Materialist Interpretations of the Modern Papacy

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/24/nx-s1-5307022/jesus-wept-author-chronicles-the-debates-roiling-the-catholic-church

I'm afraid this episode of Fresh Air typifies the increasing divide in American news coverage. No sober thinking person (let alone a Spirit-filled one) can possibly appreciate the manipulative and superficial quality of Right-wing media outlets such as FOX and Newsmax. And yet this episode of Fresh Air (which had every reason and opportunity to be interesting) proved tiresome and I became more fixated on the liberal materialist assumptions of the interviewer and guest than the actual issues being discussed.

The author in question (Shenon) deals with the papacy from World War II to the present - an absolutely fascinating topic on many levels and there were some interesting bits of insider information that were passed on. But what struck me was how the values and epistemology of Enlightenment Liberalism were simply assumed and all questions were judged through that lens. Therefore progressive popes supportive of liberal ideals, individual rights, and the like are 'good', and a reason for optimism while all conservative and traditionalist resistance is bad and (it would seem) largely due to self-interest or corruption. The notion that someone might act of actual conviction seems to be outside the purview of their conception. That someone might actually believe in the divine revealed truths is not even something that is entertained - because (I think) it is assumed as prima facie false and therefore anyone embracing such should not be taken seriously. The Catholic Church is simply treated as an institution akin to the NIH, or a multi-national bank.

The irony is that Roman Catholicism has in many ways brought this on itself as it has functioned in the post-war period like a highly corrupt multi-national corporation more than anything resembling the New Testament Church. I'm not at all sympathetic to Rome but rather more put out by the assumptions undergirding the Fresh Air episode. As such, the whole show proved as futile as if I was listening to a LifeSite or Taylor Marshall programme which are just as biased and even delusional when it comes to interpreting history, or even reality.

So for those interested in the topic, the show is undeniably interesting but I think in the end what most interested me most was something else entirely. And once again I find myself a media orphan or exile. The Right-wing outlets which supposedly are friendly to religion or Christianity are not and in fact are more often not pure poison. And yet the divide between a world in which God is real and reality is primarily metaphysical and the cold dead soulless world of materialism (and its attempts at explaining reality and ethics) is insurmountable and the basic assumptions required for communication and meaningful conversation are growing fewer by the day.

There are so many ironies in this reality. We have one group that waves the flag of a country founded on Liberal ideals and yet is working feverishly to eliminate those ideals and overthrow the longstanding order. Likewise we have a growing secular consensus that absolutizes Liberalism and the ideas of democracy, human rights, and the individual but as a materialist-driven epistemology is embraced, the emerging order is increasingly intolerant of dissent - and in the name of 'science' is toying with the suppression of democracy, human rights, and the individualism that stands in opposition to the new consensus.

For my part as a New Testament Christian (as opposed to a cultural one) I must out of conscience reject both camps and the assumptions and ideological frameworks of Christendom as well as Enlightenment Liberalism with its assumptions regarding rights, democracy, and a larger set of connected questions in the realms of ethics and even economics. Sadly in the American Church these two egregious errors are often combined.

More than ever we must exercise wisdom and discernment and yet due to the cultural moment and the Church's capitulation to it (in different forms) there is almost no possibility for this right now. Bible teachers and Church leaders cannot compete with the overwhelming and ubiquitous media culture and those who try to challenge it or suggest Christians should disengage (let alone condemn it) are quickly abandoned.

I honestly do not know where this is all headed. I tend to think that both sides will ultimately crack up and implode but a lot can happen before that time comes and a lot of damage can be done. I'm not sure how many people fully appreciate the damage that has already been done and is expanding by the day.

I can easily imagine many people listening to this Fresh Air episode and being offended - and with some reason. And yet I am appalled that they would then turn to one of the FOX personalities or even many of the voices on so-called Christian radio and find solace in their words which in the end are just as twisted and dishonest. They pay lip service to spiritual notions and tickle ears, but in the end they are political operatives. The larger clash is about power and for most people the easy thing to do is pick a side and fight for that cause. Integrity demands we opt for something else - we reject both sides which in the end are mere facets of the same lost world. We stand for truth and as such we're going to find very few allies or friends. Even as the Christian Right celebrates what they think are victories they are blind to the fact that their gains are only due to deep and destructive compromise. They've won nothing. In fact they've already lost everything, but in the judgment that has been meted out against them - they're too blind to see it.

I still consume a fair bit of media. I follow the news but it is admittedly getting more difficult and more of a chore to wade through it all. This episode reminded me of that - like a slap in the face.