We live in a strange age. It’s an age marked by contention, strife, and factionalism. This is true in the Church and in the realm of politics (both in the U.S. and in many other countries). To take just one example, here’s some objective evidence on the terrifying and widening political chasm in America:
The shares of Republicans and Democrats who express very unfavorable opinions of the opposing party have increased dramatically since the 1990s, but have changed little in recent years. Currently, 44% of Democrats and Democratic leaners have a very unfavorable opinion of the GOP, based on yearly averages of Pew Research Center surveys; 45% of Republicans and Republican leaners view the Democratic Party very unfavorably. In 1994, fewer than 20% in both parties viewed the opposing party very unfavorably.
This particular point is salient because it’s not just that we disagree. It’s that we don’t trust “the other side,” and actually hate each other to a degree not seen in modern U.S. history. And American Catholicism hasn’t been exempted from this trend, either. You’ve got uncharitable pro-Francis and anti-Francis Catholics bashing each other, and uncharitable pro-Trump and anti-Trump Catholics bashing each other. So what’s going on, and what can we do about it? Here’s what Neil Postman, C.S. Lewis, and St. Paul might say about where we’ve gone wrong, and what we can individually do about it.
I. The Outrage Addiction Industry You May Not Know About
One problem with food might be that it’s mislabeled – this was a problem in much of the early 20th century. But another problem is just that the food itself is unhealthy junk that makes your life worse when you consume too much of it. The news is the same way. There is fake news, the reporting of things that literally didn’t happen. But a much bigger problem is junk news, news that exists only to entertain and which actually makes us worse people when we consume too much of it.
Part of the reason for that is our addiction to outrage. Way back in 2015, Psychology Today had a post warning about that “anger is a public epidemic in America.” The author explained why anger is addictive:
What happens is that anger can lead to similar “rushes” as thrill-seeking activities where danger triggers dopamine reward receptors in the brain, or like other forms of addiction such as gambling, extreme sports, even drugs like cocaine and methamphetamines. Anger can become its own reward, but like other addictions, the final consequences are dangerous and real, and people follow impulses in the moment without regard to the big picture.
Two of the biggest drug-dealers in this new landscape are the news media and digital social media platforms.
Recall that 24-hour news is a relatively recent phenomenon. It didn’t exist in the past because there was no need for it. Ordinary people didn’t (and don’t!) have to know about every possible scandal or controversy or outrage. Indeed, the desire to know everything just for the sake of it (or for the sake of feeding your outrage-addiction) is a sin that we used to be something that we warned again. Catholic theologians like Aquinas describes the vice of curiositas, an unhealthy curiosity that’s not motivated out of a sincere love for the truth. He cites to St. Augustine, who warns how
Some there are who forsaking virtue, and ignorant of what God is, and of the majesty of that nature which ever remains the same, imagine they are doing something great, if with surpassing curiosity and keenness they explore the whole mass of this body which we call the world. So great a pride is thus begotten, that one would think they dwelt in the very heavens about which they argue.
This problem isn’t a new one. Originally, it made sense to stay on top of the news of the day, because it was directly relevant to your daily life: weather reports for farmers, local goings-on around town, etc. But with the introduction of the telegraph and photograph in the late 19th century, we could suddenly read about – and even see – events having no relation to our lives in any way. This began a subtle shift from the news as useful to the news as entertaining. In his 1985 masterpiece Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman traces the history by looking at, of all things, the crossword puzzle:
The crossword puzzle became a popular form of diversion in America at just that point when the telegraph and the photograph had achieved the transformation of news from functional information to decontextualized fact. This coincidence suggests that the new technologies had turned the age-old problem of information on its head: Where people once sought information to manage the real context of their lives, now they had to invent context in which otherwise useless information might be put to some apparent use. The crossword puzzle is one such pseudo-context; the cocktail party is another; the radio quiz shows of the 1930’s and 1940’s and the modern television game show are still others; and the ultimate, perhaps, is the wildly successful “Trivial Pursuit.” In one form or another, each of these supplies an answer to the question, “What am I to do with all these disconnected facts?” And in one form or another, the answer is the same: Why not use them for diversion? for entertainment? to amuse yourself, in a game?
