Telling any person that they are either anathema or barred from God’s blessings because they don’t submit to a particluar earthly visible, physical religo-political “church” (by any name at all) is to use spiritual intimidation to keep souls in bondage - - - often for the tithes & offerings of those people — often just for power and status over those people.
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCEEDINGLY TRUE.
What is the difficulty in recognizing this and telling it like it is about it--in any group. Aren't Christians supposed to be KEENLY INTERESTED IN AND COMMITTED TO THE TRUTH WHEREVER IT'S FOUND ABOUT WHATEVER???
Why such an anemic or off the wall response to the topic?
Why do the serfs go along with such nonsense so lock, stock and barrel?
Telling any person that they are either anathema or barred from God’s blessings because they don’t submit to a particluar earthly visible, physical religo-political “church” (by any name at all) is to use spiritual intimidation to keep souls in bondage - - - often for the tithes & offerings of those people — often just for power and status over those people.[By the way, I think that's spelled "pertiklar."]
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCEEDINGLY TRUE.I tried last night and gave up. I'll try again this AM, but I am in haste:What is the difficulty in recognizing this and telling it like it is about it--in any group.
The short answer is I don[' recognize it, though I think I understand the proposition, because I do not believe it to be true. Tautologous. Sorry.
I think that IN any group that does what JL says, there will often be people who want to control other people. But I don't think those people necessarily define the group.
In fact try this as a suggested, only suggested, idea:
Influenced more by secular political thought than by hope for the kingdom, a number of Christians have determined that the way to prevent abuse of power/authority in the "ecclesial assemblies" is to do away with power/authority.
The first analogy to come to my alleged mind is gun-control: We will try to make all weak so that none may abuse strength. And of course, that doesn't work. D.C. and Maryland with among the strictest gun laws in the nation have high rates of gun-related crime. And in any event, such laws reflect a lack of faith in citizens.
And such crippled church polities may possibly reflect a lack of faith in God's ability to make a silk purse out of the sow's ear of a bunch o' Papists..
And indeed it is hard to "believe" when we have the "long train of abuses" in Popes of hundreds of years ago and among some clerics of this age.
But as I am constantly reminding my co-religionists, the Catholic Church summons us to "man up", not to let the clergy do all our thinking and deciding for us. Many are those who have the "reverse scape -gaot" appraoch to spirituality. Just as we put our sins of a goat and run him off, we expect somebody else to be good for us, and keep him around. At least the first has some kind of divine backing. The second is sloth, pure and simple.
I am troubled, not so much by the piety but by the cultural dependence that some catholics indulge in.
A local priest has a kind of "I don't give a flip," about some Church regulations. One of my dear friends, from Turin but now living here, has REAL difficulty articulating the problem. I'm working on him.
A monsignor once came to our former parish to talk to us who were concerned that the Diocese, having, milked some loot from us, was going to close us.
Unwisely, he tried to suggest that we had not done much to show the diocese how we would fit into and contribute to a plan for this area. It was unwise because we had just raised some serious loot to by a house for a priest who served three congregations.
As you can imagine, I endeavored to use some strong, clear, and vigorous language to invite the good monsignor to consider the likely outcome of asking us to raise around $40k (as I think it was) and then, after we had done so to belittle our efforts. I think he will remember the encounter. Okay? 'Nuff said? Mos Definitely?
But what amused me was my, now departed, friend Rita kind of yanking at me and whispering for me to be more respectful.
Again, one of my heroines is Catherine of Siena. She was not all sweet and submissive and dependent. And SHE's not only a saint but a Doctor of the Church.
You GO girl, sez me! I bet there was at least one Pope and a number of clergy who, knowing her and hearing accusations of keeping souls in bondage would fall down on the floor laughing. "I wish!" echoes around the parsonage walls.
I remember once my old, now dead, cat Sam encountering a German Shepherd: German Shepherd comes bounding up, cheerfully expecting to keep a little feline soul in bondage. Sam just hunkered a little, growled softly, asked, "May I help you?" and looked him daid in the eye. G.S. puts on brakes,slowly begins to creep backwards, and suddenly remembers an appointment on the other side of town.
Souls in bondage, my Aunt Fanny! Those who know how to read, remember what the widows of influence in the congregation did for St. Paul.
Any souls-in-bondage priest who goes up against a brace of determined widows .... well, I'd just like ringside seats for that fight.
We like to lambaste the clergy for the child abuse thing. And so we should. But other candidates for a clock cleaning are the parents who chose saying, "Yes, father," over acting like grown-ups.
Okay. Time to lave the corpse and take it to church.