Ranting to /dev/null

God is authoritarian

I continue to read Mr. Sullivan's commentary on Benedict XVI, and though I do actually sympathize with some of his concerns, ultimately, the problem seems to be that Andrew wishes that Christianity in general and the church in particular were democracies. They aren't. Never have been, never will be. The whole point of Christianity is submitting yourself to a power that is greater than you are, whether or not you understand or agree with Him.

The "profound human need for intimacy and sexual expression" isn't a divine right that the church needs to respect. Scripture doesn't recognize any human rights, only human responsibility, and we have a responsibility to express our sexuality in ways that Scripture condones. Scripture does categorize some forms of sexuality as godly and others as sinful, the church should take that seriously and enforce those categorizations, and you don't get to defy that and remain part of the church. You can disagree, but you have to obey. Then, and only then, can you honestly and faithfully say that you are a dissenting reformer, not a deviant revolutionary.

The church really is distinct from the world. Representative government is a reasonably efficient way to run a nation-state, but it is not the way the Kingdom of God operates. Human rights may be an ennobling and politically productive concept, but that are not fundamentally Scriptural. And the freedom we have under Christ is radically different than the freedom espoused by secularists and Mr. Sullivan. I am in favor of spreading the ideals of the West abroad, but only because they work better than anything else we've got going right now, not because they're God-ordained or essentially Scriptural.

There have been abuses in the Roman church, and they need to be addressed. The role of that church in the developing world needs to be better worked out. But the church is the church, and is to be defended against all outsiders, regardless of their aspect. Any ideology that conflicts with the truths of Scripture has to go. And egocentric individualism that puts one's own sexuality before the Word certainly fits the bill.