www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall America as our Hope?? An analysis of McCain's Victory Speech

This is a piece I wanted to write on Tuesday evening but did not find the time until today. I would be interested in your feedback.

---
At the end of evening prayers with my wife, we say the words found at the end of Small Compline:

On Tuesday evening, January 8, we said our prayers and proceeded to go upstairs to get ready for our night's sleep. As I was changing, I switched on the news and heard the latter half of John McCain's acceptance speech. It was probably because I just finished my prayers that I was especially attuned to the troubling words I heard.

As he came to the end of his speech, John McCain uttered these words:
Because these words were so similar to my evening prayers, I did a double take. Did he just say what I thought he said? On the web (at johnmccain.com) I found the text of his speech -- yes, he said it.

What strikes me the most is how many American Christians will hear and/or read these words and cheer without ever thinking about the heresy that undergirds them. There is no doubt that they are poetic -- and they are deeply moving. But they are a temptation and they run contrary to everything we as Christians believe. As Christians we believe that Jesus is the same "yesterday, today and tomorrow"; God is our "hope" and our "protection"; the kingdom of heaven, to use Jesus' imagery, is "our greatest treasure"; the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting, as the Creed affirms, is the "promise we keep to our children."

Throughout her long history, Christians have faced the temptation to deify the temporal, to seek heaven on earth, to be satisfied with earthly glory and to trust in earthly institutions. As they have faced this temptation, the words of Christ to Pilate have rung out: "My kingdom is not of this world."

It is a fantastic thing to love one's country -- patriotism can be a noble and uplifting passion. But let us never forget, as Christians, that we are simply wayfarers through this world, that, as Paul states, "our citizenship is in heaven" and that we are waiting, together with Abraham, "for a city whose builder and maker is God." And lest we misunderstand -- that city is not America.

This campaign will force Christians to make important moral and theological choices. We have to weigh a candidate's support for morality, his/her foreign policy goals, his/her character, etc. All of these things are important -- but let us remember that, as great as she is, our country is not the kingdom of heaven. Let us not be fooled by smooth politicians into a false hope.

There is only one kingdom -- for us as Christians there is only one hope, one protection, one promise -- and that is provided by God, not by any candidate or office holder.

Father Bless!

That was a very good post Father!

One needs to think about a proper way to discuss this one. I think that many people do deify this country, the government, the constitution, and our Founding Fathers.


(I remind people that Rome started out as a Republic as well.)

Father,

First, I don't see why McCain needed a victory speech. He only won by five points, that's not enough to be a significant indicator of how Republicans will vote in other states.

The source of nationalism does not show itself to be from God, as it has been a major cause of many conflicts, divisions, and wars. I cannot help but think his personification of American nationalism is steps away from the language used to bring people into conformity with the New Soviet man and toward the ideal of the Nazi �bermensch. What insulates America from such tyranny is freedom. We may be sophist with language, let us not lose our freedom too.

Terry

Give me a break ... seems like you're spinning McCain's heartfelt "political" speech toward a religious aspect. Maybe you were more tired than you thought - he wasn't deifying our country, he was expressing his convictions.

My goodness, I even have a beautiful bush that is named "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" ... maybe I should pull it up!

I know that any talk about politics tends to stir up the passions in many posters--but--PRJ is a Priest and as such I would like to see a little more politeness in *addressing* priests on this forum. Thank you.

Alice, Moderator

I think a lot of us have become desensitized to the sacred.

We talk in church, which is the Temple of God. We laugh at off-colored jokes. We come late to Church and think nothing of it.

I know as a Catholic convert to Orthodoxy, I had to change my way of thinking and it was hard, especially since I lived in Cardinal Mahony's Archdiocese of Los Angeles where the novus ordo Mass was more like a concert performance complete with dancing girls than a sacred banquet.

We heard so many off colored jokes that I thought nothing of it, until I started taking catechumen lessons in the Orthodox Church where I was taught respect for God, the Icons, yes, and even Priests.

I will never forget the time that Father gave me a Sunday bulletin which had an Icon on the cover. I thanked him for it, put it on my clipboard, and then piled my books on top of the icon without a thought. The pain on his face shocked me, and I learned very quickly that even a paper icon is shown respect.

Pray for me a sinner.

When a political speech appropriates images from or the theological language of faith, it can be natural for a listener to question the intent of the speaker and ponder about the consequences of such a way of speaking.

Terry

A faux pas on my part. Since PRJ has chosen to entered into these posts incognito/his identity concealed (for whatever reason), I didn't know. His profile doesn't give any clue either.

That being the case ... I rescind the icons I inserted in my previous post.

Wow, that never occurred to me . . . it was always in my mind that it was a picture of an icon, not an icon itself. How do you dispose of old bulletins?

Dave

Good question.

Father, help!

Old bulletins with icons on them, or any such sacred representation should be burnt separately from other objects and the ashes buried.

Alexandr

Witnessing patriotism in modern America I have often wondered why the Roman Martyrs bothered to go to their deaths. They were only asked to drop a pinch of incense in the burner before the idols. No one seems to have cared at all whether they believed. In modern America christians of all stripes salute flags, put hands on heart for the anthem, and advocate constitutional amendments to outlaw flag-burning. Its never seemed that the martyrs were being asked for much more than a sign of patriotic fervor. Is tossing a pinch of incense in the bowl before a bust of the emperor so different from saluting a cloth flag?
I know the reason the martyrs acted as they did, but it seems even the persecutors did not believe the emperors were gods, it was just an act of patriotic fervor to the empire. It has always sounded to me not much more idolatrous than saluting a flag. Or both sound idolatrous.

Thank you, Alexandr.

Is that a custom, or is it somewhere mandated? I ask because it doesn't appear to be the custom in the Metropolia of Pittsburgh . . . I think every church I've been to uses the Eastern Christian Bulletin Service (www.ecbulletin.com [ecbulletin.com]) covers.

Our bulletins are passed out after Liturgy to everyone who wants one, parishioner or visitor. I even drop off extra copies at the chapel on the Air Force Base I work at, hoping to attract more people to visit us.

Dave

Very profound comment. I suppose it has to do with the "creed" of the Romans, that the Emperor was a god, and one should offer incense for that reason, even if the person who insisted on it did not believe it?

It ssems difficult to separate one's personal faith and one's relationship with civil society. What is the proper boundary between love of your neighbors (collectively, as a community or nation) and idolatry?

I can see this as a question for sports fans, political junkies, history buffs, ethnic group advocates, liturgical purists, etc.

I know I get upset with people who wear outrageous "patriotic" clothing and those car dealers with the 30 foot flags (selling hondas at last sighting), but I guess they got my attention.

Dear Aunt B,

Thank you for your apology.

I don't know why Father hasn't written 'clergy' on his profile; although most of us who have been here a while know it...

I also accept that it was therefore difficult to ascertain his title, but Dr. Eric's post directly after his which says 'Father bless' should have given you a little hint!

I am sorry but I don't understand what you are referring to in your last paragraph about the icons in your previous post--do you mean the emoticons (faces)?

In Christ,
Alice