As Postman shows, this trend from news as important to news as entertaining trivia isn’t a new one, but it’s been amplified by the introduction of video, by the creation of 24 news networks, and by the invention of digital media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, and of political news websites.
And the successful players in this industry make a fortune by manipulating you emotionally, and by making you angry on purpose. In a piece cleverly entitled YOU’LL BE OUTRAGED AT HOW EASY IT WAS TO GET YOU TO CLICK ON THIS HEADLINE, Wired looked at some of the science behind “clickbait.” Here’s what they found:
Emotional arousal, or the degree of physical response you have to an emotion, is a key ingredient in clicking behaviors. Sadness and anger, for example, are negative emotions, but anger is much more potent. “It drives us, fires us up, and compels us to take action,” Berger says. If you’ve ever found yourself falling for outrage clickbait or spent time hate-reading and hate-watching something, you know what Berger is talking about. “Anger, anxiety, humor, excitement, inspiration, surprise—all of these are punchy emotions that clickbait headlines rely on,” he says.
A growing body of research supports this idea. In a recent paper called “Breaking the News: First Impressions Matter On Online News,” two researchers looked at 69,907 headlines produced by four international media outlets in 2014. After analyzing the sentiment polarity of these headlines (whether the primary emotion conveyed was positive, negative, or neutral), they found “an extreme sentiment score obtained the largest mean popularity.” This not only suggests that strongly negative or strongly positive news tends to attract more readers, they concluded, but also that “a headline has more chance to [receive clicks] if the sentiment expressed in its text is extreme, towards the positive or the negative side.”
This is the point to which we’ve come. The news isn’t there to tell you pertinent information about your life. It’s there so that you see something that make you angry enough to click on it, because then the news site can charge advertisers for the time you spent viewing the page. It’s appealing to your baser emotions, and manipulating you in ways you may not even realize. It’s hardly an exaggeration to describe it as “outrage porn,” because the psychological manipulation is basically the same as what successful porn sites do in tapping into lust.
The solution to all of this, fortunately, is easy (at least in theory). Put down the remote, click the little X in the top-right corner, and walk away from the screen. (Or at least, spend all your time on Shameless Popery 😊). Try taking a week-long news fast (including Facebook, or whatever your particular triggers are), and then see how you did, and how you feel. Chances are, you won’t have missed anything you really needed.
II. Resisting The Demonic Assault
Outrage addiction is closely tied to the rise of partisanship, and the loss of trust between the two parties. It doesn’t have to be that way, but that’s the way it’s been. On most issues (racial, economic, religious, etc.) we haven’t seen much movement in the last few years, or we’ve seen movement in positive directions in terms of people coming together. But in politics, we’ve seen the chasm getting wider and wider and the level of trust getting lower and lower. So outrage porn both benefits from this (if you hate the other side, you’re more likely to want to read about what nasty, rotten sorts they all are) and amplifies this (once you read about what nasty rotten sorts they are, you trust them even less, and the cycle continues).
I’m partway through C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters right now, and I’ve got to say that he has our number. The letters are written from the perspective of one demon (Screwtape) counseling another (Wormwood, the namesake for the teacher in Calvin and Hobbes) on how to destroy a man’s soul. So here is how the spiritual situation looks, unmasked:
All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy, are to be encouraged. Not always, of course, but at this period. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent, and then it is our business to soothe them yet faster asleep. Other ages, of which the present is one, are unbalanced and prone to faction, and it is our business to inflame them. [….] Whichever he adopts, your main task will be the same. Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely part of the “cause”, in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce in favour of the British war-effort or of Pacifism. The attitude which you want to guard against is that in which temporal affairs are treated primarily as material for obedience. Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing.
At the time Lewis was writing, World War II was going on, and there were strong cases (from the Gospel!) being made by British Christians for both pacificism and for serving in combat. But the point wasn’t which side’s case was better. It’s that both sides conducted themselves in a way that ultimately subverted Jesus Christ to a mere means of settling domestic British policy. We can do the same thing now with any of the major debates going on in America (or wherever and whenever you’re reading this).
