Politics and religion

Once upon a time (1979), in a remote Catholic school on a Pacific island, a seventh grade homeroom teacher ordered her young pupils to say a special prayer for the poor. All of her students complied–except for young Gregory, who abruptly stormed out in protest of the command. The teacher immediately gave chase.

“Gregory!” she demanded. “Why did you walk out on my class? Why are refusing to pray for the poor? What is the matter with you, young man?”

“I am a conservative Republican,” declared Gregory. “I do not support socialism–and I am not about to endorse spiritual socialism. I simply refuse to subsidize the poor with my prayers.”

“Why, Gregory!” exclaimed the teacher in utter astonishment. “Don’t you care about the plight of the less fortunate? Don’t you care about poor people? What kind of person are you?”

“Yes,” contended Gregory, “I do care about the plight of the less fortunate. I most certainly care about the poor. And that is precisely why I am refusing to be forced into subsidizing their prayers. I wouldn’t want them to be spiritually dependent on my prayers, you see. They have to learn to pray for themselves–to be self-
reliant. The Lord would want it that way.”

“But what about Jesus?” countered the teacher. “Didn’t Jesus give his life for the sins of all people? Didn’t he, in effect, subsidize the sins of others through his personal suffering and ultimate crucifixion?

“Jesus was surely no self-reliant Republican, young man. Jesus spiritually subsidized you and me, regardless of individual merit, self-reliance and achievement. He died for our sins–for all of our sins.”

“Gee, why did Jesus have to go and do that?” asked Gregory. “I mean, all because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. That wasn’t his fault. He had absolutely nothing to do with it. Whatever happened to individual responsibility for one’s actions?”

“In our faith,” said the teacher, “there is no such thing as individual responsibility for one’s action. We are all born equally guilty. We are born with this highly compelling notion of ‘original sin.’ We are ultimately all responsible for each other. We are all brothers and sisters in this world.”

“Sounds a bit like Communism,” muses Gregory. “But if this is all true, then why are most Christians registered Republicans? Seems to me, if they were really true believers, they should all be registered Democrats, don’t you think?”

“Good question,” said the teacher. “That I don’t know, my boy.”