2017-03-08T06:57:20-05:00

Last updated on: March 8, 2017 at 6:57 am   By

A Black Muslim I knew in High School gave me the Koran which I still possess to this day (the one translated and commented upon by Yusuf Ali). This was because we would discuss religion and theology and he wanted me to have a better understanding of Islam. A couple years later, during my first year at college, my dormitory was used, in part, for foreign exchange students, most of which were Muslims. I got to know, and talk with from time to time, and form a casual friendship with them. They were more comfortable with their fellow exchange students, but they respected me and I them, and I would help them if they asked for it, and they would at times ask me questions and show interest in my own religious beliefs.

As a part of my undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, I also took several classes which either in whole or in part, dealt with Islam (and I would take several more, years later, in my graduate studies). I got a sense of the diversity of thought in Islam, and found in the Sufis a tradition which intrigued me but it would only be later, after I understood Christian mysticism, that I would truly understand the significance of Sufism.

In all my early encounters with Muslims, I knew we had theological differences, but there was a lot of mutual appreciation between myself and them, an interest in inter-religious dialogue, and even an acceptance that we held much in common, including our belief in the one true God.

Even as a Baptist, I recognized Muslims believed in the same God as Christians. It was more than a little obvious to me. They believed in Abraham and the God of Abraham, and their religious tradition showed they held a common heritage with the Jews. Many of their practices, many of their moral positions, could be seen as fitting the general paradigm established by Abraham.

When I became a Catholic, I had no reason to doubt this. Indeed, I had every reason to hold to this understanding even more firmly. When Christian apologists like Justin or Lactantius could see righteous pagans seeking after, and following the one God to the best of their natural ability,  or when Augustine pointed to the Platonists as seeking after the one God and were to be commended for it, they did so with a general belief that monotheistic reasoning, however imperfect it was followed out, at least pointed to and brought people together in worship of the one God. If pagans could be seen as holding to the one true God, however imperfectly their faith and understanding of God, it is not difficult to see how Muslims, coming from a tradition which specifically joins itself with the God of Abraham, must follow and believe in the one true God.

This is not a question of Muslim understanding of God, that is, of the greater theological revelation about God through Jesus Christ, revelation which transcends human comprehension, but of the object of their adoration. They worship the true God, and indeed understand many qualities and attributes about God correctly. This is why their own theological reflection, kalam, could and did influence the schoolmen as they read Arab philosophers commenting about Plato and Aristotle. Certainly scholastic theologians would adapt what they read, add to it Christian notions, but often the general outline of theological argument would follow what Muslim philosophers said before them, showing not only the importance of Islamic thought for the development of Christian theology, but also the recognition that Muslims and Christians were talking about the one God together, reasoning out what they could and would know about God through natural theology and revelation.

Today, the sad fact is that many Catholics, following political rhetoric, have ended up denouncing the whole of Islam and trying to declare Muslims and Christians worship different gods.  Their argument demonstrates a fundamental disassociation of the Catholic theological heritage (it would destroy the arguments of the earliest apologists, if their reasoning was correct), as well as a rejection of official Catholic teaching. Islamophobia tries to find all kinds of excuses to denigrate Islam, to mistreat Muslims, and in the end, to turn the Christians speaking out with Islamophobia into what they fear from the Muslims, a group trying to exterminate the other. They project their own inner demon on the Muslims,  and in doing so, create the conditions by which Muslims, facing such hostility and belligerence, might act in defense. That defense will then be misread and used to suggest that Muslims are violent and in such Islamophobia will be said to be justified. Muslims will become more violent as they grow afraid of retaliation, and in their violence they will inspire more Islamophobia and violence against them. The never-ending cycle of violence will continue as each side projects their own inner demons on the other and use that as just cause to destroy the other.

DAVOS-KLOSTERS/SWITZERLAND, 30JAN09 - Lord Carey of Clifton(VLTR), Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002), United Kingdomduring, Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, United Kingdom, Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer, Sojournes, USA, , captured at the press conference 'Religious leaders call for the peace in the middle east' at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 30, 2009. Copyright by World Economic Forum swiss-image.ch/Photo by Andy Mettler By Copyright by World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
DAVOS-KLOSTERS/SWITZERLAND, 30JAN09 – Lord Carey of Clifton(VLTR), Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002), United Kingdomduring, Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, United Kingdom, Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Jim Wallis, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer, Sojournes, USA, , captured at the press conference ‘Religious leaders call for the peace in the middle east’ at the Annual Meeting 2009 of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 30, 2009.
Copyright by World Economic Forum
swiss-image.ch/Photo by Andy Mettler By Copyright by World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The solution, the way to put a stop to it, is to recognize the unity which Christians can have with the Muslims, a unity which should be founded upon our general belief in God and mutual respect for the moral and ethical values we hold in common.

Catholics should take note of this. Our own official teaching, such as found in Nosta Aetate, affirms that we can find common accord and peace with Muslims. Indeed, we are told Muslims are to be esteemed, not denigrated, because they worship the same God as we do:

The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.[1]

Moreover, we are told that in the long history of conflicts between Christians and Muslims, it is true there have been violence committed by both sides. Christians and Muslims both have often written terrible polemical literature which have fueled contentions between members of both religious faith.  But, we are told, this must not continue. We must find ways to overturn the bitterness of the past and to find ways in which Christians and Muslims can work together for justice:

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.[2]

Even if Muslim did not show forth a spirit of cooperation, this would not remove the Christian responsibility to try. We are called to love our neighbor and our enemies, to do good to others, even if they would not do good with us. We cannot justify disrespect and belligerence towards Muslims because we think they will be hostile towards us.  Nonetheless, what we need to recognize is that some Christians are violent and act in hostility against various Muslims, and some Muslims are violent and take their hostility out against Christians. Neither represent the best of their traditions when they act against the other in violence. Just as we would not like Christians to be judged by the worst of our believers, our extremists, so we should not judge Muslims due to their extremists. We can and should work together. We hold God in common. We hold principles of peace and justice in common.

2017-01-20T18:47:57-05:00

Last updated on: January 20, 2017 at 6:47 pm   By

Social Justice is a major part of the Christian tradition. It forms one of the central pillars of moral theology. Contrary to the way some speak of social justice, it is not a new feature, but rather, it comes from the moral teachings found in the Torah, the Prophets, the Wisdom and Historical Books, and from the preaching of Jesus and his first Apostles. It continued to be found in patristic writers, with some like Salvian taking particular interest in it and making it central to their writings, with others like St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyril of Alexandria, et. al.,  following through with it as needed, usually in and through their commentaries and homilies on Scripture, but also in relation to their civic and religious duty when society had to be brought together to work for the common good (such as in times of extreme famine).

Social justice must not be misconstrued as “misguided compassion.” While compassion certainly should be a part of the equation, because justice is not justice without mercy and grace, without transcendent charity penetrating it and making it more than another form of legalism, justice is about righteousness and making less-than just situations just. Compassion is a tool which helps make people realize where injustice is occurring, and sympathize with the victims of injustice, but even without compassion, even without charity, a mere desire for righteousness itself should suffice as to justify social justice and demonstrate why it is a necessary part of Christian moral teaching. Social justice is not some sort of liberal relativism deny objective goodness, rather, it follows objective goodness as a reason why justice must be followed, showing that it is one of the most conservative elements of the Christian tradition.

