November 9, 2005
GET THEE BEHIND ME
The misguided church (Joseph D’Hippolito, Jerusalem Post, November 9th, 2005) (VIA BARRY MEISLIN)
A recent report commissioned by the church's bishops endorsed apologizing to Muslim leaders for the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq. [...]The report also suggests universal nuclear disarmament as the ultimate solution: "If certain countries retain their nuclear weapons on the basis of the uncertainty and potentially violent volatility of international relations, on what basis are the same weapons denied to other states?"
Such rhetoric ignores the malignant, totalitarian, imperialist ideology governing Iran but accurately reflects the ethos of the Christian Left.
Joseph Loconte, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, traced that ethos to what Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr called the "pitiless perfectionism" of Christian utopians before World War II. Niebuhr used the term to describe "the impulse to hijack Jesus and the 'gospel of love' in order to construct ideal political and economic systems," Loconte wrote for Fox News.com.
"Internationally, it made pacifism the highest good: War involved too many ethical ambiguities to be a just alternative," Loconte continued.
"Such pacifism, Niebuhr wrote after the fall of France, amounted to a 'preference for tyranny' over democratic freedom." [...]
"The biggest weakness of the West right now," wrote Wolfgang Bruno, "is our inclination to blame ourselves for whatever happens, and for reaching out to 'win the hearts and minds' of people who profess to kill us and destroy our civilization."
Nothing exemplifies that weakness more profoundly than the Christian Left does, as represented by the Church of England's pathetic bishops.
It is no coincidence that the Anglican Church’s rejection of personal morality and reverence is accompanied by fantasies of an earthly paradise.
Posted by Peter Burnet at November 9, 2005 6:43 AMOn my blog I referred to the anti-war Left as a "confederacy of dunces".
Shamefully, I neglected to mention the CofE bishops, who certainly wear appropriate hats.
Posted by: Brit at November 9, 2005 6:56 AMPathetic? That word is far, far too weak to describe them. "Handmaidens of the Despot" is getting close, I think. "Collaborator", though has a nice traditional feel to it.
Posted by: Mikey at November 9, 2005 8:20 AMI'm just bone-tired of people apologizing for things with which they had nothing to do, whether it's Bill Clinton apologizing for slavery or Ted Kennedy apologizing for the internment of Japanese Americans or the Bishops apologizing for a war they -- to their everlasting shame -- opposed. What could be more vacuous, self-righteous and empty than apologizing for other people's actions?
Posted by: David Cohen at November 9, 2005 9:39 AMDavid:
Especially when they make the apology to people who didn't suffer the putative wrong.
Posted by: Peter B at November 9, 2005 9:43 AMLeftists in the Christian community (Catholic, Protestant, it really doesn't matter) make silly statements about moral equivalency for the same reasons that they discount the moral authority of Scripture, which they claim to believe.
Posted by: jim hamlen at November 9, 2005 10:52 AMWho gets the job of relaying the apology to Saddam Hussein? I hope it gets televised.
Posted by: Melissa at November 9, 2005 11:13 AMWretchard over at the Belmont Club had a pretty memorable post touching on this a couple of weeks ago. (It is an entry from October 23, but I don't know quite how to link to it properly...) He pointed out that the Christian Middle East was conquered by the Arabs centuries before Northern Europe was even converted to Christianity. Noting that there are still Coptic & other Christian communities who have endured as minorities for so long, he finishes with "They are fighting for a faith which Western church leaders have no authority to surrender."
Posted by: b at November 9, 2005 11:17 AMDavid Cohen, Peter B:
Yes it is an odious display of pride (in the form of false modesty). Neat trick to combine puffery with obsequiousness, so, while evil, they still get style points for degree of difficulty.
Posted by: Luciferous at November 9, 2005 2:14 PMDavid-- Have you read CS Lewis' treatise on such apologies?
Posted by: Timothy at November 9, 2005 2:20 PMTimothy -- I haven't, but now it's on the list.
Posted by: David Cohen at November 9, 2005 7:14 PMTimothy:
What is it called and where would we find it?
Posted by: Peter B at November 10, 2005 5:47 AMLewis' essay, "The Dangers of National Repentance", is found in the God in the Dock collection.
Posted by: Vic Havens at November 10, 2005 11:24 AMThis may be a bit o/t, I just received the message below in an email from an acquaintance I mistakenly thought was sane.
______
WWJC - thought for the day
Given the morality of the current right wing administration and the tax
cut's resulting in cuts to services mostly to the poor, the admin should
think:
What
Would
Jesus
Cut
______
Thinking it was a joke, I replied: Jesus would cut out lying for a start.
When he replied, Amen! I realized he was serious and marveled that he was able to fool us all these years.