Danny Glover says global warming caused earthquake, Huffington Post takes him on

Forty-eight hours ago, Father Orthoduck apologized for Pat Robertson’s remarks concerning a curse being the cause of the Haiti earthquake. One of the readers lamented that he was about to go to a convention where he would get lambasted for those comments by people who love to put down Christianity. Another reader commented that he could simply answer with Danny Glover’s rant that blamed global warming for the Haiti earthquake. Above is the clip to which he referred. You need to let it run through to about the minute and a half mark. He starts speaking about 40 some seconds into the clip.

Father Orthoduck brings this up because a third reader had commented that enough liberal people were going to jump on Pat Robertson, so why should Father Orthoduck join in the scrum? Father Ernesto answered:

Because it is better if each group (Christian, Jewish, Catholic, liberal, conservative, etc.) calls out to its own for misdeeds. As a priest, I am very aware of what it has meant to the reputation of bishops that they never called out those of us who engaged in horrible sin against children. We lose all credibility when we fail to discipline our own.

In the case of Danny Glover, the left-of-center Huffington Post has critiqued him. And, not just the Huffington Post, either. Just Google the incident and see how many have criticized him. Precisely because the Huffington Post is left-of-center, their critique of Danny Glover will carry more weight than any critiques that Fox News might publish. And this is precisely the point that Father Ernesto tried to make. Our only hope of some return to civility is if each political wing and each religion takes the time criticize those within themselves who have stepped over the line. The ginning up of hate against the “other” that has been the hallmark of too much of the political debate, by too many who should know better, may serve at election time, but it also has made it impossible for Congress to legislate appropriately in this country unless one has a supermajority. Those who are elected on the basis of hate often become slaves of that hate and are forced to follow the dictates of that hate if they wish to be reelected.

As Christians we are called both to be peacemakers and to judge those within our ranks. In 1 Corinthians Saint Paul says:

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? . . . Know you not that the saints shall judge this world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know you not that we shall judge angels? how much more things of this world?

Saint Peter agrees with Saint Paul in 1 Peter:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

For those of us who are Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics, we particularly need to call to account those among us who are not following the direction of Scripture, of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, of Holy Tradition, and of the pronouncements of our Patriarchs and Popes. Father Orthoduck realizes that Pat Robertson is not either, but he claims to be a member of the Church of God, and as such can be called to account by the Orthodox as we are the Church (Roman Catholics would make a similar point.).

Because there are things that are of eternal moral importance, and because we will someday judge the world, as Christians we do engage on a periodic basis in calling to account those who are in serious moral danger but are outside the Church. Nevertheless, we must be cautious when we do so, as often our first call is to, “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. . . .” Make a comparison sometime of how often Our Lord Jesus Christ judged someone (and He did that with Pharisees, Sadducees, rich young ruler, etc.) versus how often His solution was to call them into the Kingdom. That will give you an idea of the proper balance for those who are outside the Church.

So Father Orthoduck and many other Christians have critiqued Pat Robertson and the Huffington Post has critiqued Danny Glover. This is appropriate and as it should be.