which humans decide? Most would say “the majority.” Is that true?
Have you ever been in a group where the majority wants to do something and you know it’s wrong? What is the definition of a mob? Germany chose Hitler as Chancellor in 1933. Once upon a time, the majority believed in slavery.
So, does the majority translate as morally superior?
Elected majorities are the best humans have come up with so far. It can still produce ineffective or corrupt governments, and unjust wars can still come from it; but unelected governments are even worse. At least elected governments can get unelected.
Q: Another paradox in today’s culture: We want justice but we don’t want anyone to “judge.” How does that work?
It doesn’t. Some amount of discernment (judging) will always be needed. Lying, stealing, rape, and murder still require someone to judge that these things are wrong.
Q: But didn’t Jesus tell us not to judge? Explain his quote in Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
Jesus is first stating a common sense truism: if you walk around judging others, then you’d better expect that what goes around comes around. But Jesus is also well aware of humanity’s record on judging: very poor. How often do we see the following every day?
Superficial judgement
Hypocritical judgement
Harsh, unforgiving judgement
Self-righteous judgement
Erroneous/untrue judgement
Recall what Jesus told us above: “Watch out for false prophets … by their fruit you will recognize them.”
We have to discern (judge) when the fruit is bad. Maybe “discern” is a safer way to think about it. It suggest carefulness.
In John 7:24, Jesus actually gives a command to judge: “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
Opposing error and injustice is not wrong, but when discerning these things we must be thoughtful and do our homework.
More importantly, we should ask: Is condemning another person necessary? Not usually!
Q: Have you ever heard: “Judge the action, not the person”? Why would this be a good idea?
a) Judging the person makes it personal, and making it personal reduces the chance of convincing anyone of your impartiality.
b) Some matters require judging the person, but we have judges whose job it is to do that. That’s what they are trained to do.
c) Keep in mind, when we judge as individuals, it is often very similar to condemning them. This triggers hate and resentment. The devil wins, nobody else.
Q: We have enough problems staying right with God without condemning each other. Let God do that. What should we do?
If we can’t be kind to them, and if we can’t help them, then we can pray for them. “God, please help this guy, he really needs it and I can’t do it!” That’s it! That is how we love our enemies.
Q: Where does this incredibly powerful, but unattainable, idea of justice comes from?? Does it come from nature?
No. If we look in the plant or animal kingdom, it is not there. It’s not in the sea or the air. Not on the moon or in the next galaxy.
Q: If it isn’t in nature, then does justice come from humans?
No, humans are the ones looking for it! And, if we ever happen to get our hands on it, it never lasts for long. This is true in our own circles: in our jobs, in our neighborhoods, even in our own families.
Yet most human beings consider justice to be one of the highest goals of mankind – even though we’ve never really had it.
Q: As a former atheist, I can tell you nonbelievers will often point to the world’s out-of-control inequities and injustices as part of what “justifies” their rejection of God. They say, “If there is a God, He would not have allowed all this injustice!”
That statement might be true if God didn’t give humans free-will. This world full of injustices is the world we created. Fallen humans are fallen because they have free-will and they abuse that free-will. It’s the reason God came to save us – from ourselves.
Q: If justice doesn’t come from us and it doesn’t come from our environment … where then?
God breathed his spirit into us (Gen 2:7) and we became like Him, in his “image.” God is perfect justice, so we obviously got just enough of it that we can’t let go of it.
No wonder we have this idea of “perfect justice” – it came from Him. And the reason we have so much trouble achieving it is because we want to get justice our way, all on our own. That’s the definition of the Fall. We take what He gives us and then say… “Thanks, God! Now don’t call us, we’ll call You, eh? We’ve got this!”
Some have also said that Justice is one of God’s calling cards, because if one seriously tries to understand it, it leads to Him. Every other avenue for explaining this passion for this never-attained justice, or where it came from, is a dead end.
Q: Is Justice for all ever achievable?
Not without God.
Q: Are humans really high-minded and dignified just because we know how to passionately demand justice in the world?
Think again. Just answer this question: What about justice for ourselves?
Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that everyone wants justice for everyone else? When it comes to ourselves, most (if not all) humans would like a pass. Any time things go wrong for us, we usually look for a way to be excused, for our error to be overlooked, for our dishonesty to be forgiven, to be given another chance; or else, we just deny any culpability and lie. How high-minded are we really?
If Perfect Justice were applied every time we did something selfish and unloving, who would be left standing among us?
If Perfect Justice was applied to our first parents, they would have been consigned to Satan’s dominion along with the fallen angels. Instead, perfect justice was suspended for humans. When we look around and say, “Hey, God, where’s the justice?” Be careful what you wish for and consider yourself lucky. Final judgement is coming, but it was suspended to give us another chance.
Q: The way people toss around the demands for justice and complaints about injustice, one would think it was one of those natural “rights” all of us are due; a “given.” But where is it? If God is perfect justice, then why don’t we see justice happening immediately, like gravity?
God has delayed perfect justice for humans. That’s why we are here, and it’s why we weren’t consigned to live with the fallen angels. We are being given a second chance. But this chance is not a forever thing. It’s one lifetime.
Judgement. In the end, how will we fare when our love for others is weighed against our failure to love others? For this is the criteria. Not well, I suspect.
Q: How far will our good intentions and good works get us – in the best scenario?
Q: What difference does Jesus Christ make?
God came here in the person of Jesus Christ to complete the bridge for us because He knows we can’t by ourselves. We have to be willing to invite God into our lives and keep moving in His direction, and then He will complete the bridge for us, no matter how far away we are. He’s already paid for the bridge, but we have to want to do the dance. No dancey, no bridgey.
Q: What if we accept the deal and then fail, or fall off the path again?
He will forgive every failure you have as soon as you realize your mistake, ask for forgiveness, and get back on the bridge.
Q: What about Scripture’s references to our meritorious rewards in Heaven? What is the purpose of being good and doing good if getting right with God/Jesus Christ is all we need?
a) Being good and doing good is part of the dance. We might say we want God in our lives but we have to demonstrate that behavior as well. It’s like being sorry for offending a friend, but then you never apologize or change your behavior. What good is feeling sorry? It’s useless unless you demonstrate the truth of it. We are basically talking about turning our faith and God’s love into verbs.
b) The good works by themselves can’t complete the bridge, but they do impact what happens once we get to the other side. Our “rewards in Heaven” happen once we get there.
Now it is time to discuss… Divine Judgment
Since the Fall of Man, Divine Judgment – the execution of reward or punishment upon moral (free-will) creatures – has been in effect.
That means that a certain amount of justice happens in our lives. We know this. But we also know that many times, justice doesn’t happen. People (ourselves included) get away with all kinds of things. Then again, bad things also happen to us that we didn’t deserve. After this life, all of this will be taken into account. It may affect your time in Purgatory or your rewards in Heaven, but be assured it will be perfect justice in the end.
The technical description for this is: Divine judgment is manifested and fulfilled at the beginning, during the progress of, and at the end of time.
One of the key lessons to get out of this is this: Each individual exercises judgment on himself throughout one’s life. Perfect justice doesn’t miss, or forget, anything. Does this sound depressing? Yes, until you recall what Jesus said in John 3:17 and 8:15:
“I came not to judge but to save."
1) Because we already judge ourselves, so no need for Him to; and 2) He came to SAVE us from perfect Justice by paying our cost already. Who doesn’t want to get on this train?
All kidding aside, I will try and keep Hell as unthreatening as possible. But, don’t expect miracles!
Closing Prayer
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Hail Mary…
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Amen.
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