I’ve watched this happen all around me, and I think it’s tearing the online Catholic world apart. What started with a debate over whether voting for or against President Trump was the proper Catholic response has metastasized into something much bigger, in which once-reputable Catholic writers and apologists on both sides are known now not for their nuanced defenses of the Gospel, but for their political flame-throwing.
The solution to this is the one that Screwtape warns against: an attitude “in which temporal affairs are treated primarily as material for obedience,” and the world is recognized as a temporary, passing thing, as sort of means to Heaven rather than the other way around.
III. Check The Fruits
Finally, we need to do a better job of checking the spiritual fruits of our actions. Here’s what I mean. St. Paul gives us two helpful diagnostics in Gal. 5:19-24, when he says:
Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
So it’s worth exploring two questions – how do the people I follow speak and act? Are they doing it with enmity and anger? Or are they marked by a spirit of joy, peace, and patience? And even more importantly, what am I like after I read or watch their stuff? Does it fill me with love and a spirit of kindness? Or do I have the hallmarks of outrage addiction and the works of the flesh? Really explore that question in prayer if you need to, and then be open to whatever God’s calling you to, even if it means a total change in your media diet.
When Bishops are more concerned about tone than facts and DO NOTHING in public to rebuke “Catholic” politicians then maybe this article will make more sense. Our Bishops do NOTHING to hold our politicians accountable on real issues and are more concerned about tone and being nice. The Apostle Paul wasn’t concerned with being liked by all. He was trying to save souls going 80 mph towards hell.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen Joe’s tone change as well since he tried to become a priest. So much focus on “charity” that the fire of hell is ignored. People are running towards hell and the Church is more concerned about charity. Be nice when exposing demons doesn’t work. If anyone thinks the Democratic Party isn’t run by demons they’re nuts. If anyone thinks demons aren’t trying to take over the Republican Party they’re nuts as well. This battle has been raging since the fall of man and the Devil is winning since he convinces is to focus on the wrong things and even has gotten the leaders of the Church to go along.
NoNolan,
My concern with what I see as a growing lack of charity is directly connected with the fires of hell. Charity is quite literally the only remedy against hell. Neither truth alone nor faith alone is enough (or else the devils would be saved – James 2:19). St. Paul said, “if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).
There are some Christians who try to snarl the truth with hatred, but we’re called to “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15). I think that my time in seminary helped me to see that I could be inclined towards the first of these, and I think it also coincided with some broader trends in the Church and in the country. So you’re probably right that there’s been a tonal shift here in one direction, but I would argue that there are some prominent Catholic writers whose writings have been marked by going in the opposite direction, and that that’s been worse. In any case, I’m not saying that we need to be “liked at all” (I literally have written on how that’s an unrealistic goal, since even Christ was hated), just like that wasn’t St. Paul’s point when he said we needed to be presenting the truth in love. It’s about presenting the Christian message in a Christian way, and in not losing our souls in fighting for the truth.
I.X.,
Joe
Nonolan, whether you realize it or not(and I suspect you don’t), you just used yourself as a prime example to prove the point of this article.
Satanist sodomites as bishops and cardinals? Who is going to rebuke the politicians if that is what you tolerate?
Oh, I know: it would be bad for the dignitry and image of the church to deal with such things. Forgive says Francis, forgive. Well, in that case you can start by forgiving your deist ruling class I suppose.
Beams and splinters again.
Of course the devil and his minions attack Christians spiritually wherever they can; the funny thing is how little your nostrums seem to protect them, compared dare I say it, to many of those horrible, heretic Protestants.
Perhaps they protest more than you think.
This is the kind of thing that Joe was criticising. This partisan screed full of hyperbole attacking the supposed other side.
Nolan, I agree with you, I’ve been telling my friends the same thing.
But we have to fight with Love, hate the sin, Love the sinner.
Sammy
This column resonates with me very much. I have been a lifelong consumer of news starting with the New York Times which I used to deliver as a boy. After graduating from university in the early 70s I continued with the Times, local newspapers, and the evening news on one of the big 3. In graduate school I became more interested in politics — domestic and international. I rationalized that I need to stay well informed. I did this while concurrently working hard to grow in my faith. This went on for over 45 years.
It was not until I recently when I started reading the Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Cardinal Sarah that I realized I was truly addicted to all forms of news and this was impacting my efforts to grow in holiness.
