tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post375982221954323494..comments2023-11-03T06:35:48.003-05:00Comments on Shark and Shepherd: Deep question for a cold FridayRick Esenberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07280070509167910367noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-37793989758288181112008-01-21T08:57:00.000-06:002008-01-21T08:57:00.000-06:00Acknowledging how we live in relationship does not...<I>Acknowledging how we live in relationship does not really tell us to what extent those relations need to be managed coercively - from the top down - by government.</I><BR/><BR/>This is the crux of the argument.<BR/><BR/>JPII would not have endorsed communism or socialism (both very anti-religious and something JPII fought against in Poland and elsewhere), or the government's forcible redistribution of one's resources to another person.<BR/><BR/>The Church does not punish or ridiclue those who have earned a good living, own nice homes, drive nice cars. Indeed, the Church calls on all individuals to be personally responsible and work with dignity and respect - and it calls on members of the Church to donate and provide charity for those who fall on hard times.<BR/><BR/>And, in fact, those who identify as practicing Christians (of all denominations) are those who give the most to charity.<BR/><BR/>Those who make their unemployment or financial struggles of their own doing (irresponsible behavior, irresponsible spending) still deserve respect, but also tough love - the "teach a man to fish" approach.<BR/><BR/>There are a few things in the modern conservative movement that are incompatable with my faith. But that does not make them mutually exclusive.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05913350782739004678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-17505511647008469162008-01-19T09:10:00.000-06:002008-01-19T09:10:00.000-06:00Also see Neumayr's comments on the Huckabee/ster a...Also see Neumayr's comments on the Huckabee/ster antipathy, excerpted here:<BR/><BR/>http://dad29.blogspot.com/2008/01/huckabee-divide.html<BR/><BR/>Huckabee, while a philosophical descendant of Calvin & Co., gives Neumayr a chance to take on the follies of the "right."Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-60132039686786870712008-01-19T08:16:00.000-06:002008-01-19T08:16:00.000-06:00By the way, properly defined, "conservatism" is mo...By the way, properly defined, "conservatism" is more Burkean.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-54247312728939650222008-01-19T08:11:00.000-06:002008-01-19T08:11:00.000-06:00Some light can be found here:http://dad29.blogspot...Some light can be found here:<BR/><BR/>http://dad29.blogspot.com/2007/03/stanley-hauerwas-on-rights.html<BR/><BR/>Hauerwas' comments were excerpted; maybe the full item is still available at First Things.<BR/><BR/>Yes, Limbaugh's declarations on "American Exceptionalism," (inter alia) are a bit disturbing.<BR/><BR/>G K Chesterton's 'Distributism,' although opaque, is also on point.<BR/><BR/>The 'solidarity'/'individualism' debate has a great deal to do with Calvinism's take on Original Sin. The very brief (and not nuanced) take: Calvin's view that man is a wretch who does not DESERVE salvation runs counter to Catholicism's view that man, while not DESERVING salvation, is offered same by the Love of God (Christ.)<BR/><BR/>This played out in inter-personal (economic, e.g.) relationships; thus the "what's mine is MINE" mindset of some--which is, to be kind, an incomplete read of salvation history.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, Catholicism does not reject personal responsibility in the least. The Church recognizes, however, that one must 'convert and repent' to be saved.<BR/><BR/>To Calvin, such 'convert and repent' stuff was not particularly germane.Dad29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08554276286736923821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20692053.post-65251948939139597022008-01-18T10:32:00.000-06:002008-01-18T10:32:00.000-06:00Great post Rick. There is a reason I don't subscr...Great post Rick. <BR/><BR/>There is a reason I don't subscribe to any orthodoxy. I see your conundrum of trying remain true to the traditions of your faith while supporting the contemporary conservative movement. I don't see how it can be done. Especially in light of some of pope JP II's comments.<BR/><BR/>''Unemployment that is not the fault of the unemployed becomes a social scandal when available work is not distributed fairly and the profit of the work is not used to create new work for as many possible. "<BR/><BR/>There is a third way. You don't have to be right or left. We live in a post modern society. We are free to blend different traditions together and make them our own. It is the American way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com