Am I Capable?

Returned from our Irish holiday yesterday we came through security. They scanned and looked in our bags. A woman scanned my lap-top. I asked her what she was scanning it for. She told me she was checking for explosives. I smiled. It seemed ludicrous.

Later I read of Erich Fromm, the German-American humanist philosopher who said, ‘There is nothing of which any of us are not capable.’

I have strong religious views. Am I capable of terrorism and planning an explosion?

Last week we heard about Father Mathew. We saw a statue of him in the middle of Cork. He saw the evils caused by alcohol in nineteenth century Ireland. He formed the ‘Catholic Total Abstinence Society’. Hundreds of thousands signed the pledge to be teetotal.

I enjoy a pint of Guiness; am I capable of drunkenness and drowning all of my money in drink?

I’m reading ‘The Best Catholics in the World’. Dubliner Derek Scally examines scandals at the end of the twentieth century. Priests convicted of sex crimes against young, vulnerable children, unmarried mothers shut away and hidden from society… and the church and politicians that did nothing.

I’ve worked with children all my life; am I capable of such horrendous crimes against children?

Returning home we watched the local news. 12-year-old Bobby Bloomfield was hit by a vehicle and died later in hospital. A 15-year-old boy, who was allegedly driving the car, and a 43-year-old man appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

I’ve driven a car for many years; am I capable of killing someone by my driving?

I can write about being strong, being the best version of myself, standing against a world that is often goes against my Christian ideals. I could quote many Bible texts… Paul says that God ‘will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.’

This morning I’m feeling more circumspect and reflecting on the context of that verse. Paul says, ‘…if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’