We have discussed what catholics believe about God, Jesus, Salvation, Sacraments, and Church. But some might ask, “What about everything else?” What about Mary? What about abortion? What about praying to the saints? What about birth control? What about homosexuality? What about bingo??
These things are important. Some of them are controversial. I have written articles on some of them. Others I intend to tackle in the future. But none of them involve essentials of the catholic faith. In nonessentials, diversity. In all things, charity. That is where such things belong. But what about ethics? What about sin? What about the ten commandments?
The last time I checked, the ten commandments were still in the Bible. We have already said that belief in the Bible was an essential of the catholic faith. So we all believe in the ten commandments. There are, of course, differences between Christians over how they should be interpreted. Take “Thou shalt not kill” for example. Some say this prohibits abortion. Some say it prohibits capital punishment. Some say it prohibits Christians from going to war. Some of us say, “All of the above.” But some disagree. They say it is only talking about criminals. The point is, these disagreements do not change the fact that we’re all Christians, all catholics. These things, as important as they are, do not hold our salvation in the balance. Whether we like it or not, we must accept those who disagree with us as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we must love them. Otherwise, we can kiss Christian unity goodbye.
Alright, if you insist, I will enumerate all the commandments, rules, and regulations that we must follow to be authentic catholic Christians. Are you ready? Love God and love your neighbor. Period. End of list. All the rest is commentary, amplification, or legalism.
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