Thoughts on the Pope
I enjoy the writings and speeches of Pope Benedict, and always find them worth encountering, if not always agreeable to me. In a January 2006 First Things article, entitled "Europe and its Discontents," Benedict thinks about the way in which European society is generally careful not to denigrate the sacred things of other cultures while celebrating art, speech, and culture which denigrate or silence Christianity, which he believes to be foundational to European culture. He says:
"This case illustrates a peculiar Western self-hatred that is nothing short of pathological...All that it sees in its own history is the despicable and the destructive; it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure. What Europe needs is a new self-acceptance, a self-acceptance that is critical and humble, if it truly wishes to survive. Multiculturalism...can sometimes amount to an abandonment and denial, a flight from one's own things. Multiculturalism teaches us to approach the sacred things of others with respect, but we can do this only if we ourselves are not estranged from the sacred, from God." (p. 21)
Benedict offers some important insights here. We need to be more than just open to difference, as important as that is; we also need to be followers of a path. As Christians, it is not only our open-mindedness and our tolerance that make us good citizens in the world, though that is essential. But it is also that core of truth that makes us us, the foundational beliefs we hold sacred about Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. Without open-mindedness and tolerance, we become arrogant; without a commitment to the truth, we lose our contribution to the discussion.
Benedict rightly points out that underlying anger with or rejection of God (or even the church) not only affects us, but the whole world. If we are the ones called on to represent Christ to the world, how can we do that if our gospel only amounts to "the opposite of what the Catholics/Presbyterians/Southern Baptists are doing?" We can't begin to meaningfully contribute to the world's desperate need for God if we cannot articulate what it is we believe about God because we are too afraid or angry to do so. And so we will miss out on the world's voices, and the world will miss out on ours.
The world needs voices who know and cherish what they believe but are never afraid of genuine dialogue challenging those beliefs and learning more. May we together be those kinds of people!
"This case illustrates a peculiar Western self-hatred that is nothing short of pathological...All that it sees in its own history is the despicable and the destructive; it is no longer able to perceive what is great and pure. What Europe needs is a new self-acceptance, a self-acceptance that is critical and humble, if it truly wishes to survive. Multiculturalism...can sometimes amount to an abandonment and denial, a flight from one's own things. Multiculturalism teaches us to approach the sacred things of others with respect, but we can do this only if we ourselves are not estranged from the sacred, from God." (p. 21)
Benedict offers some important insights here. We need to be more than just open to difference, as important as that is; we also need to be followers of a path. As Christians, it is not only our open-mindedness and our tolerance that make us good citizens in the world, though that is essential. But it is also that core of truth that makes us us, the foundational beliefs we hold sacred about Christ crucified, risen, and coming again. Without open-mindedness and tolerance, we become arrogant; without a commitment to the truth, we lose our contribution to the discussion.
Benedict rightly points out that underlying anger with or rejection of God (or even the church) not only affects us, but the whole world. If we are the ones called on to represent Christ to the world, how can we do that if our gospel only amounts to "the opposite of what the Catholics/Presbyterians/Southern Baptists are doing?" We can't begin to meaningfully contribute to the world's desperate need for God if we cannot articulate what it is we believe about God because we are too afraid or angry to do so. And so we will miss out on the world's voices, and the world will miss out on ours.
The world needs voices who know and cherish what they believe but are never afraid of genuine dialogue challenging those beliefs and learning more. May we together be those kinds of people!
posted by Rev. Michael Jordan at 5:32 PM
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