Martin Luther
believes that “works reduce the body to subjection and purify it of its evil
lusts, and our whole purpose is to be directed only toward the driving out of
lusts.” Immediately after reading this statement, I thought about the countless
news stories I have seen over the years about members of the clergy being
convicted of crimes such as molestation of a child, rape, and even murder. If good works reduce the inner evils of a
Christian then how are some Christians able to commit such heinous crimes? To
make sure I was not over exaggerating the cases of clergy committed crimes, I
did a little research and found out that in the last 17 years, 75 clergymen
have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to child molestation charges. These
convicted child molesters included Roman Catholic priests, Baptists ministers, Pentecostal
ministers, Methodists ministers, and Episcopal
priests. To some 75 might be a small number but don’t forget to consider the
unreported cases of victims who were afraid to speak out against the clergy.
Also, there are some cases that are settled outside of court in which victims
are paid by the church to keep quiet. That however is another topic for another
day. The point I am trying to make is that if works suppress the inner evils of
the soul, how are Christians that supposedly do good works still able to molest
children, rape, and murder. Members of the clergy probably perform more good
works than the average Christian. Were their works not good enough to suppress
temptation? Are these members of the clergy even Christian? While contemplating
my own questions, I thought about another passage I read in On Christian Liberty. Martin Luther
claims that “the more Christian a man is, the more evils, sufferings, and
deaths he must endure.” Maybe this could be used to explain why so many members
of the clergy have fallen to temptation. Maybe they are Christians. In fact,
they are more Christian than the average Christian which is why their temptation
is greater and they succumb to it so often.
I don't believe that one's "degree" of Christianity can be quantified by the amount of good works one does. In order to talk about why priests and other clergy members have committed crimes, and whether or not they are truly Christian, you must separate the ideas of "person" and "Christianity". One who is Christian has accepted God's gift of forgiveness. One's personality defines how much his or her faith is demonstrated. A Christian can still be a bad person; although he has a union with God, he, like the rest of humanity, is not a perfect person. Therefore, his actions may not always convey his Christianity. Such is the case with priests who molest. Though they have a bond with God and have acknowledged God's gift, his person is flawed, and he commits wrongdoings. It is probably true that he has done good works, but that does not mean that he is a "better Christian" than anyone else; he is still an imperfect person.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that a priest who molests children can truly call himself a Christian. Maybe one cannot determine purely based upon the actions of a person whether or not they are truly a christian, but I agree with the notion that the nature of your inner-self is what is expressed in your works. Therefor a Christian cannot commit such terrible acts because his nature would not allow for him to commit such heinous acts. So, a priest who molests a child was never actually a Christian or else his faith would have prevented him from doing so.
ReplyDeleteI think when Luther said that more Christian one was, the more he or she would suffer, he was implying that the world was simply not kind to those with faith (persecution, etc.) , or perhaps one would struggle more as a result of their divinely inspired moral code, rather than saying Christians have more inner demons to to deal with. Every human has a tendency to sin. Some a lot more than others, but still--I doubt there are more priests with pedophiliac tendencies than pedophiles in any other profession. Their actions just seem even more heinous in light of their godly profession. To insist otherwise would imply that they were given these perverted desires as a test of their faith, which would seem very cruel coming from a supposedly benevolent God. Are you meaning to say that as priests, their day-to-day struggle with sin is so much more intense, because of their need to avoid all sins, even the seemingly harmless ones, that it is inevitable that they crack and do something horrible like rape? Because while this could be a reason for their succumbing to temptation, I wouldn't say they were given these inner demons to fight because they were more faithful than the average Christian with a secular job who, while sinning occasionally, manages to avoid committing atrocities.
ReplyDeleteIn class one of the main points we discussed was the separation of a persons faith in this case Christian faith and their level of moral compass. Even though a priest or clergyman might commit molestation, which I personally feel is one of the most awful things that a person can do onto another person it has no baring on their religion. This entails that indeed they are still Christian but still a morally corrupt ant evil person. The fact is that pedophilia happens all around the world on a shockingly regular basis, but it is the occurrence of these events with individuals that are looked towards for leadership both morally and religiously that make it so shocking and repulsive.
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