Pints With Aquinas - 99: Why should I honor my parents?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hello and welcome to Holy Week. I hope that this will be a beautiful and fruitful time for you and for me as we prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. A couple of things I want to let you know before we get into today's show. The first is I will be releasing a short meditation that was written by St. Thomas Aquinas. It's his meditation on Good Friday. So, I've read it, I've put some Gregorian chant behind it, and I will be releasing it on Friday. So, you might want to listen to that. It might be a beautiful way to prepare for the Triduum. Secondly, next week to celebrate Easter, we will be selling Pints with Aquinas shirts and mugs, coffee mugs. So, we do this every couple of months and

Starting point is 00:00:47 we'll only be selling them for a week. So we've got some really high quality t-shirts and hoodies and coffee mugs. And many of you have been asking, when am I going to have them for sale again? And I always sell them for about a week and then I stop for a couple of months. And that's when everybody rushes in and says, where were they? I didn't know they were for sale. Well, there you go. Now I've warned you, okay? Starting on Easter Sunday, I'll let you know they'll be available for a week only and you can get that and that'll be supporting Pints with Aquinas. Thirdly, I want to let you know about Guadalupe Roastery Coffee. I've told you about these guys a couple of times. They sent me a couple of bags of coffee to try. I tried them to be nice, but I didn't think the coffee would be very good. And boy, was I wrong. The quality is really sensational. They're actually a solid Catholic company,

Starting point is 00:01:46 and they're committed to working directly with the farmers who produce the coffee. So you know it's not just really tasty, but really ethical as well. And by getting their coffee, you're supporting a great Catholic company. So I don't know where you get your coffee, but I get mine from guadaluperostery.com. Again, that's guadaluperostery.com. I'll throw up a link in the show notes so you can be sure to get that coffee. Okay, here's the show. Welcome to Pints with Aquinas. I'm Matt Fradd. If you could sit down over a pint of beer with Thomas Aquinas and ask him any one question, what would it be? In today's episode, we're going to ask Thomas why we should honor our mother and father. He's got some amazing things to say on it. In the Q&A portion of today's podcast,

Starting point is 00:02:30 I answer some of your questions, such as, is it okay to implement different Eastern ways of praying into my Western way of praying? And what's my opinion on secular humanism? And what else? What would aquinas say about recreational drugs all sorts of things it's going to be a fun podcast today i also want to let you know if you don't know already that the book i've been talking about for 800 years now i think that's how long i've been talking about it for does god exist a socratic dialogue on the five ways of thomas aquinas is finally out and you can get it on Amazon. If you go to Amazon, just type in Frad, you'll find it right there. You can actually buy a hard copy, hard cover copy, paperback. It's also available as an ebook. Please check it out.

Starting point is 00:03:16 I'm really proud of this book. It's a small publisher. Honestly, I think I've gotten more reach than the publisher does. So go and check it out. It's a really well written book, I think, really well put together. It's getting a lot of great feedback. So again, Does God Exist? Of course, if you support Pints with Quinas on Patreon, I'm going to give you that ebook for free. And if you give me 10 bucks a month, I'm going to send you the signed copy as well. So there's always that option. All right. Are you ready? Are you ready? Get your pint. Get your Pints with Aquinas Beerstein. Lift it up raise it up let's raise a toast to mum and dad here we go good to have you back here pints with Aquinas this is the show where

Starting point is 00:04:02 you and I pull up you know I just realized when I say show, I sound really weird. Show, show. That's how Australians say show. Show. Here, I'll do it in American accent. This is the show where, I can't do it very well, so don't laugh too hard. This is the show where you and I pull up a bar. It's my R's. They give me away. No Australian knows how to do an R well. Pull up. Okay, back, rein in that ADD. This is the show where you and I pull up a barstool next to the angelic doctor to discuss theology and philosophy. Okay, so today I want to talk about what Aquinas has to say about the fourth commandment, honor your father and your mother. Can we be honest? This is not something that you've probably confessed lately And I don't know why, man

Starting point is 00:04:50 It's pretty specific It's pretty explicit in the Ten Commandments And yet I think for many of us We sort of feel like To honour our parents is something they have to earn Do you know what I mean? It's like when you're kids, you honor your parents because you don't know anything different.

Starting point is 00:05:06 When you're young, your parents are perfect. They can do no wrong. Your dad is Superman. Your mom's Wonder Woman. I don't know. And then you get older, right? And you realize that they actually don't have all this stuff together. And that can be in little things,

Starting point is 00:05:19 like the advice that they offered you wasn't that good. They were wrong about something. And it can be also like real tragic stuff, like your parents commit really bad sins. And then we can lose respect for our parents. We become disillusioned and we don't really, I think it's fair to say, live in a culture, right? I don't know if this is a culture, a society.

