SpyridonOCA
16th January 2008, 08:24 PM
In explaining how Orthodox Christians understand Scripture; by appealing to the church fathers, those closest in proximity and time to the original authors; my priest made an allusion to how the Constitution should be interpreted, within the historical context in which it was written. This is how a libertarian, or more properly termed, a Constitutionalist, would read the founding documents of our country. Please allow me to specify some of the similarities between Orthodoxy and Constitutionalism.
The Orthodox Christian believes that Scripture cannot be understood in a vacuum, and neither can the individual interpret its text in any way one pleases. Those who stray from Holy Tradition, abandoning the apostolic testimony for their own imagining, do so at their own peril. The libertarian believes that the Constitution cannot be interpreted in any way one pleases, but that for liberty to be upheld, the Constitution must be read and enforced as originally intended by its framers. When government steps outside its Constitutional limits, it does so at its own peril and that of we the people.
Libertarians believe in federalism, distrusting the centralization of government power as threatening to liberty. According to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Orthodox Church is distrusting of centralized authority. Rather than recognizing a Pope, each Orthodox jurisdiction is autonomous, much like the individual states under a federalist system of government.
Libertarians deny that an executive figure should have the power to usurp the rule of law, just as Orthodox Christians believe that the Pope is without the authority to modify Apostolic Tradition. Libertarians recognize our rights as God-given, not granted by the head of state. The Orthodox Church has no head but Jesus, the incarnate God. Papal innovations inspired the Protestant Revolt, which has divided Western Christendom into thousands of competing denominations, a total catastrophe. Disregard for the Constitution has threatened peace and individual freedom, creating imperialistic war and a culture of dependency.
Libertarians believe that, under the Constitution, only Congress has the authority to declare war, and that military force should only be used when America is under attack. The Orthodox Church teaches that all killing, even in war, is a grave sin, and that armed resistance is only justified to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Libertarians believe that individuals have the right to life, and that peaceful means are always preferable to the use of force. Orthodox Christians believe that every individual is an image of Christ and should be treated as such.
Libertarians believe in the separation of church and state, recognizing that the merger of state and ecclesiastical power corrupts both. Orthodox Christians recognize no government as having the authority which belongs only to the Kingdom of God. Libertarians believe that no nation-state is specially chosen by God. Philetism, the confusion of the Orthodox faith with your national identity, is condemned by the Church as heresy.
These are just some examples of the similarity between Orthodoxy and Constitutionalism. I believe that, under a Constitutional form of government, the Church will most thrive, because she will have the freedom to worship without fear of state persecution.
The Orthodox Christian believes that Scripture cannot be understood in a vacuum, and neither can the individual interpret its text in any way one pleases. Those who stray from Holy Tradition, abandoning the apostolic testimony for their own imagining, do so at their own peril. The libertarian believes that the Constitution cannot be interpreted in any way one pleases, but that for liberty to be upheld, the Constitution must be read and enforced as originally intended by its framers. When government steps outside its Constitutional limits, it does so at its own peril and that of we the people.
Libertarians believe in federalism, distrusting the centralization of government power as threatening to liberty. According to the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Orthodox Church is distrusting of centralized authority. Rather than recognizing a Pope, each Orthodox jurisdiction is autonomous, much like the individual states under a federalist system of government.
Libertarians deny that an executive figure should have the power to usurp the rule of law, just as Orthodox Christians believe that the Pope is without the authority to modify Apostolic Tradition. Libertarians recognize our rights as God-given, not granted by the head of state. The Orthodox Church has no head but Jesus, the incarnate God. Papal innovations inspired the Protestant Revolt, which has divided Western Christendom into thousands of competing denominations, a total catastrophe. Disregard for the Constitution has threatened peace and individual freedom, creating imperialistic war and a culture of dependency.
Libertarians believe that, under the Constitution, only Congress has the authority to declare war, and that military force should only be used when America is under attack. The Orthodox Church teaches that all killing, even in war, is a grave sin, and that armed resistance is only justified to defend those who cannot defend themselves. Libertarians believe that individuals have the right to life, and that peaceful means are always preferable to the use of force. Orthodox Christians believe that every individual is an image of Christ and should be treated as such.
Libertarians believe in the separation of church and state, recognizing that the merger of state and ecclesiastical power corrupts both. Orthodox Christians recognize no government as having the authority which belongs only to the Kingdom of God. Libertarians believe that no nation-state is specially chosen by God. Philetism, the confusion of the Orthodox faith with your national identity, is condemned by the Church as heresy.
These are just some examples of the similarity between Orthodoxy and Constitutionalism. I believe that, under a Constitutional form of government, the Church will most thrive, because she will have the freedom to worship without fear of state persecution.