Politics and Religion
I haven’t posted to this blog since 2012 – right before the last U.S. presidential election, in fact. That is not a coincidence. In the days and weeks leading up to the election I prayed feverishly that voters would elect candidates who would lead the nation in a way that was more in-line with Catholic Christian doctrine. I didn’t single out specific candidates in my prayers – there was no “please let this guy win, and make that guy lose.” I simply implored God to inspire American voters to take the steps necessary to stop the downward spiral of morality in our nation.
It didn’t happen.
In the weeks following the disastrous 2012 election I was genuinely depressed. I specifically recall telling a friend that, for the first time in my life, I did not feel God’s presence. Three years after muttering those words I realize now just how foolish they were. The absence of God’s presence is the literal definition of Hell. Was I experiencing the unspeakable horrors of Hell after the election? Of course not. Was I disappointed? Of course. I was disappointed not only in the American voters, but also in the fact that my prayers had apparently not made one bit of difference.
Anyone who has ever requested something in prayer has, at one time or another, been disappointed. Be it a fervent prayer for the healing of a loved one, or a casual prayer for the rain to hold off until after your 4th of July picnic, every believer has had instances where his/her prayer went seemingly unanswered.
We’re often told that our prayers do not go unheard, even if they appear to go unanswered. As devout followers of Christ we believe that all of our prayers are in fact actually answered – just not always in the way we may have wanted. Part of being a faithful Catholic involves accepting God’s will without question.
I have no clue why God has allowed our nation to fall into the pitiful state in which it currently finds itself. But I do know this: the United States currently makes up 4.45% of the world’s population, so regardless of your world view as an American, you’re probably not as important as you think you are. And statistically speaking, maybe God has better things to do than concern himself with 320 million Americans – most of which have turned their backs on him.
But my hope, my belief, is that God has not forsaken the United States, just because the United States has forsaken Him. “For the Lord loves justice and does not abandon the faithful.” – Psalms 37:28 (www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/37). So I’m going to keep praying for the nation and for those who hold public office. And I’m going to start praying about the 2016 election immediately.
By now you’ve probably figured out that I don’t really adhere to that old adage of “politics and religion don’t mix.” I can’t speak with any expertise on the American political landscape of the past, but I can assert with absolute certainty that in 2015 the two subjects are infinitely intertwined. Have no doubt about it, the current reigning power in Washington DC was put there by 65 million Americans who believe that governmental leadership has nothing to do with Christian-based morality.
The American two-party political system has evolved (some would say devolved) into one party that believes in leadership through faith-based morality and one party that believes a leader’s faith has no place in his/her leadership practices. Anyone who denies this is either A) deluding himself or B) not paying attention or C) completely lying.
Those who wish to see a total and complete separation of church and state support the Democratic Party. This seems like an obvious statement to some, but to some who support the Democrats it’s not that obvious – especially in a time when Christianity has become so watered-down that it barely resembles itself from even fifty years ago. Taken to its logical conclusion, the separation of church and state ends with removing “in God we trust” from our currency, removing “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, banning the singing of “God Bless America” at all public functions, etc., etc.
But it goes deeper than mottos and songs that evoke the name of God. The Democratic Party wants to eliminate all faith-based morality from the public sector. Simply defined “faith-based morality” would apply to any law to attempts to restrict an individual’s actions or behavior based on those ten little rules that Christians seem so obsessed with. You know, killing and stealing. Stuff like that.
The Democratic Party has been transformed over the past 50+ years into a secular organization that only supports secular/relativist issues. In the relativist’s world view there is no such thing as an objective right or wrong. It’s all relative to the person or to the situation.
For example, a moral relativist might say, “To you, ripping an unborn child’s head off and selling his internal organs for a high profit may be wrong, but to me it’s just fine. And you’re not allowed to force your antiquated morality on me.”
The Democratic Party of your grandparents, the one that was focused on helping the poor and the working classes, has long since been dismantled. The 2015 version is now wholly focused on perpetuating an anything goes society where secularism and relativism are the official laws of the land. And any objection will be criminalized. Intolerance will not be tolerated, as the saying goes.
Tragically, secularism has entered into organized religion as well. And Catholicism, unfortunately, is no exception. I again think back to the 2012 election when I consistently saw a car in my neighborhood with a bumper sticker that read “Catholics for Obama.” That statement is literally an impossibility. It’s an oxymoron like Jews for Jesus or Fighting for Peace.
If you’re voting for a Democrat in this day and age you simply do not believe what the Catholic Church has ALWAYS taught and believed. Period. That’s fine if you don’t believe the church’s teachings. It’s your right in this modernist secular free-for-all society to think/believe/say whatever you want. But why claim to be Catholic? Just call yourself an atheist, check the box by all the D’s on your ballot, and get on with your life. Don’t sully the Catholic faith by twisting it to conform to your relativist beliefs.