Starting point is 00:05:40 What do we call this thing we live in? If a culture is living life in common, I'm not sure if we live in a culture. That's my point. But that's a topic for a whole nother show. That really kind of tells us to do this. Just like it's like, you know, honoring sex. We don't really live in a culture that does that. So anyway, I want to read what Aquinas has to say about this because I think you and I need to learn how to do that better. And if my parents are listening, they're like, definitely. Okay. So, here we go. He begins by saying this, perfection for man consists in the love of God and of neighbor. Okay. Pretty straightforward. Now, the three commandments, which were written on the

Starting point is 00:06:20 first tablet pertain to the love of God. For the love of neighbor, there were the seven commandments on the second tablet. Now, maybe you haven't heard of this before, but when you think about the 10 commandments, there are some commandments that instruct us to love and obey God, and there are some which instruct us to love and obey our neighbor. The very first three of the 10 commandments are all about loving God, right? I am the Lord thy God, you shall know that the strange cross before me. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

Starting point is 00:06:51 That all has to do with us honoring God. The next seven, and this is why Aquinas says on the second tablet, all have to do with neighbor, right? So that's the fourth one we're talking about today, honor thy mother and father, right? You shall not kill. Obviously, that's talking about our neighbors, not God. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not cover the neighbor's wife, the neighbor's goods. All right. So, that's pretty cool to realize if you didn't realize that before. The first three have to do with God. The next seven have to do with loving our neighbor. All right. So,

Starting point is 00:07:19 here's what Aquinas says. For the love of neighbor, there were seven commandments, okay? says, for the love of neighbor, there were seven commandments, okay? But we must love not in word nor in tongue, but in deed and truth. This comes from 1 John 3. For a man to love thus, he must do two things, namely, avoid evil and do good. Don't you just love how practical Aquinas is? I love it. So, it's like, it's not enough just to say, hey, dad, I love you. Here's a Father's Day card. That's not love, right? When we love, it should not be, as 1 John says, just in words, right? A cheap little card that we got from the gift store or something like that. We have to actually do it in deed and truth. Well, how does this happen? Well, two ways. Here's what he says. Avoid evil, do good.

Starting point is 00:08:07 So, if you want to love somebody, it's not enough to say, I love you. You have to do two things. You have to avoid evil to that person, like you ought not to do evil, and then you ought to do good to them where appropriate. Yeah? Now, Aquinas continues, certain of the commandments prescribe good acts while others forbid evil deeds. And we must also know that to avoid evil is in our power, but we are incapable of doing good to everyone. That love everybody, right? I love humanity. Yeah, but humanity doesn't leave their garbage bins out, you know, three days after they've been collected, right? Humanity doesn't drink too much and then come over to chat with you while you're watering your front lawn and their breath stinks and they're super obnoxious, right? That's why loving humanity doesn't work. You gotta love people, right? And you cannot actually love everybody because it's not within your power to love everyone. You can't do good to everyone,

Starting point is 00:09:10 all right, in that sense. Aquinas says thus, St. Augustine says that we should love all, but we are not bound to do good to all. But among those to whom we are bound to do good are those in some way united to us. That makes sense, right? Here's a quote from Timothy, 1 Timothy. Thus, if any man does not take care of his own, especially of those of his house, he has denied the faith. 1 Timothy 5.8 Aquinas continues. Now, amongst all our relatives, there are none closer than our father and mother. We

Starting point is 00:09:46 ought to love God first, says St. Ambrose, then our father and mother. Hence, God has given us the commandment, honor your father and mother. All right. Now, look back on your past week, look back on your past month. How have you honored your parents? And, you know, I'm not just saying that to you to kind of give you a guilt trip. I'm saying that to me as I say that to you. Like, what have I done? Send them a few Marco Polo videos? We are bound to love God, but then when it comes to our relations, those that we are somehow bound to, it's our parents that we have to love above all else. This is why God commands us, honor your father and mother. Now, Aquinas continues, the philosopher, that is Aristotle,

Starting point is 00:10:31 also gives another reason for this honor to parents, in that we cannot make an equal return to our parents for the great benefits they have granted to us. And therefore, great benefits they have granted to us. And therefore, an offended parent has the right to send his son away, but the son has no such right. Okay. Parents indeed give their children three things. Okay. What are those three things? Well, the first is that they brought them into being. You would not exist. I know this is stating the obvious maybe, but you would not exist if it were not for your mother and father. Honor your father and forget not the groanings of your mother. Remember that through them you were born. We read that in the book of Sirach.