By Anthonie van Dyck (1599 - 1641) – Painter (Flemish) Born in Antwerp, Belgium. Dead in London, England. Details of artist on Google Art Project [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
By Anthonie van Dyck (1599 – 1641) – Painter (Flemish) Born in Antwerp, Belgium. Dead in London, England. Details of artist on Google Art Project [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
St. Jerome, in his commentary on Isaiah, rightfully explained that justice and morality are intertwined:

To what is said here, Keep judgment, and do justice, the following words are similar: “Blessed are those who keep judgment and do justice at all times” [Ps 106:3], so that they justly pursue what is just – although under the name of justice all points of morality appear to be to be signified. For the one who does a single justice is shown to have fulfilled all the virtues, which follows each other in succession and cleave to each other. Consequently one who has one, has them all, and the one who lacks one, lacks them all. [1]

St. Jerome’s point follows what James wrote, when he said, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10 RSV). Social Justice realizes the unity of all moral claims, of all justice, that all that is good is united together as one holistic doctrine, one holistic good, and all sin is about the destruction of the “seamless garment” of truth which Christ used to cover the church in glory.  Social justice realizes this is true, not just for people as individuals, but for people in their personal relationships, in their communities, in the structures which they implement in society. If those structures are unjust, then they are sinful and must be overturned.

2016-03-31T08:18:34-05:00

Last updated on: March 31, 2016 at 8:18 am   By

Charity, if it is to be true to its inner essence and character of charity (caritas), must be done as an act of love. As love is generous and merciful, so charity must be generous and merciful. It seeks more than justice because it seeks to raise someone up beyond the expectations of justice, but it does so in a way which does not undermine justice either. This is why charity, as St. Augustine pointed out, is the end which serves as the foundation behind God’s commandments:

For it is from these that we hear this voice: The end of the commandment is charity, and God is love. Wherefore, all God’s commandments, one of which is, “You shall not commit adultery,” and all those precepts which are not commandments but special counsels, one of which is, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” are rightly carried out only when the motive principle of action is the love of God, and the love of our neighbor in God. And this applies both to the present and the future life.[1]

Charity, by its foundation in and of love, is always looking for what is best, and the best must always include the good which is found in and established by justice. When justice is ignored, charity is undermined, because charity in its desire for the greatest good wants such justice, wants what is right and good to be established in society.

Justice is often an elusive concept, as Plato showed in his dialogues. And yet Marsilio Ficino, in his commentaries on Plato, gives a few good insights as to what Plato thought we could say about justice. First, he explained injustice is found in whatever causes undue harm upon someone else, weakening them, making them less than what nature intended for them, harming their potential while justice seeks the fulfillment of that potential:

But justice is the excellence of man, and whoever harms a man makes him weaker in relation to justice. Yet justice never detracts from justice, just as music never destroys the work of music. This is why it is not just to harm anyone.[2]

Likewise, Ficino pointed out that justice seeks a common bond of friendship and harmony, so that within the soul, the balance is seen in acts of goodness, and in society, in acts of friendship:

But the effects of justice and injustice upon a society are the same as their effects upon the soul: the just man is at harmony with himself, and he is a friend to himself, to all men, and to the gods; for the gods are most just, and thus it is not surprising that the just man is like them and their friend. The unjust man, however, finds that his situation is the opposite in all respects.[3]

Thus, Ficino explained, when such harmony is lost in society, we have injustice. When we live in a society where a few have great wealth and resources at the expense of others, such a society must be described as unjust. Such social injustice, if not fixed, ultimately will be the foundation by which such a society is overthrown, because the imbalance will lead to strife and the people within will rise and up demand a restoration of justice:

IN THE FOURTH BOOK [of the Republic – HK] we hear of the measure that is applied to ownership and to the State to ensure that there are no excessively rich citizens and no poor citizens. For he thinks that uprisings occur and the State is destroyed from excessive abundance as well as from scarcity. He considers, too, that there is no unity, but rather division, in the State where some are poor while others are rich; and, as usually happens, the rich despise the poor, and the poor feel envy and hatred for the rich. [4]

An unjust society will have those who benefit from such injustice give all kinds of excuses as to why such injustice should not be remedied. Some, of course, will come to understand what they have been given and will not perpetuate such injustice, and like Zacchaeus the Tax Collector, will seek to give what they can back to those who have been harmed, showing that they love justice and seek after God, the Lord of Justice.[5] Others, however, will show themselves far from God as they seek not the goodness which God desires for society, but merely the continuation of their own selfish desires, proving the truth of the Proverb,  “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely” (Prov. 28:5 RSV).

Visiting the Poor by Karl Girardet [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Visiting the Poor by Karl Girardet [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Thus, as the prophets commanded, we are to do good. We are to act on behalf of the cause of justice as the result of God’s gracious mercy to us: “He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic.6:8 RSV). Forgiveness of sins in us comes, not with the ignorance of justice, but its promotion.  “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow” (Isa. 1:16-17 RSV).

Those who try to pit charity against justice, suggesting that we should ignore a particular injustice for the sake of allowing us to perform acts of charity, undermine the very foundation of charity itself. Charity agrees with justice and seeks the restoration of lost justice, but it does so, not merely out of some sort of legal obligation but out of love. Jesus, in his harsh words against many of the Pharisees of his day, pointed out that while they might appear to be doing good by their tithes, failed in charity because they neglected justice. “But woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others” (Lk 11:42 RSV).

Once injustice is approved, charity is lost. No one who loves someone else will step back and allow some sort of injustice befall their beloved if they are able to prevent it. If they were to say they let their beloved suffer so they could later show their beloved an act of sympathetic love, what would be demonstrated is not love but selfishness trying to present itself as love – and the same must be said about charity. If someone were to say they do not seek justice in society because they want the opportunity to show charity to those harmed by the injustice they did not prevent, they only show what they offer is not charity but vainglory. What is worse is when such supposed charity gives back not the full restoration of what was lost due to injustice, but something less. Usually, when this happens, those who give say that those who receive their charity should be grateful from the crumbs they have received, showing once again the supposed act of charity was not done out of love, but for the accolades they receive by their performance art, pretending to be charitable while in their heart of hearts, being as selfish as thy can be. It would be like some father or mother, neglecting their children by partying for several days, enjoying themselves while letting their children starve, decide at the end of the week they should give their children a meal to keep them alive, demanding in return a week of hard labor from their children for the food which they have been given. Should such parents be praised as being generous to their children? Far from it, and so, it must be said, shall we see those who pretend to give in charity while taking in excess what they can from society for themselves.

