In my conversations with Catholic friends, I have found it useful to reference the five “magnetic points” expounded by British theologian Daniel Strange. There are five fundamentals that all human beings are looking for and to which they are magnetically drawn. Because of their universal presence in people’s lives, they can be seen in Catholics.
According to Strange, each religion responds in various ways to these five questions. Their responses are points of attraction for people to be drawn to them. The questions are:
1. The search for totality: a way to connect to reality
2. The need for a norm: a way to live
3. The yearning for deliverance: a way out of oppression
4. The sense of destiny: a way to control
5. The reality of a higher power: a way to measure up to the supernatural
Every religion, Roman Catholicism included, provides improbable and insufficient answers to the magnetic points. The gospel subverts these answers and fulfills the magnetic points. Let’s talk about the second magnetic point of the list: the need for a norm in life.
Over the centuries, Rome has developed a detailed moral code for the faithful. There are norms for all aspects and moments of life (e.g. what you can eat and when, where you are supposed to show up, what you are meant to do in different circumstances), often presented in moralistic terms. To be a good Christian, you must perform these norms as your duty. The Christian life is often presented as if it were a list of dos and don’ts.
Moreover, the Roman Catholic moral tradition has developed what theologians call “casuistry”, i.e. a detailed description of what is morally possible, legitimate, improper, useful, wrong, deadly. Catholic casuistry covers all aspects of life and puts a great burden on people about what is expected or not expected of them.
In our contemporary world, many Catholics want to be disentangled from the moral framework of the church. They experience it as cumbersome if not oppressive, an imposed and impersonal code.
The search for norms is also driven by the Roman Catholic view of “good works” as considered as necessary for salvation, together with the sacraments administered by the church. If they follow the norms that the Church teaches them, this is a good work that can foster their Christian life in the hope that they will attain salvation. Good works are important, of course, but not as something we can rely upon in the hope of deserving God’s grace, but as ways to express our gratitude for an already received salvation in Christ alone by faith alone.
The opportunity is there for us to present Christ as the One who fulfilled God’s requirements and gives the good life we long for but cannot find apart from Him (John 10:10). Christ’s truth liberates us and gives us the desire to follow Him and His ways. Jesus says: “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17). He provides a moral norm for life and death, based on His own character, without degrading into moralism.
The Christian life is not governed by an impersonal moral code that needs to be implemented, but by a personal Saviour and Lord who has revealed His will in the Bible, who has accomplished all that was required by the Law, who has paid the price for our sin and who, by His Spirit, dwells in us and engrafts us in the church, leading our lives in His paths. This is great news for Catholics who are looking for a norm to live by.
This article is an excerpt from Leonardo’s forthcoming book Tell Your Catholic Friend. How To Have Gospel Conversations with Love (Brentwood, TN: B&H Books, 2025).