Starting point is 00:11:20 Here's the second thing, all right, that they gave you. Secondly, they furnished nourishment and the support necessary for life. For a child comes naked into the world, as Job relates, but he is provided for by his parents. The third thing your parents gave to you and my parents gave to me is instruction. All right. We have had fathers of our flesh for instructors, Hebrews 12.9. Do you have children? Instruct them. We read in Sirach 7.25.

Starting point is 00:12:07 So, look, even if your parents, right, gave birth to you and they were actually pretty horrible people and they sinned grievously against you, okay, they deserve blame for that. Okay. And you want to excuse that lightly. Like they ought to repent of that. However, if you're listening to me today, then presumably, you know, you're at least a teenager. Okay. Maybe slightly younger, but the fact is like your parents brought you into the world and they obviously gave you what you needed to sustain you. Even if the food they gave you wasn't very good, even if they didn't care about you a great deal, they at least did that. And if you listen to an episode of Binds with Aquinas, you're probably being instructed somewhat or else none of this would make sense to you, right? You understand English, you understand how to write, you understand how to do basic arithmetic, right? Hopefully, okay? That's pretty impressive. That's pretty impressive. I think a

Starting point is 00:12:47 lot of the time we can get hung up on all the things our parents did wrong. And I know that this is going to differ from person to person. I don't know what your parents were like. Obviously, my parents made mistakes, okay? Your parents did too. I'm a parent. I've definitely made mistakes. I do daily with my children. But the three things your parent gave you was life. That's pretty impressive. Then they furnished nourishment that was necessary if you're supporting your life. Okay. And then they instructed you somewhat. All right. So, Aquinas says, parents, therefore, should give instruction without delay to their children, because a young man, according to his way,

Starting point is 00:13:26 even when he is old, will not depart from it. That's from Proverbs 22.6. And again, it is good for a man when he has borne the yoke from his youth. Now, the instruction which Tobias gave his son was this, to fear the Lord and to abstain from sin. That's very good advice. That is indeed contrary to those parents who approve of the misdeeds of their children. Children, therefore, receive from their parents birth, this is to sum up now, nourishment and instruction. Birth, nourishment, and instruction. All right. I like what he says here about parents, therefore, should give instruction without delay to their children. Sometimes you meet parents who say, well, I don't want to impose the faith

Starting point is 00:14:03 on my children, which is a really stupid thing to say, actually, because you're sending them to school, presumably, or you're at least homeschooling them, right? Let's face it, if you're homeschooling them, you're definitely imposing the faith on them, if you're a good parent. But I mean, like you're sending them to learn math, you're imposing the truth of math upon them, you're imposing the truth of the sciences upon them, why wouldn't you teach them the truth of the Catholic faith? I think the only reason a parent would ever say, I don't want to impose the truth, or rather they would say, I don't want to impose religion on my son or daughter is because they don't really believe it to begin with. All right. So what do children owe their

Starting point is 00:14:40 parents? Since they gave you those three things, what do we owe our parents? Aquinas says, now, because we owe our birth to our parents, we ought to honor them more than any other superiors, because from such we receive only temporal things. And then he shares a quote from Sirach, he who fears the Lord honors his parents and will serve them as his masters that brought him into the world. Honor your father in work and word and all patience that a blessing may come upon you from him. And then we also read in Sirach later in chapter three, and in doing this, all right, you shall also honor yourself. In honoring your parents, you honor yourself. Why? Here's what Sirach says, the glory of a man is from honor of his father, and a father without honor is the disgrace of his son. Aquinas continues, again, since we receive nourishment from our parents in our childhood,

Starting point is 00:15:37 we must support them in their old age. Okay? We must, he says. And Aquinas doesn't mince words. He doesn't speak ambiguously. So, if Aquinas is telling you and me that we must support our parents in their old age because they supported us when we were young and couldn't support ourselves, he means just that. All right. So, here's a quote from Sirach. Son, support the old age of your father and grieve him not in his life. And if his understanding fail, have patience with him and do not despise him when you are in your strength. Of what an evil frame is he who forsakes his father and he is cursed of God who angers his mother. All right. So here's something I'd like to say in relation to this. How we talk to our parents ought to differ to how we speak to other people who are older than us.

