Purify Your Bride

Something like this is often quoted by conservatives to try and explain why they are so far superior to liberals. Of course, it isn’t true. There are many intelligent liberals. In fact, most people who have a PhD describe themselves as liberal. They would say their brain is still working but it has not taken a back seat to their heart. In fact, they would say the conservative brain is the problem because they are not skeptical enough about the principles they accept.

It is true conservatives decide on principles more and liberals decide on feelings more. The truth is both principles and feelings are there to guide us in decision-making. The key is you need to start with the right principles and have them deeply imbedded in your psyche so you can feel without violating the principles. Think of Jesus. He was not an idealogue. He was very compassionate. He lived principles and lived love at the same time. He was both liberal and conservative. That is what we are called to be.

So how does this work? Well, you need to start by having principles that are from God. We are made in the image of God so our feelings cannot run totally counter to God’s will. If we embrace principles that are not Godly we will end up in trouble. So we need to learn from liberals to be very skeptical of what principles we accept as Godly. This is where the Sacred Tradition comes in. We need to lean on those truths that are strongly affirmed in Catholic Tradition and be quick to discard others. So principles about the sanctity of life and marriage can be counted on to be right because Christians have always believed them. Principles like smaller government or the right to bear arms are not found in Catholic tradition. In fact, many “rights” are pretty much made up. The right to publish pornography. The right to have an abortion. These are likely to cause conflicts between principles and feelings because they don’t come from God.

Of course, we can still have some conflicts between a Godly principle and out feelings. The answer is not to suppress the feeling. The right aproach involves formation of conscience. Again we need to take full advantage of the church. We need supernatural grace to learn to think and feel with the mind of the church. That comes through participating in the sacraments. Through immersing ourselves in scripture, sacred tradition, and the teaching of the magisterium. Through close community with holy men and women.

One of the keys is not to avoid the more painful truths. The ugliness of sin. The horror of hell. The agony of martyrdom. These are truths that will be hard to reconcile with our feelings. That is why this world needs to be redeemed. It is deeply wrong in some ways. So it makes sense for us to have negative feelings about these matters. But there is a deeper undercurrent of love in even the most horrible truths.

So the notion that either liberalism or conservatism is ultimately more Christian does not hold up. Both take the easy way out. One wants truth and the other wants love. We must have both. Not finding a point halfway in between but finding a way to get both without any compromise. That way is Jesus and His body which is His church.