I think most Christians are happy to fail. They feel the need to say things- like whining like a baby about marriage laws in this country- but this is simply a political version of the word magic Christianity has become. We must, apparently, say the name of Jesus, and or say things we think he might like to hear, but to take something back to ourselves- like marriage, or any sacrament for that matter- is impossible.
It matters not at all that it would be fairly simple, given that we already have these organizations, as useless and bureaucrat ridden as they are, called churches, which, if they felt like it, could arbitrate. Of course, we have to be invested in not having Christian governance, because the last bit of Christian governance came from monarchs, and if we started thinking about Christian governance again, we'd have to think about not stealing from people.
No, we must have democracy, the insidious drive of politics into every sphere, and exposure to godless judges, lawyers, and child protection people.
Let me give you a clue. You are going to fail. You are going to fail badly. You are going to hum your stupid tune, and make up pretty pictures in your head, and irrationally ascribe serious import to random events. You are going to say 'in the name of Jesus' while having no sense of Him or what He might want you to do.
Already the churches accommodate divorce and various questionable arrangements, and if you look closely you can see the rest of the sacraments being devalued. Two people divorce in my diocese. The two both go take the Eucharist, and they quite possibly satisfy the 'rules'. In what sense is this a unified body of Christ? Clearly they have something against one another. They would have been stopped by the priest once. Not any more. We prefer to contemplate the mystery of how the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, because that is so much easier than contemplating how we become the body of Christ.
How sad it would be to find out we were just playacting. It is probably just as well- most of these churches are full of people who would make bad judgements similar to the ones made in courts today.
This post was inspired by Lydia McGrew. I have been reading What's Wrong With the World for years, but after yet another display of the ability to learn nothing, I think I'll click unsubcribe now.
2 comments:
Church hierarchs are stuck in the Imperial model of advisors and counselors to monarchs, evangelizing to the pagans and caring for the poor. Now, its the democratic mob, Muslims settle in Christendom, and the poor indulge in the pleasures of the Biblical rich.
In such an age, I argue that the Church should focus on obtaining space for her flock to live a Christian life. That's what the Amish and Hasidim do.
I get the idea that a lot of people like to imagine themselves as St. Paul before Herod Agrippa.
I think God is, if there is still such a thing as revelation, calling for such a thing. Unfortunately, progressivism is such a total disease that you can be told to 'build a city' and then turn around and reinterpret that right back into draining all your resources so your daughters can teach poor kids bible songs.
Or you end up with that Republican version in Florida. I don't know what it is like now, but it always struck me as an expensive subdivision.
I suspect you have to start with easily defendable land, and then hope people generally don't notice or value what you are doing for a long while.
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