Starting point is 00:16:33 I think an analogy here might be with our spouse. Sometimes I'll find myself speaking to my wife with such carelessness, okay? Even maybe I'm really tired and irritated and I'll speak to her in anger. Sometimes I'll step back and go, I would not speak to another woman like this. Why am I talking to this beautiful woman who I promised to love until death like this? Something's clearly out of whack and I need to repent of that. Because I think likewise, like you, let's say you're a man listening to me and you're married, you should speak to your wife with tenderness and patience and reverence. And when you don't, you should apologize to her and God, as I should too. Okay. Something similar with our parents and God, and please don't hear me saying this, God have mercy. You know, like I need to grow in this

Starting point is 00:17:25 and reading Aquinas right now is convicting me as I read it, as I speak these words to you right now, I'm being convicted that I need to really love my parents and do a better job at honoring them. Because sometimes, you know, maybe my mom or my dad will say something rather salty or harsh or whatever. Maybe they're irritated, just like we all get irritated. rather salty or harsh or whatever. Maybe they're irritated, just like we all get irritated. And then I'll respond in kind. All right. And Aquinas, I think, would say to us, you ought not to do that. Stop it. All right. So, Aquinas continues, for the humiliation of those who act contrary to this, someone related how young storks, when the parents have lost their feathers by approaching old age and are unable to find suitables, when the parents have lost their feathers by approaching old age and are

Starting point is 00:18:07 unable to find suitable food, make the parent storks comfortable with their own feathers and bring back food for their worn-out bodies. I'm not sure if that's true, but I hope it is. It's very beautiful. Thus, by this affectionate exchange, the young ones repay the parents for what they received when they were young. Aquinas continues, we must obey our parents for they have instructed us. We read in Colossians 3.20, children obey your parents in all things. And then Aquinas adds the thing that you're all hoping that he adds. He says, this accepts, of course God is in the truest sense our Father. Is not He your Father who possessed you, made you, and created you. We read this in Deuteronomy 32.6. So, we ought to obey our parents, but that doesn't mean

Starting point is 00:19:12 we ought to respect our parents. I mean, if your parents have done something absolutely atrocious, like committed adultery and have remained unrepentant, I'd lose all respect for my dad, or a great deal of it for him. I might try my best to be sympathetic. I wouldn't respect him a great deal. If my parents were abusive to me and every time I spoke to them, you know, told me what a scumbag I was, even if they might be right, that doesn't mean I have to put up with it. That doesn't mean I have to listen to them. That doesn't even mean that there aren't certain circumstances in which a child might choose to essentially break contact

Starting point is 00:19:45 with his parents because his parents are either abusive in some way, let's say. So, in saying, obey your parents like masters, Aquinas isn't saying, be a doormat to your parents, okay? And he's not saying, obey them no matter what they say, all right? So, he's using this quotation from Luke 14, 26, if any man does not hate his father and mother, that is to say, if your mother and father expect something of you that is contrary to the will of God, you ought to resist them and never follow them in that. Okay. And so, of course, this is what Aquinas is saying. We have to obey our parents because they've instructed us, you know, we read this in Colossians, children obey your parents in all things, but this accepts, of course, those things which are

Starting point is 00:20:27 contrary to God. All right. And then Aquinas goes on to share with us some rewards for keeping this commandment. This is something very interesting, which you might not have known, but among all the commandments, okay, among all the 10 commandments, this one, the fourth commandment, honoring your father and mother, is the only commandment that has rewards attached to it. It says that you may be long lived upon the land. The reason for this is lest it be thought that there is no reward for those who honor their parents, seeing that it is a natural obligation. Hence, it must be known that five most desirable rewards are promised to those who honor their parents. First, grace and glory.

Starting point is 00:21:26 grace and glory. The first reward is grace for the present life and glory in the life to come, which surely are greatly to be desired. Honor your father and mother, that a blessing may come upon you from God and his blessing may remain in the latter end. The very opposite comes upon those who dishonor their parents. Indeed, they are cursed in the law by God. We read this in Deuteronomy 27, 16. It is also written, quote, he who is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in what is greater. This is from Luke 16, 10. But this, our natural life is as nothing compared with the life of grace. And so, therefore, if you do not acknowledge the blessing of the natural life, which you owe to your parents, then you are unworthy of the life of grace, which is greater, and all the more so for the life of glory, which is the greatest of all blessings. Okay.

Starting point is 00:22:17 Here's the next reward, and that is a long life. The second reward is a long life, that you may be long-lived upon the land, for he who honors his father shall enjoy a long life. The second reward is a long life that you may be long lived upon the land for he who honors his father shall enjoy a long life. We read that in Sirach 3.7. By the way, let's pause a moment and realize just how often St. Thomas Aquinas quotes sacred scripture. Every time he wants to make a point, he backs it up with sacred scripture. Very important, I think, to realize. If you are one of our many evangelical listeners, that should comfort you, I think. And we all ought to learn from this, I think, as we seek to make the case for a particular teaching within holy scripture or that the church teaches, we ought to back it up with the word of God because, you know, it's the word of God. So, all right. So, now, he says,