Charity, therefore, most always seek justice, though it can and should also transcend it, not by ignoring it, but by making things greater. We see this in what Jesus has accomplished for us. We receive from him not only the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of the original face of human nature, we  also receive a share in the divine life, becoming as St Peter explained, partakers of the divine nature (cf. 2 Ptr. 1:4). We are made greater by God’s love for us, who in and through such love, creates a bond between God and us which lifts us up supernaturally beyond ourselves, to receive a goodness which transcends justice and yet does not run counter to it. And so, we in our charity in the world, must seek to do what we can, not only to restore justice, but to lift others up beyond its confines if and when we can. Charity cannot sit back and ignore injustice. Any who claim to act in charity but ignore injustice is to show that what they hold to is not charity but its false simulacra, and so without love, they will end up having nothing, not even the forgiveness of their own sins.

 

[1] St. Augustine, “Enchiridion” in NPNF1(3): 276.

[2] Marsilio Ficino, “The Commentary of Marsilio Ficino to Plato’s Republic” in When Philosophers Rule: Ficino on Plato’s Republic, Laws & Epinomis. trans. Arthur Farndell (London: Shepherd-Walwyn, 2009), 5.

[3] Ibid., 8.

[4] Ibid., 16.

[5] Zacchaeus, in his actions, showed not just justice, but charity, as he gave back more than what was necessary for the restoration of lost justice.

 

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2025-06-10T05:09:16-05:00

Last updated on: June 10, 2025 at 5:09 am   By
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Dennis G. Jarvis: Statue Of Homeless Jesus (Shows The Worth Of Every Human Person, Including And Especially The Homeless) / Wikimedia Commons

Back when I was living in Silver Spring, Maryland, doing doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, I went to a drug store to pick up a few items. It was busy, so when I got to the checkout lane, I had to wait in line for one of the cashiers to be open. After several minutes, it was finally my turn, but then a man rushed forward with a newspaper in his hands, and went to the cashier I was heading towards. He ignored the line. He thought he could just checkout if he got there before I did. I told him to get in line. His response was one which I will never forget, not because it upset me personally, but because it showed me the kind of attitude many in the DC area had: he said that he was an important person and that gave him the right to go ahead of everyone else (who, therefore, were obviously in his mind unimportant). I do not know who he was, or why he thought himself to be so important, but I remember my response was that everyone in line was an important person and I reiterated that he should get in line. I don’t remember if he relented, but I don’t think he did. That doesn’t matter here. What matters, why I remember the event, is that it showed me the way many people think, the way they let pride get the best of them, and through that pride, think they can end up thinking no one else has any worth and so their rights can be ignored.

I have not thought about that event for years, but it came back to me immediately after I heard what Dr. Mehmet Oz said about those on Medicaid: they will have to prove that they matter. What a statement! People have to prove they matter! If they don’t, then, he thinks they obviously do not matter, and if they do not matter, society should not care for them because only those who matter should be cared for by society.

This is the thought pattern which lies behind eugenics: the people who matter are, those who are superior; those who do not matter are those who are inferior, and because they are inferior, they should not be cared for or looked after, indeed, they should be eliminated. Dr.  Mehmet Oz is only saying the silent part out loud. To the Trump Administration (and those who inspire its ideologies, like Curtis Yarvin), those who are deemed worthless are considered unfit to survive. People who appear worthless will have to prove otherwise, and if they don’t, they should be swept away with everyone else they want removed from society (by any means necessary). The innate worth and dignity of all humanity is denied by them. Christianity (and many non-Christians, religious and secular alike) teach that each human person is fundamentally full of value and worth, and if they are, they don’t have to prove it to others. Once the intrinsic value of the human person is denied, once it is something which is generated by what they do (what an extreme Pelagian concept!), then, not only can they be denied basic human rights, they can even be denied access to the means to prove they are of worth because, instead of having intrinsic value, human persona are intrinsically valueless to them. This is what they use to justify systemic structures of sin and the oppression which follows, because if no one has any initial worth, then they do not have to be given the chance to gain it. Racism certainly has followed with this ideology. We see, in our modern society, many view value based upon how much wealth they have;  those who are rich, either because they inherited it or because they found a way to accumulate it fast, have worth, while those who do not, have none.  This is why the ultra-rich are constantly being promoted by Trump and his allies: they have worthy because they are rich, and because they are rich, they deserve more handouts from the government (such as greater tax cuts, or loan forgiveness), while the poor are said they are worthless (and so the little they have should be taken from them and given to those who matter, the rich).

When I was young, and a conservative evangelical, I was taught about the evil of eugenics. I was shown how it denied the dignity of humanity, the dignity which God promoted by way of the incarnation and the teachings Jesus gave during his earthly ministry. That message not only stayed with me, it became more and more important over my lifetime, not only as I discerned the ways human dignity must be protected and affirmed (such as through social justice, as was taught to me by many great saints of the Christian tradition), but by the way many of my former conservative evangelical compatriots have gone from denouncing eugenics to supporting it in action. Indeed, it has been an issue with many of them for quite some time, as can be seen in the way they treated the poor, calling them worthless (such as the rhetoric surrounding those who were on welfare, calling many “welfare queens”). They ignore the poor were the ones Jesus supported, the ones who society oppressed and said were worthless, were those in whom Jesus said he would be found. Christians need to remember this, so that they realize, if they accept such a degradation of human dignity, especially of those in the greatest need of it being shown to them, they are doing it to Christ, who is found in and with them. If they believe Christ matters, then those in whom he is found must matter to them, and if they matter, Christians need to do to make sure they are properly respected and protected by society.

I know what it is like to be told I do not matter, and I know what it is like to stand up for my rights, for my human dignity. I have had several such experiences dealing with these issues throughout my life. I suspect most of us have. What they have done for me has given me a greater sense of what others, those who suffer greater indignities than I have, experience, and has only led me to stand more and more with them and their rights, especially when their rights are being systemically removed from society. No wonder many of those promoting modern day eugenics decry empathy: they know if people practice it, they will see through their ideology, as they will see the value and worth of everyone, especially those who are being systematically oppressed.

Dr. Oz asks many to prove they matter. He will, of course, never accept what they say or do to answer him. He has already determined they do not matter. He has already denied their intrinsic value. What we need to do so is respond to this modern-day expression of eugenics, and those promoting and supporting it, the same way we did in the past. We need to stamp it out. We need to take it down. Some people need to explain all the ways the ideology goes wrong, and  make sure those explanations are taught in the schools so that the next generation will not fall for them. Others need to be less theoretical and more pro-active, doing what they can to help the people society, especially the Trump Administration, seeks to disenfranchise. Christians must look back to the past and embrace the way Christians were in ancient Rome: when Christians saw the way the empire undermined the dignity of many, they set up a parallel structure in society to help promote the rights, and with it, the needs, of those Rome would cast aside. In many respects, this was what led to the ascendancy of Christianity in the Roman Empire. They set up a “state within the state,” one which promoted the common good that the state should promote, doing it better than the official state. Society was transformed from within. Christians need to do so again, but this time, making sure they work with all those of good will, working to promote the dignity of everyone by word and deed. It is imperative that Christians, and everyone else who stands for the dignity of every human person, seek the transformation of society and the government so that those who would abuse power and deny the dignity of their fellow humanity, be it migrants, women, gays, the poor and homeless, or some other class of person, would be removed from power and replaced with those who understand and accept the dignity of every human person. We need to make sure government fulfills its proper function, which includes the promotion of the common good.