Now I am addicted to silence. And as a 72 year old my prayer life has dramatically improved, bringing more joy into my life than I every thought could be possible. I would encourage everyone to read Cardinal Sarah’s books. We are blessed to have him in the Catholic Church today.
Much of what you say makes sense…but searching for TRUTH in our lives in today’s world is becoming harder with each passing day. And it is disconcerting to note that the Catholic church only 5 miles away does not adhere to the same Catholic practices my Catholic church does. We all struggle to try to discern what is right and good and Godly, while being told that we are wrong by those who are non believers and adhere to other faiths. Between the scandals in the church, in politics, and the harsh words that seem to confront us daily, prayer seems the only answer. Our leaders aren’t leading, our neighbors aren’t loving, our teachers aren’t teaching and our truths are turned into lies. It seems Joe that you suggest that we stop searching for the truth in order to find peace. In my case, I feel like I MUST continue to search for the truth in order to find it. It is uncomfortable, but we aren’t here to ignore what is happening.
Laura,
Was there something in particular I said that sounded like we should stop searching for the truth? My whole point was to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), and not to choose one or the other.
I.X.,
Joe
Well, I would say that in today’s world, searching for the truth and then finding it is one matter. Then, speaking it, once revealed, in love is a given and another matter. But how do we find the truth? I am thinking of the abortion issue as an example. Many people ( very much asleep and complacent) were happy to accept lies about abortion. This old narrative has been twisted and believed by many who simply don’t know or care to know the truth. At what point can we not cry out and feel anger over this horrible thing? We may speak the truth of it in love, but there are many in the trenches, doing difficult work trying to show the truth through taping conversations and procedures and trying to show the horror of it all. And there is no peace in this work. I understand your point, but haven’t we been told that mother will go against daughter and father against son? Am I getting this wrong? I feel outrage at the lies. Aren’t there times where it is appropriate to be passionate and not as Screwtape suggests,”lukewarm and complacent”?
I think the point of Joe’s article is that we will not find that truth we seek on social media or in the news. We are more likely to fuel our growing addiction to anger there. If we fast from the internet and 24/7 news we can more surely find truth(and the love to speak it) in prayer and through study of our bibles, catechisms and other church teachings.
I think that this is very good advice, but in taking said advice, you must be careful not to slip into the error of apathy and lethargy as well. There is such a thing as righteous anger (demonstrated by Christ at the Temple), and sometimes there is a need to take sides. The current state of American politics is a good example. I am not personally for the immigration, tax, and social welfare policies often promulgated by the Democratic Party, but they are positions that I could have a healthy debate with and some respect for (at least the more moderate left-wing policies). But on abortion and physician assisted suicide, a faithful Catholic has basically no choice but to side with the Republican Party. And the gravity of this particular issue makes it difficult to see how one can support the Democratic Party. Of course, our anger at the injustices promulgated by the “other side” should be ultimately motivated by charity.
Joe –
The problem with how charity is being applied is that it often comes across as an exception swallowing the rule. Saint Paul certainly wasn’t anywhere near the charity that our Bishops seek today while the world burns. The fact that charity is relative to the situation is lost on our Bishops and priests which perpetuates mortal sin. If someone is speeding in your neighborhood at 80 mph there’s a much different level of charity vs 40.
The Bishop of DC is more concerned with Trump’s tone then the truth of Baltimore. Just like many are more concerned with Janes Martin being treated fairly as he dances with mortal sin as though it were a game. Truth is lost due to charity being applied to much in situations where a firm rebuke is necessary.
Charity can slip into relativism very quickly which fans the flames of Hell.
Joe, Well, I would say that in today’s world, searching for the truth and then finding it is one matter. Then, speaking it, once revealed, in love is a given and another matter. But how do we find the truth? I am thinking of the abortion issue as an example. Many people ( very much asleep and complacent) were happy to accept lies about abortion. This old narrative has been twisted and believed by many who simply don’t know or care to know the truth. At what point can we not cry out and feel anger over this horrible thing? We may speak the truth of it in love, but there are many in the trenches, doing difficult work trying to show the truth through taping conversations and procedures and trying to show the horror of it all. And there is no peace in this work. I understand your point, but haven’t we been told that mother will go against daughter and father against son? Am I getting this wrong? I feel outrage at the lies. Aren’t there times where it is appropriate to be passionate and not as Screwtape suggests,”lukewarm and complacent”?