Starting point is 00:23:08 that is a long life, which is a full life, and is not observed in time, but in activity. That's interesting, isn't it? So, he's saying this long-lived life doesn't necessarily mean you'll live to 120, but it'll mean that it will be a full life, a beautiful life, right? Observe not in time, he says, but in activity as the philosopher observes. Life, however, is full in as much as it is a life of virtue. So a man who is virtuous and holy enjoys a long life, even if in body he dies young. And from wisdom, being perfect in a short space, he fulfilled a long time for his soul pleases God. Thus, for example, he is a good merchant who does as much busyness in one day as another would do in a year. And note well that it

Starting point is 00:24:01 sometimes happens that a long life may lead up to a spiritual as well as a bodily death. As was the case with Judas. Therefore, the reward for keeping this commandment is a long life for the body. But the very opposite, namely death, is the fate of those who dishonor their parents. We receive our life from them. And just as the soldiers owe fealty to the king and lose their rights in case of any treachery, so also they who dishonor their parents deserve to forfeit their lives. And then here's a quote from Proverbs, the eye that mocks his father and despises the labor of his mother in bearing him, that mocks his father and despises the labor of his mother in bearing him, let the ravens pick it out and the young eagles eat it. Here, says Aquinas, the ravens signify officials of kings and princes

Starting point is 00:24:53 who in turn are the young eagles. But if it happens that such are not bodily punished, they nevertheless cannot escape death of the soul. It is not well, therefore, for a father to give too much power From Sirach, we read, Here's the third reward that Aquinas says that, well, the Holy Scripture says that we get from honoring our parents, obeying this fourth commandment. The third reward is to have in turn grateful and pleasing children. For a father naturally treasures his children, but the contrary is not always the case. He who honors his father shall have joy in his own children. Again, with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you again, we read in Matthew. The fourth reward is a praiseworthy reputation. The glory of a man is from the honor of his father, we read in Sirach. And again, of what an evil frame is he

Starting point is 00:25:56 who forsakes his father, we read in Sirach. A fifth reward is riches. The father's blessing establishes the house of his children, but the mother's curse roots up the foundation. A lot of quotations from the book of Sirach today. But there you are. Okay. Now, as I was reading this, I was thinking of an analogy. Suppose you are not particularly fond of Pope Francis. Okay.

Starting point is 00:26:22 Or let's use a different example. Suppose Pope Francis dies and a new Pope is elected. And this new Pope is a complete scoundrel. I mean, we've had scoundrel Popes throughout the history of the Catholic Church. There have been, there was a Pope who sold the papacy. There have been Popes that stole the papal cutlery, that have fathered children, that have rode into war. And we've even had a pope that denied Christ three times, right? Pope Peter. But suppose the next pope after Pope Francis is just a really wicked pope, right? And maybe he lives, you know, he might have mistresses and he's a real pig and a glutton and these sorts of things.

Starting point is 00:27:04 Well, that would give us reason to criticize him. But if he were to meet him, or if I were to meet him, I think I would still kiss his ring. And why would I do that? Would I do that because I'm honoring the man? No. Nope, because I don't honor him. I do it because I'm honoring the office, I suppose we could say. And analogously, I suppose we could say something similar analogously, I suppose we could say something similar to our parents. Like no matter how bad our parents have been to us, they still gave us life, nourishment, and education. Okay. And for that reason, we ought to honor them, right? We have to honor them just because they did those three things, right?

Starting point is 00:27:40 That's enough of a reason to do it. Were they the best parents in the world? Maybe not, but they don't need to be in order for you to command them, sorry, to honor them, right? The fourth commandment doesn't say, honor your father and mother if they deserve it. The fourth commandment says, honor your father and your mother, that you may be long-lived upon the land which the Lord your God will give you. So I want to invite you and me to think about how we are going to honor our parents this week. Now, this is going to depend on our state in life. Some of you are living with your parents. I know this because I have some homeschool kids that actually support Binds with Aquinas on Patreon somehow. God bless you.

Starting point is 00:28:19 Right? So if you're living with your parents, you honor them, right? In the way you speak to them, So, if you're living with your parents, you honor them, right, in the way you speak to them, in how you watch your tone of voice, right, in listening to them even when you think that they might be wrong, but you're not certain, okay? If you are my age, you honor them. I think my parents would say to me, you should honor us by checking in with us from time to time, you know, more regularly than I probably do. How are you honoring your parents? If your parents are old and ailing, sticking them in a nursing home and never speaking to them again is clearly a breach of this fourth commandment. You know, all things being equal, okay. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with these particular homes, but we have to take care of them. And of course, taking care of them may mean putting them in a home, but the idea that we would neglect them

Starting point is 00:29:14 seems to me to be wrong. I had a friend of mine, I say friend, she's in her 60s now. She was the mother of a good friend of mine as I was growing up. Her father died a couple of years back and he, I think it would be fair to say, was really not a good dad to her growing up. He was an alcoholic. I think there may have been some abuse involved. I mean, he really was a terrible dad and ended up being a hard-hearted man. And this particular woman that I'm speaking of loved him, right? Put him in a home, visited him regularly, prayed with him, just showered love upon him. And this man, who lived such a hard and bitter life,

