The will of man

Deciding what is good or bad - does God do this or does man? When it is not clear what God has decided then man must make the decision himself. Or so we are told.

The first to do this was Henry VIII. In seeking to know how to proceed with the matter of his divorce, since he considered that the Pope and the Church were unable to decide, he would decide himself. This was the start of the slippery slope which today's culture is whizzing down. His sinister daughter took this to the sixteenth century limit - she decided what the Church should be and she created one for her Kingdom. Since those times, we have seen huge steps forward in decision-making. At the end of the eighteenth century, the people of France decided what was good and what was bad. The next logical step for a people who have taken the decison over good and evil to themselves happened in 1967 - the decision over human life - Parliament ruled that it can be good to take the life of a viable foetus in the womb. The next logical step: every person can decide to impede the transmission of life - the contraceptive pill and the condom. And today, our culture is one in which even though we cannot recognise goodness, each individual must decide for him or herself what is good and what is evil. So much for the Tudors. These false witnesses led the UK into a self-serving cul-de-sac.

In fact, the will of God and the will of man can act together in grace, in friendship with Christ. What is not clear is our integrity and our knowledge of the truth. But the call, in grace and in love, is made to us. (cf B16's "God is Love) This is the primary 'light' which we are called to recognise. Grace and free will - this is the real story.