95—Fighting Pervasive Religious Indifferentism—Ralph Martin

By Catholic Culture Podcast ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 25, 2021 | In The Catholic Culture Podcast

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Today’s Catholic culture is marked by a profound and settled religious indifferentism. Among many Catholics, to say what the Church has always taught—that Jesus Christ is the one way to salvation—is considered offensive, or at best, rash. In certain countries, the bishops’ conferences have practically made a policy against seeking converts from other religions (or lack thereof). Catholics, ruled by fear of human respect and compromised by their own private sins, are finding more and more reasons not to proclaim Christ’s moral teachings as well.

Ralph Martin, whose new book A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward is a comprehensive spiritual diagnosis of our present situation, joins the show to discuss the many factors contributing to religious indifferentism. These include theological doubts about whether anyone really goes to hell (thanks, Balthasar), the therapeutic culture which has lost any sense of sin and justice, the focus on legalistic analysis of culpability rather than the need to change, and fear of human respect.

Links

A Church in Crisis https://stpaulcenter.com/product/a-church-in-crisis-pathways-forward/

Jeff Mirus’s review of A Church in Crisis https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/mapping-crisis-ralph-martins-blockbuster-book/

Renewal Ministries https://www.renewalministries.net/

The Fulfillment of All Desire https://stpaulcenter.com/product/the-fulfillment-of-all-desire/

Newman sermon, “Christian Reverence” on Catholic Culture Audiobooks https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-john-henry-newman-christian-reverence/

Theme music: “Franciscan Eyes”, written and performed by Thomas Mirus. Download the Catholic Culture Podcast soundtrack.