Zombies Are Among Us
"He who is without love is among the 'living dead!'" (1 John 3:14)
Most people think of a zombie as a corpse said to be revived by witchcraft, especially in certain African and Caribbean religions. In popular fiction it is a person or reanimated corpse that has been turned into a creature capable of movement but not of rational thought, which feeds on human flesh. Informal it is a person who is or appears lifeless, apathetic, or completely unresponsive to their surroundings. In philosophy is a hypothetical being that responds to stimulus as a person would, but that does not experience consciousness.
Evil is defined as an absence of love while hatred is a perversion of love and indifference is the sin against love. Hatred still denotes an emotional attachment to the person so directed. In 1 John 3:15: "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life abides in no murderer's heart." No human person can be called evil but only Satan and his fallen angels (demons). Bad and wicked people as well as good people perform "evil acts," that is without love. Human persons are created and willed by God in spite of circumstances as by rape, incest, inside or outside the sanctity of marriage, on your honeymoon or in the back seat of a car on a one-night stand! You are created in love, through love, and for love.
What we make of our lives is given to our free-will in which God respects our choices and decisions. Yet, what are the circumstances and situations of our life as we experience the realities of our environment? What is our family life like, the school system, our neighborhood, our church experiences or lack thereof. What are the factors and variables that help and assist in the influence of the formation of our consciences. We often hear of the description of someone with no conscience or a seared, hardened conscience void of compassion, empathy, kindness with respect to crimes against love of neighbor and property.
In Eph 4:17-19: "I declare and solemnly attest in the Lord that you must no longer live as the pagans do - their minds empty, their understanding darkened. They are estranged from a life in God because of their ignorance and their resistance; without remorse they have abandoned themselves to lust and the indulgence of every sort of lewd conduct." The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Par. 1776-1802) gives insight to our conscience. "Deep within his conscience, man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. It's voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment...For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God... His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths."(CCC 1776)
Conscience is a judgment of reason and is a law of the mind. Conscience includes the perception of the principles of morality (syndersis); their application in the given circumstances by practical discernment of reasons and goods; and finally, judgment about concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed. Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings. (CCC 1783) Education of conscience is a lifelong task.
In the formation of conscience, the Word of God is the light for our path. Faced with a moral choice, conscience can make either a right judgment in accordance with reason and the divine law or, on the contrary, an erroneous judgment that departs from them. (CCC 1786) A good and pure conscience is enlightened by true faith, for charity proceeds at the same time "from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith." (CCC 1794) Are we acting in conformity with a well-formed conscience sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in love or indifferent to the plight of others when it is in our power to be of assistance? Remember the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man did not hate Lazarus, he was rather indifferent to his situation. "Lord when were you hungry, naked, in prison, or nursing homes? Verily I say to you, when you did it not to the least of your brothers, you did it not to me." (Mt 25:44) Are we walking zombies or walking in love? "Faith must express itself through love!" (Gal 5:6) May we be alive in Christ with a good conscience!