4. Reality & Role of the Church: Joshua & Affluence & Hypocrisy
INFERNAL INTERNET
My Dear Hobnob,
Please, please, you've got a point, but watch how you express yourself. I agree that many ministers have made religion into a big business, but to call it their personal "piggy" bank— oh my, ever since that episode with Jeezus when he drove us into the swine— oh, to this day I hate water. What nerve those creatures had, too. The animals considered most unclean by the Jews, drowning themselves rather than to be contaminated by us— the nerve! Whenever there is the appearance of affluence, the Church is vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. We can use Girzone's observation about the Church, if he will accept it at face value. Most people are lazy about finding out the facts for themselves; it is easier just to believe what we are told. If we can disguise this laziness in thinking as its opposite, a special enlightenment, then we have it made. Let me see, yes, this is quite good. The Joshua character (really Girzone) looks around at the magnificence of St. Peter's, a treasure belonging to the entire human race, and says: "They have missed the whole point of the gospel. Even when they preach poverty and detachment, coming from this setting it negates the sincerity of the message" (p. 241). Great! He chastises the Pope for pomp; don't let the reader find out that the Holy Father's quarters are fairly modest, maybe even more so than the author's.
Your affectionate uncle,
Slubgob
My Dear Hobnob,
Please, please, you've got a point, but watch how you express yourself. I agree that many ministers have made religion into a big business, but to call it their personal "piggy" bank— oh my, ever since that episode with Jeezus when he drove us into the swine— oh, to this day I hate water. What nerve those creatures had, too. The animals considered most unclean by the Jews, drowning themselves rather than to be contaminated by us— the nerve! Whenever there is the appearance of affluence, the Church is vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. We can use Girzone's observation about the Church, if he will accept it at face value. Most people are lazy about finding out the facts for themselves; it is easier just to believe what we are told. If we can disguise this laziness in thinking as its opposite, a special enlightenment, then we have it made. Let me see, yes, this is quite good. The Joshua character (really Girzone) looks around at the magnificence of St. Peter's, a treasure belonging to the entire human race, and says: "They have missed the whole point of the gospel. Even when they preach poverty and detachment, coming from this setting it negates the sincerity of the message" (p. 241). Great! He chastises the Pope for pomp; don't let the reader find out that the Holy Father's quarters are fairly modest, maybe even more so than the author's.
Your affectionate uncle,
Slubgob
posted by Father Joe Jenkins at
8:04 AM
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