By PAUL KOKOSKI
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979), one of the most remarkable Americans of the 20th century once remarked: “Unless souls are saved, nothing is saved; there can be no world peace unless there is soul peace.”
One of the most common words spoken in the world today is the word “peace”. Yet everywhere we look we are surrounded not by the tranquility of order but by violence and terror. Why? Why do we all stress peace yet find it so illusive?
Recently, ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, announced to the world that he couldn’t be bothered signing any more autographs for his fans. At the same time he wished his fans “peace and love”. As many people know The Beatles were part of a 60’s counterculture movement that promoted a selfish kind of individualism under the guise of peace and love. “Turn on, tune in, drop out” was the phrase coined and popularized by LSD proponent Dr. Timothy Leary to express this desire for self-gratification. This anthem to hedonism was meant as a therapeutic answer to life. It promised one the power to find the divinity within through sex, drugs and through the detachment from commitments and authority. Instead it lead to a lowering of moral standards, anarchy, rebellion and much unhappiness.
In the 90’s the computer provided the means for many to further internalize and escape reality. Leary went on to call the PC “the LSD of the 1990’s”. Using his new catch phrase “turn on, boot up, jack in” he suggested we all engage the cyberdelic counterculture.
The vast majority of people today think of peace as something that comes inherently with the accumulation of wealth or fame. They think that the more material things they have and the more they are liked by others the happier they will be. But sooner or later most realize that material gain and empty friendships become boring and even disgusting.
This thirst to appease our sensual appetites has led to the proliferation of the pragmatist who, while striving to maintain and at the same time build upon man’s hedonistic tendencies, sees world peace as a kind of far off illusion or distant utopia that can be achieved solely through man’s own ability to weigh and determine the consequences of his actions in every circumstance. For the pragmatist there is no objective truth, only the claim that the end justifies the means. Responsibility, evil, goodness and moral judgement are necessarily something collective without a clear concept or manageable moral definition. Indeed immoral acts, such as lying, dishonesty, cheating, stealing, killing, are often falsely elevated to the status of moral virtues under the description of the “right act” – that being the act required to bring about the perceived greater good of humanity.
This has led not to peace but to the condoning of a culture of death that now sanctions – often imposes – everything from contraception to abortion, homosexual activity, sex outside of marriage, divorce, sterilization, in-vitro fertilization, pornography, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, euthanasia and even false notions of a just war.
What then is peace? We know that Jesus gave us peace as a parting gift: “‘Peace’ is my farewell to you. My peace is my gift to you”(John 27). Jesus further elaborated: “I do not give it to you as the world gives peace.” Peace, then, is not something found “here” or “there” but rather it is something already in our midst.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once said that three things are necessary for peace: the subjection of the passions to the intellect, the subjection of the body to the soul and the subjection of the whole person to God. Once these are achieved we become cleansed of past sins and safeguarded from committing future sins.
Ironically, to achieve peace, a certain violence is necessary: “The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence” (Matt. 11:12). This violence is not that external wrath we often commit against our neighbour in the name of peace, but rather it is the internal violence against self, against its selfishness, greed, lust and pride. It is the sword that strikes all within us which makes us despise our neighbour.
Man has nothing to lose but the chains of sin, which darkens his intellect and weakens his will. By throwing off sin through the merits of Christ, man becomes a child of God, an heir of Heaven, enjoying inner peace in this life and even amidst its trials, and an ultimate and final ecstasy of love in heaven. Only by dying in Christ and by conquering oneself can true peace be achieved.
Let us then carry into the world the maxims and examples of the gospel. Instead of proclaiming the praises of wealth and power let us acknowledge to ourselves and others that there are other sources of happiness and success. Let us convince ourselves and others that virtue carries with it rewards even in this world and that the peace of a good conscience is worth infinitely more than false pleasures.
We can, no doubt, bring the gospel to men most effectively by our own example for no one can help but admire those who live according to their own convictions. This means that we must make no concessions to the world either to please or to be esteemed. By our good example we can infuse into others the courage to fight steadfastly against the tyranny of the world, the flesh and the devil.
Jesus states: “Abide in me, as I do in you”…If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). If we make time for God, Jesus will abide in us, and our hearts will become afire with His love and peace… and he will give us everything we need to go out to the whole world to proclaim the Good News, and to bear fruit!
Categories: Americas, CHRISTIANITY, Islam
Choosing the article for the Muslim Times
I thought that this article, by brother Paul Kokoski, our Christian friend, is suitable for the Muslim Times, because it shows the common themes in the Abrahamic faiths. I am glad that in this article Paul did not try to bring out Original Sin, as in the present day psychological paradigms it serves no useful purpose.
