Donald Trump gets a fair amount of loathing here in Australia by our "respectable" media but so does Cardinal Pell, who was recently released from jail after the Australian High Court overturned his conviction 7-0. i.e he was innocent. Pell is ostensibly loathed by the Left here in Australia for his supposed role in the pedophilia scandal but he earned their hate long before with his outspoken Christian conservatism. He was chosen by the Pope to clean up the Vatican finances and while he was always a man of controversy, the real heat was put on him while trying to clean up that mess.
While in prison he kept a journal of his thoughts and it was interesting seeing his musings on Trump;
Cardinal Pell also offered his evaluation of U.S. President Donald Trump’s single term in office, saying “he was a little bit of a barbarian, but he was our barbarian.”
Calling Trump a “controversial fellow,” Cardinal Pell also praised certain moves Trump made, such as his Supreme Court appointments and his decision to participate in the annual March for Life.
“I’m grateful for that and I’m not one running around trying to damn his memory,” he said, adding, <b>“In a democracy, we Christians have got a right, and indeed an obligation, to struggle to maintain Christian values in life, because the moment they start to disappear, notions like truth and reason and free speech” also go away.</b>
“On the whole I think Trump has made a positive contribution to the Christian cause, but in other areas, I’m not so sure he’s been sufficiently respectful of the political process,” Cardinal Pell said, adding, “and it’s important that people believe they’re getting a fair go, and if that’s not the case, <b>it needs to be established very, very clearly</b> because it’s no small thing to weaken trust in great public institutions” *
There's a couple of points I want to make here. Pell has definite conservative bona fides. His handling of the sexual abuse crisis, at the time, was groundbreaking but not without its faults, Theologically he is solid, so it's interesting to see his take on Trump compared to Dreher's.
Trump as a politician is measured by his policies and governance, not his personal failings. Secondly, he sees that the Trump presidency has been beneficial to Christians in a way that a Clinton presidency would not have been. Thirdly, he sees that Christians must be politically active and not simply accept whatever comes their way. While he sees that Trump has faults I think it would be fair to think that unlike Dreher, Pell does not think that Trump is a fascist.
The question to ask here is: is the Christian West so emasculated that we need to rely on "barbarians" to save us?
13 comments:
Our Lord and King acted the "Barbarian" at certain times not only during his ministry on Earth but when he was Pre-Carnate when he rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, when he was the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush and when he was in the Glory in the Tent of Meeting resting between the Cherubim on top of the Ark that led Israel through the Wilderness.
As well as his actions in the Book of Revelation. In disciplining the Church. And afterwards also.
He was Meek in that he demonstrated Gentle Strength. And was neither excessive nor insufficient.
Many Saints were also "Barbaric" in the sense of righteous violence in the person of David and Gideon. And in the pronouncements of the Prophets delivering God's message to the necessary people.
Speaking plainly and truthfully.
Perhaps the Christian West has been emasculated, but it mostly seems that it's been outflanked by the left in the governing institutions. The election fraud is the most recent example, as Trump has been shot down by the courts, media, and other politicians, so conservatives are effectively without a voice. While there is certainly plenty of justification for a more militant approach to exerting Christian political will, it's also true that one should be very sober-minded about considering and implementing this strategy. Real people can suffer much harm in a literal fight, so it's not something to undertake frivolously, even if the a good and the action is justified.
May the Lord once again train our hands for war. Our fingers for battle.(Psalm 18:34, Psalm 144:1-2)
May our bodies become strong again. Our minds tough like steel. I hope that God brings back the Virility on par with the best of "Barbarians" like the Steppe Peoples of Old of the Magyars, Turks, Jurchens and Mongols like the Romans and the Germans in Ancient Times.
A barbarian may create an opening, ad Trump has done in the past few weeks - no small personal achievement. But it would be up to Christians to rally then take over. Unfortunately, the mixture of crushing, surrender and self destruction of the Christian churches this year has probably made this very unlikely.
re my previous comment - USP means unique selling point, i.e.what distinguishes Christianity from the rest.
