Oh boy - I apparently am about to break two of the old cocktail party rules - "never talk about sex, politics or religion," but I hope I can do it in a gentle way, as I do not pretend to know all the answers.
The idea of this blog came from reading about more controversies surrounding Pope Francis, who everyone loves, but with whom many disagree, particularly with his South American sense of social justice and socialism. In his home land of Argentina, the nation has swung between the far right and far left for decades, virtually halting its promise of becoming a world-class nation that many believed it would be since the 1920's. The devil is probably in the details, but it has brought to mind the at-times odd correlation between socialist policies and declining spiritual - or at least religious - interest. Why this is so in the repressive socialist states is not surprising: organized religion, at least, is seen in these countries as a power contrary to that of the state. In Marxist nations, religion is even seen as a counter-revolutionary force that hoodwinks the people with a god that demands submission to the powers that be. The spirit for such states is completely "of this world" demanding that people exist only for the state.
As said, this is fairly straight forward. But what about the social democratic principles that much of Western Europe at least partially embraces? There, one can practice any religion one chooses. One is not excluded from higher positions on the hierarchy, nor harassed for one's beliefs. And yet, in Western Europe, religious belief and participation have plummeted since the ouster of the old aristocracies and the installation of socialist democracies.
Again, the devil might just remain in the details - that is, with the particular history of Western Europe, including its former reigning aristocracy, the interference of church with state, and the devastation of the two world wars (bringing many people, we might assume, to believe that a good god would not let such things happen). Still, I have to speculate - is the focus on social equality somehow antithetical to the focus on religion ,and even on the spiritual? How can that be, if the current Pope is so eagerly pressing for the greater sharing of the wealth internationally, in a way he re-defines as the path of Jesus?
One has to wonder if such autocratic theocracies such as Iran or the former fascist government of Franco's Spain truly are or were any more spiritual than, say, Denmark, but here I limit my comments to the socialist vs spiritual dimension. Marx would have it that the loss of religion (and the spiritual - they are not entirely interdependent, but often are or were) allowed the masses to think of social injustice, but it seems to me that the reverse is true: that religion, especially in the case of Christian Europe, demanded the implementation of socialism, as a state response to the Christian call to charity (thus, the mind-set of Pope Francis). But could it be that the focus on the social has interfered with the seeing of the spiritual? Could it be that, as Jesus said, we cannot serve two masters, both God and Mammon? For to be Biblically charitable, doesn't one have to have love in one's heart? Because if not, charity might become only an earthly reward for those philanthropists who wish to be praised. To paraphrase Jesus, might it be that for such people, they have already gotten their reward, and will not then be rewarded in heaven?
More directly, with legally enforced charity in the form of socialism, do we lose sight of the spiritual? Is our sense of righteousness then fulfilled without the spiritual? Does the spiritual, then, become less and less, and then nothing at all?
It seems I am leading the questions here with an answer, but I am not so sure. During the retreat that I have recently written about, we were not only personally infused with something that I call the Holy Spirit, but we also felt a sense of oneness among us. But is this not also shared by comrades in arms, or by strong socialist/ nationalist nations (Hitler's Germany's come immediately to mind)?
Still, it is my belief that only a spiritual sense of togetherness has any chance of enduring for long - and thus the codification of spirit by virtually all cultures in their respective religious beliefs. That which depends on the perishable is ultimately perishable. And such it would seem that the socialist state as a merely secular enterprise would be perishable - that is, that it would not serve the people long in promoting a sense of belonging and cooperation. In this case, one would expect a crises of culture and belief, and even of the definition of the self. Is this not what is happening now? Isn't this the West's greatest problem?