If we substitute the word Allah for ‘Jesus,’ the article becomes a presentation of Islam. Jesus was only a man, even though an honored prophet of Allah. If we do not elevate him to a man-god like Emperor Augustus and many others in the medieval times then our understanding of God becomes sublime and lofty, otherwise it carries a certain degree of idol worship in it.
A Sunni Muslim can easily understand a Shiite Muslim as one who is going to obsess with the persons of Hadhrat Ali and Hadhrat Hussain in one disguise or another. Along this theme, we should understand our Christian brethren and sisters as those, who are going to obsess with the person of Jesus of Nazareth, for one reason or another, otherwise they are Muslims and want to submit to the will of God. We just have to share some of the Islamic paradigms with them to help them out with the myopia created by obsession with only one of the Jewish prophets, while minimizing or ignoring so many other Jewish and other prophets of Allah. In the Islamic tradition Allah sent more than 100,000 prophets to different parts of the world and sent the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace be on him, with a universal message to unify all these traditions leading to God the Father, Allah!
Jesus himself declared that He was the Messiah i.e. that he is God – the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. If Jesus was wrong as Zia H. Shah claims then either Jesus was a liar or psychologically insane. Hence, in what way can Muslims call Jesus a prophet?
The reality is that Jesus was God – not a man-God like ‘Emperor Augustus” as Zia H. Shah says – for God’s Kingdom is not of this world. This was the mistake the Jews made. The Jews wanted a a triumphant Messiah, who would lead a revolt against the Romans. Jesus, however, had disappointed those expectations. He taught that the Kingdom of God was within – and this is what my article on Peace is all about.
My dear Paul Kokoski, is it possible that you are offering a false choice here, either Jesus is god or he is a liar or insane? There are additional choices here, St. Paul 20 years later and Nicene council made him into god. So, many people in history have been raised to be divine, I do not have to share all the examples here.
If we go with this middle way then it explains a lot more than the two natures of Jesus, perfect man and fully divine. Jesus does not become God in the first three synoptic Gospels and becomes God only in the last Gospel of John, written 60 years after Jesus was put on the cross and went into a swoon on the cross. Swoon hypothesis explains a lot more than any of the Christian dogma.
Please write down the different possibilities on paper and consider pros and cons of each and pray to God the Father for guidance. Please pray to God the Father as Jesus used to!
Best Regards!
Neither St. Paul, the Gospels nor the Nicene council made Jesus out to be something He was not. There were several eye witnesses to the fact that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. There were also several witness that Jesus died on the Cross and was Resurrected. In addition there were several eye witnesses to the many miracles that Jesus performed to prove that He was God.
It is true that many false prophets like Mohammed came along later – some claiming to be divine. But these are all refuted by the very fact that the coming of the Messiah was foretold in Jewish Scripture long before Mohammed and these other prophets arrived on the scene. None of these prophets performed the miracles that Jesus performed. Muslims believe in the God of Abraham and so they must believe in the promised Messiah Jesus who told his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost i.e in the name of the Trinity – 3 persons in One God.
The Swoon hypothesis is obviously a fabricated idea of someone swooning – perhaps from being intoxicated.
You are tight to say Jesus prayed to the Father. He also said the He and the Father were One. You have to take the bible as a whole and not out of context to suit your own ideas. I pray that Jesus will enlighten all who do not believe in Him.
Best wishes,
paul.
“Jesus himself declared that He was the Messiah i.e. that he is God”.
Pls Messiah does not mean God! Check the root of the word Messiah.
It is always not understandable, when someone say, such and such person “was” God. ( God forbid) How can God be”Was”?
God always “Is”.
Anyone who was, becomes mortal thus not God.
My dear Paul Kokoski, please note that none of the canonical Gospel’s writers is eye witness, all of them were merely reporting hearsay information.
For those who are gullible enough to take the stories from 2000 years ago literally, I have a bridge to sell also. You name the city!
The idea is not to insult or be rude but to jolt people back into reality, please.
Best Regards!
I would like to add my two cents. In my opinion the “Golden Rule” is a common denominator or should be in all three of the major faiths. The Jews do not feel that we made a mistake. We have a different concept of the Messiah than many Christians. Many of us believe that Jesus was a great spiritual leader. History is filled with the pain and suffering endured by humanity because we chose the wrong faith. Thank you as always Ziah and warmest regards from Haifa.
Earl