Senator Barack Obama: Christianity Has Been “Hijacked” By The “Christian Right”
Credit where it's due: Hot Air: Video - Obama says Christianity has been “hijacked” by the “Christian Right”
Partial transcript:
“Somehow, somewhere along the way, faith stopped being used to bring us together and faith started being used to drive us apart,” the Democratic presidential candidate said in a 30-minute speech before the national meeting of the United Church of Christ.“Faith got hijacked, partly because of the so-called leaders of the Christian Right, all too eager to exploit what divides us,” the Illinois senator said.
“At every opportunity, they’ve told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design,” according to an advance copy of his speech.
These words from Senator Obama annoyed me. I'm tired of this error. It's rooted in a lie.
Compare Senator Obama's words with the words of Christ:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:34-39)
"Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Luke 12:51-53)
Jesus knew His doctrine would cause division, and He demanded that each Christian be willing to choose Him over the love of any human person who refuses to choose Him and be conformed to His doctrine.
The myth of the all-accepting Jesus whose only doctrines were tolerance, love without judgement of external conduct (which is different than the judgement of interior disposition), charity without the courage to lovingly admonish sinners for fear of offending them, and peace at any cost (even the rejection of Christian doctrine), has long been used as a wedge to blind Christians into accepting, condoning, and even defending sin.
It's a natural progression from these errors to conclude that purpose of Christianity isn't to save our souls and help us get to heaven, it's supposed to "unite us".
Unite who?
Sin is fundamentally opposed to goodness, virtue, and truth. The darkness hates the light. Darkness and light cannot coexist peacefully. They cannot have unity.
How can those who hate and oppose every Christian moral teaching and fight those teachings tooth and nail, along with all those who call themselves Christians, but who water down Christianity or deny important doctrinal or moral teachings in order to please those who hate and oppose every Christian moral teaching, be united with faithful Christians who realize that matters of Christian faith and morality are not up for debate or issues on which there can be compromise without essentially denying Christ, rejecting His teaching, and replacing Christ and His teachings with a counterfeit Christ and a counterfeit doctrine?
Those who hate and oppose every Christian moral teaching and fight those teachings tooth and nail generally refuse to compromise (unless they experience a road to Damascus type of conversion). So Christians are the ones expected to compromise by watering down and/or denying the teachings of Christ while those who hate Christianity persist in their obstinate rejection of Christianity and their total opposition to any effort made by Christians to share Christian doctrine.
Incidentally, a conversion like St. Paul's is unlikely for those who hate the idea of God or those who hate and oppose every Christian moral teaching and fight those teachings tooth and nail. Yes, all things are possible with God, but God will not violate anyone's free will and force them to believe. Faith is a gift of grace, and everyone is extended sufficient grace to save their souls. However, not everyone accepts that gift of grace, and those who reject it are free to do so because our freedom is what allows us to merit the gift of salvation through cooperation with God's grace (without which salvation is impossible to any fallen human being).
St. Paul's conversion was only possible because his heart wasn't opposed to God and fixated on the renunciation of the moral law. Saul of Tarsus loved God and his zeal for the God of Israel combined with his genuine ignorance of the truth about Jesus Christ prior to his conversion were the reasons for his persecution against Christianity. Jesus appeared to Him because He knew St. Paul would love Him. He knew his heart and He gave St. Paul this extraordinary grace for the good of the whole Church.
I'm not saying that heretics, apostates, and obstinate sinners who habitually commit mortal sin cannot be reached by God's grace and experience conversion. I am merely saying that the interior disposition of such people renders such conversion difficult and unlikely because their inward orientation is turned against God. They have (to one degree or another) heard the teachings of Jesus Christ, but for some reason, they have recoiled in hatred at the sound of these teachings. Although it is possible the messenger or messengers who presented some of these people with these teachings scandalized them in some way (through hypocrisy, a distorted presentation of Christian doctrine, physical or mental abuse, etc.) such people aren't the ones I'm talking about, since God's justice will recognize the obstacles that hinder their faith and if there is the smallest crack in their hardened hearts that remains open to the truth, He can reach such people through grace and work the miracle of conversion. However, if a person loves themselves more than God to the point that they exclude God, or in essence, want to be God, wanting to be (themselves) the final authority on what is good and what is evil, it is very hard for such a person to have the capacity to be receptive to God's saving grace, and God will not force it on them. He will not save them in spite of their own rejection of Him and opposition to Him. If such people are also attached to and habitually commit mortal sin, their intellect is further darkened and their will is further weakened, making it even more difficult for them to accept God's grace.
