Good Juan Donoso Cortés’s Essay On Catholicism, Liberalism, And Socialism Essay Example

One of the ideas presented by Juan Donoso Cortés is the issue of dualism spirituality. Cortés explores the issue of sin in the catholic religion and some of the key elements that constitute sin. One of the new facts about Catholicism presented in the book is the view of sin according to Catholic philosophies. Evil is seen to exist as an accident, and in the absence of evil, the aspect of free will among human beings would not exist. For free will to exist, evil must exist. Otherwise, people doing the will of God would not need any freedom to choose since they would have to do the will of God; do good.
Cortés explores the existence philosophy held by Christians by giving a back story to rebellion in heaven, and how it paved way for the birth of evil. As such, Cortés presents that we all need to obey God for us to make him happy. Servitude to God is seen as the only reason humans had been given dominion over the earth. The loss of the dominion over the earth is explained to have been as a result of nature harboring the growth of unwanted plants such as weeds, thorns and poisons and chaotic conditions such as volcanoes, hurricanes and storms (Cortes 147). According to Catholic philosophies, all negative energy existing in the world today is a result of man’s disobedience.
Cortés introduces this concept in the story as a way to explore the power of the church over people’s actions. By introducing this story, Cortés can show a man why he or she needs to devote his or her time to God. Cortés mostly talks about slavery to God, which is the source of divine dominion over the earth and all its contents. In this context, Cortés argues that the rules set by the church ought to be followed by people who seek to go to heaven. Cortés also ignores the fact that the rebellion of angels was the key reason God decided to create man by discussing that evil is a result of rebellion by angels. As such, Cortés’s analysis is biased to oppose the rebellion from all church followers.
Noah, the film directed by Darren Aronofsky, uses the same allegory to explain sin. However, the movie is directed in a different manner than the story narrated in the bible in that it proposes that Noah was enabled to create his arch by simply appealing to the fallen angel (Nephlims) for assistance. This offers a contradictory perspective. One of the different features of the movie is the fact that it shows that the angels were trying to save man, while God was not. As such, it opposes the propositions made by Cortés, who presents the Lord as forgiving. Noah, the film shows that God did not forgive the Nephlims despite their contributions to Noah’s works on creating the arch. This shows that God did not forgive angels, and neither did he forgive mankind (Noah, 2014).
Introducing the concept of inception of evil in the story contributes largely to Cortés’s main argument. With the book being founded on servitude, Cortés warns against rebellion consistently; hence, indicating that the story was purposely included to warn readers from rebelling in the text. The allegory of the fight in heaven that saw Satan and his angels cast from heaven has been used recurrently by churches, parents, and teachers to explain evil and warn people are falling into temptation (Cortes 146). Its relevance to the story is evident in that Cortés uses it to further his thesis that opposes liberalism.
Cortés views the spirit as being weaker than the flesh. As such, the spirit that was once meant to be the slave of God, as Cortés puts it, becomes the slave to the flesh. This proposition is also used to reinforce his agenda against liberalism. Cortés, being a conservative puritan, like most Catholics, are highly opposed to liberalism. Cortés’s philosophy is centered on keeping the laws of the book and pleasing the Lord, and not the body nor the mind. The philosophy is centered on servitude: the service to God or the service of our flesh.
The book addresses the role that evil had to play on earth. This is a similar context as the one in which the Noah, the movie, is set. Noah commences with an exploration of the creation story in which the film discusses some of the major roles that humans played in contributing to the rise of evil (Noah, 2014). As Cortés addresses the issue critically, he argues that God hates sin and he will punish those who do not serve him. Similarly, Noah’s flood was a punishment that God designed to punish a man for his evil actions (Noah, 2014). As such, by appealing to evil, Cortés subscribes to Christianity as a religion that is entirely based on forgiveness. Cortés introduces readers to the Catholic philosophy of sin. Although his claims are based on a mythical assumption, as most scientists and history analysts believe they are. The author is not convincing enough as he uses threats to get people to obey God, as opposed to supporting his claims. However, most religious philosophies and assumptions are tailored in a similar manner, thus making Cortés a common Christian writer. However, Cortés argument is not convincing enough.
The concept of evil and the Catholic Church is a complex area. Catholics believe that evil exists accidentally. Man is good by essence and bad by accident. As such, going against God’s will be viewed as an accidental action and not one driven by essence. The Catholic Church does not connect evil with the Devil, as most Protestant churches do, but rather connects evil with man. Man is the author of evil, whereas God is the defender of good. Most of the claims Cortés makes are not only viable but also very deep. Regardless, despite his efforts to use as much ammo as possible against liberalism, most of his claims are not convincing. Cortés attacks the opposing argument strongly as opposed to supporting the argument he proposed. Instead of indicating how evil liberalism can be, Cortés should have concentrated on indicating how good it is to be conservative. Regardless, most of the arguments presented are logical and agreeable. His arguments for socialism as being the ultimate outcome of enlightenment are sound, but his opposition to liberalism is rather unsatisfactory.

Works Cited

Cortes, Juan D. Essays on Catholicism, Liberalism and Socialism. S.l.: Theclassics Us, 2013. Print.
Noah. Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Perf. Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly and Logan Lerman. Paramount Pictures. 2014. Film.