Saturday, August 25, 2007

Was Mother Terea Saved?

Only God knows.

Ok, having got that out of the way, Internet Monk has an excellent post reflecting on how God can seem distant sometimes. In that post, he references a review of the new book revealing Mother Teresa's own spiritual troubles.

These letters are highly personal, and selected from times of confession and vulnerability. So we can't form an opinion from them.

But they can serve as an example for when we "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5a). If someone I knew, claiming to be a Christian, said these things to me, what would I think?

She says some disconcerting things, "I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God — tender, personal love," she remarks to an adviser. "If you were [there], you would have said, 'What hypocrisy.'" She claimed to have heard Jesus talking to her.

The question is, did she do what she did out of gratitude for what God had done for her? Or did she do what she did in order to try to earn God's favor (or some burden of debt)?

A similar question is, why does the world respect her? Because of her dedication to God? Or because she was "better" than anyone else at doing good works?

What is the example of her life? Is she someone to idolize? (while seeing her standard as impossible to reach, so we don't even try?)

13 comments:

TheDen said...

Ned,

I think Mother Teresa is a shining example of what Christianity is. She truly loved people as she loved Christ. If she met you, she would treat you as she would treat Him. Why? Because that’s what Christ calls us to do. She loved her neighbor as she loved God. She fed the hungry and clothed the naked because she recognized Christ in them.

Her actions were not to earn her way into heaven. Her motivation was purely from love for God. I have not met her but do know several people who have and they were all deeply inspired by her example.

Mother Teresa was not about doing good works. She was about having faith in God and ministering to the sick and the dying. In the city of Detroit (I live near there), her nuns do a soup kitchen there for the homeless. And every day they don’t make plans on where they will get the food or how they will pay for it. God always provides it (through donors). Her favorite line from the Gospel is when Christ hung on the cross and cried, “I thirst!” She contemplated how she would want to provide drink for Him as He hung there.

In order to understand what she went through, you need to read the “Dark Night of the Soul” by St. John of the Cross.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1564595803

Mother Teresa went through the “Dark Night” as it’s something that that happens as you grow closer to God. Sometimes, I feel as though I struggle through this albeit not to the extent of Mother Teresa. It’s a time of purging when it feels as if God has abandoned you. He hasn’t abandoned you but rather you feel alone and your faith either becomes stronger or it withers and dies. It’s a testing similar to what Job had experienced. Mother Teresa felt it for the last forty (or so) years of her life!

Mother Teresa is a shining example for all of us. She is not to be idolized. She is to be emulated. Her example leads people to Christ. So many people were touched by her not because of what she did but by her humility and love for God. That drove her to do the things that she did.

GCT said...

Perhaps theden needs to learn a little bit about Mother Teresa. She did not do good deeds at all. She counseled people that their suffering was god's will and good for them, instead of tending to them. She felt it more important to "tend to their souls" than to administer real aid. Her clinics were very poor examples of medicine, and had very low success rates. With all the money she took in, she could have built state of the art facilities, yet she was reusing needles to the point where they became blunt, and without proper sterilization. When she was sick, she did not receive treatment in her own clinics, but went to the finest hospitals in the west, making her a hypocrit. But hey, maybe she was "a shining example of what Christianity is." I'm just glad that most xians are actually better than their religion tells them to be.

nedbrek said...

theden, I don't know her motives. All I'm saying, is if a Christian brother said the things quoted from Mother Teresa, I would exhort him to examine himself - to see if he is truly in the faith.

GCT: You can't just make a statement like that without a link. And I would prefer one that wasn't sourced from Christopher Hitchens.

GCT said...

Hitchens did make these observations as did Aroup Chatterjee and Robin Fox. I'll try to dig up some links tomorrow.

TheDen said...

I'm going to ignore GCT's comments as they truly aren't worthy of response.

Regarding the book review, Time Magazine is a secularist magazine that barely understands religion let alone concepts such as the "Dark Night." I think you understand that.

As for Mother Teresa, there are a few things to point out.

She had experiences of God being so close to her that she could feel Him so deeply. It moved her to do the wonderful things she did. Her relationship with God was so close that He filled her up with a love that neither you nor I can possibly imagine. (Although I have felt it and it's truly amazing).

And then one day, it was gone. She felt nothing. God was still there she just could not sense it.

According to St. John of the Cross it's like a baby's first steps. God usually holds us but as we develop to a more mature Christianity, He lets go of our hand and allows us to walk (still under the grace of God.)

Secondly, as you know, there are demons around and they hate us. They envy us because we are with God and they were cast down from heaven.

The closer we grow to God, the more we are afflicted by these demons. Mother Teresa most likely had a spiritual warfare going on that neither you nor I could possibly imagine. It most likely tormented her to the point that doubt may have crept into her mind. It doesn't mean that she wasn't a Christian or that she didn't believe what was happening. It's just that the torment was unrelenting.