I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may be rich, and white garments to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:15-20)
If someone rejects the notion of sin, how can they turn to the Savior? If someone refuses to admit they are sick, how can they turn to a doctor to be healed?
That is why it is why the side of darkness, namely the demons (the enemies of all human beings who are ultimately behind the campaign to lead us all away from God and into hell) work so diligently to instill doubt in our minds as to God's existence, instill a false sense of comfort and security that God will not condemn us if they can't convince us He does not exist, constantly distract us with the cares and concerns of this life, and with vanities, entertainments, and other ephemeral things, distorting our perceptions of the good things that God has created so that our weakened, warring, concupiscent passions will ignore the voice of reason and deny that we are fallible, flawed, fragile, weak, earthen vessels who must consider everything in the light of eternity and constantly pray and keep our eyes fixed on God if we hope to avoid the snares and entanglements along the straight, narrow, and difficult road to salvation which cannot be found without God's grace and which we will wander from if we fix our gaze on anything but Him for any length of time.
That is why Jesus taught that we must pray without ceasing:
And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1)
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'" (Matthew 7:13-23)
Why some people freely choose to reject God and others choose to turn to Him and repent is something God understands, but we cannot fully understand in this life. There is a reason the Church speaks of "the mystery of iniquity".
Consider these passages from Sacred Scripture on the nature of sin, God's grace, some of the types of sin Christians must recognize as leading to damnation unless there is repentance and conversion, the suffering Christ foretold that faithful Christians would endure, the opposition faithful Christians will experience, the false teachings and philosophies which seek to rationalize and even justify sin presented by people outside and inside the Church that Christians must avoid, the constant call to conversion from God, and the mysteries of the human heart with respect to hearing and answering God's call, to help you discern who is really attempting to hijack Christianity:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? "I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:9)
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all; also the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
Why will you still be smitten, that you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. (Isaiah 1:5)
Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." (Isaiah 6:10)
"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes. "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master; it is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Be-el'zebul, how much more will they malign those of his household." (Matthew 10:16-24)
"With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:14-17)
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man." (Mark 7:21-23)
And when he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, "Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:41-44)
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:23-24)
"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But, because I tell the truth, you do not believe me." (John 8:44-45)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:1-15)
"I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me." (John 16:1-3)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct. They were filled with all (kinds of) unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, and malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity, they are gossips, backbiters, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, implacable, unmerciful. Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32)
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart; they have become callous and have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness. You did not so learn Christ! – assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus. Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24)
But fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor silly talk, nor levity, which are not fitting; but instead let there be thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be joint-partakers with them, for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:3-10)
For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Phillipians 3:17-21)
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep. For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor'rah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. (2 Peter 2:1-10)
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, `You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:1-7)
There are people whose hearts are fixed in evil. Some are only temporarily lost and they will come to the Lord when they hear him call, but some have heard the seductive voice within them, a voice that has its origins in the spirit of this world, the concupiscence of the flesh, or in temptations from fallen angels (demons), and they have seen real or perceived goods which they know they can take for themselves despite the fact that such real or perceived goods cannot be taken in the manner in which they are considering without offending God, who is the source of all good things. They perceive God's gifts, but ignore the fact that no good thing they consider can exist without God's Almighty power calling it into being and holding it in existence. They ignore the fact that they are not the cause of their own being and that the good that is their own existence is also wholly dependent upon God. They see God's gifts and even their own existence as things that can be had without considering Him, as though all things that exist are independent of Him, or as though the truth about all things must conform to their own desires. They hear the seductive voice within them calling their attention to the forbidden fruit and somewhere, from deep inside them, their heart whispers, "Yes!"