I will always remember being told I did not matter. I did not accept the claim, far from it, which is why I defended my rights and dignity, and the rights and dignity of everyone else waiting in line. I will remember it, not because I was upset or hurt from the sentiment, but because I saw the way evil works in society. I saw firsthand the attitude which would soon gain power in the United States. And from that day, I have made sure I would always resist it the best way I can.

 

* This Is Part LXV  Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

2025-06-08T08:40:05-05:00

Last updated on: June 8, 2025 at 8:40 am   By
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(DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley): Pete Hegseth Called National Guard And Marines To Stop Protests In California/ Wikimedia Commons

I read the news today, oh boy. Woke up, got out of bed, washed up, and got on the internet only to read what happened on Saturday night: the Trump Administration ramped up its attacks against law and order calling the California National Guard and potentially the Marines into Los Angeles to help ICE in Trump’s campaign to take (abduct) migrants (and American  citizens!) and immediately “deport” them (or send them to cruel third-world prisons, paid for by American money). They are going after women, children, workers at Home Depot, those following official legal proceedings at immigration courts, and other non-violent offenders (many who are not even here “illegally”), despite saying all they are after are violent criminals. They have sent American citizens outside of the United States. They have kicked children getting necessary medical treatment out of the country, making it that they will likely die. They care about quotas, and they will do what they can, even if it means ignoring due process, knowing that if they are caught violating due process, nothing will happen to them – it will all be too late. What is absurd is how  many of those ICE takes in are claimed to be involved in human trafficking, when it is the Trump Administration making deals with other nations, giving them money to take in those Trump does not want to live in the United States. It sure looks like the Trump Administration is the one involved in human trafficking.

Nonetheless, it appears to me that that Trump, and those behind him, like Stephen Miller, are wanting to ramp things up. They are ready to see what they can do. It is as if they want violence because it seems they want it to be used as an excuse to consolidate power. They believe they must use force to make people comply to their wishes. They think it will make them appear strong if they use the military to back their ploys (though of course, it shows their true weakness, and the weakness of their authority, if they must bully people to have people obey them). This has happened soon after Trump brought in countless tanks into the DC area, and even if the two are unconnected, he can use those tanks for defense, that is, as a buffer zone for any potential resistance which might come about if things turn deadly in California. And let’s not forget, under the guise of law and order, the law and the Constitution are being ignored by Trump – there is no legal right for Trump to use the military for law enforcement, as per the Posse Comitatus Act.

It seems to me violence is what they want. Violence is what they are doing already, as they are violating the free speech rights of Californians going to peaceful protests. Sure, some videos might not look so peaceful, but that is because ICE and various other law enforcement actions are violent, not because the protesters were there causing violence. The protestors are being told their free speech rights are unlawful, when it is the actions against them which is unlawful.

Christians must stand for the dignity of each and every person, especially for migrants who  are being unjustly attacked, whose basic rights are being ignored. For years, I have heard Christians talk about how everyone has God-given rights, but now many say such rights are only given by the Constitution, and they are only for American citizens. Not true. There are human rights, the rights which were the basis for the Constitution (and the Declaration of Independence), rights which cannot be violated, and are being violated by Trump and his administration. Due process is one of them. It is not the only one, but it is a vital one, because it is one clearly being violated by the Trump Administration.

Christians must defend human life, like the life of the children who are undergoing medical treatments when ICE comes and kicks them out of the country. Christians must stand for the foundational principles which lie behind rule of law, even as they must not confuse the  will of Trump and the Trump Administration as the law. Trump and the Trump Administration have consistently ignored court orders, showing how they are the ones violating the law, and that is because they do not really care about the rule of law themselves. As such, we must understand that resisting Trump is often what is required if we are to support the basic rule of law (and of course, the greater law of God, which says if a state has an unjust law in the books, it is in reality no law, and not to be obeyed). How many times have ICE come in without warrants, and say they do not need them, and told anyone who demands them to be hindering their authority?  Why must those involved in ICE raids hide their faces? They are not being transparent with their actions because they know they are violating the rule of law.

It always amazes me how many Christians invoke the Book of Romans to defend the indefensible, to suggest Christians must support brutal laws which violate human rights and do nothing to promote and support the common good, indeed, laws which violate Christian teaching in regards the dignity of every human being. How many of them, invoking it today in support of Trump, did so during Biden’s Administration? How many of them told Christians they must obey orders during COVID? My own experience is that those saying this today are among those who disobeyed COVID orders; they congregated during the lockdown, did not wear masks when they were told to do so, and rejected vaccine mandates. Of course, Paul did not want us to think  we should obey every whim of those who are in position of authority, nor did he think we should obey every law which has been promulgated. His point is to say the government is meant for the common good, and in general, Christians are to support the government so long as it does as it is meant to do. But we know Paul was constantly jailed for violating the rule of law, and he did not stop violating the law until his death. This shows those who would use Paul’s words misunderstand them. Let’s not forget Christianity was often declared illegal, and Christians were told to apostatize, to denounce Christ and sacrifice to Caesar. Christians would not do so then, and they knew they were not violating what Paul wrote, because Paul did not say every law was good, and Christian should obey every law, no matter how immoral it was. If the law is used to violate the common good, or to promote absolute abuse on people, the law violates what it is meant to do and so does not hold sway over Christians.

Today, Christians are being told to violate Christian standards, to sacrifice the lives of many people to Trump. Christians are being tested as to see if they will follow Christ and Christ’s ways (the way of love, the way of helping, not undermining, those who are being actively persecuted and oppressed by authorities, the way of loving one’s neighbor and defending them and their lives) or the way of an authoritarian regime with its “rule of law” which violates both the official rule of law and the greater natural law.

Christians, of course, need to see how Jesus promoted resistance, as he certainly promoted resistance to the injustices around him, which is why many zealots turned to him and put their hope in him. He suggested  resistance must be non-violent, and must be creative in its non-violent resistance. Sometimes, that meant, Christians should cause problems by going along with what the authorities want, but doing so in such a way that shames them (“going the extra mile”), so long as what was asked was not a violation of their conscience. Sometimes, as he himself demonstrated, the response is simply to flee, to know when it is time to go and resist promote resistance somewhere else.  Sometimes it is to speak truth to power. Sometimes it is to help the victims of government oppression.  We can find these, and many more examples of non-violent resistance being done by Jesus and his early disciples, and all of them are tools which we Christians must put into place and use once again.

Violence is not the answer. Resistance, however, is a must.  Christians must not let fellow Christian confuse them by their abuse of the book of Romans. They need to remember, Christians have always been known for violating the law for the sake of Christ, especially for the sake of Christ in the oppressed (as he said they would be judged based upon how they dealt with those in such need). Christianity spread by violating the law of many lands, as missionaries went to countries they were not wanted, and they were executed as a result. If Christians had to obey every law, there would be no Christianity left.