Sorry…didnt mean to post twice…duh…
I recall Pilate so often lately. ”What is truth?” he asked, while The Truth was standing right in front of him. What did Jesus’ eyes look like at that moment? Jesus is The Truth that so many people don’t want to know, and The Truth that so many people are afraid to stand up for, and The Truth that so many (Democrats AND Republicans) will hate you for, take away your job for witnessing to. Did you know that the word ”martyr” actually means ”witness”? I am praying for the courage to witness boldly. So many opportunities – guns, abortion, hate, misunderstanding about the theology of the body, calling good evil and evil good, remaking Jesus into an image and a myth that suits someone’s agenda… I have so much fear and so little time. I must devote my life to The will of Jesus and The Immaculata (they are identical, He is Justice, she is Mercy, which is the mirror of Justice.) I need to make Ignatius of Loyola’s Sucipe prayer my guide. ”Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding, and all my will. All that I have and cherish You have given me. I surrender them all to be guided by Your will. Your grace and Your love are wealth enough for me. Give me these, Lord Jesus, and I ask for nothing more.” Help me do it all with love and in Your Name. — Bill Brandon, OFS
About two months ago ABS was in rural Vermont for a memorial service for his Mother in law
There was no tv newspapers or internet service to be had
It was smashing and since then ABS has not read any news papers or listened to talk radio etc
It is liberating
What is truth? = relativism
“You’ve got uncharitable pro-Francis and anti-Francis Catholics bashing each other,”
That statement illustrates the problem of Papolatry and the error we moderns have made of turning the Papacy into a personality cult
The problem is not pro or anti Francis but whether or not Francis is actualising the duties of his office
He is supposed to be the vicar of Christ and, as Blessed Cardinal Newman observed, he is supposed to be a break against novelty but he came to the Papacy with an agenda to institute significant change and he has not wavered from that agenda
He is supposed to be the one who signifies unity but from the very beginning of his papacy he has pitted some faithful catholic against other faithful catholic and an entire blog is devoted to his insults against faithful Catholics
The number of times has he publicly identified as Pharisees those who defend the Commandments of Jesus Christ grows by month
You have had very little to say about the heterodox praxis and anthropocentric focus of he who is supposed to be a pastor of souls
In any event, one can not be said to be a lover of truth unless he is one who also hates error
The Catholic Encyclopedia entry on “ Pope, the”
He is to be the principle of unity, of stability, and of increase. He is the principle of unity, since what is not joined to that foundation is no part of the Church; of stability, since it is the firmness of this foundation in virtue of which the Church remains unshaken by the storms which buffet her; of increase, since, if she grows, it is because new stones are laid on this foundation.
++++++++++++++++++++++
How does our current Pope compare with this description of who a Pope is and what a Pope does?
ABS –
Our current Pope, like James Martin, is in love with modernism and all of its trappings. They aren’t modernists all the time on every issue, but they have no problem with trying to soften sin in an effort that more will come to the Church. It’s nonsense. The faithful will leave if truth is being manipulated. That is the real danger in charity when dealing with mortal sins. People need to be told sternly the effect of mortal sins. Charity is very useful for lesser sin as fire and brimstone for every level of sin is unworkable.
Nothing publicly happens to politicians all over the world who embrace abortion. Makes me think the Church has failed and Christ was a liar.
Dear NoNolan
Long ago, St Vincent of Lenin’s ( Comminotory) taught that God allows even Prelates to preach novelty as the way God tests is to see if we love Him
Read St Vincent and be at peace brother
Jesus is, has always been, and always be the head of His Catholic Church and He is entirely in control
Don’t sweat Francis. While it may seem he has/ changing doctrine, it is itself infallible doctrine (Vatican l) that doctrine does not change and must be understood in the way it has always been understood
Draw closer to Jesus and when you receive Him in Holy Communion ask Him to complete His work in you by making you the NoNolan He desires you be rather than the NoNolan you have always chosen to be
Jesus established zhis Catholic Church for two reasons
Salvation
Sanctification
Let Him save you and Sanctify you inside His Holy Catholic Church for outside of His Catholic Church there is neither Salvation or Remission of sin
Pray for Francis daily
Great job, mate.
