Comments on: Are We in a Cold Civil War? Is the Church?

By: hierothee

hierothee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:41:19 +0000

Joe,

I am not focusing on this point. I set the point apart as an aside because many Catholics think that the right to keep and bear arms is inconsequential. If you read my post carefully, you will see that I list numerous things that Barack Obama, aided and abetted by a filibuster proof Marxian congress, and a judiciary that he will stock with Marxian allies, will push through unimpeded. He does not care one whit for your right to keep and bear arms, and he does not care about previous supreme court decisions.

For many Catholics, most of the things that I have listed will be seen as contrary to social justice. However, many may bristle at the thought that the right to keep and bear arms has any connection whatsoever to social justice. My suggestion is that it may in fact have such a connection, though I admit that it may also not have such a connection. If the citizenry is comprised of barbaric and militaristic thugs, the right to keep and bear arms may turn out to be disastrous. Personal virtue, natural and supernatural, is the only glue that can hold this society together: and the institutions and rights that we take for granted can be used against us if we are beset by vice, including the vice of “thuggishness.”

You sound like a bit of a thug. But, in the course of two internet comments, I cannot tell if that’s true. Did you come over here from Free Republic?

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:56:38 +0000

“Are you an Obama supporter looking to throw political opponents in jail?”

No, I have taken an oath to defend this country against all enemies foreign and domestic.

Calls for armed insurrection would be made by domestic enemies of this country.

I am very glad to hear you are not calling for armed insurrection. I am glad to hear you support the Constitution and the right to keep and bear arms. Have you had any particular difficulties in exercising this right recently that cause you to be concerned that the right may be infringed in the future? As you are probably aware, the Supreme Court recently issued a decison strongly supporting the right to keep and bear arms. This right is treated relatively well in the past few years, especially at the Supreme Court level.

I’m curious as to why you suggest the Church should focus on this particular right.

By: Sodbuster

Sodbuster — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:27:15 +0000

It has been a civil cold war for decades, at least since Roe v. Wade and probably since the mid-1960s.

What is changing is that it appears about to go hot.

Alternatively, McCain will win, there will be riots and some blood in the streets, but then 4 years of detante.

Or Farrakhan’s messiah/mahdi/antichrist will win, and all dissent will be ruthlessly suppressed not with obvious jackboots, but with many crocodile tears of fake offense, and therapeutic language – all enabled by the Patriot Act, of course.

By: hierothee

hierothee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:10:31 +0000

Joe,

I am not calling for armed insurrection. I am calling for a preservation of the constitutional right to bear arms. Are you an Obama supporter looking to throw political opponents in jail?

By: joe

joe — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:48:57 +0000

“I would even go so far as to say that it behooves the Church, as a practical matter, to defend the right to bear arms in this country.”

Are you calling for armed insurreciton?

By: Kathy

Kathy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:45:02 +0000

A particularly prescient post. Save it for future reference.

It’s long past time to begin praying and fasting.

By: smiley007

smiley007 — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:02:55 +0000

To Kris
You are partially correct about the infiltration of communism and Marxist ideology in the church, it was called Liberation Theology and you can read a lot about it on the EWTN library and similar resource web sites. Note that Popr Benedict XVI has condemned Liberation Theology both as pope as well as when he was Cardinal Ratzinger.

NO it is not wrong to help the poor, yes it is wrong when helping the poor replaces the Christ

By: Rhett

Rhett — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:44:33 +0000

Just for the record, Mark Steyn is a naturalized American Citizen originally from Canada and now living in New England.

By: kris

kris — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:07:19 +0000

Marxist ideas have already made their mark inside the church. I have met so many priests and sisters who seem to miss the fact that their thinking is so heavily influenced by Marxism. They are blinded by so much false compassion and so much love for “the group” that they miss the real motivation for social justice which must be love of the unique individual. We love the poor not because they are a group of suffering people, not because Jesus told us to love “the poor”, but because we see the value of each individual person made in the image and likeness of God. We are called to love all men by loving each man not this “group” “class” thinking which itself undermines the preciousness of the individual as made in God’s image. This is the number one area where I see the nanny-state Marxist -type philosophy confuse and darken the minds of otherwise kind and good individuals. I am beginning to depair though that there is a solution to this kind of confusion that can come from man. I think the darkness of mind that has set in can only be lifted by God and Him alone. It is next to impossible to try to talk about the culture of life and the pro life message with those who see life as meaningless and broken if it involves suffering or poverty. The compassion and the righteous anger that some have for many social issues is good and correct but they MUST follow their convictions back to their root. I’m afraid that at the root of much of this compassion is a foundation built on the material and the economic. The root of all social justice must be a reverence for the image of God we find in every human person, and for the invisible reality of the spiritual hidden iside every person from the moment of conception until death. Last night my pastor spoke about Oct. being respect life month. He spoke quietly and lamely on “the unborn babies we need to pray for” for about 60 seconds. He went on to discuss our obligation to help the poor of the world for about 15 minutes with much passion and energy. There is not just a cold civil war in our country and in our Church but there is one in every church and in every family as well.