The Cosmic Conflict and the Future (of America)

1. The Cosmic Conflict and the Future (of America) Loma Linda June 4, 2011

2. The Cosmic Conflict, Power, and the Poor The Church has historically been insensitive to the plight of the poor and preferential to the interests of the rich. Evangelical Christians and the American political system favor the wealthy at the expense of the poor. The Sabbath in its original intent and eschatological role is not only a contest for another ‘day’ but for a different ideology.

3. Re-acceptances • Re-acceptance of the Church as State • Re-acceptance of extreme economic inequities • Re-acceptance of unaccountable authority • Re-acceptance of the mother

4. Biblical Perspective for Today’s Topic Jesus answered, “I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret” (John 18:20). From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there (Isa 48:16).

5. Christian Imperial Authority “There could only be one orthodoxy. The ministers of the Supreme God would speak with one voice only. …In practice, the ancient world had exchanged the guardian- ship of one set of divine masters, capricious but generally benevolent, for another that would brook no opposition.” - Frend, The Rise of Christianity, 505.

6. Unaccountable Authority • Constantine, “in adopting their faith, intended neither to abandon his predecessor’s scheme of policy nor to renounce the fascinations of arbitrary authority, but to strengthen his throne with the support of a religion which had astonished the world by its power of resistance…”-Lord Acton, Essays on Freedom and Power, 82.

7. Hierarchy and Authority “No one is to do anything with reference to the church without the bishop. That Eucharist is to be considered valid which is [celebrated] by the bishop or by a person he permits [to celebrate]. Wherever the bishop appears, there the assembly is to be…Apart from the bishop it is not lawful to baptize or to hold the sacred meal.” - Ignatius of Antioch, Smyrneans 8:1-2, ca. 105-115 AD.

8. The Shape of Unaccountable Authority Fraternity (e. g. male only) Patronage Notion of infallibility Imperial legacy and mindset: imperator = ‘ruler answerable to none’ Hierarchical structure: authority from above down, not from below up

9. Unaccountable Authority:DictatusPapae(1075) • That the Roman pontiff alone can with right be called universal. • That he alone can depose or reinstate bishops. • That he alone may use the imperial insignia. That a sentence passed by him may be retracted by no one; and that he himself, alone of all, may retract it. That he himself may be judged by no one. That the Roman church has never erred; nor will it err to all eternity, the Scripture bearing witness.

10. Inquisition and Authority • Inverse and impossible burden of proof • The Inquisition “did not allow defendants to confront or often even to know the names of their accusers” - Cantor, Middle Ages, 426.

11. High Tide of Arbitrary Authority mouth was forced open with a metal piece and a cloth placed over the mouth. Then a pitcher of (cont.) “When the rack did not produce the desired result, the church-men turned to the water torture. In this hideous remedy, the prisoner was tied to a ladder that was sloped downward, so that the head was lower than the feet. The head was held fast in position by a metal band…The

12. High Tide of Arbitrary Authority (cont.) asphyxiated. The terror of suffocation was extreme, and the process was repeated endlessly, bloating the body grotesquely until the victim was ready to confess.” - James Reston, J. Dogsof God: Columbus, theInquisition, and theDefeatoftheMoors(New York: RandomBooks, 2006), 200-201. (cont.) water was brought, and water poured over the cloth. With each swallow, the cloth was drawn deeper into the throat, until in gagging and choking the victim nearly

13. Re-acceptance of Unaccountable Authority • Did the US president under-stand that he was talking to a power constitutionally opposed to the separation of church and state? • Did the US (president) understand • that the partner in conversation was (and is) • committed to unaccountable authority?

14. Unquestioning Obedience JosemariaEscriva (1902-1975), The Way 617. Obey, as an instrument obeys in the hands of an artist, not stopping to consider the reasons for what it is doing, being sure that you will never be directed to do anything that is not good for the glory of God. 520. Catholic, apostolic, Roman! I want you to be very Roman. And to be anxious to make your ‘path to Rome’, viderePetrum– to see Peter.

15. Submission 61. When a layman sets himself up as an expert on morals he often goes astray; laymen can only be disciples. 62. A Director. You need one. So that you can give yourself to God, and give yourself fully….by obedience. A Director who understands your apostolate, who knows what God wants…

16. Scandals of Unaccountability Jason Berry and Gerald Renner, Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II (New York: Free Press, 2004). • John Paul II and Fr. MarcialMacielDegollado, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, in 2004. • “By 2009, U.S. dioceses have paid more than US$2.6 billion in abuse-related costs since 1950.”

17. Childhood Revisited “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. . . . the poverty; the shiftless loquacious alcoholic father; the pious defeated mother moaning by the fire; pompous priests; bullying schoolmasters; the English and the terrible things they did to us ..“ - Frank McCourt, Angela’s Ashes .