Joe, thank you for an insightful and timely article for both the Church and the world. Anger is one of the 7 deadly sins for a reason, hence St. Francis de Sale’s warning that righteous anger might not remain righteous but become sinful anger. If not controlled, it can lead to bitter zeal, which darkens the faculties of the soul. This is one of the ways we can become the darkness rather than being a light in it. Hence, your comment, “a growing lack of charity is directly connected with the fires of hell.”, is spot on.
Fr. Paul Scalia wrote a great article years ago that is still relevant today. It is titled, “The Church Militant or the Church Belligerent, How Fighting For the Faith Can Destroy Charity”. It is still available on the internet.
This scripture continues to remind me that while orthodoxy is essential, love is more so. “I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first.” Rev. 2:2-5
The fundamental problem is that the Left–both secular leftists and pro-abortion bishops, priests, and laity–insists on the right to kill babies. Bergoglio refuses to meet with Salvini, but meets with and communicates regularly with Emma Bonino, the famous abortionist. You can google for photos of the two of them making goo-goo eyes at each other. The same people–Bergoglio, bishops, priests, and laity, promote the invasion and destruction of the West–by people who, here in the U.S., vote 80% pro-abortion.
You can’t kill 65 million babies and have “civility.” Complaining about “partisanship,” “divisiveness,” etc., while the killing continues, is like a doctor devoting all his efforts and tens of thousands of dollars to treating athlete’s foot on a patient who is dying of cancer.
Dear Arthur. The Pro Life side treats as victims, Mothers who hire hit men to kill their innocent unborn babies. Surely, in treating the perps as victims, The Pro Life side is actually pro abortion or at least Pro Choice.
Now, if ABS hired a hit man to kill his irksome neighbor who is guilty of repeatedly leaving his trash uncovered so that local raccoons will scatter it all over his lawn, ABS can’t imagine an national organisation anxious/willing to call ABS a victim.
When pregnant mothers hire hitman/doctors to kill their unborn babies they are clearly involved in a conspiracy to commit murder and they are not victims if morality still exists.
Yet, those who complain of abortionists never speak the truth about baby-killing moms.
Fake news has a new opponent. It’s called The Epoch Times, for the times we are in are epoch with all the powerful fake news in the media and print, as well as public schools. The Epoch Times has returned the word “respect” to the word “NEWSpaper.” Check it out TheEpochTimes.com. “The Epoch Times strives to be the most trusted global media, through truthful reporting, promoting traditional values, and exposing the disguises of communism.”
I think it’s telling that the statistics you cite at the start of your article compare with the 1990s. As Griard would note, prior to the fall of the Iron Curtin, we in the West had a largely agreed-upon external enemy around which we could unite. Once this common enemy was taken away, it is not surprising that we began to find our enemies much closer to home.
NYT now mad and upset that people expose their own reporters which is the same tactic the NYT uses against political candidates who aren’t full blown secular humanist/Marxist.
We need Bishops to PUBLICLY hold politicians accountable (and if necessary PUBLICLY excommunicate) for their hatred and attack of Church doctrine. That is the only charitable way to protect the faith from evil in this climate.
These struggles we have are nothing new to humanity. No, it was never worse for Christians in the whole history of the world right? No, there was never a worse society ever on the planet right? There have never been groups in a society saying they were the “right” side and the others “evil and wrong”. I think we are surprised in our “modern and enlightened” sensibilities at the lengths the enemy will go to give us grief. We are surprised at the depths humanity can sink to and we fool ourselves into thinking there is something “we” can do about it by hate speech, ill feelings, and ill will towards our “enemies”.
It also, very readily, seems we have confused ourselves as to what, and who, the enemy is. We seemingly have enemies coming out of the woodwork don’t we? Terrorists, abortionists, pedophiles, transgender, LBGT, bad priest, bad cardinals, bad deacons, and bad popes. Are they really the enemy though?