Senator Obama wants Christians to ignore the fact that elective abortion is murder and forget that God has said, "You shall not kill". (Deuteronomy 5:17)
Senator Obama wants Christians to pretend that Jesus never said, "If you would enter life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:17)
[Note: Before the anti-war crowd tries to whitewash the evil of supporting legal, elective abortion by pointing to the Iraq war, remember that "You shall not kill" doesn't mean that we can't kill anything or anyone under any circumstances (otherwise we couldn't eat plants or meat). It doesn't mean that you can't execute the wicked or go to war either, since God commands the execution of wicked people repeatedly throughout the Old Testament and he also commands his people to go to war in the Old Testament. "You shall not kill" means you shall not murder, and murder is the direct and deliberate killing of an innocent human being, which was not the intention of the Iraq war and which is contrary to the mission of the soldiers in the Iraq war, so the Iraq war does not justify or excuse supporting a party that supports legal, elective abortion. Even if you maintain that the Iraq war is an unjust war, you can't justify bad behavior or supporting those engaging in bad behavior (the abortion on demand platform of the Democratic party) by pointing to real or perceived bad behavior on the part of others (such as the Iraq war campaign headed by Republican President George W. Bush an supported by many Americans from both political parties).]
Senator Obama wants Christians to ignore the many, many passages of Sacred Scripture that make it clear that sex is to be reserved to a union of one man and one woman united in marriage until death and which explicitly condemn sexual activity outside of such a union (including homosexual activity).
He wants Christians to ignore these teachings of Christ and His apostles which affirm the moral law described in the Old Testament for the sake of "unity".
The choice is yours, but consider this last passage:
Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:60-69)
Jesus let those who ceased to believe in Him walk away and He did not compromise His teachings to bring them back or promote "unity". He promised suffering and persecution to his followers and the opposition of the world.
That is not the soft message of sweetness, tolerance, acceptance, diversity, and understanding many inside and outside Christianity would have us believe to be the teachings of Christ, but that's because those who present that counterfeit doctrine and counterfeit Christ have had another agenda for a long time.
The truth is: If you are finding it easy to be a Christian, you're doing something wrong.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts? - Nope, you covered it.
This is part of the new menu of the liberals' game-plan. They knew the religious vote was one of their prime weak points and now they are seeking to siphon off votes from 'religious voters.' All they need are a couple million extra votes all around and they are home free.
It is ironic that the liberals - Obama et al - want to keep political discourse out of churches...so long as it is a 'conservative' Christian/Catholic church. This obviously does not apply (as always) to liberal churches sympathetic to the liberal drumbeat.
Solid reply Thomistic.
Posted by: Dude | Monday, June 25, 2007 at 06:10 PM
This is the best post I have read lately, which is saying something since the blogs I frequent are excellent. I hope and pray that this country will see thru their hype and propaganda. All Catholics should read and heed this post. Great work and greater words.
Posted by: jmm | Monday, June 25, 2007 at 09:01 PM
Very well written, although I am not entirely convinced that "Thou Shalt Not Kill" meant (only) thou shalt not murder. I never thought Saddam ever posed an imminent threat, so I'm not convinced the war was justified. I'd rather err on the side of caution here, and any deviation from the exact wording of the commandment lends itself to any number of interpretations. Please let me know if my thinking is misguided.
Posted by: KPC | Monday, June 25, 2007 at 10:19 PM
KPC,
Thank you for the compliment.
Check out this footnote from Fisheaters.com concerning the Fifth Commandment:
To be clear on what I mean by murder, Father John Hardon, S.J. defines murder in his Pocket Catholic Dictionary as follows:
The information provided below on the original language of the texts in Sacred Scripture dealing with killing was amended from here: God Never Said, "Thou Shalt Not Kill". In so far as the differences between my corrected version (below) and the linked source from which it is derived, I corrected some parts where the Theology seemed a bit muddled (the author's definite religious beliefs are unclear from the article), and changed the style of writing in certain parts, but I can't take credit for the ideas presented, although I feel comfortable saying that I support what is presented in my corrected version as being acceptable for belief. The bits about what is said in Sacred Scripture and the language of the original texts appear to be accurate, so far as I can tell.