It is time to test the Christians of the United States and see if they will step up and resist, or if they will fall back and let things happen in the United States as they did in Germany.  Yes, Christians now remember the noble resistors who fought against Hitler, but in their day, they were often told their resistance went against what Paul told them to do.  All those who said they would have joined the resistance are now giving the chance to prove it. Sadly, I expect it will be the same as it ever was, and too many Christians will get with the program and support Trump, not because they agree with him, but because, like Christians under Hitler, they are too afraid to do anything else.

 

* This Is Part LXIV  Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

 

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

 

 

 

2025-06-06T02:05:31-05:00

Last updated on: June 6, 2025 at 2:05 am   By
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Vatican Library: St Dominic In Prayer, Engaging God’s Will For Him / Wikimedia Commons

Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. There are many ways to pray, with each of us finding some more to our own personal liking than others. Some prefer communal prayer, others prefer private prayer. Some prefer petitionary prayer, others prefer contemplative prayer. Each have their place, and it is fine if we engage some kinds of prayer more than others in our lives. But it is imperative that we do more than simply pray. We must not get so caught up in the process of prayer, and in our thoughts and words, or the meditational peace we gain in contemplation,  that we forget to live and act in the world in which we have been born. Prayer is a way to bring the presence of God in our lives, a way for us to commune with God, but God wants us to do more than simply sit there and do nothing. God wants us to embrace the grace which is had in prayer and to use it for the transformation of ourselves and the world around us.  The the point of prayer is to bring us into communion with God so that we can join ourselves with and participate in the divine life; and as God is at work in the world, engaging the world, acting in and with the world, so we must embrace those works of God and act in unison with them ourselves:

Prayer, contemplation, holy reading lead naturally to praxis, not only the praxis of repeating a prayer- word or line of Scripture, but the practice of finding God, of being centered in all our daily life and activity. And often that activity is our work. [1]

Praxis, action, must always be a part of the Christian life. If we, like Paul, say that in and with Christ we can do all things, then it is important for us to be act so the Christ can  be at work in and through us. We must embrace God’s desires for the world. We must desire holiness, however, it is impossible for us to be holy if we reject divine justice. And if it is something we want, we should act on it, doing so in and with Christ:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.” It does not suffice for us to want justice, if we do not experience a hunger for justice. Thus from this example we should understand that we are never sufficiently just, but it is always necessary to hunger for works of justice. [2]

Prayer connects us with God, and provides a way for us to find the presence of God in our lives;  we are not to be selfish and not share what we receive from God with others. If we hunger for holiness, we will do holy works; if we love Christ, we will follow him and do what he told us to do. We will love our neighbor, being like the Good Samaritan who was able to see all those in need as being his neighbor. If we avoid holy activity, if we avoid works of charity and justice, we have yet to live out our faith; we might believe, but what good is such belief if we do not act on it? As James said, even demons believe. Yes, we cannot work out our salvation all by ourselves, which is why we must work out our salvation engaging the grace which is offered to us; we must do more than pursue sound doctrine, we must live the implications which follow that doctrine:

Neither does God accept doctrines apart from good works, nor are works, when divorced from godly doctrine, accepted by God. What does it profit a man to be an expert theologian, if he is a shameless fornicator; or to be nobly temperate, but an impious blasphemer? The knowledge of doctrines is a precious possession; there is need of a vigilant soul, since many there are who would deceive you by philosophy and vain deceit.[3]

Those who would like to use God, use the Christian faith, use Christ, thinking they can accept all the grace which is offered while resisting the transformation such grace is meant to establish in them will find that they have not properly taken hold of the grace, and so will not experience the glory which it offers. Insofar as they resist God and God’s ways, they can even be said to make war against God.  “In the insolence of our sacrilegious will, we desire to distort the nature of truth and we declare war against the works of God, because these are things that lie within our power.”[4]  Thus, those who try to promote a society based upon the love of money, a society which ignores the plight of the poor and instead rewards the rich with more riches, will find that they have fought against God and the riches of grace will be denied them:

And hence that sign shows not surprisingly that all those who, after a long time of recognising God’s will, disregard his authority and desire to rule themselves and serve their own lusts, are doing things in a perverse order.  For just at the time when, after the plentiful watering of the word they had received, they ought already to have been producing the ripe fruits of good work, by their discorded conduct they show that they still need the thunderous voice of heavenly correction or exhortation, to teach them the first elements of the words of God. [5]

Prayer is important.  We need to be able to speak to God as to what is found in our heart. We need to be able to speak about our thoughts and fears. We need to commune with God. But we are also expected to live our lives, and to do so, we must do so in light of our prayer and what we gained in our time with God.  The key is to find the proper balance for our lives. To find time for prayer, but also time to act in the world, making sure that our time in the world was not given to us in vain. Prayer should transform us, making us better. And how do we know if we are becoming better? By the way we treat the world around us. Do we care for those in need? Do we protect those who are being  abused? Do we protect God’s creation? If we are not doing so, we must ask ourselves, why not.

[1] GilChrist Lavigne, “Word and Work: Praying with Mind and Body,” in The Contemplative Path. Ed. E. Rozanne Elder (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1995), 41

[2] St. Jerome, Commentary on Matthew. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2008), 76.

[3] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Procatechesis and Catechesis 1-12. Trans. Leo P. McCauley, SJ and Anthony A Stephenson (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1969), 120 [Catechesis IV].

[4] St. Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity. Trans. Stephen McKenna, CSSR (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1954), 83.

[5] Bede, On First Samuel. Trans. Scott DeGregorio and Rosalind Love (Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press, 2019), 259.

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

2025-06-04T02:02:25-05:00

Last updated on: June 4, 2025 at 2:02 am   By
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Jim Forest: Jonah / flickr

J.R.R. Tolkien, who worked on a translation of the book of Jonah for the Jerusalem Bible, found much in the text worthy of his own personal exploration and consideration. One point which he found important is the way God and God’s mercy often is not properly understood by those who are authentically called by God to do some work in the world. Even prophets, while inspired, are human, and their human misunderstanding can and often does get in the way of what God wants to happen. This, after all, is what happened to Jonah, and if it can happen to him, it can happen to others who have an authentic charism, an authentic mission in the church, including clergy. Everyone, especially those with such a charism, must come to know themselves and their limitations; they must not presume too much when they find they are given some authority in the church or in the world. They certainly must not try to presume to tell God to judge and condemn those whom God wants to save, which of course, is everyone:

Incidentally, if you ever look at the Old Testament, and look at Jonah, you’ll find that the ‘whale’  — it is not  really said to be a whale but a big fish – is quite unimportant. The real point is that God is much more merciful than ‘prophets’, is easily moved by penitence, and won’t be dictated to even by high ecclesiastics whom he has himself appointed.[1]

To be sure, Tolkien recognized that God’s mercy is related to God’s judgement; the judgment which came upon Nineveh was dispensed with when the people of Nineveh (and all the creatures within) repented (and then fasted as a sign of their penitence). God’s judgment, which Jonah declared, was not meant to give a final say of what would happen to Nineveh, but only what could happen if they did not change. It was meant to help them change, which is what Jonah did not understand; similarly, it is something which many Christians have yet to understand, especially those who have embraced some form of legalism, because such legalism does not understand economia and the way God can and will transcend such judgments. Thus, God’s mercy does not serve sin and help is flourish, but rather, the reverse; it is what helps sin to truly come to an end. It gives people the grace they need to be set free from sin and the judgment which comes upon it. If all that is possible is that those who sin will be condemned without mercy, without any chance of change, sin will remain in control and have the last say. But that is not what Christianity teaches; rather, sin is overcome by Christ. He took up the sin of the world on his shoulders, so that, through his death, he could deposit it all at the edge of being, in the abyss, so it is has been put into its proper place and order can be restored in creation.

