- Feb 5, 2002
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The Catholic life of repentance, as focused on the season of Lent, provides a path to being smarter and better.
“I had to learn the hard way that sin makes people stupid,” my friend said.
Most of us had to. I did. It makes us stupid about the world and especially about ourselves, and that’s a useful thing to know, but not all that useful in practice, because sin hides itself really well.
It’s a useful thing to know because it helps us understand our problems better than most of us do, and gives us a key to understanding our past. Knowing that we did that really dumb thing at least in part because we were committing that sin helps us take responsibility for our lives, rather than feeling we were simply victims of circumstance. It also pushes us to the answer — repentance and amendment of life — great aids for which the Church provides.
It’s useful to know also because it helps us think well about thinking. We know sin corrupts our will and damages our character. But we don’t see as clearly that sin reduces our ability to think well.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
“I had to learn the hard way that sin makes people stupid,” my friend said.
Most of us had to. I did. It makes us stupid about the world and especially about ourselves, and that’s a useful thing to know, but not all that useful in practice, because sin hides itself really well.
It’s a useful thing to know because it helps us understand our problems better than most of us do, and gives us a key to understanding our past. Knowing that we did that really dumb thing at least in part because we were committing that sin helps us take responsibility for our lives, rather than feeling we were simply victims of circumstance. It also pushes us to the answer — repentance and amendment of life — great aids for which the Church provides.
It’s useful to know also because it helps us think well about thinking. We know sin corrupts our will and damages our character. But we don’t see as clearly that sin reduces our ability to think well.
Continued below.
Sin Makes You Stupid — Lent Makes You Smart
COMMENTARY: The Catholic life of repentance, as focused on the season of Lent, provides a path to being smarter and better.
