"Propinquity" and Pat Roberson's DIY Morality
Once again evangelical leader Pat Robertson is in the news. This time with comments defending retired General Petraeus' marital infidelity and essentially making him look like the victim of an attack by an "extremely good-looking woman" (I personally disagree with his assessment of her, but I digress) instigated by loneliness while in foreign countries. One almost gets the sense that Pat doesn't have a problem with this.
As I have said before regarding Pat's many statements, he can't help it. It is in his spiritual DNA to make up the rules as he goes along. A king of England once started his own religion (Anglican Church) in order to obtain a divorce. What is the underlying issue here? Authority. There is no one to tell them it is wrong. Each individual is making the rules as they go based on their personal interpretation of scripture and sadly, there is no earthly authority to tell them otherwise.
At some point, even the most jaded anti-Catholic has to see that there is an advantage to having a Church that can make pronouncements with the authority of the apostles. Wouldn't it be great if there was a bishop over Pat who could give him a "theological timeout." Unfortunately, that will never occur in his religion because he is his own authority (the papacy of self). I believe this self-authority comes from from his belief that God show's him personally what is moral and correct based on his interpretation of the scripture and how he feels the Holy Spirit is speaking to him. There is no one in Pat's life that can pull him aside and make him behave. (Maybe his wife?) Who can tell him his comments are out of line? This is DIY morality, the sad result of casting out the authority of the Church in favor of an individual's self-proclaimed authority.
Catholic priests and bishops have said and done incredibly stupid and evil things, but they didn't change the rules as they went along to justify them. When Poor Father Groeschel recently suggested that some priests were seduced by their victims, he apologized profusely and disappeared off the face of the earth. Why, because he was subject to authority and there is no way his bishop would let him continue. If he continued on air to say stuff like that, the bishop would have collared him.
As I have said before regarding Pat's many statements, he can't help it. It is in his spiritual DNA to make up the rules as he goes along. A king of England once started his own religion (Anglican Church) in order to obtain a divorce. What is the underlying issue here? Authority. There is no one to tell them it is wrong. Each individual is making the rules as they go based on their personal interpretation of scripture and sadly, there is no earthly authority to tell them otherwise.
At some point, even the most jaded anti-Catholic has to see that there is an advantage to having a Church that can make pronouncements with the authority of the apostles. Wouldn't it be great if there was a bishop over Pat who could give him a "theological timeout." Unfortunately, that will never occur in his religion because he is his own authority (the papacy of self). I believe this self-authority comes from from his belief that God show's him personally what is moral and correct based on his interpretation of the scripture and how he feels the Holy Spirit is speaking to him. There is no one in Pat's life that can pull him aside and make him behave. (Maybe his wife?) Who can tell him his comments are out of line? This is DIY morality, the sad result of casting out the authority of the Church in favor of an individual's self-proclaimed authority.
Catholic priests and bishops have said and done incredibly stupid and evil things, but they didn't change the rules as they went along to justify them. When Poor Father Groeschel recently suggested that some priests were seduced by their victims, he apologized profusely and disappeared off the face of the earth. Why, because he was subject to authority and there is no way his bishop would let him continue. If he continued on air to say stuff like that, the bishop would have collared him.
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 5:31 PM
3 Comments:
Would a bishop please reprimand Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and Kathleen Sebelius?
These people should NOT be allowed to call themselves "Catholic". They give every other true Catholic a bad name. Plus, they are dragging the country down a horrible road.
I agree wholeheartedly with this post! If only Pat Robertson was accountable to someone.
I also agree with the above comment. Why are the politicians not facing harsher scrutiny from THEIR superiors in the faith?
If Pelosi or Biden were teaching religious education at their parish, then there would be a take down, because they would be in the position of teaching the faith. As politicians, they somehow think they are not required to hold to the teachings of the faith in the public arena. Bishops, btw publicly rebuked both of them to make it clear that their beliefs are not in keeping with the Catholic faith. When a protestant minister espouses some new belief or opinion, there is no one over them to rebuke them.
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