The Times has an interesting article on the new Pope's first encyclical. The article lauds Benedict for his emphasis upon love, but in the midst of its praise demonstrates an interesting bias against religious faith. It labels orthodoxy as "divisive" and later highlights the fact that the encyclical does not mention such issues as abortion, homosexuality, contraception or divorce.
Two thoughts come immediately to mind. The first is that while the issues mentioned by the article certainly fall under the purview of Catholic teaching, they do not constitute the heart of Christian thought. They represent the fringes of Christian thought; they are the areas where many Christians take a stand and where they come into sharp conflict with the world around them. But they are not the heart of Christianity.
The second thought is that if we consider the heart of Christianity, or what we might call orthodoxy, we should realize that it is not a burden that was ever meant to divide. The title of the Pope's encyclical, in fact, demonstrates this point. God is love. That short phrase captures deep theological truths and points to the heart of orthodoxy. God exists. He loves. And what greater love is there than that a man (especially Jesus) might lay down his life for his friends?
That, to me, is a breath of fresh air. And it is the air of orthodoxy.
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3 comments:
I agree in general with your post, but let me offer some things to think about. Orthodoxy by its very nature seems to divide. It is concerned with drawing a line between what is acceptable and what is unacceptable, what is in and what is out. Now your point might be to emphasize that Christian orthodoxy is actually very minimal, thus being tolerant of many divergent opinions. I didn't read the Times article, but I am inclined to think like you that the core claims of Christian orthodoxy are few, which would allow for much disagreement. But alas even a minimalist orthodoxy is still delimiting, and I'm afraid that making even minimal claims to truth (interpreted as intolerance) will always be repulsive to those "on the outside."
God is God.
Wrong - Any issues that forces a Christian to take a stand in terms of his or her Christianity is thereby at the heart of Christianity - Don't be daff; life is as lived, which includes discourse but not as simply talked about, which fails the hauteur.
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