Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Without Major Outcry

Here's Richard Rohr once again, the voice of what should be the Christian conscience. He consistently speaks to my heart.
The very fact that Glenn Beck, a national commentator, could get away with criticizing and even mocking the phrase “social justice” without major outcry, shows how comfortable and numbed much of our country and church have become.  He dared to infer that it was a non-Christian concept and even sank to calling it socialism or communism.  To my knowledge and disappointment, no bishop or church conference has publicly corrected him on this.
Can we not see that the other justice issues we are supposedly concerned about (such as abortion) are one “seamless garment,” to use Cardinal Bernardin’s brilliant metaphor?  If social justice is not the foundation of God’s kingdom then it is hardly God’s kingdom at all, but merely tribalism.
 How many so-called Christians would sign up to that last statement do you think?

4 comments:

Montag said...

A number of Roman Catholic comments were made on this issue, and they were not kind to Mr. Beck.
The magazines and sites are mainstream, but not Cable News mainstream... which, when you stop to think, is a small sampling of opinion rendered influential by the concentration of Cable TV.

I seem to recall other denominations also not allowing this to go unchallenged.
Mr. Rohr missed these. He is apparently in danger of becoming "mainstream".

Unknown said...

I don't think Rohr will EVER be mainstream. He's not even mainstream Christian, which is why I have such admiration from him. Oh, and he's not a "Mr." He's a Franciscan priest. So, "Father" or if you prefer, "Reverend."

Montag said...

I don't know. I haven't spoken to a priest or curate in so long, I don't remember which ring finger to kiss.

Unknown said...

They don't do that ring-smooching anymore either.