21st century indulgences

Originally published to Facebook August 11, 2020

The sale of indulgences was chief amongst Martin Luther's complaints which inspired the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

To oversimplify a bit, the practice had progressed to a place where the wealthy could donate prodigious sums to the church in exchange for pardon of particular sins, or for the reduction or commutation of the amount of penance or time in purgatory merited by those sins. As practiced, it also created pressure on the poor who already had so little to transfer more wealth to the church for the sake of loved ones who they were told were suffering in purgatory but could be delivered... if the price was right.

In practice it created a religious culture where the wealthy could leverage their resources to act immorally according to religious tradition but still be fully accepted into the life of the church and even held up as models of faithfulness, while the poor had to conform to a much higher standard to approach comparable standing, reputation, or assurance of pardon. The wealthy were declared more acceptable and precious to God, and worthy of his love and favor by virtue of their access to worldly resources because religious leaders also desired access to that worldly wealth and power.

Sound familiar?

I noticed someone post something on Facebook the other day from James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame (remember him?), urging support of our Republican President and his agenda, using quotes from Newt Gingrich to highlight his points. Being James Dobson, his focus was less on what was good for the economy or national security, etc., but rather focused on the shaping of moral character for the younger generations.

So... we have James Dobson elevating Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump because he is so concerned about the development of moral character in our nation. Because his "focus" is on "the family."

Lest we forget, Newt Gingrich has been married three times. He admitted to infidelity with his second wife with a congressional aide WHILE he was overseeing the impeachment of Bill Clinton sparked by moral outrage over a similar transgression. Our President himself is on his third wife, having admitted to cheating on his wife at the time with each subsequent wife, and having had at least two affairs during his current marriage exposed (and, you know, having been recorded bragging about being a sexual predator, etc.).

How can Dobson hold these two men up as those we should look to for leadership toward the goal of the development of moral character in our nation? Simple. Indulgences. The church has decided that absolution for immoral and sinful behavior - even without regret or repentance - should be granted to those who agree to let us share their wealth and power.

Like the church in the 1500's, so many in the American Evangelical Church have decided that in order to fulfill our calling to bear witness to the Kingdom of God, we need to seek access to secular wealth and power to enable that mission. We have rejected Jesus as our model in favor of Constantine (the cross abandoned in favor of the sword), and have subscribed to the heresy that God's work is dependent on the support of secular wealth and power, that his kingdom is too weak to stand against the idols of Mars, Venus, and Mammon, and that his church must make room at the altar for sacrifices to them.

And so we grant absolution to those who can give us access to secular wealth and power, even to the point of praise and adulation from our pulpits. We are so deluded that we actually think that the next generation will see us elevating these men and their ilk, and will somehow be motivated to develop strong moral character.

Time for an American reformation?