The truth makes its way ( English version )

The truth makes its way"
digital painting by
Maurizio Proietti iopropars

 The truth makes its way

( Homage to St. Augustine )

I say "The truth makes its way", because I am convinced that in human beings as in history, the truth becomes clear over time. It is therefore wise to Socratically admit one's ignorance, and by monitoring one's conclusions, be ready to correct one's mistakes. It is true that the knowledge of the Christian comes to the human being from God, through his Holy Spirit, but we must also admit that sometimes, even in thinking that we have accepted the testimony of his Spirit, we human beings can err. For this reason, following the teachings of our Lord, we must always be vigilant about ourselves, even accepting to receive correction.

The mediator between man and God

When I painted the digital painting that I present to you, I was thinking of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception; Catholic dogma which establishes as revealed truth that Mary, mother of Jesus, was conceived without original sin. This dogma declares her different from other human beings, legitimizing us to recognize her as a mediator between other human beings and Christ, who we Trinitarian Christians recognize as entirely God. Therefore legitimizing us to consider her a human mediator between mankind and God. In this I see a residue of Arianism. It is as if this dogma established that God wanted an intermediary with the human race, to initiate the incarnation.

I rejected the Arian doctrine considering that it is written that there is no other mediator other than Christ, between the Father and mankind. But just as, through the teaching of Christ, I recognized the love of the Father, for this same reason, I believed that the Father does not admit any other mediator between us, his children, and himself, except he who is identical to himself, his Revelation therefore, his Word, Light that came into the world, and that reveals himself by himself as he is Light.

"There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came, as a witness, to bear witness to the Light, so that all might believe through him." So that everyone would believe through the Light. John the Baptizer was therefore not an intermediary, but a witness: "He was not the Light but he came to bear witness to the Light". "He was the true Light, which illuminates every man who comes into the world": this can certainly be enough to believe that Christ has no need of mediators. (John 1:6-8)

God in his love reveals himself to man, and reveals himself as love. I believe in this because I believed in this. To whom else shall I turn, if not to God our Father in whom I have believed? I address him indeed, in the name of our Lord Jesus, through whom I have believed. In his name, or by his authority and concession, authority and concession however, which come from the Father.

By recognizing his love, I give the glory to God.

The disputes over heresies

One might think that it is not only idle, but also rather senseless, to reopen theological disputes that in the past have produced divisions, wars and hostilities. The essential point, however, to clearly exemplify the relationship between doctrine and ethics, is that sincere faith in a loving God leads to different behaviors from faith in a God who demands human sacrifices. The body of doctrine is important for its ethical implications.

The task that the Christian should set himself is to fight against sin, through the teachings of our Lord Jesus, to be holy as our Father is holy.

I believe that if in the past theological disputes have led to divisions, it was due to the involvement of Christian communities with political power, going against the teachings of our Lord, who says "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is it is of God." Theological disputes led to conflict, because brotherly love was lacking among Christians. If we have reached the point of torturing and even burning alive those who rightly or wrongly were thought to be heretics, brotherly love has certainly failed. He certainly cannot be the guardian of sound doctrine, who comes to commit such atrocities, in opposition to the teachings of our Lord.

Redemption from sin

Gnosticism is considered - rightly, I am convinced - a heretical doctrine, meaning that it distances us from right worship and leads to a misrepresentation of our relationship with God. According to this doctrine, human beings do not need to be redeemed, but only educated. However, if this were true, the Master's sacrifice, his death on the cross, would make no sense. Christ himself says that it is precisely thanks to this sacrifice that he leads us to salvation, but through faith. The redemption, brought about by our Lord with the sacrifice of himself on the cross, is welcomed and received by the human being through faith, moved by the Holy Spirit.

The act of faith in this sense is prior to the Intellect, but not contrary to it, because the act of faith itself establishes the Intellect, or the mind of Christ, Logos, Word, Revelation, Intellect (see 1 Corinthians 2:16). Without faith there would be no knowledge, and without the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, there would be no object of our faith.

I believe that our Lord Jesus, who died on the cross in atonement for our sins, is resurrected. I know by faith that this is where my salvation comes from, and not from being taught the path of goodness. I say this to clarify the meaning of redemption, which the Virgin Mary would have received in advance of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, according to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

Redemption through love

Let us consider first of all that Adam and Eve, before the fall, were free from original sin, and this condition did not prevent them from committing it. Salvation does not come to the human being from being free from sin, but from the Grace of God that fight against sin. The Virgin Mary is in fact called by the messenger angel as full of Grace. Now it is written, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" ( Romans 5:20 ). The Grace of God does not need the absence of sin to operate, but it is precisely sin that it fights. In the Grace of God, which comes to man when man is in sin, God's love for man is made manifest.

I believe God loved me when I was in sin. When I was in sin, Christ wanted to die for me too on the cross in atonement for my sins. In this way I think I am loved by him. I believe that the cancellation in advance of original sin from the Virgin Mary, so that Christ became incarnate in a pure woman, is a misrepresentation of redemption, which does not reach the human being with an act of the will of almighty God, but with an act of love from him.

This act of love is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross in atonement for our sins. Indeed, he teaches that there is no greater love than that of him who lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). But to be friends of Christ we must follow his teachings (John 15:14), and therefore put faith in his sacrifice, death, and resurrection. To operate, redemption must be accepted by the human being with an act of faith, moved by the Holy Spirit.

As a priest whose sermon for the feast of the Immaculate Conception I read stated, in every human being there is something pure that allows him to welcome Christ into himself. But this something pure does not belong to man but to God, being his Grace, or the presence in us of his Holy Spirit which we must not oppose, because opposing it would lead us to perdition.

Salvation comes from God and exclusively from God, in this I believe. I do not believe that anyone was made clean in advance by sin in order to be able to welcome Christ into themselves. Otherwise this pure part of which that priest spoke would not be able to operate in us, because instead we were conceived contaminated by sin, while the Virgin Mary would have been completely clean. No one else other than the Virgin Mary could have welcomed Christ into herself, if the absence of original sin had been what caused the Virgin to welcome Christ. And if this is believed, Mary's acceptance of Christ would have been the work of her will. The Virgin Mary would have been a perfect Eve, and this is a remnant of Arianism. But if what made the Virgin Mary say "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to his will", was the Holy Spirit of God, to work in her it would not have needed for her to be clean from original sin.

On the other hand, if God's love towards man is implemented with the granting of Grace when the human being is in sin, removing the sin from the Virgin Mary in advance would not even be a way of honoring her, just like it would not be a testimony to the Creator God's love towards man.

The Catholic Church can review this dogma

Pope John Paul II asked God for forgiveness for the mistakes made in the past, but I don't know that he listed these mistakes. I believe that one of those errors was to declare the Immaculate Conception as dogma. On the other hand, God's revelation to man occurs over time. Therefore, I believe that it is bad to persevere in error, especially where forgiveness has been asked for errors committed in the past, rather than correcting oneself where one recognizes that sounder teaching is found, in a doctrine that corrects something considered valid in the past, but which upon critical analysis it turns out to be fallacious.

I see in Arianism an impure doctrine inspired by the Devil. Whether there is a residue of Arianism in the Catholic Church depends in my opinion on the tendency of human beings towards sin, which also leads us to misrepresent the truth, as well as being deficient in love. The Church's task is precisely that of fighting against sin, recognizing and correcting works that do not come from love, and recognizing and correcting doctrinal errors which are also the consequence of a lack of fullness in love.

Maurizio Proietti iopropars