Crucial Christianity: An Ethos Theology for the 3rd Millennium

Crucialism is an ethos theology that specifically explicates and exhorts the lived out dynamics of faith, truths, morals, and values as they apply to a person or people in relationship with the contemporary milieu. The intersect of faith, truths, morals, and values and the contemporary milieu is what determines the emphases in an ethos theology. Crucialism is based on the premise that third millennium Catholics, along with their contemporaries, are enmeshed in a confusing maze of relativism and escapism, all enabled and enhanced by material abundance and technological advances. As such, crucialism aims at an essential and relevant presentation of not only divinely revealed truths, but those of natural law as well. Grace builds upon nature, and thus grace is most efficaciously placed upon a firm foundation of nature. However, today there is a disconnect and rejection of both nature and natural law. The truths of faith and reason designated as crucial and highlighted herein, aim at challenging third millennium Christians to their courageous, countercultural, and militant implementation.Serendipitously enough, crucial means both cross-conformed and of vital importance. For the Christian, the Cross is indeed of singular vital importance: Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. MT 16:24. In practice, it is being conformed to the Holy Cross and to Christ Crucified that is of the most vital importance to the Christian. As such, crucialism aims to highlight those essentials of the Gospel that will most saliently mandate the Christian’s embrace of the Holy Cross in the dawning third millennium, and thus most adequately ensure the perseverance in, and the promulgation of, the Holy Catholic Faith.