"The reason the world does not recognize us is that it never recognized the Son." -- I John 3: 1b

How does the secular world see the Church? At best, it sees us as unfortunate misguided people, not aware that the world has discovered that "God" is not necessary (evolution, after all, explains everything). It sees us as believers in pious myths, unable to stand on our own, but needing the prop of religion to survive in this world. At worst, it sees us as dangerously out of touch with reality. After all, we do not realize the moral necessity for contraception and abortion, the rightness of divorce (we were not meant to live with the same person our whole lives), intolerant of homosexuals and unaccepting of their civil rights, imposing a faulty and archaic worldview on innocent children, who should be taught how to live in the real world.

But how does the Catholic see the Church? He views the whole universe through the prism of Jesus of Nazareth, the only man ever born who can rightly claim divinity. As a result, the Catholic sees the history of humanity as a progress of encounters with God, first through the prophets of Judaism, and then, subsequent to the life of Jesus, through the teaching and sacred works (sacraments) of the Church. He views morality as the sole province of the Church, who alone rightly defines what is right and what is wrong in an authoritative way. He sees that he has a purpose in living a good and holy life, in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. He anticipates a final state of everlasting life, where all tears are wiped away, and every injustice is answered.