The Study of God
(in the age of information)
The knowledge of God is the medicine with which the spiritual hospital that is the Catholic Church treats its patients.
The New Evangelization, as described by the great Pope St. John Paul II, is the result of the current war against faith and reason sweeping the world today. It is a term used to describe the large number of casualties who have been wounded, some fatally, by the relentless attacks of lies and hatred.
As with any medicine, this knowledge is only as effective as the medical professionals who use it. It requires proper care, diagnosis, and treatment to be given from the physician to the one in need. Too much at once can be just as lethal as too little. Supernatural healing is no easy task. It requires the grace of God to fill each caretaker with the empathy, humility, and host of other virtues needed to bring true restoration to one’s spiritual health.
St. John Paul II identified one of the key changes that has taken place in our culture, communities, and politics over the last several centuries. He reports to us the obvious, but often ignored, death of the “Christian society.” People today not only lack respect for Judeo-Christian values, but they actually project disdain towards these values and the organized religions that promote them. For a couple hundred years, the degradation of once cherished principles and philosophies continued until the world’s conscience was flipped upside down.
The great irony of the Christian life is that things are actually most beautiful when they are the most despairing. As God told St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, His power is made perfect in the weakness of individuals. St. John Paul II recognized the great difficulty of our times, but he also showed us through his words and actions that in this adversity lies great opportunity.
There’s a reason why St. John Paul II often repeated the most commonly used words in the Bible. He spoke the words “be not afraid” directly into our hearts, in hopes that he could give us the courage we need to go out into the battlefield each day. When we are formed by truth through the study of God and strengthened by our relationship with him, we will be able to respond in kind to the fearless Spirit given to us by the Father. Every first responder knows that situations with more serious injuries and numerous casualties require all the more urgency.
St. John Paul II didn’t neglect the need for us all to act now.
The time for passive evangelization is behind us. In the Information Age, nobody can afford to lazily approach their study of the faith. Lackadaisical answers like “we’ve just always done it that way” and “we just have to have faith” to challenging questions no longer suffice. People want to know why we believe what we believe more than ever. Our knowledge can never reach a point where it can make up for a lack of love, but to think we can save people by offering love without truth is a recipe for disaster.
The commitment to a knowledge of God is what rightly forms us in the truth that we must share with the world. Ignorance of Scripture is said to be ignorance of Christ. We, as Catholics, know that the more knowledge one has of all Revelation, the closer he or she will be brought to knowing Christ. Knowing facts about Jesus and the Church can never replace the importance of developing an intimate relationship with Him through prayer, but far too often is the latter a complete replacement for the former.
When we accept the reality of the disappearance of the Christian society, we are able to understand how important it is to enlist good soldiers of Christ to do the work that lies before us.
This is not for the weak or fainthearted.
The study of God is not merely for entertainment, its purpose is to fuel the relentless and dangerous mission of actually saving lost souls.
About The Author
Nathan Crankfield is a convert to the Catholic faith. He is a proud graduate of Bishop McDevitt High School, Mount St. Mary's University, and US Army Ranger School.
After serving four years of active duty in the US Army, he joined the staff at Dynamic Catholic as a parish consultant. He now serves as a Residential Director at Benedictine College. He is the Founder and President of Seeking Excellence. Find more of his writing by visiting our blog section.