The Pope’s Anti-Political Politics

December 12, 2007

The Pope’s Anti-Political Politics

“Hope.” Like the word “love,” it's overused today, but that’s the fundamental theme of Benedict XVI’s new encyclical Spe Salvi. Just as his first encyclical Deus Caritas Est explored the subject of love, Catholicism’s theologian-pope has chosen to focus on an indispensible dimension of the Christian message.

Today hundreds of theologians insist upon talking about everything except the essences of Christian faith, regarding such matters as “not relevant” to contemporary concerns.

In Spe Salvi, Benedict demonstrates -- perhaps without intending to -- how wrong such assumptions are. A powerful theme of this encyclical is that a world without hope, or which reduces hope to creating earthly utopias, facilitates a view of politics that not only enslaves, but kills.

Benedict begins by observing that Christianity’s hope of life after death presented a radically different view of human destiny compared to the Roman Empire’s pagan religions. “[N]o hope,” Benedict writes, “emerged from their contradictory myths. Notwithstanding their gods, they were ‘without God’ and consequently found themselves in a dark world, facing a dark future.”

But Christianity’s insistence upon the possibility of eternal life, says Benedict, fundamentally re-orientated human history. It saved pagan Europe from an understanding of life as essentially purposeless. Christianity encouraged people to view the world as one in which things made sense. The same God who gave man hope of eternal life was understood to be a thoroughly rational deity -- the Logos -- rather than a willful, capricious divinity.

Thus astrology began giving way to astronomy, as humans accelerated their quest for truth, confident humanity’s existence was not the work of mere chance or a master clock-maker, but rather came from a God who was simultaneously Love (Caritas) and Truth (Veritas).

From Benedict’s point of view, however, things started to go wrong with the Enlightenment. It’s not that he adopts “the-Enlightenment-is-the-Devil’s-work” argument often found among uber-traditionalists. Anyone familiar with Benedict’s writings knows there is much about this diverse intellectual movement he admires.

What Benedict means is that some Enlightenment thinkers, such as the scientist-philosopher Francis Bacon, believed human reason could eventually solve all of humanity’s problems.

This ideology of progress, Benedict suggests, resulted in people imagining it was possible to realize the Kingdom of God on earth. The French Revolution, Benedict holds, was the first political attempt to implement this ideology. It ended in the guillotining of anyone regarded by the Revolution’s secular high-priests as obstructing the way to liberté, égalité, fraternité.

Unfortunately, the progressivist faith in humanity’s ability to create earthly paradises through politics has not diminished. It was, as Benedict notes, central to the Marxist project that ravaged the 20^th century.

In Benedict’s view, Marxism could not help but leave behind “a trail of appalling destruction.” Marx, Benedict says, was virtually silent about the end-state of his promised heaven-on-earth because he “forgot man and he forgot man’s freedom.” In other words, once you accept the reality of human liberty, you know society can never be static, never perfect. There is no human-engineered “end of history.”

Marxism’s denial of liberty meant its politics could never get beyond the “dictatorship of the proletariat” phase. Ironically, Benedict states, “having accomplished the revolution, Lenin must have realized that the writings of the master gave no indication as to how to proceed.”

Christian hope, in Benedict’s opinion, offers a different understanding of politics. It also differs significantly from that of theocrats of all faiths, most liberation theologians, and, sadly enough, some Christian social justice activists.

“Christianity,” Benedict writes, “did not bring a message of social revolution like that of the ill-fated Spartacus, whose struggle led to so much bloodshed. Jesus was not Spartacus, he was not engaged in a fight for political liberation like Barabbas or Bar- Kochba.”

Instead Christianity relativizes politics.

Yes, Christians -- indeed everyone -- should work to make society more authentically free and humane. Politics can contribute to this end. But to assume political activism can potentially create a perfect human society is to deny the truth of human liberty and imperfection and put Man and Earth in the place of God and Heaven.

“Hence,” Benedict concludes, “while we must always be committed to the improvement of the world, tomorrow’s better world cannot be the proper and sufficient content of our hope.”

This is a sobering message about politics. It’s unlikely to be well-received in a number of circles -- Christian and non-Christian. Spe Salvi, however, gently reminds us not to allow politics to succumb to hubristic tendencies from whatever source they arise -- religious or secular.

That’s one political message surely worth hearing.

Dr. Samuel Gregg is research director at the Acton Institute and author, most recently, of The Commercial Society (2007).

Comments

Corey Mondello: cpmondello@yahoo.com

The Pope’s Anti-Political Politics

David Pendleton from Honolulu, Hawaii, stated the following:

"Christians must ever be involved in blessing others, even in the here and now. And blessing others means more than saying holy words but involves engaging in holy acts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless. At the same time, if we share only that which is material, we ignore the deeper needs of the human spirit. What good is it to feed the stomach and to starve the soul?"

I would like to ask where these so-called Christians are?

I do not think the modern day Christian believes they owe anyone anything and regard those in need as lazy people looking for a hand-out.

Here is a quote, which I believe should be the motivation to help people, without the dogma and politics of religion;

"....if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties.. if that is what they mean by a "liberal" then I am proud to be a liberal. " ~ John F. Kennedy

Seems similarly, that the Founders of America wanted, or at least desired and aimed for a world where people could be free and happy.

Here is what the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence states;

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness--"

From what I understand, religion has been the motivator of the killing of people more than any other reason.

Here are a few helpful and motivational quotes;

"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion".

