"Good" People vs Holy People

[lucybeebee]

One thing that I keep noticing is how people say that you don’t need organized religion to be a “good” person or how Mr./Ms. X goes to church all the time but isn’t a “nice” person. How can I explain the difference between being “good” and being “holy” and how the Catholic Church contributes to becoming the latter?

 

[puzzleannie]

Jesus calls those good only those who do the will of his father and keep the commandments, so any definition that does not include this falls short of real goodness. Holiness and goodness cannot be separated, they are the same virtue, conformity to Christ and submission to the will of God.

 

[Mijoy2]

Jesus calls those good only those who do the will of his father and keep the commandments, so any definition that does not include this falls short of real goodness. Holiness and goodness cannot be separated, they are the same virtue, conformity to Christ and submission to the will of God.

I will only add to this by saying, Jesus takes “good” from the relative to the objective. He defines good for us. Which is a blessing, it prevents us from inaccurately defining good which the world attempts to do all the time.

As far as those who “go to church all the time but isn’t a nice person”, the New Testament makes it clear to us that, without love, those who go through the motions profit nothing.

It’s not either or, it’s both. Love thy neighbor and love God (by following His commandments).

 

[junk]

As far as those who “go to church all the time but isn’t a nice person”, the New Testament makes it clear to us that, without love, those who go through the motions profit nothing.

Hey! I go to church and I’m not “nice.” I don’t have any ill will towards others and I genuinely care for other people, but aloofness is a part of my personality. I wouldn’t go about judging people based on niceness. Some of the most arrogant, manipulative and vengeful people I’ve met are nice. Nice does not equal good. Not nice does not equal evil.

 

[James_Carson]

Hey! I go to church and I’m not “nice.” I don’t have any ill will towards others and I genuinely care for other people, but aloofness is a part of my personality. I wouldn’t go about judging people based on niceness. Some of the most arrogant, manipulative and vengeful people I’ve met are nice. Nice does not equal good. Not nice does not equal evil.

This wasnt a personal attack on you and being aloof dosnt mean you arnt good or ‘nice’.

This response seems strange to me…

 

[Verbum]

Hi Lucy,

Jesus said that only God is good and he urged us to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.

Baptized Christians are called “saints” in the Bible. (Saint means “holy”). So we are all at different degrees of holiness, depending on how close to God we are. In common parlance, however, we call a person “holy”, when we realize that she or he more or less constantly lives in the presence of God.

In human terms, a good person is a person who is kind to others. A pagan can be a good person. Goodness is akin to holiness when it is encompassed with the love of God.

Verbum

 

[Integritus]

To summarize a related quote:

Being good is often the enemy of being holy (saintly/great/etc).

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

One thing that I keep noticing is how people say that you don’t need organized religion to be a “good” person or how Mr./Ms. X goes to church all the time but isn’t a “nice” person. How can I explain the difference between being “good” and being “holy” and how the Catholic Church contributes to becoming the latter?

There is no salvation outside of the Church. When non-Catholics attempt to be good they usually end up being a danger to other people. Then you can have a low-level, down to earth, commonsense type of goodness. It is valuable in so far as it goes. The sort of man who has enough sense not to go with prostitutes will avoid much harm. However it will not be his shield in the day of battle. There usually comes a point where one must act from principle, not from prudence.