Saturday, October 03, 2009

Ingrown morality

Spectators often lament theological infighting on the internet. All that internecine warfare is so unedifying. By the same token, Catholics deplore schismatics. And, of course, ecumenicists view ecclesiastical unity as both a Christian ideal and a Christian imperative.

Like anything else that sinners do, blogging can put human iniquity on display. However, there are problems with the ecumenical ideal.

Because men are social creatures, we naturally retreat into fairly insular communities. We come in packages. Families. Extended families.

The same applies to theological communities. In the past, this was reinforced by geographical isolation and national churches. And we now have virtual communities. It’s like living in a company town.

There is, however, moral and spiritual dangers which come of taking refuge in self-affirming, self-reinforcing communities. A good example is the priestly abuse scandal in Catholicism. As long as this was perpetrated by one set of insiders on another set of insiders, it went unchecked. It took the scrutiny of outsiders to finally expose it and bring about some measure of reform.

Surrounding ourselves with sympathetic ears is morally and spiritual hazardous. We can become coconspirators in our own moral or spiritual demise. We defend each other. Excuse each other. The in-group can do no wrong. We inoculate ourselves against self-examination–behind the impregnable walls of our fortified city.

So there are benefits to having a clash between one theological community and another. It shakes up the insidious complacency to which we’re prone if we spend too much time in the circular groove of our like-minded fellowship.

7 comments:

  1. "So there are benefits to having a clash between one theological community and another. It shakes up the insidious complacency to which we’re prone if we spend too much time in the circular groove of our like-minded fellowship."

    Within limits.

    Like see how they love one another.

    A limit or standard that doesn't get met when unashamed Arminians say that Calvinism is worse than Hitler.

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  2. With regard to Catholicism, I've always felt that it's important to go onto their "turf" to interact with them, while always maintaining some sort of "safe house" that I can retreat to.

    We are, after all, told to "contend" for the faith. And that's a struggle.

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  3. Is that what happened at Dordt, a clear miscarriage of justice by a Synod which was an even more corrupt Den of Theves than the original Robber Synod, Ephesus II? I have seen a lot of Calvinists Apologetics about Dordt, and believe me, there's a lot to appologize for!

    Is that also what happened when the Relics of St. Irenaeus were trashed by Calvinists. Why is it a sensitive topic to bring up when discussing the Perseverence of the Saints, when you know that St. Irenaeus and his other buddies (like St. Nicholas, St. Athanasius, and especially St. Paul) are not going to to intercede for you because of said offense. Do you really expect to be in the good graces of St. Irenaeus, the Purifier of the Scriptures, after the crime commited against him? After the provokation of the wrath of St. Irenaeus, the Perseverance of the Saints would be the llast doctrine that I would want to espouse.

    OK, I get it. Calvinists do bury their heads in the sand like the insular groups that they are.

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  4. MODERATE DEMOCRAT SAID:

    "Is that what happened at Dordt, a clear miscarriage of justice by a Synod which was an even more corrupt Den of Theves than the original Robber Synod, Ephesus II? I have seen a lot of Calvinists Apologetics about Dordt, and believe me, there's a lot to appologize for!"

    Even if, for the sake of argument, it was a miscarriage of justice, so what? True to your name, you're wedded to identity politics. No, I don't have to apologize for what somebody else did centuries ago. I'm not answerable to them or for them. And they're not answerable to or for me. We're not one continuous individual.

    "Is that also what happened when the Relics of St. Irenaeus were trashed by Calvinists. Why is it a sensitive topic to bring up when discussing the Perseverence of the Saints, when you know that St. Irenaeus and his other buddies (like St. Nicholas, St. Athanasius, and especially St. Paul) are not going to to intercede for you because of said offense."

    Since I already have a heavenly High Priest to intercede for me, I can dispense with the middle-management.

    "Do you really expect to be in the good graces of St. Irenaeus, the Purifier of the Scriptures, after the crime commited against him?"

    Since he is not the dispenser of grace, I needn't be in his good graces. I only need to be in God's good graces.

    However, I expect that Irenaeus rejoiced to see his relicts destroyed. Rejoiced to see Christians put their faith in back Christ rather than the idolatrous veneration of the saints.

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  5. Moderate Democrat wrote:

    "Calvinists do bury their heads in the sand like the insular groups that they are."

    Speaking of burying one's head in the sand, why do you so often ignore what people write in response to you, such as what I've written in response to your false and misleading comments about the canon of scripture? I've linked you to my series on the New Testament canon, which corrects many of your erroneous claims and insinuations. Concerning your reference above to "St. Irenaeus, the Purifier of the Scriptures", why don't you interact with what I've argued here, here, and here?

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  6. MODERATE DEMOCRAT SAID:

    “Is that also what happened when the Relics of St. Irenaeus were trashed by Calvinists. Why is it a sensitive topic to bring up when discussing the Perseverence of the Saints, when you know that St. Irenaeus and his other buddies (like St. Nicholas, St. Athanasius, and especially St. Paul) are not going to to intercede for you because of said offense."

    You have a very instructive scale of values. On the one hand we witness bishops, archbishops, and cardinal archbishops facilitate the seduction of minors by sodomite priests. Something you manage to pass over in silence.

    On the other hand, you wax wrathful when some dead men’s bones were disturbed.

    However, it’s not surprising that you value the remains of the dead over the welfare of the living. After all, you worship at the altar of a dead religion.

    Indeed, a reliquary is an apt image of Catholicism. A glittering sarcophagus on the outside. Worms and putrifaction on the inside.

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  7. Speaking of metaphors, A.G. Dickens approvingly cites Hobbes's description of the Roman papacy, calling it barely an overstatement, saying it is "The Ghost of the Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the Grave thereof" ("The English Reformation," (c) 1964, 1989).

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