What is this website all about? What does its name mean?
The term «faithful» denotes its rôle is to examine faithfully the words and deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ as found in the Gospels so as to understand as well as possible what God told us in His Son. It tries to study the Gospels as honestly as possible and so make sense of what our Lord Jesus Christ said and did.
But why the term «fool»? Why should someone who follows the message of our Lord Jesus Christ be a fool? Indeed, what is foolish about His message? The honest answer is: everything, as Paul clearly stated in his first letter to the Corinthians:
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.1
Jesus' message and life are, according to no less a commentator than Paul, foolishness. Why? Because Jesus let Himself be tortured and killed, without in any way trying to save Himself. He preached non-violence, love for enemies, and He practiced it on Good Friday. He preached God Father, God Who loves perfectly and equally everyone, let them be war criminals, torturers, child abusers, mass murderers, rapists, victims, innocents or even saints!
Jesus' crucifixion is a «stumblingblock» for those who believe in a God Who looks after His own, Who protects His people against their enemies as He definitely did not save Jesus from the shame and torture of the Cross, but let Him die like a worm of a man.
Jesus' crucifixion is foolishness for those who believe in self-defense, in just wars. We know better: we know that we have to protect our family against enemies in and out of our country. We know what is right, just and wise.
It is wisely that we believe in democracy, the right of ownership and justice under the law. But if God Father did not protect His Son's life, we cannot protect that of our spouses and children. We must practice non-violence and love those who oppress us just like He did.
Feast of Saint Andrew2, November 30th, 2004
1 1 Cor1:18-25. The translation used
is that of the Authorized Version of the Bible
(King James). (The emphasis is mine.)
2 The
First Reading for this Feast in the
Roman Catholic «Office of Readings»
contains the above quote by Paul.