“My people perish for want of knowledge”

What was obvious in the past is less and less clear today. In the past, the majority of people believed in God, but today more and more people say they are atheists. In its October 22, 2021 edition, the Montreal daily Le Devoir surveyed their readers and reported that 51% of Quebecers answered yes and 49% no to the question: "Personally, do you believe in God?" As for the francophones in Quebec and Canada, the majority are now non-believers.

It is a leap of faith to believe that the universe was created from an explosion which resulted in the harmony of the heavens: the placement of the Earth, planets, stars and galaxies. It is more difficult to believe that the world was created by chance than to believe it was created by God! Greater faith is necessary to accept the odds that a "big bang" is how life began; the odds of random creation are 1 in billions and billions (1 followed by 32 zeros). If our planet were a little further, or a little closer to the Sun, life on Earth would be impossible. As French scientist Louis Pasteur said, "Little science takes you away from God, but more of it takes you to Him."

In the past, it was presumed that biological parents within the natural family were responsible for raising their children. This can no longer be taken for granted in a society where the courts are ruling that "the child belongs to the State, not to the parents". Governments in Quebec and around the world are rejecting parental primacy (see page 4), arguing that children should be removed at early age from the "bad influence" of their parents.

According to the principle of subsidiarity the Church affirms that, "the contention that the civil government should at its option intrude into and exercise intimate control over the family and the household is a great and pernicious error... Paternal authority can be neither abolished nor absorbed by the State" (see page 7).

One can read in the Bible that "My people perish for want of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6) and in Jude 1:10: "These people blaspheme all that they do not understand." If people had a better grasp of the truth we would not believe lies about the existence of God and the primacy of parental authority, or other topics.

Another example: if people knew what the Holy Mass is and all its mysteries (see page 19) they would act accordingly and attend Mass not only on Sundays, but every day of the week. If people grasped the benefits of the sacrament of forgiveness, Confession, they would not hesitate to confess their sins to a priest (see page 32).

The current financial system is full of contradictions (see page 12). We hear a great deal about inflation today. Inflation means that the price of goods and services is rising, but for economic advisers to governments, inflation means that there is too much money in circulation, and clumsy methods to fight it are proposed (see page 10).

The best way to keep prices from rising is to lower them without penalizing producers. This would be accomplished by Clifford Hugh Douglas' financial proposals. If people knew about Economic Democracy, the monetary reforms advocated by Douglas, they would demand it from their elected representatives.

But for these truths to be known, they must be disseminated. The existence of God, parental primacy, the sacrament of Confession and the financial propositions of Economic Democracy must be heard. As Saint Paul said in his Letter to the Romans (10:14): "How then are they to call on Him if they have not come to believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard of Him? And how will they hear of Him unless there is a preacher for them?... Faith comes from hearing."

This magazine, MICHAEL, advances these truths repeatedly. It is up to our readers to share the message and make it known to others. Please visit our website michaeljournal.org and make this periodical and its work known to others. Good apostolate!