Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:
God catches the wise in their own ruses,
and again:
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
Let me start by recommending Is God Happy? by Leszek Kolakowski. Or a helpful review in the Wall Street Journal. (Kolakowski's collection of essays are available to your Kindle device, if not in hard copy.)
One of the essays has that intriguing title but the Polish author spent his life challenging Communist ideology. He suffered for his outspoken opinions, and survived long enough to see the collapse of the Soviet Union. A Catholic historian of philosophy, he saw clearly the foolishness of socialism taken to an extreme.
He reminded his readers that there is no ideology of "capitalism." At least there was none until the Marxist ideology created it. Rather, capitalism is buying and selling as managed by fear and greed. It's natural, in the sense that we have always done business that way.
Socialism would balance that system by representing the elderly, young, disabled, needy, and disenfranchised. It concerns the necessary values of compassion, thoughtfulness, and foresight, without which no society can survive. It challenges the wealthy to, "Take care of the poor before they take care of you." As a system socialism cannot succeed; as a challenge to "The System" it must not fail.
As I read Kolokowski's essays, I thought "That's pretty obvious. Why did I never think of that?"
And that's where Saint Paul's aphorism makes so much sense: "The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God." Without God's merciful intervention, we often miss the obvious.
Karl Marx addressed the cruelty of greed and fear run amok, as they controlled the economies of 19th century Europe and the world. His philosophy had severe shortcomings but they would not become obvious until his ideas were tried; and by then his socialism had become Stalinism. And even then believers supported Communism. They denied what they didn't want to see and believed the killing of millions of people would somehow result in a just and peaceful world. Their wisdom was utter foolishness.
As Barton Swaim says in his Wall Street Journal review:
To those younger than 35, communism must seem like some ridiculous hoax. How could so many Western intellectuals have defended an ideology—and defended it into the late 1980s—that had never produced anything but economic devastation, cultural perversion and mass murder? And yet they did.
The world is watching as the Republican party is swept into a neo-Stalinism known as Trumpism. Take pro-life patriotism to an extreme and discover racist exploitation of minorities, environmental waste, mass shootings, and hostility to health care, education, and immigrants. In other words, MAGA. Discover also how the Republican states uniformly suffer more shootings, poorer health, and greater poverty.
Can one be saved by faith? Yes, if that faith is in the God's wisdom and not that of this world. But a faith that refuses to see what really happens in this world is alien to the Gospel. Jesus saw it all from the tower of his cross. And blind guides still regard him as a fool.
I generally agree with you. However as I registered independent independent that mostly votes republican I resent being considered aTrump supporter. I am not!!! I find your comments very biased and one-sided just like our media today. You never bring up the fact that the Democrats have gotten very extreme as well. Look at their abortion rights up till time of birth as one example. As a WISE writer I know you can be more fair than that. Let’s look at some of the good things the Republicans have done as well or some of the Democrats have done as well. Let’s be fair and balanced.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Mary Freund
Dear Mary Freund,
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my blog, for your appreciation, and for your comment. I am glad to know you do not support the former president.
With you I hope the Republican party gets over this disease of nationalism and will soon shake off the Parasite. I wish they had not gerrymandered the voting districts during the Clinton administration. It led to the GOP having such complete dominance of some districts, they turned on each other. Where no Democrat can possibly win extreme Republican candidates slandered moderates as RINOs.
That led to the Tea Party fiasco; moderate Republicans lost control of the party; and Mr. Trump, a populist of neither party, took control. Though he was known as pro-abortion, he won the nomination and some Catholic support for his promise to nominate anti-abortion judges. Consequently, SCOTUS reversed its tragic, ill-considered decision of 49 years ago. But I expect this year's Dobbs decision will be reversed, just as the 21st amendment reversed the 18th.
If even a small minority of American consumers want abortion, they will get it. Nothing stops them from purchasing alcohol, illegal drugs, guns, and other contraband. In a democratic system, politicians must give the electorate what they want, regardless.
Since I've never believed Republican leaders cared about the ethical/moral issues around abortion, I was never persuaded to vote for them. They seem unable to address, or disinterested in, the complex social issue of women's equality and unwanted pregnancy.
I understand now that many Republican candidates are quietly backing away from their former anti-abortion posture. I expect, within ten years, every state will legalize abortion. If you're read David Blight's biography of Frederick Douglass you remember how quickly Republicans abandoned the freed slaves after the Civil War. A party's only purpose is to gain and retain power. Morality and long term consequences of the struggle for power have nothing to do with it.
You've read my homily blog; you know I deplore abortion and consider many of our present woes God's punishment for it.
I hear your complaint that I fail to give much credit to either party for their accomplishments. I'm not aware of their accomplishing much. The nation's infrastructure is rapidly disintegrating; we've known that for fifty years; and Congress can do nothing about it. Mass shootings are a commonplace now, and Congress is helpless. Human industry is destroying our atmosphere, oceans, and earth; and the United States balks at making the necessary adjustments. If we collaborate with other nations to mitigate the crisis, the effort is sabotaged by our own citizens. We are paralyzed by two intractable Original Sins, racism and abortion.
I appreciate your complaint, Mary, and will take it to heart. As you know, the Bible was written in a world dense with politics, war, and oppression. Nothing comes easily in this world. Whether the government is democratic or autocratic, we get the government we deserve. But the Word of God, ever ancient, ever new, still invites us to trust God and live in the freedom of God's children.
Let's keep praying for this unhappy nation, our beloved homeland.