I don’t post a lot of political commentary. It’s not my area; I am opposed to the contemporary sport of fomenting outrage; all that.
Every so often, though, something is so striking I feel like reflecting on it out loud.
So, tonight I was checking email. [Life has been busy – there’s a backlog.]
I ran into this: Greg Sargent’s opinion piece on Attorney General William Barr’s actions in relation to the ongoing impeachment hearings.
And then, a little further on, I ran into this: Rod Dreher’s admiring review of Barr’s recent speech at Notre Dame, concluding that
If religious liberty is the most important public issue to you — and, as a religious believer, should it not be? — then the Barr speech should be front to mind as you consider voting. The state cannot give us meaning, but it can maintain the spaces necessary for us to discover meaning. Or not. This is important. This is very, very important.
I questioned Dreher’s priorities.
As a religious believer, I’m aware that my religious liberty can be challenged, even penalized, but can never actually be taken away.
And I couldn’t help thinking that the last time I checked the Catechism of the Catholic Church, right ends did not justify wrong means, and it was wrong to think they did. You’re not supposed to do things you know are wrong, even if you are sure it’ll help the good guys win.
I’m guessing all these guys knew that, once.
Personally, as a religious believer, I think whether someone knows the difference between “right” and “expedient” is a good thing to keep “front to mind” when I consider voting. And at other times.
Matters of Interpretation 
2 responses to “Juxtaposition”
Thank you Heather. The politicization of faith DOES NOT promote religious liberty. It, at its best, upholds bias and supports self righteousness. At its worst, it promotes unnecessary divisions and opposes love. When we seek to sanctify ourselves or our leaders by upholding their righteousness at the expense of others, we separate ourselves from love. And God is love.
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Thanks, Tim – and if by “politicization” you mean things like making alliances with states, political parties, etc., I couldn’t agree more. The time always comes when the church has to “pay the piper,” and the bill always amounts to some compromise of conscience, financed by denial and the corruption of theology. Unfortunately, while everyone recognizes the “German Christians” made a mistake, it’s harder to recognize when we’re making the same kind of mistake ourselves.
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