[lbo-talk] creepy journal

[C. G. Estabrook]

Orwell, who famously believed that it was not possible to be "both
Catholic and grown-up," was a rather good example of the gibe that the
residual religion of the England in the 20th century was anti-papalism.
His notion that "Chesterton ... expresses in a simplified ... form,
certain tendencies that exist in every Christian reformer" is remarkably
narrow (although he does interestingly note Belloc's prescience).  Here's
a counter-example from a well-known late 20th century theologian (and a
mentor to people as different as Terry Eagleton and the current Abp. of
Canterbury):

"To speak with vast and misleading generality, there is in the world at
the moment a conflict between the dispossessed and the rich ... It seems
to me that the first thing a christian will want to say about his moral
position is that he belongs with this revolution.  I say 'belongs with it'
rather than 'belongs to it' because the christian revolution goes in and
through this kind of revolution to something deeper, to the ultimate
alienation of man which is sin and ultimate transformation which is death
and resurrection ... The christian, then, cannot identify his christianity
with participation in the revolution though he can certainly point to the
absurdity of a christian not participating..."

	--Herbert McCabe OP, Law, Love and Language (1968), 164-170

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Shane Taylor wrote:


> ... The following is from a collection of essays by George Orwell on
> the different camps of "the intellectual revolt" to the mid-century
> breaks from laissez-faire capitalism:
> 
> 3. The Christian Reformers...