Throughout the Catholic World, we hear the words the 'culture of life' and 'the culture of death,' taken from the encyclical of Pope John Paul II. "In seeking the deepest roots of the struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death, we cannot restrict ourselves to a perverse idea of freedom.... We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man...."
A professor in the theology department of Sogang University, writing in the Peace Weekly, discusses the concept of culture as encompassing the whole of our patterns of life: our thoughts, language, religion, morals, laws and values, among many other patterns that regulate our lives.
The Pope emphasized that the culture of life means, first of all, respect for life and life's values, and that a person's awareness and the structures of society will foster this culture.
The culture of death refers to activities that include abortion, euthanasia, suicide, murder, torture, trafficking in human beings. Material possessions are considered more important than quality of life issues, wealth and influence being the preferred goals of human existence; to be poor and powerless is, to this way of thinking, to live uselessly and without joy. A way of thinking that has a close relationship with materialism.
The professor asks where are we in our society. It is not very difficult to judge, he says. All we have to do is look at the daily news. This culture of death is not only harmful to the individual but to our neighbor and society. Therefore, it is something we can't ignore. However, is it something, he asks, that we can change?
The Pope said that the culture of death is so strongly intertwined with culture, the world of finance, and with politics, that making the change is not going to be easy. The professor thinks that it is possible. All have the disposition to avoid the evil and to intend the good. We have to see the dignity of all humans.
The Pope said that the culture of death is so strongly intertwined with culture, the world of finance, and with politics, that making the change is not going to be easy. The professor thinks that it is possible. All have the disposition to avoid the evil and to intend the good. We have to see the dignity of all humans.
He quotes again from "Evengelium Vitae" and the Pope's words asking us to change to a contemplative outlook on life:
For this to happen, we need first of all to foster, in ourselves and in others, a contemplative outlook. Such an outlook arises from faith in the God of life, who has created every individual as a "wonder". It is the outlook of those who see life in its deeper meaning, who grasp its utter gratuitousness, its beauty and its invitation to freedom and responsibility. It is the outlook of those who do not presume to take possession of reality but instead accept it as a gift, discovering in all things the reflection of the Creator and seeing in every person his living image. This outlook does not give in to discouragement when confronted by those who are sick, suffering, outcast or at death's door. Instead, in all these situations it feels challenged to find meaning, and precisely in these circumstances it is open to perceiving in the face of every person a call to encounter, dialogue and solidarity.
The professor ends the column by saying that when we can see all of life through the eyes of God, we will have formed in ourselves the correct values that allow us to move from a culture of death to one of life.
