A Slave to Whom?
I was browsing the blog the foolishness of this world, and I came across this comment on an archived post/discussion thread, where the commenter is referring to those who are defending the Catholic faith:
“It was not my intention to get dirty here, but this is just ridiculous. You kids have fun with the return to slavery.”
I can’t be 100% sure what the poster means here, because she didn’t elaborate further, but I am guessing this has to do with her disdain for voluntarily submitting to the Catholic Church. The thought behind this comment is probably that submitting to the Catholic Church (and the Orthodox would probably be considered here as well) is a form of slavery. Why, many wonder, would a Protestant, virtually unencumbered by any authority outside individual authority, submit to the Catholic Church? This is a good question and I can only give my opinion. I will say that many young people are deciding to submit to Catholic Teaching, so it is not just a few of us.
One reason I submitted to Catholic Teaching, giving up any so-called freedom I had: enslavement to the self is really more oppresive than enslavement to the Church (and thus to Christ). Being enslaved to the self often leads to division, relatavism, faddishness, and novelty. Submission to the Church leads to unity, universality, stability, and orthodoxy. Granted, many protestants will say “I follow Christ, not myself!” However, we all have lenses through which we view Christ, shaped by our backgrounds and denominational affiliations, and at last count there were hundreds of different, competing lenses (thousands if you define “denomination” in a more loose fashion).
I admit that there are issues and concerns that come with submission to Church Teaching. For many it is very scary, and some (falsely) assume that submission to the Church means the Church will control your every thought and action. In reality, the Church provides a fence, and there is plenty of room to graze. Many of these concerns come because we in the Western world like the individual being the final arbiter of all spiritual and moral matters. However, if we believe that there is such thing as apostolic truth, handed down validly to successors, then submission to Christ and his Church is hardly oppressive, but truly liberating, because it brings us closer to Christ. I am willing to grant that many Protestants see submission to the Catholic Church as submission to a false, corrupt, system. However, in response to this assertion I ask, “is the Catholic Church any more corrupt than the individual human mind?” At least the Catholic Church has historical consensus on its side, as Chesterton calls “the democracy of the dead.”
I believe that we all submit to some form of authority anyway, and in a sense we are all slaves to some ideological outlook. Many are enslaved to enlightenment individualism without even knowing it. Good or bad (I think the enlightenment was a mixed bag), many folks are slaves to their own authority in the same way they accuse us Catholics of being slaves to the Church. Perhaps we blindly follow the Church, but so many blindly follow the individual. Yes I am a slave, a slave of Christ, known through the Church, which is “the pillar and ground of truth.”
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad Toney
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
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papaz
February 23, 2006 at 8:38 pm
“In reality, the Church provides a fence, and there is plenty of room to graze.”
I really, really like this identity.
Instead of seeing sumbission to Holy Mother Church as a burden, I see it as a liberation and a joy. The teachings of the Church are the “narrow gate” through which we enter the kingdom of God.
At the same time, we are not enslaved to petty “worship styles” and liturgical differences. So much of the Protestant church is divided because of this… many of the differences between denominations are not doctrinal, but liturgical. For example, many evangelicals have similar doctrinal beliefs as Pentacostals, except their services are different and there is less emphasis on the gifts of the holy spirit.
The Catholic Church does not force us to conform to only one spirituality. I love the fact that the young adult group I go to has praise + worship music and gregorian chant in the same meeting, and that there are hardcore charismatics in fellowship with people who go to tridentine Mass. You don’t see this in other churches.
February 23, 2006 at 9:42 pm
David -
I quote Trent Reznor:
“I have found you can find happiness in slavery”.
Or there is Thomas Merton, who said that the walls of the cloister were the “four walls of my new freedom”.
One persons slavery is another’s utter freedom.
A couple of observations after reading that thread:
1. Most Christians (Catholic Protestant) don’t know why they believe what they believe. She seemed unable to carry on a conversation with a group of RC posters who seemed to have a fair grip on their roots.
2. I hate to be conscending, but the girl that made that comment is 19. Even in my 30’s I know that my theology is still growing and deepening (or at times getting shallow).
All things said, I hardly think this is the worst affront to the RCC we can imagine. It does point to a misconception among many Protestants, though.
Confessionator, there are plenty of folks in Lutheran circles who combine all the worship elements and find themselves in communion with one another. At my parish, we have four celebrations of the Holy Eucharist each week, and all are different. Two traditional, one contemporary, one contemplative. We are about to add another in Spanish. But we are all one church.
I am still trying to work on introducing some Latin, but I think I may just have to let that one go. ;-)
February 23, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Robb,
I agree that age, etc, are factors here, and I hope I didn’t imply I thought this was a huge deal or anything. I didn’t take her comments as anything offensive or anything, but it is a common fear/misconception that many folks think, even if they don’t put to words. I just thought it was a good springboard to discussing what freedom is and isn’t from a Christian perspective. thanks for your comments!
February 24, 2006 at 1:07 am
David - I know you weren’t all wound up. I was just looking for an excuse to quote Nine Inch Nail Lyrics! ;-)
February 24, 2006 at 1:58 am
The girl who posted that also goes to a church that considers Catholics to be “following another law.” They take the typical Reformed interpretation of Galations, and use it against the Catholic Church.
Anyway, I agree with your analysis of freedom. Deciding to submit to the Church was very freeing for me. Now I can recieve the faith, rather than trying to create my own, which always had a way of getting me into trouble.
February 24, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Kacy, this is wisdom when you say, “Now I can recieve the faith, rather than trying to create my own, which always had a way of getting me into trouble.” Our eldest daughter is coming up on 18 and says she is so glad to be able to spend most of her life being Catholic. She says this with great respect for the Protestant tradition {not an oxymoron ;-)} that we raised her in. And, I fully agree with her, thankful that I at least get to spend the second half of my life free to receive faith and knowledge and not have to perform and validate the self by making up my own version of everything.