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PDF versionSementelli: Whose Phony Theology?
by Michael Sean Winters on Feb. 23, 2012
Over at the blog of Faith in Public Life Action, Nick Sementelli takes down Rick Santorum's argument that Obama's environmental policies are based on a "phony theology."
"THEOLOGY" & ENERGY LOBBY
"THEOLOGY" & ENERGY LOBBY ......... MSW, Nick makes the common, but erroneous assumption, that Rick Santorum really follows Catholic teachings consistently. As a conservative "cafeteria Catholic" and a politician, he follows what works for him. If he wants to get financial support from the oil, gas and coal interests, he has to preach the "global warming myth" gospel.
On the other hand, he selectively advances the pope and bishops' efforts to control the sexual behavior of all Americans, including non-Catholics.
For more info on the US bishops' 2009 pact with evangelical Christians and right-wing Republican operatives to control Americans' sexual behavior, including contraception, please read the cross-links and comment, "Papal Ploy Planned in 2009", readily accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/distinctly-catholic/gops-b-team
Ambition corrupts faith once
Ambition corrupts faith once again. He is "in" the loop.
What he says is still true.
What he says is still true. This pope is delightfully liberal on economic and environmental issues. Deal with it or become a Southern Baptist.
Sanctimonium and his ilk have
Sanctimonium and his ilk have learned to play the game:
When progressives disagree with certain things that the pope teaches they are anti-Catholic, heterodox, the spawn of satan.
When theocons and tighty-righties disgree they are exercising prudential judgement.
Yep.
one place to hear REAL
one place to hear REAL theology supporting our president is on the old cassette tape Christianity and Vegetarianism by the Reverend Father John Dear SJ, which discusses this sort of thing, globally and personally, from a theological point of view
or we could read this Lent Friar Boff's "Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor (Ecology & Justice Series)"
or even Charity in Truth: Caritas in Veritate from a guy publishing under the pseudonym of Pope BEnedict XVI
Santorum's own words indicate
Santorum's own words indicate that he has wandered off into the realm of Dominionism, or more specifically, Christian (Protestant) Reconstructionism with all of its worst Calvinistic bootstrap WASP underpinnings. That religious philosophy is a huge component of the Religious Right influence within the Republican Party. Paradoxically, that philosophy has successfully merged itself within the GOP with the economic philosophy of atheist Ayn Rand as a bizarre hybrid "theology" (in the most distorted sense of the term). As master's of the earth, theirs is an accepted option to plunder the earth and its natural and human resources, while simultaneously destroying any safety nets that aid the collateral damage of that plunder. Even the very conservative Pope Benedict XVI isn't on-board with such ruthless and careless behavior.
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There are a lot of Christians, including some Catholics, who devote much of their time subjectively assessing the "realness" of other Christians and Catholics — "real" Christian or "real" Catholic. Santorum's worn-on-the-sleeve version of Catholicism, as presented by his own words, seems confined to Latin Mass, and a cultic obsession with sex and the sexuality of other people. An objective measure of one's Christian stewardship "theology" can be found in how one uses his/her time, talent/advocacy and money. Talk is cheap and easy. Actions speak more loudly.
See: http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/16/news/economy/santorum_charity/index.htm
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From 2007 to 2009, Santorum's rate of charitable giving fluctuated between 2.03% and 2.67% of his earnings. [Total earnings tallied in millions of dollars since leaving congress.]
In 2010, the rate [Santorum's] dropped to 1.76% of his $923,411 in income. That same year, President Obama gave 14.2% of his income to charity, while Mitt Romney donated 13.8% [mostly to his Mormon church as a doctrinal requirement] and Newt Gingrich gave 2.6%. Ron Paul has not released his tax returns.
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'Quite revealing that the two lowest charitable givers in the presidential race, as a percentage of their accumulated wealth, are self-professed uber-Catholics, and two of the strongest temple police critics of President Obama's Christian faith!
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Jesus praised the poor widow who gave generously as a percentage of her meager resources. Her tiny offering was a real measure of her true heart and faith. On various other occasions he pointed out the reluctance of the wealthy to part company with even relatively small portions of their wealth, including the corban issue with certain religious leaders, and flatly stated that it was hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom, because their true heart and treasure is not located there. Sadly today, plundering the earth, its natural resources and its people, has become the means for politicians and corporations to obtain and sustain their wealth. In the Republican party it has become quite literally their "religion". In Santorum's case, he appears to fail the Christian stewardship test in both his cavalier attitude as a steward of the earth's resources and in his unwillingness to give generously from his considerable personal abundance. His is a truly strange gospel and "phony theology" for a professed Catholic Christian.
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