THE WILL TO DISBELIEVE
In the Gospel, Jesus rebukes the people of His time for their
refusal to convert and for always demanding for a sign. Despite generations
of historical interventions on the part of God, in words and deeds,
through the prophets and finally through Himself, the people remained hardened
in their sin and disbelief.
This is not exclusive to the
people of Jesus’ time. It is ours as well. Jeane Kirkpatrick described modern
man’s systematic refusal to believe (she was not talking about religious
matters), even in the face of convincing and empirical facts, as “the will to
disbelieve.”
To believe in something or in
someone is ultimately an act of the will. It cannot be forced even by empirical
evidence. It has to be freely given. By the same token, to disbelieve is really
an act of the will. It is difficult to undo even in the face of empirical
evidence.
In May 2014, a
video of a woman named Emily Letts, who filmed her own abortion, went viral in
the social media. All throughout, she was shown smiling with happy music
playing in the background. When it was done, the woman even quipped, “Cool!”
What I found so disturbing was the obvious intent of the video — to present
abortion as no big deal, something so trivial and commonplace like going to the
dentist to have a tooth extracted.
There is
undeniable scientific, philosophical and theological proof that inside the womb
of a pregnant woman is a human person, possessive of rights and deserving of
protection by law. But we simply gloss over these evidences. To bury our guilt,
we portray abortion as a fun and cool thing to do, not the evil act the
“moralists” claim it to be.
What is needed is a change of
heart. To believe in something or in someone is ultimately an act of the will.
It cannot be forced even by empirical evidence. It has to be freely given. In
fact, when given, empirical evidence becomes secondary. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: In what area of your life is the will to
disbelieve strongly operative?
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