What is the significance of Christian doctrine for the life of the faithful? Some theologians and bishops present an account of doctrine that strongly resembles the proposals made by the Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo in his interview book Christianity, Truth, and Weakening Faith: A Dialogue. In this work, the well-known postmodern thinker urges the Catholic Church to abandon the truth claims she connects to her faith. In Vattimo's view, absolute truths are a source of conflict and violence, whereas the real strength of Christianity lies in the practice of charity. Aristotle's famous affirmation Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas—Plato is a friend but truth is a greater friend—should therefore be reversed. Is it possible for the Church to follow Vattimo's recommendations? Is it thinkable that the confession of specific truths of faith is no longer necessary for salvation? Or is there a regula fidei—a rule of faith—that contains the center of revealed truths and that all Christians need to confess in order to be in a right relationship with God and neighbor?
Vattimo's thesis is neither original nor reasonable. In his Natural History of Religion (1757), the Scottish philosopher David Hume—in agreement with other skeptical and agnostic English and French thinkers—said that Christianity's claim to absolute truth was to be blamed for the devastating civil wars that had taken place in Britain and France. For him, to find a basis for a peaceful and tolerant coexistence of people of different backgrounds, one had to turn either to a type of Christianity that was reduced to charitable works or to a natural religion and morality that did not invoke any supernatural revelation. According to this view, Jesus exemplified love. He taught and lived a morality of true human kindness. The Church's dogmas are seen as mental constructs that allow the clergy to preserve and increase their power. For the proponents of this opinion, Jesus wanted a Christianity free from dogma—and it is precisely this kind of Christianity that corresponds to the needs of the present age. From this perspective, we need today a humanism without metaphysics, without revelation, and without a morality that is hostile to life. At the beginnings of the ecumenical movement before and after World War I, the following motto was frequently quoted: “Doctrine separates, life unites.”
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