Yet More of a Lapsed Catholic’s Bible Study
[NB: check the byline, thanks. /~Rayne]
I mentioned in comments beneath my first Lapsed Catholic’s Bible Study post that I had other biblical material I was chewing on.
Funny enough, the chapter and verses I was referring to are absolutely appropriate to the Trump administration’s ethical and moral failures as well as that of the GOP’s congressional caucus.
It’s one of the most popular portions of the Bible. It may be familiar to you even if you’re not a church-going Christian as you may have heard as a reading at Christian weddings. It’s frequently used as an exhortation to the newlyweds and their future lives together.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Nice, huh? You can imagine the newlyweds before the altar, glowing with happiness, feeling all the wonderful attributes of love described in these verses.
Except that’s not what appears in every Bible published. In the King James version, this is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 —
13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
I don’t ever recall this selection being read at Christian weddings, do you?
But even this version in which the word charity is used to describe the greatest of three virtues still doesn’t fully convey the intended meaning.
The English words love and charity are rough approximations of a Greek word ἀγάπη, agape — the love of humanity. Agape is both love and charity; it is the emotion of love combined with action of charity, felt for and offered to fellow humans who are God’s creations.
Trump and his minions, particularly Russell Vought, wanted to reshape the U.S. by way of Project 2025:
An influential think tank close to Donald Trump is developing plans to infuse Christian nationalist ideas in his administration should the former president return to power, according to documents obtained by POLITICO.
…
Christian nationalists in America believe that the country was founded as a Christian nation and that Christian values should be prioritized throughout government and public life. As the country has become less religious and more diverse, Vought has embraced the idea that Christians are under assault and has spoken of policies he might pursue in response.
One document drafted by CRA staff and fellows includes a list of top priorities for CRA in a second Trump term. “Christian nationalism” is one of the bullet points. Others include invoking the Insurrection Act on Day One to quash protests and refusing to spend authorized congressional funds on unwanted projects, a practice banned by lawmakers in the Nixon era.
Emphasis mine. Source: Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration, Politico, Feb 20, 2024.
By actively choosing to starve or bankrupt Americans by refusing to extend healthcare subsidies and fully fund SNAP, thereby endangering human lives, Trump and his administration are doing the furthest thing from establishing a Christian nation. They are not acting with charity, and in this sense the demonstration of agape. They are treating persons who are marginalized by circumstances with more than disrespect but malignant disregard.
It is yet another mortal sin, on top of other mortal sins committed by knowingly seeking individuals to murder in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, by turning over individuals for abuse and torture abroad as part of deportations, by encouraging cruel and unusual punishments in painful forms of execution of inviduals on death row. I’m sure there are more examples in this profile of Chicago under occupation by Trump’s ICE.
Being the lapsed Catholic that I am, I don’t ordinarily ask this kind of question, however I feel I need to ask as Trump and his Christian nationalist purveyors clearly haven’t asked either. What would Jesus do if confronted with this level of hate for fellow humans? What would Christ say about consciously choosing to deny food and healthcare to those most in need, including persons who are needy because they serve now or have served in the military? This level of hate for fellow humans is creating a national security threat; we can’t expect strong defense of our nation from people who haven’t eaten, or who are worried about feeding their family.
Ed Walker examined Trumpist Moral Choice in his most recent post as part of his excellent series on Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity. I’m beyond the eeny-meeny-miney-moe of moral choice; our fellow Americans’ urgent needs call for more than mental exercise by the Trumpists who appear unable to consider consequences in advance of decisions.
Nor are platitudes enough; they don’t pay healthcare premiums and medical bills, make the rent, or put food on the table.
We need deeds not words. Genuine, immediate demonstrations of agape, the greatest of Christian virtues.
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
— 1 John 3:18
This.
So Christian. -__-
Goes with those “Christian” charities that only serve the “deserving” in their own congregations (meaning people who give money). Or that demand you say their prayers before being fed or housed.
Jesus would call the a nest of vipers and a den of thieves.
The basic Pharisee / Sadducee approach where form is more important than substance and power is necessary to enforce the form. The true Word is enough to build a church, let it work through your actions.
Spot on, Rayne. The clarity of your ‘Lapsed Catholic Bible Study’ posts is powerful, augmenting observations posed to everyone within my reach. Thank you.
I’m sure you know this and I’m guessing it’s a reason you’re using Biblical quotes. There’s something for everyone in the Bible. I use the Beatitudes. Others use the Old Testament quotes designed to scare the hell into people. I’m at a point where life-taking is the dividing line. Whether it’s capital punishment or Second Amendment collateral damage I’m not for it. The slippery slope is at the freefall point.