Individuals who claim to be Catholic Democrats aren’t just deluding themselves; they are also providing great offense to the few remaining faithful Catholics and to the actual church body itself. Just because Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, and John Kerry are prominent Democrats who also claim to be Catholic doesn’t mean that are faithful Catholics. In my estimation, the aforementioned politicians are no longer even Catholics at all – not by any reasonable definition of the word. Does the opportunity exist for them to return to their faith? Of course it does. And only God knows the depths of His mercy and forgiveness. But not only are they currently non-practicing (read as “unfaithful”) Catholics, but they have misled millions of lukewarm American Catholics into buying into their anything goes brand of relativistic Catholicism, where the very ideas of sin and evil are no longer even relevant concepts.
Catholics who twist church teachings to conform to their relativist beliefs are no better than those who fractured the church with the Protestant Revolt 500 years ago. At least Martin Luther had the common courtesy to start a new church instead of destroying the one that had been established by Jesus Christ. Catholics who ignore church teachings today attempt to mold it into their own image, ignoring the foundations that have been in place since the moment Peter was appointed the first pope by Christ himself (Matthew 16:18).
Fundamental church doctrines are not up for debate and the process of picking and choosing those that fit into your own world view is a heresy – again, I refer you to the aforementioned Martin Luther. But this is exactly what Catholic Democrats are doing today. Catholic Democrat politicians betray their faith and cower under the weight of a culture that demands an unapologetic adherence to relativism. Catholic Democrat voters betray their faith by voting for these secularist politicians who make them feel better about themselves by espousing their anything goes approach to a moral law – or their outright refusal that any such law ever existed in the first place.
Everyone has different opinions in regards to what constitutes good food, good music, good entertainment, etc. But in regards to issues of morality there is only good and evil; only right and wrong with absolutely no possible room for gray areas or individual interpretation. Some things are intrinsically evil and cannot be swept under the rug just because they’re inconvenient, unpleasant, or unpopular.
As a faithful Catholic I have to accept God’s will. As an American voter I don’t have to accept the state-approved religious persecution that is picking up steam seemingly with each passing day. Even the most lukewarm Christian is familiar with the concept of picking up one’s cross. But that doesn’t make it any easier to do when you find yourself at odds not only with a hostile culture and secularist government, but also with your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Sometimes, tragically, you may find yourself even at odds with the parishioners of your local Catholic church.
Sadly, many Catholics either don’t recognize that the current government is at odds with the church, or they simply refuse to acknowledge it. Some are just so lukewarm in their faith that it’s not even an important issue in their everyday lives. Still others may have been faithful Catholics at one time, but now find themselves so beaten down and utterly defeated by the culture that they’ve lost the will to fight.
But it is a worthy battle; and one that we should never tire of fighting. So how can the battle be won?
But it is a worthy battle; and one that we should never tire of fighting. So how can the battle be won?
First, you have to learn / relearn your own faith. A simple, yet honest study of Catholicism with reveal certain timeless truths that are totally and completely in direct opposition to the prevailing wind of secularist culture – and therefore in direct opposition to the official platform of the American Democratic party.
Second, encourage every Catholic that you know, especially fallen-away or lukewarm members of your own family, to come home to fullness of the Catholic Church. Live your life as a faithful Catholic and encourage others to do so. Evangelize by your actions and let your loved ones know (gently) when they have strayed.
Third, demand, absolutely DEMAND, that your local priests, bishops, and cardinals adhere to a faithful and honest teaching of the Catholic faith. If your parish priest is preaching heresy, find another parish, and let your bishop know why you did so. If you have to drive half an hour to find a parish with a faithful priest, then that’s just what you have to do. It’s a small price to pay to hear truth from the pulpit – especially if you have impressionable young children who are still in the process of forming their consciences.
Fourth, pray. Pray hard. Pray for the church, pray for the American voters, and pray for your elected officials. As ridiculous and hopeless as it may seem, pray for Biden, Pelosi, and Kerry that they will transform themselves into faithful Catholics. Pray that all elected officials will work to repair and heal our broken culture, regardless of their religious beliefs – or lack thereof.
Finally, and most obviously, don’t vote for any candidate of any political party who adheres to policies that are contrary to the truths of Catholicism. And let the Catholic politicians who are already in-power know that as a voter you simply will not stand for their willful disobedience to the magisterium. Let them know by your words, but even more importantly let them know by your vote.
So, what is my point in writing this blog entry today? Surely it seems like odd timing seeing as the United States is sandwiched three years since the last election and a full year before the next.
It’s never the wrong time to tell the truth, and it’s never the wrong time to start changing who you are. Do I think anyone who reads this will say, “Gee, Vince said I shouldn’t vote for Democrats so I guess I won’t do that anymore.” Of course not. I don’t hold such a fanciful delusion of my own importance and persuasive abilities.
But it is certainly my hope that maybe one person may start to ponder and research the ideas that I have proposed after reading my words today. Even if one reader is prompted to investigate and learn the Catholic faith based on this silly little blog then I’ll be overjoyed. Because an honest and unbiased effort at understanding the faith will inevitably lead, even those with the hardest of hearts, to the revelation that politics and religion do actually mix – and that for American Catholics there really is only one option in the voting booth.
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