Starting point is 00:29:56 ended up turning to Jesus Christ. And his confession was heard on his deathbed, and she would wheel him to daily mass. And I just think, well, what a beautiful thing. What a beautiful way, if she can honor her father while not denying that he did things that were bad, that he hurt her, that he was unjust, that he could have been a better dad, not denying those things, because those things are true,

Starting point is 00:30:29 but still honoring him. Like if she can do it and I know what she put up with, I can do it and so can you. So what way will you honor your parents? If you want to share with me how you're going to do it, we have a Facebook group. You can follow me on Twitter. You can follow me on Instagram. Certainly, if you're a patron, please use our community board that's for patrons only. Let's start a discussion there. Tell me how you plan to honor your mother and father. All right, now it's time for some of your questions. All right, a big thanks to everybody who supports Pints with Aquinas on Patreon. If you do, among other things, you get to ask me a question and I will answer it on the show. Let me tell you what you'll get if you choose to start supporting Pints with Aquinas for $10 a month. You'll get

Starting point is 00:31:15 my new book, Does God Exist? The Socratic Dialogue on the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas. I will sign it for you. I'll send it to you. I'll also give you the e-version so you can get that right away. You'll begin getting weekly exclusive videos for me here on Patreon. You'll have access to an ever-growing library of audio books, papal encyclicals, works by St. Thomas. You'll have early access to Points for the Quietest comics. You'll get a shout out on Twitter. You'll have access to my bi-monthly live video streams. You'll also have access to the private Patreon community forum. That's a lot of stuff, right? And I know there's a lot of fans out there and you've maybe been thinking about supporting the show for a while and I really want to invite you to do that right now. Go to pineswithaquinas.com, click support. You can support for $10 a month or

Starting point is 00:31:54 more if you want and you'll get all that stuff in return. So, a big thanks to all of you who I'm about to read your questions because, you know, seriously, it's people like you who enable me to do the work that I'm doing and I am so thankful. You know, I've said this before, but sometimes you'll go to these atheist forums or these atheist YouTube channels, and the support that they get from atheists enable them to do amazing work. And I thought, how sad would it be if we Catholics don't support the people that we actually learn from to enable them to do even more better work. So a big thanks to all of you who are doing that. All right, let's see. Desiree writes, what would Thomas say about the use of legal recreational drugs, particularly if looked at through the same lens as we view alcohol?

Starting point is 00:32:39 Are certain drugs gifts from God, meant to get conversation flowing, totally okay if used in moderation, and if you're not, totally intoxicated, high, etc. I think Aquinas would probably say the same thing about alcohol as he might say about, say, marijuana. You know, that these things can be beneficial, I suppose, to some degree or another. But that if we lose the ability to reason, we commit mortal sin. Like that's what he said about alcohol. He would no doubt say the same thing about marijuana. Now, we know a lot more about neuroscience, clearly, than we did in St. Thomas's day. And so I think there's an argument that one could make about the long-term negative neurological impact that, say, smoking marijuana regularly can have. I don't know. This isn't my area of expertise. I'm just

Starting point is 00:33:31 saying we also have to take that into account. Clearly, Aquinas was also aware that food can have negative effects. If we're eating all sorts of sweet foods and foods that aren't good for us, not only do we become gluttonous, but we can have a negative effect on our health. So I think he'd want to take that into account as well. But certainly when Aquinas comes to alcohol, and I've done a whole episode on this, by the way, you can go listen to it. His main point is that alcohol is fine. However, if you lose the ability to reason, if you impair your reason, you commit mortal sin. So getting drunk is a mortal sin. And no doubt he would say the same thing, whatever else he might say about, say, marijuana, which I'll just limit this discussion to, he would at least say that

Starting point is 00:34:13 about it. All right. The next question comes from Louis Pablo Del Val. Awesome name. Thanks, Louis. You say, is it okay to insert some Eastern Catholic practices like the ones you've mentioned you do? Finger positioning while performing the sign of the cross, for example. In my own practice, I'm thinking it is okay, but would like your opinion. Thank you. My regards to Cameron and the kids from Guatemala. Well, of course, it's totally fine. You mentioned making the sign of the cross.

Starting point is 00:34:42 So why don't I just explain that for people right now. I mean, you mentioned making the sign of the cross. So why don't I just explain that for people right now. In the East, the way we make the sign of the cross is by putting our thumb, forefinger and middle finger together. So you have three fingers together. That represents the Trinity, three and yet one. And then the two fingers that you have left, so your ring finger and your pinky are pushed down into the palm.

