Book Review: Papal Teaching on Private Property – 1891 to 1981
I am much more of a divider than a uniter. If you haven’t figured that out by now, you are missing something vital. I am constantly repelling that which I see as erroneous and fulfilling that which I see as incomplete, and it is not often that I feel the need to talk about where things have been done right. There are many wrong ways to build a computer or engineer a building, but there are far fewer ways to do it correctly. The same is true of life. With the vast diversity of information and experience people have, it is no wonder so many people come to such poor conclusions about many things. But I am often so drastically anti that I forget to stop and seek the positive aspects of things. Not that I am an overtly negative person, I simply am more of a fighter than a lover in many areas. That is why a topic of Christian Unity is such a foreign concept to me. Christianities come in all shapes and size, and many greatly despise others. Fitting them into one theme is not as easy as it might sound.
Still. There are some things Christian sects banded together can do in this country and internationally to make the world a better place. Politically and socially (since religious aspects are implicit in Jesus’ command to evangelize), some ideas come directly to mind…
- Protection of human life. Abortion is the easy conclusion on this matter, but it may soon not be the most effective way of devaluing humanity. Included in a growing sentiment of environmentalism is the idea that human beings are too populous for this planet and should be culled to ensure the planet survives. Not only has this Malthusian Myth been proved wrong by history and various studies time and time again, it is dangerous to our humanity in countless ways. There is soon coming a time when Christianity will be portrayed as the enemy of the earth, and many Christians will even be swayed by the idea… Also included in protection for life is just war theory, and the idea that war should only be used as a last resort. Although it may seem unlikely that we get ourselves into another sticky war situation since our current interventions in the MidEast have been so draining on our economy and national spirit, I am sure no one ever thought we would have another Vietnam either. Looks like we are there. Christians who ally themselves with the Republican ideology should keep this especially in mind. We have a duty to protect life that should push us to be the first to stand for peace talks instead of intervention with weapons… Another issue implicit in the protection of life is the fact that Christians should seek to abolish the death penalty. Retribution is not a legal theory to which Christians should ascribe. Christ gave us instructions to turn the other cheek and only throw stones if we ourselves are not guilty of sin. Rehabilitation is the ultimate legal theory to which Christians should hold themselves to, as to value the human person as an individual created by God to exercise free will in order to serve Him most fully. If rehabilitation is not an option, we must choose incapacitation, and our prison system can serve as a dungeon. The only acceptable justification for capital punishment is in cases where the prisoner cannot be incapacitated by the prison system. Nowadays, this is not a common occurrence, as our means of restraint are advanced. The death penalty is unChristian. I would expect to see more resistance to it from Christian camps… Torture is similar to the last. It is wrong for Christians to support this war tactic, and Christians should seek to have it removed from our country’s information-gleaning repertoire… Embryonic stem-cell research and abortion are just as important as the above, if not more so, however it seems the above need mentioning since many Christians fail to see them as important life issues.
- Protection of morality. Christian Ethics are now the last stand of morality everywhere. In a world where being principled is all but scorned, relativism is flooding into the consciousness of people everywhere. Sexual immorality, atheist blaspheming, glorification of violence, blatant egoism, consumerism, general selfishness, and many other immoralities are not simply willed as the result of a bad choice, many people don’t even realize these things are wrong and are apathetic to find out. This is the area at which Christianity excels. Hopefully, a wider dissemination of the Truth will take place as we continue into the Information Age…
- Protection of the strong family. Divorce has skyrocketed across the board, and strong family values are on the ropes. Family seems to no longer be an important priority, which is a serious problem for childhood development and life fulfillment. He who tells you family upbringing is not important is a fool. There is nothing more important for the development of moral, virtuous citizens and human persons. As gays are a very small portion of the population, the issue is not important to this discussion in my opinion. Let’s reclaim divorce-less marriage and wholesome homes before we start talking about the “sanctity of the word ‘marriage.'”
Christians make up a great deal of this country’s population.We have the power to change things as a united front. Currently, movements like The Manhattan Declaration are heading in this direction. To me, Christian unity can and will bring the Kingdom of Heaven closer to earth. Now all we have to do is will it to be so…
-kj-
Re Pt.#3:
I'm actually in some agreement with you on this. I definitely think it's worth taking the planks from our eyes in Christendom if we're going to talk about defending sexual ethics and the word "marriage" in general. But I'm not sure we can afford to neglect that, or neglect a defense of the word itself–and it seems to me that in striving to get back to divorce-less marriage, we are in fact doing something to defend the sanctity of the thing. In other words, the only word I take huge issue with is "before"–while it might be said to be more literally Biblical that it be done "before," it seems like these times may necessitate a "during." And there are many people left in Christendom who could do it "during" without the least bit of hypocrisy in the way of sexual ethics. But I still think, as I said at the start, this is a good reminder-point of what we as Christians could be doing to be more Biblically consistent.
As always you have provoked thought in me. Have a blessed Sunday!
I definitely see your point, and I have never thought about it that way. My thoughts are simply, if we wish to establish what marriage is in practice, we must first claim it religiously (not secularly) as eternal unity of man and woman. Only then can we say what it is not. But simultaneously is possible as well. I simply do not think the legality of marriage should be the first thing we are trying to claim. Perhaps I am wrong though. Maybe the only way to claim it is to shatter all non-definitions of it, religiously and secularly. No matter the case, I am definitely in favor of keeping this one a state issue, and not a federal one. Let the population decide. That way, if God decides to make another Sodom example, it will be all of the blue states that are smited and not the whole country… I joke, I joke, I kid, I kid… But really. Federalism. This one is a state issue.