More on the Fifth Commandment here:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Fifth Commandment
The Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 64: Murder
The Legitimacy of Capital Punishment by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
Moral Theology Chapter IV: Life and Bodily Integrity by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
Just War Doctrine
War and Capital Punishment by Jimmy Akin
The Death Penalty & Creeping Infallibilism by Jimmy Akin
Catholic Encyclopedia: Homicide
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Monday, June 25, 2007 at 11:50 PM
Dude and jmm,
Thanks to you both, as well. :)
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Monday, June 25, 2007 at 11:55 PM
Thank you, Thomistic, for an excellent, full response. It is maddening that those who most need to hear that will not or cannot hear it, but those who can hear the truth are encouraged and strengthened whenever they do.
"If someone rejects the notion of sin, how can they turn to the Savior? If someone refuses to admit they are sick, how can they turn to a doctor to be healed?"
THAT's the toughest part of every debate over same-sex "marriage" and abortion. Those who defend these practices simply refuse to consider their sinfulness. They rage at the notion that they could be wrong.
Posted by: joanne | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 12:40 AM
I strongly disagree with the tone of the comments here and cannot bend my reasoning to understand how they would reconcile with a consistent ethic of life.
It's clear to me that positions held by the GOP have been, at best, inconsistent on matters of life. Capital punishment, war, health care, poverty, and environment are all important life issues that the majority of republicans do not represent well.
I personally disagree with democrats who are not pro-life with respect to issues of abortion and euthanasia, and am often conflicted when it comes to choosing candidates because of these particular issues. However, I've felt that overall, traditional republican stances are certainly unrepresentative of the 'seamless garment' represented as part of a consistent life ethic. I would challenge fellow Catholics to consider these ideals regardless of a candidate's political party.
Posted by: Brett | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 01:09 AM
Brett,
You said:
I reply:
You seem to have bought into the "seamless garment" fantasy, which involves a consistent ethic of rationalization, denial of reality, sophistry, and wishful thinking in order to believe that this novel doctrine is authentically Catholic. The so-called "seamless garment" doctrine is, in reality, little more than a shelter under which immoral "Catholic" politicians hide in order to pretend that their support for legal, elective abortion, the destruction of human embryos for scientific research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the legal recognition of homosexual unions can be reconciled with Church teaching, despite the fact that the "seamless garment" notion has been endorsed by extremely liberal prelates such as the late Joseph Cardinal Bernadin whose progressive agenda wreaked havoc throughout the institutional Church in the United States and provocatively motivated him to include the "Windy City Gay Men's Chorus" among the groups providing music at his wake (which he planned himself); progressive priests like the late Father Robert Drinan, a Jesuit who, more than any other single figure, was influential in tutoring American "Catholic" politicians on the acceptability of rejecting the Church's teaching on the defense of innocent human life in the womb; and progressive men and women religious like Josephite Sr. Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking, who according to Our Sunday Visitor, criticized the 'loophole' in Pope John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium Vitae, in which he allows for the death penalty 'in cases of absolute necessity' and requires individuals to make their own prudential judgment according to their conscience. The newspaper also reported that Prejean opposed abortion but argued that poor women without emotional support have little 'choice' to make the right decision."
Here is an excellent article on the moral failure of agenda-driven progressive Catholic leaders and their use of the so-called "seamless garment" doctrine to rationalize turning a blind eye to and even supporting those who promote intrinsic moral evils like legal, elective abortion, the destruction of human embryos for scientific research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the legal recognition of homosexual unions: The Failure of Catholic Political Leadership
Here are some quotes from the article:
There's more:
I will go on record as saying the article's assessment of Cardinal Bernadin is extremely charitable and more generous than my own assessment of his choices.
It is sad to report that poorly formed Catholics have used the so-called "seamless garment" fantasy to salve their consciences and justify voting for babykillers for some time.
The "seamless garment" error is flawed for many reasons.
The death penalty is not intrinsically evil and is morally licit. This has been Church teaching from the beginning, and Church teaching on matters of faith and morals cannot change.
Pope John Paul II did not reverse Church teaching on the death penalty, although many Catholics who are poorly formed with respect to the intricacies of Church teaching on this matter think he did. Church teaching on matters of faith and morals cannot change – ever. No pope can change what the Church teaches on matters of faith and morals (in terms of dogma and doctrine). Disciplines can change, but dogma and doctrines about matters of faith and morals cannot change.