Lastly, there may have been psychological issues at play. I did not know her but she may have had bouts of depression or anxiety that were clinical. If that's the case then her letters to her Spiritual Advisor could reflect that.

The Dark Night is not new to Catholic Theology. As I mentioned before, St. John of the Cross coined the term back in the 15th or 16th century and a lot of the great saints have experienced something very similar to what Mother Teresa experienced.

I think that Protestants experience the exact same thing and have just not named it. I know there have been a lot (though certainly not all) of overly zealous Protestants who went through their "Dark Night" only to emerge Atheists. For Mother Teresa, the thoughts crossed her mind but she always kept her faith.

That is something that we should definitely emulate.

GCT said...

"I'm going to ignore GCT's comments as they truly aren't worthy of response."

Out of curiousity, what specifically is not worthy of response? Do you doubt the truth of my claims?

http://www.meteorbooks.com/

http://members.lycos.co.uk/bajuu/
"Pannalal Manik also has doubts. 'I don't understand why you educated people in the West have made this woman into such a goddess!'"

http://www.newstatesman.com/200508220019

Those just came off of wikipedia. There are plenty more, and none of those are from Hitchens even (although I don't know why Hitchens' work is a priori discarded._

GCT said...

So, why is it OK that Teresa lied about her faith? Why is it OK that she went before millions of people and said things that she simply didn't believe were true? Before anyone answers, think about whether the ends justify the means. Nedbrek, I know that you have said that they don't in past comments, does that still hold now?

nedbrek said...

Ok, I was able to read through the New Statesman piece. The reporter only spent a few weeks there (reported Aug 22, mentions spending time "earlier this month"). But makes some telling points:

"Much of the money, she [a former senior nun] complained, sat in banks"

"the belief that suffering brought them closer to God" [Hitchens]

The Hitchens quote points to the importance of theology. Certain of Mother Teresa's quotes lend credence to this. That is certainly wrong. Suffering (for its own sake) doesn't help anyone. God may permit suffering to help us trust in Him, but we shouldn't be doling out suffering when it is in our power to prevent it.

Similarly with the money. If they are short funds, it is easy to imagine how corners can get cut. But they need some fast talk to explain why their money is sitting in a bank instead of going to the people it is intended for.

That said, I am speaking on principles. It is not my job or intention to judge Mother Teresa. We do not have all the facts or know her thoughts or intentions.

We do know that she was a sinner. Her feelings about God moved up and down. I think we can all identify with that. Was she lying about her faith? I don't know. She mentioned that she felt like a hypocrite at times. That is lying, and is a sin. Of course, I am a hypocrite at times, too. Does that mean God doesn't exist? Or that we should not proclaim the Good News? Of course not.

nedbrek said...

theden, Albert Mohler has an excellent
post
on Mother Teresa. I think the most telling part is, "our faith is in Christ -- not in our feelings."

For me, doubt lasts usually about 15 minutes. I usually like to keep a Bible in my pocket, and have God's Word with me. Sometimes I will feel down for a few days. I think that is probably about the normal range. Anything more, and I would seriously doubt my salvation (e.g. people who go to college and come back atheists, they were never soundly saved to begin with).

Dr. Mohler says it well, "Doubt can be healthy." ... "At the same time, doubt can be a form of sin ... a refusal to trust God and his promises."

GCT said...

"That said, I am speaking on principles. It is not my job or intention to judge Mother Teresa. We do not have all the facts or know her thoughts or intentions.

We do know that she was a sinner. Her feelings about God moved up and down. I think we can all identify with that. Was she lying about her faith? I don't know. She mentioned that she felt like a hypocrite at times. That is lying, and is a sin. Of course, I am a hypocrite at times, too. Does that mean God doesn't exist? Or that we should not proclaim the Good News? Of course not."

Where did I claim that Teresa's lies mean there is no god? The point is that you are looking at all kinds of evidence about her character. She didn't really help the poor, she went to clinics other than her own when she was sick, she lied, she didn't use the money that was given to her for helping people, etc. etc. etc. Then, you claim that you don't have the facts you need to determine whether she was a good person or not or whether people should emulate her? I think you are simply hedging because you don't want to look like a bad person for condemning a woman that others have uncritically lionized, and continue to lionize against all evidence. Standing up for truth, however, is more important. If I acted in the same fashion, I would not proclaim my atheism, but I feel that speaking for the truth is a noble/moral deed.

GCT said...

"Anything more, and I would seriously doubt my salvation (e.g. people who go to college and come back atheists, they were never soundly saved to begin with)."

Please explain.

nedbrek said...

GCT, I've made a full post on faith/doubt.

GCT said...

"GCT, I've made a full post on faith/doubt."

I'm not sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China.