Sin is unnatural, a corruption of being; it suggests some form of the truth, but it takes and distorts the truth, corrupting it, turning it into a lie, a lie which Christ denounces: “To be merciful does not mean to justify falsehood and sin. It does not mean to be tolerant of foolishness and evil. It does not mean to overlook injustice and iniquity. God is not this way, and does not do this.”[2] What we must not do is confuse the judgment of sin as the final declaration of what will happen to the person trapped by it. Jonah had that confusion, and it led him to rebel against God and try to resist his prophetic ministry,  a ministry which had him declare the judgment God made concerning Nineveh’s sin. He did not understand that with the judgment, there could be a greater declaration made by God, a declaration of mercy. God is willing to free those who humble themselves and seek to change their ways. God loves humanity, including sinners, and has compassion on them  all. We, then, should seek such mercy, allowing it to change us to that we find ourselves reflecting such mercy in all we do; it is what will make us empathetic with others, especially those struggling with sin:

To be merciful means to have compassion on evil-doers and to sympathize with those who are caught in the bonds of sin. It means to forego every self-righteousness and every self-justification in comparison with others. It means to refuse to condemn those who do wrong, but to forgive those who harm and destroy, both themselves and others. It is to say with utter seriousness, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” (Mt 6.12).[3]

When he started his prophetic mission, Jonah did not understand divine forgiveness; he only knew the judgment which God had made. He was frightened. He did not want to speak. Likely, he knew himself and his own sin, and was afraid that he would hear God’s condemnation coming down upon himself. Eventually, however, he would learn. When he tried to flee from God, when he tried to abandon his mission and not go to Nineveh, he got caught up in his own sin and imprisoned by it. That is, he was swallowed up by the “whale,” the whale which allegorically represents hell itself. In it, he experienced a kind of death and destruction, and only when he repented did he find himself forgiven and freed from the “whale”; then, it is as if he were raised from the dead and turned into a new man. In that way, he was taught that God’s judgment makes way for mercy, and that the condemnation made in the judgment was conditional. This is why the fate of Nineveh changed. The conditions changed. Jonah’s personal story therefore is similar to and reflects the story of the people of Nineveh. Jonah and the people of Nineveh both serve as a sign, the sign of Jesus, the sign of God’s forgiveness and grace which will be offered to all and can free everyone from the hell of sin. Let us heed the lesson and  not be like Jonah, standing only on the judgment and condemnation of sin; instead, let us look to the sign of Jonah and the hope it provides, the hope that God’s mercy can come upon all, including and especially those who have received some sort of judgment from God. The warnings we read of those who might be condemned to hell must be seen in this light: they are conditional judgments. We do not know the end result of such conditions. We do not know if anyone will be eternally lost. This is why we can and should hope that all will be saved, which is not to say the process of salvation will be easy (as the story of Jonah demonstrates).

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Revised and Expanded Edition. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien (Broadway, NY: William Morrow, 2023), 370 [Letter 196a to Michael George Tolkien].

[2] Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith. Volume 4: Spirituality (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1981; rev. ed. 2016), 44.

[3] Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith. Volume 4, 44.

2025-06-03T03:16:57-05:00

Last updated on: June 3, 2025 at 3:16 am   By
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Milliped: Graffiti Representing The Catholic Sexual Abuse Crisis / Wikimedia Commons

While Catholics have been told that the institutional church should be always reforming, many feel the need is greater now than it has been for decades. There have always been issues. The institutional church and its leaders has always been far from perfect, though the grace given to it means that their imperfections will not prevent the fulfillment of Christ’s purpose for the church (to be a vessel of salvation and change in the world). Dororthy Day understood this, which is why she said she could be disappointed with clergy, such as bishops, but she still felt there was some good done in the world in and through the church, especially those who  accepted the grace given to them and acted on it, that is the saints; she let their example encourage her to be like them even if she didn’t want to be officially recognized as a saint. Nonetheless, it is clear, thanks to the various scandals emerging the last couple decades,  Catholics have much work to do to clean up the institutional church, starting with the sexual abuse crisis and the way it has continued to be mishandled. When that scandal was first being reported to the public, I was a Catholic for only a few years, and I was not sure how to understand it let alone the proper response which should be had to deal with it. Years later, I have come to see the depth of the crisis, and with it, the need for Catholics to deal with it the way they deal with any other sin: confess it instead of hide it, do what they can to fix the areas in the institution which allow or encourages the abuse to continue instead of letting it fester, and to do penance, that is, to make proper restitution to those who have been harmed.

While the sexual abuse crisis is terrible, and can be and should be viewed as a concern on its own, to understand it, we must also see how it represents a greater problem which has developed in the church: the way the church has become complacent with its own evils. This is a concern which saints throughout time have spoken about, with St. Salvian the Presbyter being a favorite example of mine. Christians, when they do not live out holy lives, do not live out the teachings given to them, especially on an institutional level, will find non-Christians living out their lives in a far more moral fashion will not be interested in what Christians have to say.

While clericalism has often had a major role in the way the institutional church diverts from its own teachings, and so has been an issue in the sexual abuse crisis, it  is not the only problem; we can see this in the way many involved in the sexual abuse crisis were religious (monk and nuns) and laity with positions of power and authority (such as teachers in Catholic schools). The institutional church is far more than the clergy, but the clergy represent the greatest authority in it. Because Catholics  see the institutional church as a voice speaking truth to the world that the world needs to hear, they are willing to look away, to turn a blind eye to the crisis within the church itself. This has led many to think knowing the truth and speaking on it is more important than putting it into action; in doing so, Catholics who do this come extremely close to saying faith alone suffices.

The institutional church needs to do more than speak on the truth, it really needs to lead by example, and when it does not, its moral voice is greatly diminished. I have especially seen the disconnect between  the words and deeds of the institutional church in relation to the way it deals with social justice: the words are great, but sadly, the actions of the church has often been lackluster at best; those who work for the church, for example, do not often receive all that the church says society should give workers: living wage, health care, and times of rest and heal. When the church says no one should be discriminated because of sexuality, nationality, or creed, once again, those working for the church, such as in schools, find the opposite happens. Many parishes, and indeed, cathedrals, have been known to abuse the homeless, while those who work in Catholic schools and universities have not been allowed the right to form unions and use those unions to make sure they work in fair working conditions.

