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At the core of Stark's investigation is his argument that specific ideas innate to Judaism (especially that found in Diaspora Jewish communities) and Christianity played a pivotal role in enabling the West to make and sustain political, legal and economic breakthroughs that eluded other civilizations.  First and foremost, Jews and Christians viewed God as a rational Creator.  In that sense, God was not at all like the Greco-Roman deities — capricious, self-indulgent beings for the most part.  Moreover, the Christians, from the very beginning, not only understood the need to reason out the implications of Christ's teachings; they also viewed reason as the great gift which God gave man to know the truth about the Creator but also the world He created in order that humans might help unfold God's design. The second religious ingredient of the West's success, Stark maintains, was Christianity's unwillingness to attribute life's ups-and-downs to fate.  Unlike the pagan (and many contemporary) religions, the Jewish and Christian "conception of God is incompatible with fate" (p. 120).  It is true, Stark writes, that particular pagans such as Cicero had a somewhat similar view of free will.  The difference is that belief in free will was more than simply a philosophical tenet for Jews and Christians.  It was also a matter of specific religious conviction, which meant, furthermore, that people could — and would — be held accountable for their free choices before the same rational God who had given them free will.

It is in the medieval period, Stark maintains, that perhaps the most significant flowering of this commitment to reason and free will took place — and not just in the universities that were first built by the Christians.  The key, as Stark puts it so precisely, was the Christian commitment to "the pursuit of knowledge.  Not to illumination.  Not to enlightenment.  Not to wisdom.  But to knowledge.  And the basis for this commitment to knowledge was the Christian commitment to theology" (p. 159).  From this flowed, among other things, the enterprise of natural philosophy.  That in turn underlay the development of the scientific method that first acquired real momentum in medieval Europe, as well as, Stark emphasizes, the emergence of key economic insights and institutions that promoted and relied upon freedom.

With regard to the latter, Stark illustrates that the central foundations for modern capitalism — "the rise of banking, elaborate manufacturing networks, rapid innovations in technology and finance, and a busy network of trading cities" (p. 181) — were very much products of medieval Christianity, especially in Northern Italy, Flanders, and, by the early-thirteenth century, England.  In this light, Stark argues, we begin to see that industrial capitalism didn't appear out of nowhere in the late-eighteenth century.  In Stark's words, the Industrial Revolution "was not a revolution at all but part of an evolution of invention and innovation that had begun … perhaps as early as the eleventh century" (p. 184).

The word “vocation”has its roots in the Latin word vocare, which means “to call”. A vocation is a calling. The Second Vatican Council clearly stated that we all have a call to holiness. But within that universal call to holiness, there are two main “states of life”—marriage and celibacy for the kingdom. (The main call to celibacy can be further divided into priesthood and consecrated or religious life.)  We rightfully say that both states of life are vocations since both calls ultimately find their origin and their end in God

Yes, every priest and nun, even the Pope, is called to marriage, insofar as they are human beings. Theologically, this can best be understood in what Blessed John Paul II called the “spousal meaning of the body.” This means that the ensouled body, the person, is meant for the gift of self, particularly in marriage. Marriage is something to which every human person is called; it is the “default” vocation for all humans. So marriage, at its most basic level, is a natural vocation, a call written into our very DNA, into the very structure of our being. The married person is called to give himself totally to one person in love, while the celibate is called to give himself to all.

This understanding, that marriage is a vocation written into our human nature, helps us to comprehend how it differs from celibacy as a vocation. Unlike the call to marriage, which is internal, the call to celibacy is external; it comes from outside of our nature. The vocation to celibacy has a purely supernatural basis since it invites us to renounce the natural vocation to marriage for the sake of the kingdom. In addition, Scripture is clear that celibacy must be received and lived as a supernatural grace (cf. Mt 19:11-12). Without this gift, one cannot properly live the vocation of celibacy for the kingdom.

PRINCETON, NJ -- At a time when Americans' ratings of the country and of the nation's economy are near record lows, the percentage of U.S. workers feeling "completely satisfied" with their jobs -- now 48% -- is at the high end of the range seen in the past eight years.

Aspects of their jobs that large majorities of workers feel could be better include on-the-job stress (only 27% are completely satisfied), pay (28%), company-sponsored retirement plans (34%), chances for promotion (35%), and health insurance benefits (40%).

Worker satisfaction is refreshingly positive to see amid otherwise gloomy public attitudes about the country. To some extent, this may reflect a heightened appreciation on the part of some workers for having a job at a time when they realize good jobs are hard to come by, and when being out of work is no picnic. (It also reflects the basic reality that dissatisfied workers -- like unhappy spouses -- don't stay put for long, so the percentage of workers who are dissatisfied should never be overly high.)