The first pope to take a stand in favor of the death penalty was Innocent I in the year 405. In response to a query from the Bishop of Toulouse, Pope Innocent I based his position on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. He wrote:
Pope Innocent III:
Pius XII:
The Catechism of the Council of Trent:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The last line of that section would be true were it not for the fact that dangerous men can and do still have influence on the outside world from behind prison walls. Men like Charles Manson and mafia family leaders have loyal followers. Captured terrorists also have devoted true believers who are willing to kidnap innocent people and hold them hostage or commit or threaten to commit acts of terror in order to pressure authorities to release these murderous criminals.
In this age of celebrity killers, men like Scott Peterson, the Menendez brothers, Richard Ramirez (the "Nightstalker"), and others receive fan mail and some have even met and married (apparently deranged and desperate) women who were attracted to them because of their celebrity status and pursued a relationship with them after they were sentenced to prison.
Charles Manson and his "family" have come up for parole many times. Some of them have even been released. Manson and many members of his "family" would have been executed for their roles in the Tate and La Bianca murders, were it not for the agenda of Rose Bird, the progressive former Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court. This required Doris Tate, the mother of Sharon Tate, who was, along with her unborn baby, murdered by Manson's followers to work tirelessly to prevent their parole not only for the sake of justice because of what was done to her daughter, but for the safety of society.
Then there's Willie Horton:
Convicted murderers, rapists, and child molesters are released from prison or given lenient sentences more often than people seem to realize.
People also escape from prison and murder others during and after their escape.
Consider the case of Brian Nichols:
Although Nichols eventually "surrendered peacefully", he murdered a number of people before he did so, even after having already been in the custody of law enforcement for another murder.
How can society be protected from people like this when silly progressive judges, politicians, and citizens keep letting them out or agitating for their release?
It is unrealistic to believe that society can simply lock up every dangerous criminal and throw away the key, keeping us all safe. Moreover, it is not within the authority of any Pope to decide what is best for the common good of a society. According to Church teaching, the lawful authorities in those societies are the legitimate arbiters of what is best for the protection of their society and the preservation of the common good whether the threat to the common good be an individual, a group or network of individuals (like terrorist organizations), or another nation, and this authority is legitimately and justly exercised so long as the moral principles outlined in the many resources I have linked in this thread are not violated.
What can and does keep society safe is executing dangerous criminals, as has been shown by recent studies: Studies: Death Penalty Discourages Crime
Quote:
If executions are a deterrent, that means executions save lives. It is perfectly reasonable, moral, and just for civil authorities to decide that the common good is served by the execution of dangerous criminals.
Moreover, with the advances in forensic science, it can be much easier to be certain of a criminal's guilt or innocence, thereby increasing the chances for solid convictions and decreasing the likelihood of false convictions.
Another problem with the so-called "seamless garment" fantasy is that it makes lesser goods the equal of higher, more important goods. While health care is a good, it is subordinate to the right to life. Without life, there can be no possibility of health care.
While Catholics must work to ensure that all human persons are not lacking in what is essential to human dignity, they can differ on how to go about achieving this end. It is not a moral requirement that government provide health care for everyone. Those who propose that it should seem to ignore the fact that socialized medicine has been a disaster every time it has been tried and those countries who have it now have tremendous problems. Government should facilitate individuals being able to access the things essential to human dignity, but it is not the role of government to have absolute control over any industry, and when governments do control industries, they generally bleed money and are rife with inefficiency.
Those who think the government should provide health care for everyone need to reflect on where they draw the line. Should the government buy all our food for us and buy us all homes, as well? Surely food and shelter are even more basic needs than the need for health care. Where does the call to have the government as mommy and daddy to everyone end?
As for war, the Church clearly teaches that there is such a thing as just war. The conditions for just war are explained here: Just War Doctrine
War is not intrinsically evil, but abortion is intrinsically evil. So the two cannot be equal. Reasonable people can disagree about whether or not a given conflict meets the criterion for a just war. Pope Benedict said as much here: Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion, General Principles by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
There are other problems with the "seamless garment" covered in this article: Seamless Garment or Political Comforter?
There is more than one solution for the issues of capital punishment, war, health care, poverty, and environment, and reasonable Catholics can have legitimate disagreements on what should be done about these issues.
However, elective abortion is intrinsically evil and may never be tolerated. There is not more than one way to deal with the evil of abortion. It must be outlawed.