As a result of the institutional church not acting on its own teachings, many Catholics find the church’s example justifies the way they deny those teachings when engaging politics. Due to such indifference, Catholics have been led to think social teachings are insignificant, and so find themselves embracing culture war concerns over and above official teachings of the church. This, once again, shows the crisis of the modern church, because we can see what this had led to: Catholics proclaiming themselves to be pro-life justifying the ways the political pro-life movement ignores the human dignity and rights of those who are born. For quite some time, the excuse has been that those concerns are secondary and will be dealt with after abortion. The reality has proven far different: even after getting what they want concerning abortion, they continue to ignore the dignity of all life and end up supporting and promoting politicians who show an indifference to life itself: how else, for example, can those who have call themselves pro-life show no concern for the homeless, the poor, the sick, the elderly, as, for example, happened with the COVID pandemic, or now is happening with the way Republicans are promoting policies which will lead to countless deaths. Now we hear “we are all going to die” as an excuse to ignore preventable death for the sake of financial gain. Of course, if we take that nihilistic response to its proper end, there will be no justification for the defense of any life  at any stage of its existence and abortion should be seen as acceptable because, after all, we are all going to die. Why prevent it?

It seems that many Catholics treat only a few basic dogmatic decrees (such as on the Trinity, the incarnation, and various Marian doctrines), and a few (not all) sexual moral concerns, as what is important, and everything else can be questioned or ignored. What has happened? A big part of it is the way many Catholic teachings are not properly taught or explained in the pulpit. This is especially true in regards recent papal encyclicals. If a priest is indifferent and ignores what is being taught, their flock will likely become indifferent as well. They might not even have been properly made aware of what is being taught. This is why so many Catholics ignore the preferential option for the poor and Catholic teaching on the need to take care of the environment. But all recent popes have said otherwise. Their critics, and the ideologies of their critics have received far more attention and promotion in Catholic communities, Catholic media, and in many churches, than the teachings of the popes. And so, while people are right in saying catechesis is not the answer to the problems of the church, because there is the need to put the catechesis in action, there still needs to be catechetical reform so that those teachings which are being undermined by Catholic media and other such sources will be properly defended and explained to the faithful.

It is important for all Catholics, clergy and laity alike, to take in all the teachings of Christ and live them out. Faith without works is dead. It is also important for the institutional church to truly deal with the growing conflict within the church that is seen as the direct result of Catholic media and popular priests having overtaken the magisterium and the pope in the kind of influence they have on Catholics and the way many, if not most, understand Catholicism. It is quite clear to me, and it has been clear to me for some time, that Catholic media has helped pervert the Catholic message, and many problems in the church today is the result of the institutional church not seeing the threat coming from the media.

I do think there is hope that Pope Leo XIV, knowing some of these challenges, having sometimes dealt  with them in the past, even if he has made mistakes when doing so, is in a position to be heard and help enact some of the changes which are needed. Right now, unlike Pope Francis, he has a voice  which can be heard. He has not had as many people trying to undermine his work from day one of his papacy as Francis had. Some of the things I am hearing about now, such as his dealings with Opus Dei, suggest he will continue the reforms started under Pope Francis, but now, with more force. If so, perhaps, we might begin to see things change and change for the better. Pope Francis tried, and he did much good, but what he did can be said to only be a good start. Now let us hope that what has started begins to bring fruit, the fruit the institutional church needs so it and the faithful within can be the salt of the earth which God intended them to be.

 

 

* This Is Part LXIII  Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

 

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2025-05-26T05:23:54-05:00

Last updated on: May 26, 2025 at 5:23 am   By
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Gage Skidmore: Speakers Of The House Mike Johnson (Leader of the House Republicans) / Wikimedia Commons

It shouldn’t surprise me, but it still does. Republicans use religion, especially Christianity, as a way to suggest they are being upright and moral while what they do undermines many of the basic moral principles of the Christian faith they claim to follow. This was in full force with the House Republicans when they prayed that the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would be passed in the House. As they knew they did not need to pray, that they already had enough votes to pass the bill, the prayer was an act to make it seem like they were open to God and God’s ways and that it was God who made sure the bill was passed. It was all a show, and sadly, many Christians have been taken  in by it instead of looking to the bill and seeing how it goes against God’s will. For the bill, and the principles behind is, stand in stark contrast to God’s preferential option for the poor; instead, it, and those behind the bill, promote what can only be said to be a preferential option for the rich. The bill not only will make the poor and needy pay more so that the rich and powerful can receive extra tax breaks, the bill will leave more poor and needy because they will be denied basic goods and services needed for their survival. Even non-profits which help the poor are threatened by the bill.

When the bill is examined, it is clear that the House Republicans support a bill which not only will drastically increase the deficit so that the ultra-rich not only get richer, but give them more governmental protections (by not only removing safety regulations, but the means the poor have to deal with employers who would mercilessly exploit them). The bill cuts many basic functions of government because the House Republicans, and their supporters, think working for the common good is not the function of government but charity – demonstrating the way they do not know what government is about. The bill not only can be seen as another blow in the Republican war against the poor, but also, a strike against the people of the United States in general as it tries to undermine the separation of powers by denying the judicial branch proper judicial review.

The way Republicans and their bill treat the poor has led many to call the bill a reverse Robin Hood bill; in effect, it promotes the goals of Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham, saying they represented what government should do. Those who have no money and need help will not get it, indeed, they are told they must pay the government even more of what they do not have. Those who are able to remain on Medicaid will be told they have to pay a fee every time they receive medical care, which means, since they do not have the money, they will avoid preventative care and when they do go to a doctor, it will be during emergency situations which not only could have been prevented, but will prove to be more mostly for the government than if routine preventative care was supported. This is one of many reasons why the bill is said to lead to increase the federal deficit, because Republicans seem to not understand that many of the costs they want to initially reject prove to be less costly for the government and the people than waiting until things get worse and the harm is not only far greater, but the price tag is far greater as well.

Those who have student loans will find that if they lose their job, and make no money as they look for work, the income based repayment plan the bill puts in place will still require a minimum payment every month (and not 0 as it always has been when someone does not have the income to pay); they will also be told that lack of work no longer will qualify for deference. Republicans act like the unemployed can easily get hired, no matter their mental or physical condition, and no matter their age; the reality is different – many people have physical, mental and social reasons why they cannot do certain jobs, and when they are older, they find it difficult (if not impossible) to get hired. Thus, when workers lose their job, or others, who have not had a job for some time (such as divorcees who took care of their children while their spouse worked), will find it difficult to get a job and despite how much they try, they will be told they are lazy and worthless and do not deserve help. Talk about rejecting basic human dignity!

Republicans pretend they are being reasonable, but when their policies are examined, it is clear, they are not; their policies are destroying the job market, from the way they are having mass layoffs from governmental work, to the way various industries have to fire countless workers thanks to tariffs, supply chain issues, and the promotion of AI and robots have changed the work environment. It will only get worse as the bill’s policies will lead to the destruction of the health care industry, with many hospitals and doctor’s offices closing, as Medicaid and Medicare are what keeps them open. Then we will see far greater numbers of people  competing for less and less jobs. What will happen? It is easy to see. More and more of the population will become poor, told they are worthless and deserve to suffer, and over time, they will lose whatever financial resources they had, become homeless, and then find the government has made it impossible to live as a homeless person as what they need to do to survive has become criminalized. In the end, countless numbers of people will needlessly  die.