Is it our pride that keeps telling us “we” need to do something about these things? In fact do very few of these things impact our singular lives? Yes, they may be a crime against all that is good, but do they really impact us personally? Do we actually have any control or say in any of these things? Or do we feel impotent at the swirling madness and wish there was something…anything…we could do to soothe our egos?
Yeah, I remember Jesus saying to get together a committee, post hateful things against them online and wherever we could, and start a protest and….oh, I guess not.
Do we overlook the one thing we are told, no commanded, to do by the Author of Life Himself?
Do you truly think Jesus loves a “baby-killing mom” any less than He loves you?
Do you truly think Jesus loves a mass shooter any less than He loves you?
Do you truly think Jesus loves anyone less than He does you? If you think He loves you more, you better have an ego and pride check.
Have we become so faithless when we keep spouting the church will become no more if things continue as they are? If so we are calling Jesus a liar when He said He would be with us always until the end of the age.
Are we so arrogant as to think our complaining and sharing others faults here has no consequences and will actually change things? Did Jesus tell us without Him we can do nothing? Do we need to consider what we are thinking, writing, and doing in the light of what spirit really is driving it? If it is not the true love for the other that motivates us, we may be listening to the wrong spirit.
If we complain and gripe about how the church Jesus is in control of is run, who are we really complaining against? I read somewhere (so don’t expect me to provide a concise link to it) that those who cease to follow the teachings of the church excommunicate themselves.
And of course there are the “convenient” Christians (Shockingly…some are…gasp!… catholic…shhhh) who will side with whoever they think will stroke their egos the best. Or the ones who ignorantly refuse truth. I think they might be the people talked about in, “Be gone from me as I do not know you”. Why do we feel contempt for them instead of sorrow?
The people of the world are deceived by the great deceiver. He was a liar and murderer from the beginning. It is this one that is our true enemy. He has done a great job so far hasn’t he? He can do no more than God lets him though. If this is how the world is to end and Jesus comes back…shouldn’t we be happier, even joyous? Or are we afraid of what will happen if it does happen soon?
We have lost a sense of why we are Christians and what that truly means haven’t we? We are all called to be saints. To be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. It seems we missed that lesson somewhere haven’t we?
Aren’t we promised sufferings and to rejoice in them? Maybe I read that on a billboard or something. I always thought suffering was to teach us something about ourselves and give us reason to turn to the One who can save us. I could be wrong, but a guy who told us to pick up our cross daily and we would be hated because of Him probably didn’t have a cushy life in mind.
At close examination, everything flows from love. You cannot have justice without love. There is no mercy without love. There is no forgiveness without love. If we are supposed to love one another as He loves us – we should all be very ashamed and immediately seek His forgiveness.
Isn’t every human being ever to live on earth made in the likeness of God Himself? Don’t we realize when we bash another human being we are bashing God? The God we claim to love? Isn’t this the basis of all sin; to not show our love to one another in many small and great ways? Can we as broken human beings love this way all on our own?
So if love is from God, then where does all this hate come from? Hmm, that is a trick question isn’t it?
There have always been bad people. People who do evil things. The teachings of Christ are infallible but people are not. There have been bad people in the church since that Judas guy, oh, and the Borgias, and a few others; but, guess what? The church is still here as promised. We have been broken and sinful people since the fall, yet it seems we try to make ourselves the judge, jury, and last word on what it right and true – at least according to what we feel is right. WOW! I think that happened once and changed the whole thing didn’t it? I think I read that somewhere…
Hmm, what if instead of gathering the troops and looking who we can find faults with, we actually did what we are commanded to do and love and pray for our enemies and the people who hurt us? Is it possible God would do things we cannot if we take Him at his word (no pun intended) ? What if we tried to love them as God loves them? What if we put down the stones and looked at why these things are truly upsetting to us?
I know…these seem to be novel ideas in this day and age. They may be too archaic. If in our zeal to convert others we lose ourselves, who is the true loser?
Sorry….stepping off soapbox now…sliding an exit stage right!
This article is so very good, thank you. It gives me a heavy heart to know that so many don’t see what’s really happening. It comes down to living one’s intimacy with our Lord. I wish I knew how to help them see.
Essentially you are a lukewarm warm Catholic. You have no desire to confront the evils of the world or in the Church.