Discussion Board Purpose
“Saying YES and Saying NO …
On Rendering to God and Caesar.”
In this discussion board, we are exploring what our biblical faith means in the conditions of today within the United States of America.
We are in the midst of bad times and they are likely to get worse before they get better. The issue that makes for bad times is the sin most roundly condemned by the Hebrew prophets – the sin of idolatry.
We may understand it to mean the worship of a false god, for an idol either takes the place of the god it represents or is a rival for the allegiance we are to reserve for the one true God. None of this is old fashioned primitive stuff; the New Testament talks particularly about the idolatry of money, the idolatry of the law, and the idolatry of oppressive political power – three “idols” are as attractive today as they were in biblical times. Such false gods [or idols] not only exist today but are in good health.
The appeal of the idol embodied in the state or nation is our central concern – an idol for which the biblical term “Caesar” is increasingly appropriate. Our own government appears less and less amenable to internal criticism and more and more immune from public accountability – two excellent reasons why it needs challenging in the name of God. Thus the process of saying YES and saying NO is one of sorting out what is really to be rendered to God and what is left over for Caesar. And when Caesar begins to act more and more like god (a false god) the need for discrimination between God and Caesar takes a quantum leap.
Can we be both Christian and citizen is the dilemma that exists when official government policies seem to clash with ideas about God’s Kingdom of Peace and Justice. In such a conflict of loyalties, can we be clear and powerful in presenting a faith and a theology for resistance to unjust and idolatrous powers?
One of the unavoidable duties of the Christian is to pass moral judgment on the activities and attitudes of the government and the culture of our nation — We can only offer partial loyalty … Critical Collaboration.
We suggest that our starting points for discussion should be found in the Traditions of Catholic Social Teaching, especially in the papal encyclicals, beginning in 1891 unto the present, Medellin, Synods of Bishops 1971 and 1974, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and particularly the Pastoral Letters of the American Bishops on Peace and War, and on the US Economy.
————————————————————————————–
I would like to dedicate this discussion board to Fr Bernard Haring, C.Ss.R., Catholic moral theologian par excellence (1912 – 1998), and to Rev. Robert McAfee Brown, one of America’s most distinguished theologians (1920 – 2001), from whom I’ve chosen the title of this Discussion Board.
May we become as thoughtful, as blunt, as clear thinking, and as courageous witnesses to Jesus as they were. – JCR.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ
True light of the World
You guide all people to salvation.
Give us the Courage, Strength and Grace
To build a world of Justice and Peace,
Ready for the coming of that Kingdom,
Where you live and reign with the father and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.
—————————————————————————————-
Welcome, and thank you for joining this Discussion Board.
What’s it all about? Well as the name suggests this forum is about a serious discussion of the area where our faith life and our citizen life converges and sometimes these allegiances come into conflict.
Please feel free to start a thread or browse the questions asked by others, and provide ideas of your own.
Our Comment Code:
1. Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
2. Use appropriate language. Avoid vulgarities and slurs.
3. Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don’t aid the discussion.