Agree with Bruce Charlton but I would go farther. It's not only the problem of Christian Churches but also of Christian individuals.
A man cannot do everything alone. Trump has shown the corruption of the media, of the political system, of the judicial system, of the economic system, of his own political party and... of most Christians.
Most Christians don't want to be saved from the current anti-Christian system. They live very happily in it and they don't care about anything different from their comfortable lives.
And the ones who want to be saved don't want to lift a finger to do that. They don't even want to risk alienating friendships by saying that they support Trump. So they dream of a savior like Trump that does all the job so they can do nothing.
Please let's not pretend that only Christian churches are corrupt and Christian people are poor victims. Each time that I have told other Christians to organize and do something for the bleak times that are coming (even if it's ony creating networks of friends), I have received a big yawn, even from people that are positive that the persecution is coming.
We're a pathetic bunch: that's who we are. No wonder we have been getting our Christian asses kicked for the last two centuries...and this is only the beginning.
By the way, this is another good review of Dreher's book
Review in Handle's House
@Millie78
While there is certainly plenty of justification for a more militant approach to exerting Christian political will, it's also true that one should be very sober-minded about considering and implementing this strategy.
Absolutely.
@John Rockwell
May the Lord once again train our hands for war. Our fingers for battle.(Psalm 18:34, Psalm 144:1-2)
See, when you see passages like that in the Bible, and the approval of God with regard to Joshua and David, how the hell does any fair minded theologian infer that Pacifism is the way of God.
@Bruce
A barbarian may create an opening, ad Trump has done in the past few weeks - no small personal achievement..... the mixture of crushing, surrender and self destruction of the Christian churches this year has probably made this very unlikely
Yep. It's the Christian self-destruction that interests me and its mechanics. A Trump victory in itself will have no substantive effect unless Christians use the time to reform. But I also believe that the reform can only come about if Christians first recognise where they went wrong and correct it.
@Chent
We're a pathetic bunch: that's who we are.
I think that large part of the reason why we are so is because we have been taught to be that way.
And thanks for the link to the review.
@The Social Pathologist
Indeed.
"While there is certainly plenty of justification for a more militant approach to exerting Christian political will, it's also true that one should be very sober-minded about considering and implementing this strategy."
Strategy can involve plenty of non-kinetic action. Diplomacy, Economic and other means:
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2020/12/war-by-other-means.html
Thereby those non-kinetic actions minimize the bloodshed and the collateral damage. Meekness is a matter of knowing how to keep your sword in its sheath as drawing it when necessary.
If an objective can be accomplished by diplomacy without bloodshed that should be preferred. Or that War and Diplomacy can be wielded in conjunction with Diplomacy contributing to the final victory and the minimization of necessary Warfare.
Or that Economically crippling the enemy will leave him unable to finance his war machine thereby tilting the balance of power before the war even starts.
Even Clauzewitz correctly translated says that War is a continuation of "Politics with other means" not "War is a continuation of Politics by other means"
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2020/12/correcting-clausewitz.html
Therefore even in War plenty of other actions are open to be utilized to ensure that the Bloodshed and destruction can be minimized whilst achieving objectives:
One big problem is that it is no longer the "Christian West" anymore. I think we're past that point. We seem to live at a time perhaps a bit closer to the Judges, or even the upheavals of the Kingdoms described in the Old Testament. One thing that becomes apparent in reading through that history is that the faithful were at times few.
But God is faithful, and we read how He saved them multiple times, sometimes using men we would probably describe as "barbaric," even if they came from within Israel. You can think of Samson or Jehu, for instance.
As for Christians and whether it is time to act, the questions immediately come up: "Act against whom? In what ways?" and "On whose authority?" I think the faithful are still debating these. Dreher has said his bit, the review you cited comes down in a slightly different place, and discussions are happening all over the place.
Undoubtedly, it will be messy and people will get things wrong at times. Church history is full of this kind of thing. Lord, have mercy.
@Social Pathologist
To support my point about the Virility of the Steppe Men:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EphdhMhVoAAc3iD?format=jpg&name=4096x4096
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