I think what I liked most about this episode was the question of labels. written by gchancy,
June 11, 2008
Father Chris made an excellent point about how labels are applied in our political culture. If you oppose the Iraq War, you are suddenly a liberal. If you oppose abortion and the culture of death, you are suddenly conservative. In a heartbeat, political discourse rapidly descends to the level of name calling while serious issues get rather short shrift.
This was a great episode for a lot of reasons. The information about Archbishop Iakovos having been at the march with Martin Luther King was something I had no idea about.
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Very disappointing segment written by Emm,
June 23, 2008
While I agree with gchancy re: Father Chris' comment about labels, I have to say with all due respect that I was astounded to hear about the abortion issue being spoken about that way...as if it was equal in gravity to unemployment, the environment, or even gay "marriage".
How can any issue trump the right to life of the least of these amongst the human family? What kind of health care, job, marriage, or safety can a person have if they're dead?
If there were 3000-4000 known murders a day in Iraq, would be willing to be silent witnesses?
There is a time to speak up and a time to be silent. As long as the abortion rates are the way they are in America, it is not a time for Orthodox Christians to be silent, or to give Obama or any other pro-"choice" politician the dignity of consideration.
I was astounded by the glowing way in which this candidate was being spoken about in this interview. It's as if his radical positions -- which he has openly said do NOT contradict his alleged Christian faith -- are negligible in significance.
This interview was most ironic to listen to after having heard the one about Obama's speech on fatherhood -- literally the only speech where he got anything right.
Finally, maybe this is just because I'm not American and I've seen first-hand the consequences of Christians sitting back and rationalizing non-involvement in politics, but it would be wise to look at what has happened in Canada as a result of that kind of thinking. We have the most unrestricted abortion laws in the world, we legalized gay "marriage" (and thereby have opened churches, pastors, private Christian schools, employers, private businesses, etc. to unimaginable challenges and lawsuits), and on and on it goes.
I'm sorry if I sound ungracious in any of this. I'm especially sorry because I usually love listening to the clips provided online by this website.
Fr. Chris talks with Rod Dreher of the Dallas Morning News about the democratic nomination and the events surrounding it.
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This was a great episode for a lot of reasons. The information about Archbishop Iakovos having been at the march with Martin Luther King was something I had no idea about.