People can be so stupid that they appreciate God's creatures without appreciating God the Creator (Wis 13:9). The people of Noah's time and those of Sodom and Gomorrah were so stupid and out of touch with reality that they were totally unprepared for disaster (see Lk 17:27-30).

It's easy to recognize the stupidities throughout history and in other people. We can't imagine how anyone could be immoral and stupid enough to try to justify slavery or the genocide advocated by the Third Reich; yet, we have our own stupidities. For example, those who justify abortion by denying the humanity of the fetus are operating from a medieval biology. It is scientifically proven that we become human beings at the moment of conception. Furthermore, those who advocate "safe sex" are stupidly denying not only sin and possible eternal damnation, but also the amply documented psychological and social devastation resulting from sex outside of marriage. Moreover, we have various fanciful, stupid, and unscientific notions by which we try to justify homosexual activity and ignore the abortifacient action of "the pill."

History suggests strongly that human beings are naturally stupid. As Socrates said: "The wisest person knows that he doesn't know." Malcolm Muggeridge said: "There are some ideas so preposterous that only an intellectual will believe them." Therefore, we need God's revelation through the Bible and the Church. Otherwise, we are cursed to walk, live, and think in darkness.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 3, 2009

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