HERE AND THERE

Godless ideologies
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
INQ7.net
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I&'(L()I'* are not +ad in t,emsel-es. .,ey are o/ten ,eroi0 and
am+itious attempts to ma1e a 1ind o/ 2orld-ie2 o/ t,ings3 e4plaining t,em
s0ienti/i0ally and e4tensi-ely. In a 2ay3 t,ey are an una-oida+le stage in
man5s e//ort to de-elop.
)oing +eyond t,e merely p,ilosop,i0al and t,eoreti0al3 ideologies enter
into t,e pra0ti0al 2orld o/ a0tion3 2it, programs3 strategies and a net2or1
o/ agen0ies to 0arry out t,eir ends. .,ey 0on-ert do0trine into a0tion.
6s su0,3 t,ey 0an +e use/ul. .,ey 0an ser-e legitimate purposes. .,ey
0an do a lot o/ good. .oday3 2,et,er 2e are a2are o/ t,em or not3 t,ey are
a part o/ our li-es3 in/luen0ing us in one 2ay or anot,er. 7e need to +e
dis0erning.
It5s 2,en t,ey are 2rongly inspired3 or 2,en t,ey o-erstep t,eir limits3
o-ersimpli/ying or e4aggerating t,ings3 a+soluti8ing t,e relati-e and
relati-i8ing t,e a+solute3 t,at t,ey 0an +e0ome +ad and dangerous.
9istory3 sad to say3 is /ull o/ su0, ,arm/ul ideologies. 6 produ0t o/ some
:uestiona+le p,ilosop,ies and ultimately o/ ,uman pride and -anity3 t,ey
,a-e pro0laimed3 /or e4ample3 t,at t,ere is no )od3 t,at t,ere are no
spiritual3 mu0, less supernatural realities.
7it, t,e assertion t,at t,ere is no )od3 t,e aut,ors o/ t,ese ideologies
ma1e a 2orld mainly 0onsisting o/ t,eir o2n sel-es. .,e 2orld seems to
+egin and end 2it, t,em. In s,ort3 t,ere is no 2orld outside t,eir egos.
.,ey seem to en-ision a 2orld made e40lusi-ely o/ material t,ings. Reality
is simply 2,at one sees or /eels. 6t +est3 it 0an +e 2,at one 0an
understand and dis0o-er. But it5s a reality t,at dies 2it, man. .,ere is no
reality a/ter deat,.
*ome ,a-e promised utopias +ased simply on eart,ly progress. (t,ers
,a-e ponti/i0ated total ,uman li+eration e40lusi-ely t,roug, some so0io;
e0onomi0 or politi0al operations. .,ere is no mention o/ li+eration /rom sin3
t,e real e-il t,at /ully 0orresponds to man5s 0ondition.
Be0ause o/ t,is 0ongenital de/e0t3 t,ese ideologies 0an lead to terri+le
0onse:uen0es. I/ t,ere is no )od3 t,e understanding o/ 2,at man is gets
2arped3 t,e use o/ po2er and aut,ority 0an +e easily a+used3 prone to use
/or0e.
.,e relations +et2een person and so0iety3 +et2een pri-ate good and
0ommon good3 et0.3 get t2isted. Freedom is o/ten understood as deta0,ed
/rom t,e sense o/ responsi+ility or /rom an o+<e0ti-e moral la2. It tends to
ser-e merely sel/is, ends3 and t,us easily gets 0orrupted3 2it, mat0,ing
results.
6nd so 2e 0an ,a-e t,at endless ad-enture o/ ma1ing all sorts o/
assertions3 :uestioning e-ery element in an esta+lis,ed 0ulture3 religion3
tradition3 or moral order. .,eories automati0ally are made into la2s.
*uspi0ions are gi-en t,e same treatment as /a0ts. 7e :ui01ly 0reate a
surreal 2orld.
.,e o+<e0ti-e ,ierar0,y o/ -alues3 +ased on t,e nature o/ man and ,is
relation 2it, )od and 2it, ot,ers3 gets altered to suit one5s su+<e0ti-e
pre/eren0es.
Be0ause o/ t,ese dangerous /eatures o/ t,e )odless ideologies3 2e ,a-e
su//ered t,e s0ourges o/ 0ommunism and so0ialism 2,ere t,e rig,ts o/ t,e
indi-idual person are s2allo2ed +y t,e rig,ts o/ t,e state. .,ey t,ri-e on
at,eism and totalitarianism.
.,ere are also t,e a+uses o/ 0apitalism3 2,ere sel/;0entered indi-idualism
and 0onsumerism are promoted3 and t,e in,uman pra0ti0e o/ ,olding t,e
la2s o/ t,e mar1ets o-er ,uman la+or is o+ser-ed.
.,en you ,a-e t,e into4i0ating strange +lend o/ li+eralism 2,ere3 2it,
/reedom deta0,ed /rom an o+<e0ti-e uni-ersal moral la23 anyt,ing 0an +e
legali8ed;di-or0e3 a+ortion3 in/idelity3 same;se4 union3 2ild s0ienti/i0
e4periments li1e 0loning3 test;tu+e +a+ies3 et0.
.,e +iggest mista1e t,ese ideologies 0ommit is 2,en t,ey repla0e /ait, in
)od 2it, t,eir o2n ideas and do0trine3 and 2,en t,ey deri-e t,eir li/e and
strengt, not /rom a li-ing unity 2it, )od +ut /rom some ,uman and eart,ly
sour0e.
6mong t,em3 t,e easier to dete0t and o-er0ome are t,ose asso0iated 2it,
t,e Le/t3 as re0ent ,istory ,as 0on/irmed. 7it, t,eir o/ten a+surd positions
in issues3 t,ey are easily un0o-ered. .,ey ta1e ad-antage o/ t,e ignoran0e
and po-erty o/ t,e people. .,ey lure t,em to /anati0ism.
.,ose asso0iated 2it, t,e Rig,t3 +e0ause t,ey are more su+tle and
de0epti-e3 2ill ta1e time and a lot o/ in,uman 0rises +e/ore t,ey get /inally
e4posed as t,ey really are3 t,at is3 e-il. But t,ey5ll +e e4posed.
Fr. Roy Cimagala is chaplain of the Center for Industrial Technology and
Enterprise in Talamban, Cebu City. E-mail: roy0imagala=,otmail.0om
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