Feb

29

Does the Church Exist for Today or Tomorrow?

Posted By reynor | Filed Under Quotes & Excerpts 

by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur   |   Catholic Exchange 

What is the purpose of the Church? Does it exist to bring us happiness today or to lead us to salvation and happiness for the world to come? Father Dwight Longenecker raised this question in “The Tale of 2 Churches” which appeared in the February 10th issue of the National Catholic Register. He argues that rather than “liberal” vs. “conservative”, “right wing” vs. “left wing”, or “charismatic” vs. “traditionalist”, the answer to this question defines what type of Catholicism one believes in.

Longenecker is a convert to the faith and comes down squarely on the side of the Church existing for the world to come. As he states, “If this is your basic assumption, then your expectations for this life are realistic. You consider yourself and other people, while created in God’s good image, to also be sinners who need redemption and daily discipline. You believe in the reality of evil and consider this life to be the place and time to engage in spiritual warfare for the winning of souls.” Longenecker rejects the idea of organized religion as a self-help group. He claims that people will not find the “instant happiness” that they seek in religion and will soon become disillusioned and move on.

On the other side of the argument, “Dear Abby” recently asked her readers what was the cause of the most problems in the world today. One reader answered “organized religion” because it was too concerned with the world to come rather than focusing on the here and now.

What, then, is the purpose of religion, especially Catholicism? Should we view our faith purely in terms of the eternal, or should our focus be on the world within our grasp? Unlike Longenecker, I disagree that the two are mutually exclusive. I ground that answer in the role model that Jesus provided.  Continue reading here…

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