Reasonable people can disagree about how to resolve the other complex issues of life, but directly killing the innocent, whether by abortion, so-called "assisted suicide", or euthanasia is intrinsically evil, an objectively serious sin, and may never be tolerated under any circumstances, and no Catholic is justified in supporting candidates and/or or policies that promote, support, or facilitate legal, elective abortion, the destruction of human embryos for scientific research, assisted suicide, euthanasia, and the legal recognition of homosexual unions.
Pax,
Thomistic
Posted by: Thomistic | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 06:25 AM
To what "Faith" is B. Hussein Obama referring?
Abortion will remain 'legal' in this country.
Here's why. The libdem, lay bureaucrats that run the back room of the USCCB are feverishly working to raise confusion and doubt among the 'faithful.' They are laying the foundation for rationalizing voting for the class warfare (take from the 'evil' rich and use the $$$ to buy dem votes, er, 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods'); unborn baby murder (thou shalt not commit 1.5 million murders a year); gay privileges fanatic (Thou shalt not commit adultery) candidate. They will do this by smearing by innuendo the pro-life candidate as uncharitable - they will try to convince that stealing, er, taxing, from rich peope and giving the money to the 'poor' is Christian Charity; pro-capital punishment (13 executions in a year)and pro-Iraq war (unjust war/torture - says who?).
“Who spills man’s blood,
By man shall his blood be spilt,
For God made man in His image.”
Gen. 9:6
Re: the ignorant, nonsensical 'ban' on CP: 1. Do they mean that all the Catholics for 1996 years before they 'saw the light' are damned??? Or, is this modernism - changing church (N.B. no caps) to suit their 'new age' liberal pabulum. 2. The CCC editors need to see the National Geo. Explorer series on prison violence and realize that CP is the only way to both protect society (deterrence, other inmates, guards, etc.) from these predators and to adequately punish the filthy animals for their murders. Case closed.
Posted by: T. Shaw | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 09:02 AM
No one ever talks about the religous left. But if Revs. Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton are any indication, the Left can be very forgiving of religious involvment in the US - so long as they like what they are hearing from the pulpit.
But fair is fair and realistic is realistic - for all the woo-ing, courting, appeasing, placating and stumping conservative politicians have done to/for/with Evangelicals & Catholics, how well has this played out for us?
In the ultimate matter of importance to us who are pro-life, where exactly has this gotten us to decreasing abortion today and making it illegal tomorrow. At best we have gotten some judicial appointments at the federal level who could POSSIBLY push the fight to state level courts.
Partial Birth Abortion is certainly a victory... But that is the best we could do?
Posted by: A Simple Sinner | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 10:36 AM
Simple Sinner, good to hear from you...so rare these days. I've been wondering where you've been. Work I would suppose, like myself.
The liberal agenda came in not all at once, but through incrementalism. Unfortunately, it will be a much more difficult task to rollback so much of what has been 'approved of' in the past 45 years.
The Partial birth abortion ban was huge and not to be overlooked. We finally got enough power on the Supreme Court to make this happen.
Tonight I was at a political fundraiser for Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. I think he is a conservative on the inside, but in a liberal state has to govern as a moderate Republican. If not, he would simply not be elected. He will probably run with citizen McCain/The McCain mutiny, as the veep for '08 (I cannot vote for McCain, but between him and Hillary, I'll pick McCain). The point is, tonight he was asked what he would advise the Republican Party to change so they can get their **** together for '08. Pawlenty stated, in so many words, that the republicans have done a horrible job of defining the bread and butter topics for quite some time. He also reminded us (and correctly I believe) that Reagan was not the hardline conservative that we all like to remmember him as and that he made many, many comprimises. Now I'll say: However, Reagan kept his eye on the ball. I think things were better when he left office, than when he came into office.
I have a very difficult time with compromises, but in the political schema, frequently they are necessary...but to what deadly extent?
The long way to answer your question is with one word: Incrementalism.
The problem is, we have done such a poor method of coming up with a public/conservative/Catholic catechesis in terms of allowing the Roosevelt dems and all the way to the angry moveon.org radical liberals in defining the playing field.
I think we should pay for public airtime at the local levels and go through the step-by-step logic and debate on issues like abortion, cloning and other life issues. Make it cool and hip, not rolling snare drums and flute/Patriot music in the background. We need to have open-air time on explaining jibberish like the 'Seamless Garment' tripe our liberal, dissenting Catholics have fooled so many Catholics and the secular public on.
