Lessons on the Origin of Christianity


Years ago I traveled from northern Switzerland to southern. Northern, of course, borders German with its culture of order, focus and purpose. Looking out the train window in northern Switzerland everything is neat, in good repair and orderly. As the train comes closer to Italy one starts to see buildings in disrepair and long-standing piles of trash. I saw two men greeting each other in southern Switzerland with the traditional double kiss on the cheeks and exaggerated hand gestures. From German to Italy the culture changed. 

Just now I'm reading a long but wonderful book about the beginning of World War II. Recently the Vatican opened files of records about WWII that have been closed until now. Previously, the Vatican published an exhaustive book on the church's role in WWII. That book ignored much of this newly released information to present a more favorable narrative of the Pope's role. What is interesting to me is the cultural difference between Germans and Italians leading up to the full war.

Hitler and his generals gave clear orders and German soldiers loyally followed through. In the early days of the German invasion things happened fast as German rolled across Europe.

As we know, Italy was under the fascist rule of dictator Mussolini. I had always assumed Mussolini and Hitler were similar dictators, giving orders to their armies. It turned out they were quite different. Hitler gave orders and they were carried out. Mussolini gave orders and nothing happened.

Mussolini's wife (he also had a girlfriend) kept a diary and, along with letters to friends, told of remarks he made while Germany was marching across Europe. Italy has not yet entered the war. "I wish I were leader of Germany" he said (paraphrasing). "Those people want to fight for what is right and get it done. Italians just shrug, eat some pasta and take a nap. My generals will not get on with it."

Today, German bishops have a much different idea of where the Catholic Church should be going than does the Italian culture in the Vatican. I have no doubt the German version ultimately will prevail. It's obvious, cultures, not the Bible, drive Christian theology. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Maybe the "Original Sin" Should be Reassigned

Image
We can all agree most Catholic priests are fine people and not guilty of sexual abuse. What Catholics must face, however, it that their church harbors executives who are dishonest . There is an incredible story about the Argentine Bishop Zanchetta. The Pope worked with him in Argentina and they are considered friends. Around 2015 Zanchetta sent nude pictures of himself and they began circulating world wide. He also was too friendly with young seminarians and some left because of him.  Three different officials say they made formal complaints to the Vatican about Zanchetta between 2015 and 2017. Yet, in 2018, the Vatican claimed it was unaware of any complaints about Zanchetta. This might be a good time to repeat the Catholic hierarchy claims to have the sole authority handed down from Jesus to what the faith stands for. It condemns as sinners those who practice birth control, have abortions and gay sexual relationships. Handing the hierarchy this responsibility would make som
Read more

The Religious Capitol Invaders May Yet Win

Image
So much about U.S. society and religion can be learned from the Civil War and what happened afterwards. After its defeat, the South started a myth about the unethical soldiers from the North. The South fought for principles of God and states rights. The North did not. It was the South, this propaganda told the country, that had the high moral ground.  The Capitol invaders, encouraged by Trump, swallowed the myth that Biden's election was stolen. Thus, they think they held and still hold the high moral ground. This was reinforced by the cross and prayers during the invasion. Even with Trump is gone, we will see political opportunists like Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley stroking crowds and feeding the same lies as Trump. Like "the South will rise again" these gullible followers will talk of victory over the unclean. After the Civil War the South rallied around the phrase, Lost Cause. For decades, and maybe to this day, there are ceremonies remembering fallen martyrs, Re
Read more

Father Frank Pavone, the Ultimate Crook

Image
Recently, the Vatican defrocked Frank Pavone. His diehard fans are outraged. This is because he cleverly manipulated his fans and the press all the while living well from donations and, apparently, abusing some women. By making abortion the "sin" of the century, and himself the main opposition to this one sin, he himself could get away with any sin he pleased.  As the link points out, Pavone was the perfect priest for the Trump era. Trump is so self-important laws have no role in his life. He felt accountable to no one. Women were there to be had. Pavone and Trump are interchangeable.  Pavone was very successful raising money. In his mind, abortion was so important in Catholic beliefs and he was so important in anti-abortion the money he raised opposing it was his to do with what he liked. The Catholic Church, the brand name he used to raise this money, thought the money belonged to it. When he gave the Vatican the bird, it gave him walking papers. With polls showing the majo
Read more