In Paul’s analogy, everyone is considered a slave (or “servant,” Gk. doulos) either to sin or to righteousness, but sin leads to death (hell), while righteousness leads to sanctification and eternal life (heaven). In essence, the two propositions are quite opposite, sin being more analogous with slavery and righteousness with freedom. In  his second Epistle, Peter concurs with Paul, as he warns of false prophets and teachers: “[U]ttering loud boasts of folly, they entice with licentious passions of the flesh . . . 

St. Paul proclaims the gift of the New Law of the Spirit in opposition to the law of the flesh or of covetousness which draws man toward evil and makes him powerless to choose what is good. This lack of harmony and this inner weakness do not abolish man’s freedom and responsibility, but they do have a negative effect on their exercise for the sake of what is good. This is what causes the apostle to  say: “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” (Rom 7:19). Thus he rightly speaks of the “bondage of sin” and the “slavery of the law,” for to sinful man the law, which he cannot make part of himself, seems oppressive. However, St. Paul recognizes that the Law still has value for man and for the Christian, because it “is holy and what it commands is sacred, just and good” (Rom 7:12) . . . The Spirit who dwells in our hearts is the source of true freedom. (54)

So, according to Paul and Peter, true freedom does not mean a person does whatever he feels like or is tempted to do. That’s not really freedom at all; instead, often it is slavery to sin. The Catechism  explains: The exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do everything. It is false to maintain that man, the subject of this freedom, is an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in the enjoyment of earthly goods . . . By deviating from the moral law, man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly   fellowship, and rebels against divine truth. (CCC 1740)

The following quotes help us to see how the church has always upheld the primacy of conscience even if at times this teaching was a well kept secret. "He who acts against his conscience loses his soul." (Fourth Lateran council, 1215) "It is better to perish in excommunication than to violate one's conscience." (St. Thomas Aquinas) "I shall drink . . To Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards." (Cardinal John Henry Newman) "If Newman places conscience above authority, he is not proclaiming anything new with respect to the constant teaching of the Church." (Pope John Paul II) "In the final analysis, conscience is inviolable and no person is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his/her conscience, as the moral tradition of the Church attests." (Human Life in Our Day, U.S. Bishops Pastoral) "A human being must always follow the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were to deliberately act against it he would condemn himself." Catechism of the Catholic Church #1790) "We follow church leaders only to the extent that they themselves follow Christ. . . Some situations oblige one to obey God and one's own conscience rather than the leaders of the church. Indeed, one may even be obliged to accept excommunication rather than act against one's own conscience." (Cardinal Walter Kasper, Head of Ecumenical Matters at the Vatican.)

In a market where demand exceeds supply, employees are examining their workplace options. Christchurch based human resource consultants Brannigans have observed an overwhelming trend of professionals undertaking Executive Coaching, reassessing their key drivers and examining their career options. This is resulting in them not only switching workplaces but often a complete career change. Sally Wynn-Williams partner at Brannigans HR consultancy says that employees are grasping opportunities to take their skillset into a completely different industry that they may not have considered before. "The earthquakes have given people a chance to reflect on their career.

Recently one of Brannigans Executive Coaches met with a civil engineer who was really unhappy with his work/life situation. Through self discovery they found that his main drivers were influence and meaning, and his values were to help others develop. As a child he'd always envisaged himself as a teacher but his father (who himself was a teacher talked him out of it) through discussion with his employer and because huge shortage of engineers at the time they decided they would create him a new opportunity to become training and development manager.

Recruiters are also seeing a shift in the businesses operating in the region. Attracted by the areas growth, many Auckland and Wellington firms are setting up offices in Christchurch, particularly in the professional services and construction sectors. Staff are increasingly being relocated to Christchurch, which is an appealing option for those people who want to be part of the city's exciting transformation. "Moving to Christchurch is all about a lifestyle change and the unique opportunity to be on the ground here while our city is being rebuilt." said McNab. "People are now willing to make the move to Canterbury whereas 18 months ago it was literally impossible. They're seeing Christchurch as a positive lifestyle choice - and an easy and exciting place to live," said Wynn- Williams.

The Catholic tradition on conscience is very extensive, while being quite unified. One may wonder, if the teaching is so unified, why there would be so much to say. The reason is because the tradition is unified on a tension. The first pole of the tension is that under no circumstances should one violate one's conscience – one must always follow even an erring conscience. The other pole of the tension is that, at the same time, a rightly formed conscience is expected to concur with Catholic teaching. These two moral requirements, that one should follow one's conscience and that one should follow Church teachings, are potentially in conflict. The requirements may not align, and if so, then a point of tension has appeared between an individual's conscience and the Church's teachings.

Historical Background

Catholicism, Conscience, and…