Monday, October 22, 2007
Presumption v. Experience
In the Magnificat readings for yesterday I came across an article written by a man named Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete that was quite thought provoking. He is discussing St. Augustine's wondering about God's interactions in Augustine's life. Augustine was wondering why God had led him to study Plato. Plato, of course, was the ancient Greek philosopher who applied reason to try to explain existentialism and whose writings were (and are) widely used in classical study. Augustine concludes that it must have been to teach him the difference between "presumption and confession". Now there are probably 3 or 4 languages and one or two thousand years involved in translating these concepts into modern words, but the gist seems to be that being a follower of Christ through only having been taught by your teachers and trusting solely in the institution of the church is not enough. For Augustine, if one intellectually "becomes" a Christian through proper philosophy, theology, spirituality, morality or cultural project, it is merely based on presumption. You are presuming that the intelligent and well meaning ancestors and teachers must have it right, so that if you follow the guidelines you can attain the desirable goal of salvation, whatever that turns out to be. You are presuming that you can become saved through your own efforts, by doing the right things and thinking the right way. Augustine's point was that you must experience, personally, God's work of salvation. We have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved because God is doing it. God became man in the person of Christ, God filled the disciples with his Spirit at Pentecost, Christ rose from the dead and lives. God is still alive and still acting. When we personally experience God at work in our lives, then we are driven to witness to others what God is doing. We "confess" what we have experienced to our peers. Monsignor Albacete uses the word "evangelization" to describe the process of telling others about what has happened to you.
The fire of the evangelicals. The motivation of personal experience. I have experienced two miraculous healings personally. I have been filled with the Holy Spirit. I have been absolved of my sins. I am still struggling to understand and see what God is about, but I cannot deny what he does. Monsignor Albacete calls it the "concern which post-Christian man has tragically lost". I don't see it as lost. It is alive and well, but not evident where where one might presume it to be. If you come to experience the sacraments you can enthusiastically engage the street preachers and cult members and cowboys and indians with what you have found out. God is alive! He loves me! He saves me!
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