Comments on: Babel Revisited: A Question for Justice & Peace

By: Babel vs Pentecost: The question of a global political authority « tradition/revolution

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:48:30 +0000

[...] public authority’ has already attracted considerable attention in a variety of fora, including First Things, The American Conservative, A View from the Right, and Front Porch Republic. It is certainly not [...]

By: Bob Riley

Bob Riley — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:26:01 +0000

I believe that the authors of the note on the abuses prevalent in free market (neoliberal) capitalism as practiced strongly in the USA and in varying degrees elsewhere, did us a service by affirming that the operation of our economic system has become injurious to the common good. Whether their proposal of a global authority is the best solution or not is missing the point of their document. The point is that global capitalism, with its reliance upon the (so-called) free market and its devotion to profit as a god is harming us all, both the poor and the rich. Our “higher natures” call us to reflect upon any personal behavior or political/economic system and determine whether a reform or rebuilding is imperative. To not listen to that voice is to harm one’s own innate humanity and connection to Spirit and to deprive oneself of the utter joy of realizing one’s intimate connection with the Divine Cosmos including all life (as opposed to being obsessed with one’s “toys” or wealth).

By: Maxim

Maxim — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:07:25 +0000

This document is extremely disappointing; its willingness to turn the moral contained in the Tower of Babel completely on its head points to a prior commitment to globalization, and a theological audacity strongly reminiscent of the legal audacity exercised by the Supreme Court in its prior commitment to abortion. It’s the same thing, of course; just as we no longer have a judiciary, only panels of activists overseeing the law of the land to make sure it is progressive enough, so, apparently, we no longer have Church authority, just activists charged with purging Christian teaching of its non-progressive elements.

It’s not apparent to me that Federal authority has been any better at averting a general economic collapse than State authority would have been; why should it be expected that World authority would be any better?

By: DennisM

DennisM — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:38:04 +0000

“However, it should not be forgotten that this development, given wounded human nature, will not come about without anguish and suffering.”

That sounds uncomfortably close to “you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.”

By: harry

harry — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:16:35 +0000

You pose an excellent question to the authors of the Note.

Allow me to pose another:

I didn’t mean that to sound like I just assumed my question was “excellent.” I didn’t notice it did until I reread my post. I should have said, “Allow me to pose another question:”

My question is quite sincerely asked though, and one to which I would greatly appreciate a sincere, thoughtful answer.

By: harry

harry — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:39:18 +0000

Hello, Douglas Farrow,

You pose an excellent question to the authors of Note.

Allow me to pose another: If governments around the world have already usurped God’s authority over innocent human life by pretending to “authorize” taking the lives of innocent human beings via abortion and euthanasia, resulting in the greatest holocaust of innocent human life in the history of the world, how can it possibly be the time to further centralize and consolidate Caesar’s power in a world wide domain?

Just as Christianity had to resist rendering unto Caesar worship that belonged only to God, bringing it to an end before a just, sane relationship between Church and state could be established, so it now must end rendering unto Caesar authority over innocent human life that belongs only to God before it cooperates in further consolidating and extending Caesar’s power.