[Craic] Brief History of Church Authority in 4 steps; a liturgical reflection.

[Arthur Blomme]

Hi Allan

I never studied much about the reformation and counter- reformation.  I 
kind of subsume those events into the enlightenment.  I quoted Kant who 
believed in God and from my perspective is the spirit of the 
enlightenment and its religious manifestation's, the reformation.

Art

On 6/18/23 1:23 p.m., Allan Baker wrote:
> Thanks Art.
> One small point about this version of “history”. It omits the 
> Reformation, and the “counter-reformation”.
>
> From one of your “Protestant" friends;
> Allan
>
>> On Jun 18, 2023, at 12:22 PM, Arthur Blomme via craic 
>> <craic at lists.integralshift.ca> wrote:
>>
>> Hi
>>
>> From time to time I do a reflection on the Sunday liturgical 
>> readings.  For this Sunday,  June 18th, I composed the following 
>> based on Mathew 10.
>>
>> Art
>>
>>
>> *Reflection: Brief History of Church Authority in 4 steps:*
>>
>> 1. Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over 
>> unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every 
>> illness. (MATHEW 10)
>>
>> 2. And it came to pass that disciples became bishops and bishops 
>> became powerful feudal lords with authority over the minds and lives 
>> of many. The poor suffered 700 years of total domination by the Holy 
>> Roman Empire.
>>
>> 3. These dark ages end with the Age of enlightenment. Immanuel Kant 
>> defines this age as using one’s intelligence without the guidance of 
>> another. Its motto: “Dare to be wise”. This was an age where tyrants 
>> were overthrown and replaced with democracy and recognition of our 
>> inalienable rights to freedom. Authority is related to reason.
>>
>> 4. Today the priesthood of yore seems asleep and irrelevant to the 
>> halls of power. Critical theorist, Ivan Illich believes that the new 
>> priesthood is found in the medical system. People have faith in the 
>> scientific expertise of their doctor and become totally dependent on 
>> their doctor to the point that they have surrendered any attempt to 
>> care for themselves. These people surrender their authority of their 
>> mind and body to the medical system. They reverse the enlightenment. 
>> They no longer think for themselves.
>>
>> It appears the main stream of our culture has gone back to the dark 
>> ages. Science was once about challenging and questioning an 
>> established hypothesis and creating new ideas. Now science is a dogma 
>> and medical practitioners who do not abide by this dogma are 
>> excommunicated from the medical profession. For example, this past 
>> week in Ontario Dr. Patrick Phillips joined many others in losing his 
>> medical license for holding views contrary to those dictated by the 
>> medical establishment on the safety of mRNA vaccines.
>>
>> The concept of the common good has been used by tyrants in the past 
>> and now to control and manipulate people. Over the past years the 
>> common good was used to justify the removal of rights and freedoms.
>>
>> Francis in Laudato Si clearly opposes this use of the common good to 
>> diminish our rights and freedoms. In the same paragraph he calls us 
>> to exercise the principle of subsidiarity where all levels of 
>> organization should serve the basic cell of society which is the 
>> family. I believe that Pope Francis in this chapter of Laudato Si 
>> captures the “…authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and 
>> to cure every disease and every illness”. (MATHEW 10)
>>
>>
>>
>> *(Quote from Laudato Si):*
>>
>> **
>>
>> 157. Underlying the principle of the common good is respect for the 
>> human person as such, endowed with basic and inalienable rights 
>> ordered to his or her integral development. It has also to do with 
>> the overall welfare of society and the development of a variety of 
>> intermediate groups, applying the principle of subsidiarity. 
>> Outstanding among those groups is the family, as the basic cell of 
>> society. Finally, the common good calls for social peace, the 
>> stability and security provided by a certain order which cannot be 
>> achieved without particular concern for distributive justice; 
>> whenever this is violated, violence always ensues. Society as a 
>> whole, and the state in particular, are obliged to defend and promote 
>> the common good.(Laudato Si)
>>
>> */Art Blomme/*//
>>
>> //
>>
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