In light of the shortage of priests and nuns, I think it might
be beneficial to list some of the advantages of such vocations.
They are, after all, comparable to marriage. And (with a spirit
of jocularity), we can see lots of reasons a guy might choose to
marry the Church, and a woman might choose to marry Christ.
Top Ten Reasons for Young Men to Become Priests Instead of
Getting Married
Your bride won’t have a monthly irritability cycle.
Your bride will come home from BINGO with more money than when
she left.
As a priest, where ever there is sin, you are needed. As a
husband, where ever there is sin, you are forbidden.
In defense of your faith, you’ll study and learn other religions
inside and out. In marriage, men are forbidden to study any
other woman.
Religious documentaries might be boring, but you’ll never be
forced to sit through a chick-flick.
You’ll preach your homily to a silent crowd. No one ever hears a
husband preach over his wife’s arguments.
The church won’t undergo a complete personality change the day
of your ordination.
Your bride won’t wake you in the middle of the night to ask you
what you’re thinking, tell you she heard something, ask you if
you remembered to lock the door, or hash out a week old argument.
Your bride won’t mind if you have gas.
Your bride will never have a headache.
Top Ten Reasons for Young Women to Become Nuns Instead of
Getting Married
Your husband won’t lie about where he’s been all night.
Your husband won’t make crude noises or emit foul smells.
You’ll enjoy talking to your husband any time you feel like
it…and he’ll actually listen.
Your husband won’t embarrass you with idiotic remarks in polite
company.
Your Mother-in-Law won’t constantly remind you that you’re not
good enough for her son.
You won’t get any grief for having cold feet or rear end at
night.
The wedding won’t turn your husband into an insensitive, cold
hearted jerk.
Your husband won’t mind wrinkles and old age.
You won’t have to listen to someone complain about your habit(s).
Your husband won’t mind if you have a headache.
Title: WHY DOES GOD PERMIT WICKEDNESS & SUFFERING? (Part 4) Author: Arthur Zulu Contact Author: mailto: controversialwriter@yahoo.com Copyright: Copyright © Arthur Zulu 2002 Word Count:651 Web Address: http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/10975
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WHY DOES GOD PERMIT WICKEDNESS AND SUFFERING? (Part 4) By Arthur Zulu
Our first parents, Adam and Eve are the source of wickedness and suffering in this world. The whole story is in the Bible book of Genesis Chapters 2 and 3.
God made them perfect and put them in the beautiful garden of Eden. They were to live happy, beget offsprings and take care of the earth by expanding the borders of the paradise, with a prospect of eternal life.
But take note. All these were not just offered on a platter of gold. There was a condition — and this is very important — they were to eat all the fruits of the trees in the garden, excerpt one — the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad. Disobedience would bring death! Simple instruction.
So man was not created like a robot. He was created with the right to make choices, the freedom to make decisions.
Now this gift of free will — the right to choose — either good or bad, life or death, is not to be overlooked. So although we were created free, this freedom is not total, but relative. We are subject to God’s laws. And what are those laws?you may ask.
First, we are under the physical laws of gravity. Man may decide to climb the highest peak of Mt. Everest, ignore this law, and take a giant leap to the foot of the mountain. Or he may close his eyes to all the risks, and go swimming in the angry waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He has the free will.
Also God has moral laws. These involve our life style which includes the use of alcohol and illicit drugs, tobacco and sexual promiscuity. Man may choose to have sexual relations with an AIDS infected prostitute with the belief that he will never catch the dreaded disease. He has the free will.
Then there are social laws. Man can choose his type of clothing, art, and music. He also has the right to choose his type of friends and marriage mate. He may decide to live all alone in the jungle, away from civilization, or to walk naked in the streets of New York. That is his free will.
And lastly, there are health laws. A sick man has the right to refuse medical treatment. He can also decide to go on hunger strike — without food and water. After all, it is his free will.
Now, our being subject to God’s laws is similar to our subjection to the laws of the State — man’s laws. The laws of the nations recognize the citizen’s fundamental human rights.
A citizen for instance has freedom of movement. But this does not mean that he should drive his car right into the President’s bedroom. That is a ride to prison.
So you can see that there are limits to human freedom — those rights have to operate within the confines of the rule of law.
A man who disobeys the laws of the State is in effect challenging the authority of that State — the sovereignty, which means the right to rule. Now, when Adam and Eve decided to eat the forbidden fruit in exercise of their free will after being deceived to do so by Satan, they were in effect challenging God’s legal right to rule. They were effectively saying to God: “We can tell good from bad. It is better for us to be independent of you. We can rule ourselves without you.”
That was an affront — a rebellion against their Creator. So God has allowed man the past 6,000 years to see if he can do without his creator. In those years, man has tried every political and economic system. And the result?
Helmut Schmidt, former German Chancellor tells us: “We humans . . . have always only partially governed the world, and most of the time very badly . . . . We have never governed it in total peace”. Do you agree with him? With all man’s best efforts, do we have peace or pieces of peace? (I am not playing with words.)
But how are we the children of Adam and Eve who didn’t have a bite at this fruit, concerned in this matter?
It is because of the law of genetics. When our first parents disobeyed, they became sinners — imperfect people. And imperfect parents cannot give birth to perfect children. So we have all inherited the result of sin — suffering and death from Adam and Eve.
Here comes the questions: why did God plant a forbidden tree in the garden? Did he know or not that Adam and Eve would eat the fruit? Why did he allow Satan to deceive them? Why did he not destroy the sinning trio? And who made Satan the Devil in the first place? Questions. Questions. Questions.
The answers to these questions in the next installment will surprise you as we consider the consequences of the rebellion. (To be continued)
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