Strict interpretation or not strict interpretation, that is the question. Actually, it is the question that we have been debating for many years. With Judge Sotomayor the question came back to the fore. No, I am not going to take a position on the judge herself, lest you lose the point of these next couple […]
When is a good Orthodox (or Catholic) not a good Orthodox? part 03
Let me repeat a phrase from the day before yesterday, “Orthodox and Catholic alike are asked to deeply consider and listen to the pastoral guidance given by those synods. . . our responsibility as Orthodox and Catholic when we disagree with a pastoral letter is first to consider how we may be personally wrong. We […]
When is a good Orthodox (or Catholic) not a good Orthodox? part 02
From a couple of comments I understand that some think that this series is meant to jump on conservative Christians. That is only partially true. Actually, as you will see, it is my opinion that both the conservative and the progressive “Christians” are making exactly the same mistake when it comes to politics and Christianity. […]
When is a good Orthodox (or Catholic) not a good Orthodox? part 01
There is a post from the blog Catholic and Enjoying It! that I just read today, and it impressed me with its analysis. It leads me to ask the obvious question, “when is a good Orthodox (or Roman Catholic) not a good Orthodox in the realm of politics? I think that Mark Shea, the author […]
On the Orthodox and economic theories
Father Orthoduck wishes to point out that Fr. Ernesto was completely unaware that there have been two discussions on the very subject on Ancient Faith Radio, the section called The Illumined Heart. Look under April 17, 2009 for the first part of the discussion. Look under the June 26, 2009 podcast for the second part […]
The Old Testament God was a socialist; the New Testament God is a capitalist, part 05
Well, some final thoughts, I think. As Orthodox Christians we can never run our personal economic system purely on what maximizes the market neither on what gives the most profit to owners and investors. Part of the point of citing the Sabbath Year and the Jubilee Year was to point out that even though the […]
The Old Testament God was a socialist; the New Testament God is a capitalist, part 04
I had a delightful time tonight in a discussion with a person who works in one of the chemical industries. It was over politics and religion. I am afraid that we missed talking about sex, which is just fine with me. However, I realized that it might be good to take a moment to more […]
The Old Testament God was a socialist; the New Testament God is a capitalist, part 03
As you can see from the comments to previous posts, there is a very strong reaction in America to posts having to do with economics. So, let’s keep going. The Year of Jubilee The biblical requirement is that the Jubilee year was to be treated like a Sabbatical year, with the land lying fallow, but […]
The Old Testament God was a socialist; the New Testament God is a capitalist, part 02
Now, you may expect me to advocate a particular economic viewpoint from the Old Testament, but I am not. In fact, I may say something that will surprise you. There is no way, with certainty, to support either one economic system or one political system simply from reading the Old Testament, or even the New […]
The Old Testament God was a socialist; the New Testament God is a capitalist, part 01
One of the raging debates in American Christianity today has to do with whether President Obama is a socialist. Much has been written about how God is not against people being rich, therefore implying that any attempt to regulate how people make riches is tantamount to opposing God’s economic policies, therefore it must be sin. […]