Starting point is 00:35:04 And this represents the two natures of Christ. And then we cross ourselves in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So yeah, you can certainly do that. Another thing that I've become really accustomed to is standing to pray. That's just become a thing that I do now. There's obviously no reason. You can't also implement icons in your home if you want to do that. In the Eastern Church, rather than genuflecting when you first walk into a church, you actually make three what's called metanies. A metany is a bow from the waist down. And so you actually bow from your waist and you touch the floor and you make the sound of the cross three times. I've

Starting point is 00:35:40 become so accustomed to doing that, that even when I walk into Roman Catholic chapels, I find that much more natural than genuflecting for me. So that's something that I do. But yeah, of course, like you absolutely, you know, implement these things. Thanks so much, Lewis. with secular humanism own terms, foundations, in a way that a secular humanist would understand. I'm not sure, Christopher, how he would do that. By secular humanism, people tend to mean, you know, we're capable of acting morally, we're capable of being fulfilled, even apart from God. And I can only speculate. Well, how about I not speculate as to what Aquinas would say and instead share with you what I would say? Okay. Is it possible for atheists to be moral? Absolutely. Is it possible for objective morality to exist if God does not exist? I think the answer is no. By objective, I mean mind independent, so that some particular action is right or wrong, regardless of whether anyone believed in it or not. So if tonight everyone

Starting point is 00:36:53 took a pill that made them believe rape was okay, and everyone in the entire world woke up and believed that rape was okay, would it be? And so the answer for the Christian and other people who believe in objective morality is no, it would not. But it's hard to see why that would be the case given secular humanism. Also regarding self-fulfillment without belief in God, I don't think that's really possible as well. It seems to me that there are five fundamental questions that all of us ask ourselves, right? And usually these are questions that we ask after a pint or two of beer, right? We start really being serious about life and our direction and things we're struggling with. Those five questions are things like,

Starting point is 00:37:36 where did I come from? Who am I? Why am I here? How should I live? Where am I going? All right? It seems to me those are the five most fundamental questions any human being could ask themselves. Now, if God does not exist, then we have dogmatic answers to each of these questions. Okay. So let's go through them, right? Where did I come from? Well, you've been coughed into existence by a blind cosmic process that didn't have you in mind. That's the answer. That's the dogmatic answer. Okay, fine. Who am I? You are the result of time plus matter plus chance, right? You might go one step further and say you're a moist robot. That is to say, everything is determined. There is no free will since there is no mind, no soul. You are only material. You're a machine, a kind of wet, moist machine, if you will. So, that's who

Starting point is 00:38:25 you are. All right. Well, why am I here? Well, to quote Richard Dawkins in this context, why is a silly question, right? Because if the universe is one giant accident that was not directed by intelligence, right, that has no actual purpose, then it follows inescapably that neither do you. You can't say that this whole universe thing was an accident that has no purpose towards which it's heading, no intentional purpose, and at the same time believe you can have that. It's not possible. It doesn't follow at all. It just doesn't work. Now, you might say, well, I can create my own meaning. Well, that's something different to saying objective meaning. Sure, you can create your own meaning. You can say, well, the point of my life is to

Starting point is 00:39:13 whatever, you know, like fight against abortion. Okay. But that's not actually the objective meaning of your life. So like, why am I I here can't be answered, all right? These little jobs or missions that we give to ourselves are just self-imposed delusions, right? That we accept in order to get through the long nights and the long days, yeah? Then you might say, well, how should I live? And it seems to me the answer, if God doesn't exist, is however makes you happy. Now, it might be the case that human fulfillment is brought about through being a quote-unquote good citizen, by getting along with people, by acting in a way that not only you but others flourish. And so you might choose to live that way.

Starting point is 00:40:00 But that's clearly not the case for some people. I mean, some people genuinely believe that they would be happier if they were to, say, shoot up a high school, or if they would become a particular dictator of a particular state. And it seems to me, in the absence of God's existence, one should say, okay, well, then live however you want. And someone might retort, well, but if you live that way, we'll hate you. You know, you shouldn't do it. Well, first of all, should has to do with purpose and there is no purpose. And I don't care if you hate me, I hate you too. And it seems to me that's a legitimate response to that. So how should I live? However you want, I think. And then where am I going? Well, look, in the absence of God, you and me and the entire universe is headed to ruin, right?