I cannot understand how any Republican can say they are following Christian morality and God’s ways when they are destroying the basic functions of the government in order to help the rich get richer. Jesus made it clear that the rich who exploit people in that manner, the rich who hurt the poor, are attacking him and will face him in the last judgment. He will ask them why they made him suffer in such a way. He said  many who have called him Lord, who did all kinds of things in his name, will be told they denied him and will have to face the consequences of their evil actions. He literally said, “woe to the rich.” How can Republicans all get together and pray for a bill which is cruel, which has countless elements to it which gut basic services of the government, which give way to the rich what they want,  and think they serve Jesus in doing this?  They are serving Mammon and Jesus said no one can serve God and Mammon.

I continue to be saddened by the Christian response to what is going on in the United States, and the radical shift the government is taking. Some tell me to stop being concerned about politics. Some tell me to stop asking the government to engage acts of charity. They think they are justified in telling me both by saying that is what Scripture indicates. Have they read Scripture? Scripture doesn’t say government is not to promote the common good and to ignore the rights and needs of the poor. Far from it! Government is meant to promote the common good, and those involved in it are judged and condemned by God constantly when they use their power to undermine basic principles of justice, especially justice for the poor, the needy, the orphan, the widow, and the migrant. When a society embraces such injustices, such as seen with Sodom and Gomorrah, they are judged and condemned by God for sins which cry up to heaven.  Many prophets warned the rulers in Israel what would happen if they failed to promote social justice as God expected them to do, and when they ignored the prophets (that they would be invaded and suffer all kinds of great indignities) The prophets were also told not to be so political, not to judge and condemn the state, and false prophets rose up saying God will protect the people of Israel. The people who tell me to be silent remind me of those false prophets. I will not be silent. I will continue speaking out. I will follow what Christ taught, what the prophets announced, what Scripture indicates: the preferential option for the poor, and the need for the state, and not just people, to protect the common good. Justice demands it.

 

 

* This Is Part LXI  Of My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

 

 

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2025-05-23T02:18:22-05:00

Last updated on: May 23, 2025 at 2:18 am   By
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Isocm: Divine Liturgy At St Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral / Wikimedia Commons

When worship God in the Divine Liturgy (or the Mass, as the West calls it, a name which comes from the dismissal at the end of the worship service), we are participating in and experiencing in the kingdom of God. During the service, we partake of communion, not merely for our own individual benefit, but to be transformed and become more Christ-like as we open ourselves to Christ and realize our unity with him and with everyone else who likewise has become united with him. At the end, we are told to go out into the world; when we do so, we are to share the graces which we have received. If we do not do so, if we jealously guard all the graces we have received, trying to hold them selfishly to ourselves, we have received the eucharist unworthily, and as such, will undercut and undermine the transformation God intended us to have. The end of the liturgy, therefore, is an important part of the liturgy because it reminds us that what we receive is for everyone, and not just for ourselves, that we are to go out into the world and not  stay apart from it and everyone in it:

The act of dismissal in the Divine Liturgy is as much a liturgical and sacramental action as was the original act of gathering. It is the final critical step of the entire movement of the liturgy. In their dismissal from the liturgical gathering, the People of God are commanded to go forth in peace into the world to bear witness to the Kingdom of God of which they were partakers in the Liturgy of the Church. They are commanded to take everything that they have seen and heard and experienced within the Church and to make it alive in their own persons within the life of this world. Only in this way can the presence and power of the Kingdom of God which is “not of this world” extend out of the Church and into the lives of men.[1]

We are to go forth in peace, sharing the peace of the kingdom of God, a peace which is greater than the peace of the world, with the world itself. In doing so, we help work and promote what we pray during the liturgy when we recite the Our Father, that is, we play our role in implementing God’s will on earth. Of course, we are not to go into the world and use force to dominate and control it, thinking in this fashion, we will bend the will of everyone so that they follow God’s will. Instead, we encourage others to freely join with us, to experience the grace of the kingdom of God for themselves, so that they can be transformed from within and in that transformation, freely engage God’s will and help transform the world with us in the same way we did with them.

We are to share the love of God with the world, the love which is kind and patient, ever merciful and not cruel; the more we do so, the more people see the positive effects of that love, the more it will become attractive and they will seek it out for themselves. If we, however, are closed to such love, if we are selfish instead of loving, seeking to control the world and force it to be what we want it to be instead of giving it and those in it the freedom needed for love to truly thrive, we will find ourselves turning into a monstrous imitation of what Christ wants from us:

Coldness of heart is such a monster that human powers are incapable of conquering it. In order to soften the heart, one must persist in the spiritual labor of love toward one’s neighbor; one must have much compassion toward the weakness of others and forgiveness of these faults. [2]

We receive communion worthily if we embrace in it the love of God so that we let the love of God take over us. We will then do the works of love ourselves. Where we find those who are weak, those who are suffering injustice, those who hunger and thirst, those who are sick and needing healing, we will do what we can to help them, both personally, but also socially (helping society to become just instead of ignoring such injustices). We are to go into the prisons and work with prisoners, helping them in the ways which the need it: for those who have been unjustly imprisoned, we do that by finding a way to have their freedom restored, while those who have justly been imprisoned, we work with them so that they can be rehabilitated and changed so that they can eventually rejoin society. We must do so making sure we do not stop grace from working within us, lest we find ourselves falling into sin once again, becoming one of those who are in need of restorative grace:

Granted we are earthly, granted we move about the earth, nevertheless our residence is in heaven; there we have our citizenship. ‘The maker of heaven and earth.’ Even though you are a sinner, do not be discouraged; the Lord is all powerful. Many of earth have become heaven, and many of heaven have become earth. Unhappy Judas was heaven, and he became earth. Paul the Apostle was earth when he was persecuting the church; he confessed and became heaven. It behooves one who is of heaven not to feel secure, nor ought he who is of earth lose hope of life.[3]

In a sense, then, though there is an end to the worship time, the liturgy can be said to be never-ending. When we participate in it, we find ourselves participating in the eternal sacrifice of love, the love found at the center of the Godhead, the love revealed to us by the Logos made flesh, Jesus, who in his flesh, willing took on the sin of the world on his shoulders so that we can be eternally freed from sin and all its effects. When we go out into the world, seeking to help transform the world and make it better, perfecting it through grace (and not by domination and control), we are continuing our experience of the liturgy. It only ends for us if we close ourselves off from the mission given to us at the dismissal.

[1] Thomas Hopko, The Orthodox Faith. Volume 2: Worship (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1981; rev. ed. 2016), 180.

[2] Abbes Arsenia (Sebriakova), Striving Toward God. Trans. Mary Naumenko (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Publications, 2016), 51 [Letter 73 to Peter Alexandrovich Brianchaninov].

[3] St. Jerome, The Homilies of Saint Jerome: Volume I (1-59 On the Psalms). Trans. Marie Liguori Ewald, IHM (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 1963), 351 [Homily 46].

 

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N.B.:  While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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