Thus I would respectfully ask Pope Francis to be very precise about what he means by social justice, and about how it should be achieved. I would suggest that the vehicle of the state is not the best for his end, which is the coming together of the world in the Holy Spirit. This is only a suggestion however, for this is more an inquiry than a treatise. Still, it remains, I think, a vital avenue of inquiry considering the changes that are occurring world-wide. FK
The idea of this blog came from reading about more controversies surrounding Pope Francis, who everyone loves, but with whom many disagree, particularly with his South American sense of social justice and socialism. In his home land of Argentina, the nation has swung between the far right and far left for decades, virtually halting its promise of becoming a world-class nation that many believed it would be since the 1920's. The devil is probably in the details, but it has brought to mind the at-times odd correlation between socialist policies and declining spiritual - or at least religious - interest. Why this is so in the repressive socialist states is not surprising: organized religion, at least, is seen in these countries as a power contrary to that of the state. In Marxist nations, religion is even seen as a counter-revolutionary force that hoodwinks the people with a god that demands submission to the powers that be. The spirit for such states is completely "of this world" demanding that people exist only for the state.
As said, this is fairly straight forward. But what about the social democratic principles that much of Western Europe at least partially embraces? There, one can practice any religion one chooses. One is not excluded from higher positions on the hierarchy, nor harassed for one's beliefs. And yet, in Western Europe, religious belief and participation have plummeted since the ouster of the old aristocracies and the installation of socialist democracies.
Again, the devil might just remain in the details - that is, with the particular history of Western Europe, including its former reigning aristocracy, the interference of church with state, and the devastation of the two world wars (bringing many people, we might assume, to believe that a good god would not let such things happen). Still, I have to speculate - is the focus on social equality somehow antithetical to the focus on religion ,and even on the spiritual? How can that be, if the current Pope is so eagerly pressing for the greater sharing of the wealth internationally, in a way he re-defines as the path of Jesus?
One has to wonder if such autocratic theocracies such as Iran or the former fascist government of Franco's Spain truly are or were any more spiritual than, say, Denmark, but here I limit my comments to the socialist vs spiritual dimension. Marx would have it that the loss of religion (and the spiritual - they are not entirely interdependent, but often are or were) allowed the masses to think of social injustice, but it seems to me that the reverse is true: that religion, especially in the case of Christian Europe, demanded the implementation of socialism, as a state response to the Christian call to charity (thus, the mind-set of Pope Francis). But could it be that the focus on the social has interfered with the seeing of the spiritual? Could it be that, as Jesus said, we cannot serve two masters, both God and Mammon? For to be Biblically charitable, doesn't one have to have love in one's heart? Because if not, charity might become only an earthly reward for those philanthropists who wish to be praised. To paraphrase Jesus, might it be that for such people, they have already gotten their reward, and will not then be rewarded in heaven?
More directly, with legally enforced charity in the form of socialism, do we lose sight of the spiritual? Is our sense of righteousness then fulfilled without the spiritual? Does the spiritual, then, become less and less, and then nothing at all?
It seems I am leading the questions here with an answer, but I am not so sure. During the retreat that I have recently written about, we were not only personally infused with something that I call the Holy Spirit, but we also felt a sense of oneness among us. But is this not also shared by comrades in arms, or by strong socialist/ nationalist nations (Hitler's Germany's come immediately to mind)?
Still, it is my belief that only a spiritual sense of togetherness has any chance of enduring for long - and thus the codification of spirit by virtually all cultures in their respective religious beliefs. That which depends on the perishable is ultimately perishable. And such it would seem that the socialist state as a merely secular enterprise would be perishable - that is, that it would not serve the people long in promoting a sense of belonging and cooperation. In this case, one would expect a crises of culture and belief, and even of the definition of the self. Is this not what is happening now? Isn't this the West's greatest problem?
Thus I would respectfully ask Pope Francis to be very precise about what he means by social justice, and about how it should be achieved. I would suggest that the vehicle of the state is not the best for his end, which is the coming together of the world in the Holy Spirit. This is only a suggestion however, for this is more an inquiry than a treatise. Still, it remains, I think, a vital avenue of inquiry considering the changes that are occurring world-wide. FK
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