Democrat, Republican, Orthodox

I have not written for a while for various reasons. Most of them have to do with an incredibly heavy workload lately. But, I ran across the meme above, and found it quite worthwhile. The original version was on phatmass.com, this is a repost of a slightly altered version because the original version had a final paragraph that was a little troublesome to me. Yet the bulk of the meme expressed quite a bit of how I feel.

Over the years that I have been writing, I have periodically and consistently quoted the writings of both our Eastern Orthodox hierarchs and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. I have done that to ensure that what I am writing is obedient to the various bits of guidance that we have been given, particularly in the areas of social justice or societal morality. While there is still room for disagreement over how to carry out certain moral guidelines, if we are true Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics, we should not be spending serious time debating the guidelines themselves. That is, we can differ on how to deal with illegal immigration, but we should not differ on those things that our hierarchs and bishops have pointed out is necessary, such as access to healthcare for all regardless of legal status, access to schooling for children regardless of legal status, and so on.

But in this current America, both major political sides are divided in such a way that it becomes impossible for a thoughtful and informed Orthodox or Roman Catholic to be considered a full and supportive member of either grouping by members of that group. The division of the political groups in this country is such that regardless of which political party an aware Christian chooses to support in the elections, that Christian will inevitably be supporting a measure of sin. Whether Democrat or Republican, populist or centralist, no groups support a platform that is consistent with the teaching of our modern Fathers in Christ.

Read the meme above carefully, then look up the writings of either Orthodox or Roman Catholic bishops. You will see that the meme substantially and correctly summarizes what we have been called to. Both groups list abortion AND immigration AND opposition to the death penalty as pro-life issues. Both groups have had the presidents of their national conferences or assembly march at important demonstrations against racism and racial inequality. Both groups speak of the common good as over against the dangers of hyper-individualism, and of the family as a bulwark for society that helps to undergird the common good.

I will admit that the phrase on small localized government is stretching the idea of dioceses and parish councils, but it is true that the diocese is actually the local Church, and that the fullness of the Church is found in the diocese, regardless of the size of the conference, assembly, or jurisdiction to which the local Church belongs. However, there is no clear statement out of either set of bishops that would take the principle of dioceses and say that this means that we ought to have small, localized, civil government.

And, there is one of the memes in which there is a distinction between the two groupings. The Orthodox are not against all birth control, at least not as a united position. Thus the refusal to fund contraception is a particularly Roman Catholic (and the Protestant groups who have become catholic about birth control) thing. The original meme ends with the words, “I am Catholic.” It was appropriate for him to make that statement. But, “I am Orthodox,” so I need to put in this caveat.

Oddly enough, it is at this point that the writer of the meme stumbles. He puts in a final paragraph that did not concord with the meme above. He said:

In truth, I’m a member of an institution that teaches that freedom is when a person no longer acts under the influence of someone else. An institution that encourages free will and free thought. An institution that doesn’t fit inside a man-made box. I’m Catholic.

I would have to read carefully how he defines freedom. Irenaeus says:

For as, among men, those sons who disobey their fathers, being disinherited, are still their sons in the course of nature, but by law are disinherited, for they do not become the heirs of their natural parents; so in the same way is it with God, — those who do not obey Him being disinherited by Him, have ceased to be His sons.

There are major passages of Scripture that speak of the Holy Spirit’s influence over us, his dwelling in us, his guiding us, etc. There are also passages in the Church Fathers that point out of the guiding influence that the bishop is supposed to have over us, of father-confessors, or our being discipled in diverse ways. Obedience here on Earth is part of our training. So, the definition of freedom above would appear to contradict some of the very things that he has said earlier! The same is true with the phrase “free will and free thought.” It all depends on how one defines that thought. But, I fear that at the last he stumbled and wrote a very American, independentist statement.

But, that very last paragraph points out in full the problem that we face in America. All too many Orthodox and Roman Catholics have come to believe that their Church wants them to think independently, so that they are free to draw their own conclusions. But that thought has more to do with the Founding Fathers and the Enlightenment, than it has to do with the Early Church Fathers and our current Fathers in Christ. It is that type of thinking that has allowed believers to only follow some of the writings of our Fathers in Christ while assuring themselves that they are true Orthodox or Roman Catholic.

Sadly, all too many who use the name Orthodox and/or Roman Catholic do not actually listen to their bishops. They have chosen one side or another of the divide, to the point that in practice they reject various of the key teachings of their own Fathers in Christ, if the teachings conflict with their personal political belief. Those believers would line up almost perfectly with one side or the other of the political divide were an inventory of their beliefs to be made. In doing that, they come close to rejecting the very name that they carry, whether it be Orthodox or Roman Catholic.

Even worse, many Orthodox and Roman Catholics do not make the attempt to get to know what our Fathers in Christ have spoken (in these latter times) on some of these matters. Thus, they walk along in their ignorance, convinced that their “pure” political stance is actually a sign of active Christianity. But, it is not. They walk along convinced that God will bless them because of their ideological political purity. But, ignorance is no excuse. It is a good thing that God often blesses in spite of our mistaken beliefs.

So, I urge you. Read the writings of our Fathers in Christ. Read our Orthodox hierarchs and read the writings of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. If you do, the meme above will make significant sense to you.