Starting point is 00:40:47 It's what cosmologists call the inevitable heat death of the universe. So not only will our species die, not only will our children die, our children's children die, and, you know, the universe itself will die, okay? That's not science fiction. That's science. I'm not sure if any of you have ever read that great book, The Time Traveler by H.G. Wells. If you haven't read it, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It's actually a short story. You could get through it in a night or two. H.G. Wells, The Time Traveler. He travels out hundreds of thousands of years, I forget how many years, into the future. And he finds himself on a dead planet with a gigantic red sun and everything had come to an

Starting point is 00:41:27 end, you know? And then he went back to his time knowing that this is where everything was headed. Okay. So I don't know what Aquinas would have to say. Sorry, but that's what I would have to say. If you're debating with a secular humanist, you have to define your terms. What do you mean by secular humanism? Now, the way I define it was that we can have self-fulfillment and objective morality without God. Maybe the person you're debating with is going to say something else. So there you go. All right. What else do we have here? Some more questions. Maybe we'll take one more. And this is Anthony Maurice. He says, Matt, what is your deepest fear? Whoa. Not like you want to get personal in front of like tens

Starting point is 00:42:13 of thousands of people here, Anthony. Thanks. What trait do you most dislike in other people? And what trait do you most dislike in yourself? Wow. PS, you're awesome. Yes. And my mind has been so nourished by your work. Thanks, mate. I don't think I want to tell you, Anthony, what my deepest fear is, because it seems to me that would be something, if I'm even aware of it, that I would only want to share with those that I trust. And I can only trust those that I know. And I don't yet know you, nor do I know the tens of thousands of people who tune in every week. I suppose my deepest fear is perhaps just like many of our deepest fears. It's a fear of being unloved, unrecognized, unwanted.

Starting point is 00:42:57 A fear that will all turn sour in the end, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. and there's nothing I can do to stop it, right? That my children will resent me, that my wife will abandon me, that everyone will discover what a fraud I am and hate me for it, all right? Now, there you go. That's probably yours too. And it's probably most of ours, I suspect.

Starting point is 00:43:20 What trait do I most dislike in other people? I think I dislike in other people what everybody else dislikes in other people, and that's arrogance. When people are arrogant, it's just the worst. I think, okay, I'm going to get a little political here, okay? So forgive me. I'm pretty sure this is why Hillary Clinton lost the presidency. I mean, you've got two massively unpopular candidates running against each other. And somehow, right, a TV celebrity, not even, I guess we'd call him a TV celebrity, won. How did that happen? Well, I disagree with those who say that it was like, you know, it had to do with a sort of nationalistic fervor. I think

Starting point is 00:44:00 it had more to do with people thinking that Hillary Clinton was a horrible human being and thinking that she was really arrogant and was always talking sort of down her nose at people, at the rest of us. Sort of like that whole deplorable comment. You know, people, I think, got the sense that they just didn't like her, that she just sort of seems naughty and arrogant and unlikable, not to mention all the other things she's been accused of doing. But I just, I suspect it had less to do with Trump being an amazing candidate, I'm quite convinced of it, and more to do with Hillary being an awful one. So it's arrogance. I don't like people who are arrogant, who think they know more than they do, who speak about things with tremendous conviction,

Starting point is 00:44:41 as if they know what they're talking about when they clearly don't. Mayor Culper, Mayor Culper, conviction, as if they know what they're talking about when they clearly don't. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. So yeah, and what do I dislike in myself? I think it's my passion and my anger. I am a very passionate person. By passionate, I don't mean in the positive sense that I'm spirited. I mean, I'm very sensual and am very easily led to sins of the flesh, overeating, temptations to the realm of sexuality and these sorts of things. I wish I was less like that. And I also tend to get very angry because I feel things very deeply. And I don't like that in myself. So there you go, Anthony. I just shared like a ton with you. You're welcome. Guys, thank you so much for tuning in to Pints with Aquinas week after week. I just love to see how Pints with Aquinas has grown. I began this podcast as a little experiment to get more credit for school back when I was doing my postgraduate work. now it's turned into something that's being downloaded 300,000 times a month and it's been so beautiful to get all of the feedback from you I have a couple that just wrote to me and said

Starting point is 00:45:51 they're both coming into the Catholic Church and the Plains of Aquinas played a major part in this I have somebody who is stationed outside of the US in the military who listens every single week. I actually just went down to the post office and sent him my new book. But his wife wrote to me and said that every week he'll call her up and want to go. So if that's you, Blaise, I'm speaking about you, Blaise. I'm just so honored. I really am just so honored. And it's really encouraging that people are interested in the intellectual side of the faith. It's really encouraging. So again, I want to invite you to support Pints with Aquinas.

Starting point is 00:46:31 If you don't already and you want to, go to pintswithaquinas.com, click support, give me 10 bucks a month. There's some really cool stuff coming up soon that I'm going to be announcing shortly and I can't do it without your support. So a big thanks. God bless.

Starting point is 00:46:44 Chat with you next week.

Pints With Aquinas - 99: Why should I honor my parents?

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