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David R. Graham
It impresses me that perhaps the most remarkable feature of The French Revolution, which as all know birthed Communism, is that the French aristocracy were so stupid as to cause and allow it.

A parallel today is that the American aristocracy (de facto, I know, not de jure) are so stupid as to cause and allow a junta comprising bedlam residents to lay hands on mechanisms of government that protect their liberty.

Before reaching obvious miscreants in the American aristocracy, I blame prelates and pastors. They abandoned and reprobated the counsel of Apostles, Fathers, and Doctors of The Church, they who laid in foundations of Western Civilization, better denominated as The Latin Church. As over the stabbed body of The Latin Church I lay Antony’s curse on said prelates and pastors.

MarkInKansas to David R. Graham
The American Protestant churches forgot the actual words of The Sermon on The Mount, where believers were charged with feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless. The Protestants embraced the concept of the Government performing those functions and their abandonment of their divine responsibilities should come with a heavy price.

Scaramouche to MarkInKansas
MarkinKansas,

What is your proof that Protestants embraced the concept more than the Catholics.

My thought is the Irish and Italian Catholic immigrants perhaps brought the catalyst for big government more than the earlier Protestants – if at first only in a seed form. The famous Protestant work ethic certainly was not a big government concept. Who, more than the Protestants, especially the Puritans and Pilgrims, would embrace Paul’s admonition of let him who will not work not eat.

Now, if you are talking about the more liberal later denominations of Protestants, I would be agree with your point, but I am not sure you can let the Catholics out of the blame.

David R. Graham to Scaramouche
Charity counsels generosity with respect to MarkinKansas’ comment. Yours here labors at fault finding. That benefits no one, and firstly yourself. Be generous and generosity you will receive.

Scaramouche to David R. Graham
David,

Perhaps you are right. I read MarkinKansas’s comment possibly in light of your comment on the Latin Church and picked up on a possible tag team effect against Protestants.

Nor, in re-reading it, do I see “big” government mentioned. His comment may have been referring to Protestants in general relinquishing their role to the Government. I am not sure when government took over the role of the tasks designated to the church in the Sermon on the Mount but he may be referring to that time and onward in general.

I see MarkinKansas seems to have deleted his comment you are referring to unless it is not displaying for me for some reason. Blessings to you both.

(Sorry, I see MarkinKansas’s comment now. The urls were only showing individual comments. Learned something new about Disqus.)

David R. Graham to Scaramouche
That is a sweet response and well thought out. Thank you!

Prelates and pastors of The Latin Church — Catholic and Protestant — did indeed relinquish their role to government with a big G, a grave sin. It is arguable, but, I put the time of that occurrence at circa 1880, when first European and then USA professoriate felt the pressure of Communist ideology claiming to best Christian religion by making charity compulsory.

In Church history this time frame is called the period of Liberal Christianity, a technical term of art in theological history, not a political term or slogan.

The gist of Liberal Christianity — its roots are in the German Lutheran Church, which was and best I know remains a state church (tax supported, a relationship our constitution expressly forbids, thankfully) — was that government, with wealth created by the industrial revolution, should distribute that wealth equitably among all citizens of a state, or at least the ones who are peaceable. Bismarck came to this view through discussions with a Jewish interlocutor.

So-called Neo-Orthodox theologians — Barth, Niebuhr, Brunner — said No, government is part of a perishing universe and so can only be employed in lieu of Apostolic Mission under the most jaundiced of vigilance. Yet, they still supported government distribution of wealth, equitably of course! In other words, Neo-Orthodox theologians were really mixed up in their minds. Niebuhr — along with Hubert Humphrey — was a founding member of Americans For Democratic Action, today as Communism-promoting an activist organization as one can get.

The locus classicus of Left / Liberal / Neo-Orthodox lunacy is The Parable Of The Good Samaritan. Eisegeting this parable, they assert that voluntary charity should be government mandate.

Again, thank you for your improving comment!

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Many students pray, “If I pass with a first class, I’ll break five coconuts at Your feet.” Does this mean God does not have coconuts at His disposal? All objects we offer, like leaf, flower, water, etc., have an allegorical significance. The word narikela stands for a coconut. Every Indian must grasp the inner meaning of offering a coconut to God. We never offer the coconut as it is. We remove the fibre that covers it and offer the fruit that is free from all the external fibre. Only then is it possible to break the coconut. By breaking the coconut, the water in it flows out. The heart is the coconut and it is covered by the fibre of desire. The water that flows out is the samskara or purification. The fibres on the surface are the desires. We must strip the heart of all desires and offer the core without the fibre. It then becomes an offering to God.