The Beatitudes *are* Biblical quotes. They are from Christ’s Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew in the New Testament, and in the Sermon on the Plain in the Book of Luke, also in the New Testament.
See Matthew 5:3–10 —
As compared to Luke 6:20–23 —
Luke’s version, while shorter than Matthew’s, also included Four Woes:
I referred to both Old and New Testament in my previous post, while in this one I referred only to the New Testament — specifically, one of St. Paul’s letters to the Corithians.
Life taking — willful, knowing murder — is a mortal sin. The slope began much earlier; Trump is already over the cliff. Those who encourage this behavior are engaged in what the Catholic Church calls a “grave matter,” one of the conditions distinguishing a mortal sin. This is the critical failing for those who believe Trump is a tool of God in spite of Trump’s sin. If Trump’s a tool, he is flushing out those who are morally and spiritually weak and at great risk manifest in their support of his mortal sins.
Ugh. I feel just sick even thinking about this.
It’s even worse when you use “justice” instead of “righteousness”, as the early texts did. It exposes how much of that has been used to keep people down.
Some news page I saw earlier today had Ramaswamy calling for making the American Dream affordable. I think he is missing the point: the American Dream is perfectly affordable for Trump and his cohort. Who cares about the losers? They are only of use in service and no need to be concerned about any dreams of the Untouchables. I have been thinking for a number of years that the vast majority of mankind is of no value to the wealthy, save as exploitable labor where necessary. If the AI gurus get their dream then the rest of us will be no longer of value, simply wasting the oxygen, etc., of the privileged who are obviously God’s chosen.
Great post, and not just for lapsed Catholics, but also for those not familiar with the New Testament, like me.
I would like to repost the succinct message from the Mastodon post on social media. Is it your creation or should I credit someone else? Thanks from this retired librarian and author who was taught to quote her sources!
The entire Mastodon post is linked in my comment but I’ll share the link again:
https://mstdn.social/@[email protected]/115516974803864823
Thanks. Much easier way for me to pass it on. I only very occasionally post on FB or Bluesky and these 13 words need spreading!
No one’s metioned the apocryphal Upton Sinclair quote yet?
“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a Bible”.
He apparantly never said or wrote it, but he and many others in the 30’s came close enough.
Upton Sinclair — ‘Fascism is capitalism plus murder.’
I believe that quote is from Sinclair Lewis.
Fine post, Rayne.
One of the biggest things I think could make a big difference with mainline churches — that is, the non-Christian Nationalists — is for ordinary pew-sitting, churchgoers to go to their pastor and say “Pastor, we need to *DO* — maybe we will be the answer to someone’s prayers. We need to be out there, protesting, protecting, feeding, supporting, helping any way we can. And we need you to lead. Oh, and one more thing: if you get some pushback about playing politics, I’ve got your back.”
Most pastors hate the notion of getting too far in front of their flock, and even more the idea that someone will criticize them for anything that might possibly be seen as political. If you tell your pastor you’ve got their back, that will stiffen their spine to do what needs to be done.
If one person does it, they might say you’re crazy.
If two people do it, they might think you’re both crazy.
If three people do it, they might think you’re an organization.
But if fifty people do it . . . Imagine, fifty people go up to their pastor and tell them they’ve got their back . . .
Friends, they’ll think it’s a movement.
And it is.
And it starts with you talking to the pastor, rather than waiting for the pastor to bring it up.
Whew. A family member told me that a Catholic priest in Florida used Charlie Kirk as a model during his sermon, saying in effect Kirk was shot recently for speaking the truth, equating Kirk to Christ being sacrificed for speaking the truth.
They were angry with the sermon and I am still spinning about it. I want to write a letter to the priest and his bishop for this horrific hot mess. Kirk’s hate speech against immigrants is antithetical to Christian teaching; in no way should he be a model for Christians let alone Catholics.
ADDER: I just asked my family member if the priest asked for parishioners to make a donation to food bank, or if they took a special collection for a food bank. Nope. Instead they had donuts and coffee after mass and then a dinner at the church. No parishioner stood up and called the priest on this, either. I’m disgusted. I hope this isn’t representative of the Catholic Church across the U.S.
All this talk about genuine Christians smacks of the “No True Scotsman” fallacy. Without a belief system, there would have been no cause for the Inquisition.