It’s only really London, yeah it really annoys me when if something happens in the south they always say it’s happening throughout the UK, not even just England but Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are going to be affected, whether it’s torrential rain or Atheism throughout the nation.Peter Hitchens and Melanie Philips would disagree with you. My conversations with people form England seem to go against what you say as well, with last year’s riots being a rather obvious example. Other things painting a less rosy picture would be the problems with Muslim rape and paedophile gangs, and the fact that London is the centre in Europe for Al-Quaeda and other jihad terrorist groups.
I notice that you’re in the North though, so perhaps the fact that these problems are mainly confined to the problematic south-east leaves you largely unaffected.
(Please understand that I don’t with to denigrate England, I’m only pointing out reality as I see it. Indeed, I love the country, its history, the many wonderful things it’s done for constitutional government, the rule of law, our shared monarch, language and traditions etc. It greatly saddens me that the England of Churchill, the England of Monty Python, even the England of only 10 years ago, are so far gone that it’s impossible to realise that the England of today has any connection to that time.)
They certainly are, as a former catholic I would know. However, I would ask you what makese a moral system “true”? Is it true because it came from a particular diety or because of its content? Is it possible to be a moral person without being Christian? Is it possible to be moral if you don’t beleave in God? And does not being moral automatically make one wicked, or does that come from being decidedly and intentionally anti moral?Well, for a Wiccan, the morality may not be declining. However, Wiccans have different moral values from Catholics.
That said the Catholic Church has the true moral system and yes, morality is declining and wickedness is increasing. We can see this in many ways. For example, “gay marriage” is becoming much more widespread.
There is no such thing as a former Catholic. Once you are Catholic you remain Catholic forever, no matter how you feel or think or what you do, even walking away from the Church and calling yourself something different…They certainly are,** as a former catholic** I would know. However, I would ask you what makese a moral system “true”? Is it true because it came from a particular diety or because of its content? Is it possible to be a moral person without being Christian? Is it possible to be moral if you don’t beleave in God? And does not being moral automatically make one wicked, or does that come from being decidedly and intentionally anti moral?
My grossly imperfect knowledge of Catholic teaching says that morality comes from what is known as Natural Law, thus it is possible for non-Christians to be moral since a rudimentary notion of right and wrong are “written on men’s hearts” – to paraphrase a Bible quote.They certainly are, as a former catholic I would know. However, I would ask you what makese a moral system “true”? Is it true because it came from a particular diety or because of its content? Is it possible to be a moral person without being Christian? Is it possible to be moral if you don’t beleave in God? And does not being moral automatically make one wicked, or does that come from being decidedly and intentionally anti moral?
These are the temptations that are trying to seek ground to build their city in my heart. We have to keep God the center of everything. Less time for us, more time for God. God in everything and anything. I guess I have to tell the prince of darkness that he plays no role in my life, nor will that thing be rewarded with any entertainment in my heart as long as God is.Interesting that you would mention this, as the priest at my parish brought this up during his homily at mass today, albeit in the context of St Benedict’s reasons for entering the monastic life. The priest said that when Benedict was alive in the fourth century, there was much **sexual debauchery, excessive hedonism, rampant greed, total disregard and outright contempt for the poor and downtrodden, and a pervasive belief that the individual was the centre of the universe **-- just like we see today.
There are obviously numerous parallels in history to the world today as regards a general decline in morality: ancient Greece, ancient Rome during the imperial period, and the fourth century being a few.