The Criteria of Judgment

When evaluating and judging any group or belief, the only fair and accurate way to size it up is to observe those who completely accept the beliefs of the group, and then live it out faithfully. Obviously, those who believe and follow anything perfectly will be few and far between, but the principle is sound. It is unhelpful and inaccurate to judge a group or belief based on those who don't fully accept or don't fully live the teachings of the group. This is equivalent to a "straw man" argument in a debate. For example, would you base a study on the value of vegetarianism on a "vegetarian" who wasn't sure about the practice and frequently disregarded it to eat meat as he saw fit? It wouldn't be a fair assessment. By the same token, when we look at churches or faiths, we must look to those who fully accept the teaching of their church and live it out faithfully. What do they look like? How does their life look? In the Catholic Church, the ones who truly represent her are not those "cafeteria" Catholics who don't buy all the Catholic teachings, nor the mediocre or immoral people who claim the title of Catholic but don't live any of her laws or teachings. Those who fully believe the Catholic Church's teachings, and live them to the utmost, are the Saints. Consider those who fully submitted to Catholic teaching and based their life on it: Mother Theresa, St Thomas More, St Francis, St Benedict, St Catherine of Siena, St Bonaventure, St Augustine, St Francis Xavier, etc. The list stretches on into the hundreds and thousands. These are the ones who hold and live the Catholic faith. Their lives speak for them. As our Lord said, "By their fruits you shall know them".