Thomas Griffin 7/4/24 (For Word on Fire)
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Read the Full Article HERE for Word on Fire
Independence Day is a celebration marking the founding of our country, but we cannot be tempted to forget that the reality of freedom is what we remember on this day. The colonies desired independence from Britain, and the American Revolution was fought in order to win that independence. They knew that their God-given rights were being violated. They were not truly free. July 4th is a day to remember those who were bold enough to lay down their lives for true independence. It is an opportunity to be grateful for the true meaning of freedom.
Freedom is too often misunderstood and morphed into something of our own making. St. Thomas Aquinas said that freedom is the ability to choose the good. Something is “good” if it acts aligned to its nature (what it was made for). For example, a dull knife is not a good knife. Human beings are made by God and for God. Union with God is our ultimate end goal and reason for existence. This means that when we choose what leads to our ultimate end, God, we will become happy. Freedom employed towards the good leads to human flourishing. Therefore, exercising our freedom should lead us to act in specific ways—but that does not mean we are not free.
A common concept of freedom, however, is concerned with being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, as long as it does not hurt anyone else in the process. This can be understood more precisely by the phrase “unhindered liberty.” The common understanding of freedom in America today is that someone is truly free if there are absolutely no restraints on their ability to make choices. No one should be able to tell you what to do or how to live your life.
Read the Full Article HERE for Word on Fire
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine. He is the author of Let Us Begin: Saint Francis’s Way of Becoming Like Christ and Renewing the World.
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