The problem is, we're losing the propaganda war. And this is exaclty how the left moved so heavy over the past 40 years: Effective mainstream message at the educational, entertainment, news media and judicial levels in tandem with a very demanding incrementalism.
At this point can their horrible ideology be rolled back? On most levels, my common sense says no, especially if we take an 'all or nothing' approach to voting for conservatives. They seek to divide us, and this is exactly what Obama et al are trying to do.
I think we feel legitimate apathy with the majority of our situation, but now is the time to double and triple our efforts.
Posted by: Dude | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 10:27 PM
Pardon me: compr-o-mises, not compr-i-mises.
Posted by: Dude | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 10:28 PM
John Paul II also promoted a consistent life ethic, but did not call all life issues equal, as they are not. There can be no quality of life if life itself is stolen from the innocent, especially the unborn.
What I don't like about the seamless garment is our abuse of it. Whenever we try to defend the unborn or protect marriage for the sake of new life, we are criticized for not caring about the poor, the immigrants, and peace in our world. That is an unfair and ridiculous assumption.
Of all people to be accused of such negligence, our bishop in RI is being criticized by Catholics for neglecting other issues! He is the most obviously concerned bishop in my memory, and took on the cares of the needy here as soon as he was appointed. But because he is rightly concerned with the MOST needy and will not back down, he is accused by those who claim the "seamless garment" as an excuse to permit the slaughter of children too young to express their own needs.
If anything has been hi-jacked, here, it is the Gospel! And the hijackers are not the pro-life champions.
Posted by: joanne | Tuesday, June 26, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Thomistic: Thank you so much for your extensive insight regarding the 5th commandment!! I apologize for the lengthy delay in getting back to you...you are an absolute wealth of information!! Though I'm still not convinced the war was truly justifiable--- especially considering all the innocent lives that have been lost or ruined (orphans, amputees, etc.) because of our desire for regime change--I am (now) far more understanding of the fifth commandment. This such a complex topic...how does one protect himself (or the church) without violating the very precepts he should hold dear? Here is a question to ponder---and please don't consider me crazy for posing it: Was Eric Rudolph---the abortion clinic bomber also responsible for the Olympic attack in Atlanta---justified in his reasoning if he believed in his heart that he was "killing the killers" and thereby protecting the unborn?
The easy answer is "no"---that he was crazy, but it does tie in with numerous facets of the 5th commandment, as well as unjust laws (the right to choose). Not trying to open a pandora's box here, but it is something to ponder. When is killing truly justified? Please enlighten me...
Posted by: KPC | Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 09:49 AM
Even satan can quote scripture but who can understand the mind of God? My ways are not your ways says the Lord. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. You have heard it said, and eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth but I say...; give him your coat as well. Do not repay evil with evil but.... Just reflecting on Thomistic's use of proof texts. I could be wrong. Fire away.
Posted by: Joey | Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 04:44 PM
You couldn't be more correct, thank you for hitting back at Obama using scripture, there is no more powerful message. I couldn't agree more with your analysis and comments.
Nate
YD2008
Posted by: Nate | Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 12:11 AM
It is absolutely absurd that you would spend so much time defending the protestant religious right in America, which is clearly at fault for so much that is wrong with our country. They use their false religion for evil and divisive purposes. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and Osama bin Laden all birds of a feather.
Posted by: andrew | Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 06:54 PM
I always think of St Stephen when I get flack for adherring to Christ's teachings and not following the modern fallacy that Jesus taught "equality" and tolerance (what he taught was love not mere tolerance of one another). St Stephen continued to proclaim Christ and those who opposed him "gnashed their teeth" and "shut up their ears" before stoning him to death. The world never wants to hear the true word of Christ.
And yes Andrew, the folks you mentioned need no defending, they have done just as much to harm this nation as any other group.
Posted by: William | Sunday, July 01, 2007 at 02:53 AM
Wow...Tell me how you get from the Golden Rule to splitting hairs about why abortion is murder, but war is not. Thank you for putting your obvious partisan political ideals above any hint of true peace brought by Jesus.
Posted by: Castle | Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 05:39 PM