~ Thomas Paine

"The number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood, and the devotion of the people have been manifestly increased by the total seperation of the Church and the State."

~ James Madison

a.k.a. 'The Father of the Constituition of the United States of America'

"The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence of clergy."

~ George Washington

“The appeals court has reaffirmed both common sense and the Constitution, No American should enter a courthouse and feel like an outsider because he or she does not share the judge’s religious beliefs. No judge should be free to use his or her power over people’s lives to subject them to his personal religious proselytizing.”

~ People For the American Way President Ralph G. Neas

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute—where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote—where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference—and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him."

~ JFK - A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989

"Attempts to unite church and state are opposed to the interests of each, subversive of human rights and potentially persecuting in character; to oppose union, lawfully and honorably, is not only the citizen’s duty but the essence of the Golden Rule–to treat others as one wishes to be treated."

~ Liberty Magazine

"The bloody rise of theological politics in the Islamic world, and especially in Iraq, reminds us how rare and fragile an achievement the separation of church and state really is."

~ Rabbie Eric Yoffie Union for Reform Judaism

"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced one inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites."

~ Thomas Jefferson

The following 5 quotes come from the

American Library Association's First Amendment of the Bill of Rights

to the United States Constitution Resource webpage

“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime . . . .”

— Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, dissenting Ginzberg v. United States, 383 U.S. 463 (1966)

“The very purpose of a Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.”

— Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)

“First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from the government because speech is the beginning of thought.”

—Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition (00-795) 198 F.3d 1083, affirmed.

“Almost all human beings have an infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”

— Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World.

“Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis (1856–1941), Whitney v. California, 274 U. S. 357 (1927)

Corey Mondello
Boston, Massachusetts
cpmondello@yahoo.com
www.CoreyMondello.com
12-31-07

David Pendleton: kawikapendleton@hotmail.com

Dr. Gregg:

The Acton Inst. has done it again. It's motivated me to read a document I otherwise might not have read. As one with unwavering curiosity in politics and religion, I read "The Pope’s Anti-Political Politics" with great interest. The first point to grab my attention was the one that focused us on the basics of Christianity - faith, hope, and love. These cardinal virtues -- or theological virtues -- often receive short shrift in today’s contemporary religious writing. They are not interesting, not intriguing, and not controversial. But they are at the heart of existence. Ever since St. Paul mentioned them in his letter to the believers in Corinth, we’ve pondered them and perhaps all too often taken them for granted.

The second point that whets my appetite is the one about our hope as Christians being actually more realistic than that of the secular faiths we find having been popular throughout earth's history. Our hope in the present is always tempered by the future, our commitment to temporal justice must always be understood and informed by the light of eternity.

Dr. Gregg's citation of the Holy Father summed up the article well: “Hence,” Benedict concludes, “while we must always be committed to the improvement of the world, tomorrow’s better world cannot be the proper and sufficient content of our hope.”

Christians must ever be involved in blessing others, even in the here and now. And blessing others means more than saying holy words but involves engaging in holy acts to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless. At the same time, if we share only that which is material, we ignore the deeper needs of the human spirit. What good is it to feed the stomach and to starve the soul?

I would urge others to read the encyclical for themselves as well. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html

I was blessed by the letter.

The Acton article is a mere titillating “movie trailer” compared to the actual encyclical.

God bless all. Merry Christmas.

David Pendleton
Honolulu, Hawaii

Luis Ramirez Guerrero: luisdiego22002@gmail.com

Most definitely "a sobering statement". The fact that the greatest gift that God has given us is free will, makes the whole concept of the static society something to avoid and not to strive for. Free will along with reason has given us the possibility to gain comprehension and help us evolve physically and spiritually. For this we must understand diversity as a product of that which God has given us, and a positive one at that, for this permits us to at least contemplate other opinions that are not our own, which at the same time allows us to be more humble towards all of humanity, but mostly towards God Himself. In other words, Christianty introduces the concept of relativity to politics, as you mentioned.

Alex Catharino: acatharino@cieep.org.br

Great article!

Agbaw Ebai: agbawebaim@yahoo.co.uk

Good letter, Holy Father. I t has been beautiful reading line after line. God bless you. Many more years. I love you.

Fr. Larry Gearhart: frlarry@email-file.org

The remarkable thing about the progressivist mindset, in this sense, is that the inevitable failures of the "revolution" produce cultural instabilities - maximum ferment among intellectuals casting about for solutions. This, in turn, inevitably produces fissioning in the social order, which then leads directly to a cultural revolution (i.e., a massive purge) masterminded by whichever group holds ultimate power. This is what ultimately happened in the French, Russian and Chinese revolutions. The ferment generated by the most creative revolutionaries inevitably leads to their own destruction.

It seems to be built in the human DNA (whether biological or spiritual, or both) that the powerful are impatient with competing experiments. Human society is inherently incapable of managing complexity much beyond the point where rapid change begins to happen. As a result, it is impossible for human society to ever approach an optimum configuration, much less sustain it. And, as the Pope observes, human free will, or more precisely, concupiscence, inevitably generates destruction, or decay from a sub-optimal point.

Societal ferment is a highly non-linear process. It is inherently unpredictable. Any attempt to emulate the natural process of metallic annealing to optimize the structure of society is doomed to failure.

This picture changes radically when the general level of civic virtue rises. But, in that case, the overall level of the common good rises through the bubbling up of individual human initiative, rather than the imposition of a master strategy from above. The ideal of Acts 4:32ff is a product of extraordinary grace, not scientific social engineering.

Acton Commentary