Shooting victims who matter, encyclicals, and the new world order

It should be painfully obvious now that human suffering and carnage, like just about everything else in our world, exists only for the purpose of advancing the doctrines of the post-Christian reformation known as the secular left.  So a week ago, four people were shot to death in my neck of the woods.  It made the national news.  For a moment. 

Then they discovered the victims were black, the killers were black, and it was likely related to drugs. Nope.  Nothing for the propaganda organs of the left to sink their teeth into.  Black on black violence?  The blight of drugs in an age itching to legalize the same?  Expect to hear nothing about those precious children of God and their sudden, tragic deaths.  

Then the horrific shooting in Charleston happened.  And there you have it.  Before the end of the very day it occurred, when no real information was known, we had the narratives and the agendas:

Gun Control

Racism in America (as opposed to Islamic terrorism which never seems to have anything to do with Islam). 

And as a bonus, banning the Confederate Flag

Propaganda gold. Without any real knowledge to go on, this became the main story arc for interpreting that work of racist evil.  Defy it at your own risk.  Sure, pause has been given on a national scale. Mourning and tributes.  As well they should.  I would like to see this reaction to it without the rush to advance agendas so quickly.  If only for a day or so. 

But the left now sees its victory as clenched.  It's fourth quarter with the two minute warning and the left is four touchdowns ahead.  The officials are paid off.  The announcers are on their side.  And they have the ball five yards away from another touchdown.  There is no need to be subtle.  To pay lip service.  To act as if the important thing isn't seizing the moment to advance an agenda or two.  They can do it right along with the actual human response of weeping and mourning and praying.  There is no need to pretend.  

This assurance of victory that allows for such flagrant and cynical exploitation of human tragedy mirrors the very rejoicing that those on the left are experiencing in light of Pope Francis's encyclical, Laudato si. 

On the surface, I admit there is little to be alarmed about.  Take care of the planet.  We have a responsibility to be stewards of, not exploiters of, the environment that God has evolved around us.  Be wary of those who hinder solutions for selfish motives, and likewise never forget that humans are also part of the natural equation.  

But on further review, a couple things begin to emerge.  As one observer notes, for a Catholic encyclical written by a Catholic pope, its language and presentation isn't too far off a modern, secular rallying cry for human animals and their relationship to Earth First.  Second, the almost complete condemnation of the dying West, in which the West is not only responsible for virtually all international conflicts, all poverty, but also now the prime cause of global warming, echoes the post-Christian, post-Western progressive school of thought of who is to blame, and who are the heroes.  And furthermore, Pope Francis even gives a nod to that post-war 20th century liberal pipe-dream of a singular global world order led by a single worldwide government.  Not the first modern pope to suggest such a thing, but telling nonetheless.  Perhaps these are incorrect interpretations or alarmist reactions.  But simply, given the overall body of comments by Pope Francis, they are far from unfathomable.  

Why are those who seek to replace the values of the historic Faith with their post-Christian values so confident that they immediately can move to exploit human tragedy before the bodies have been taken to the morgue?  When the leader of over one billion people even appears to accept that the opponents of the left are indeed the villains, and with select exceptions, the new order is the only acceptable paradigm for rethinking our place in the cosmos, score more than a touchdown.  Chalk up a major victory on Superbowl Sunday. 

So rather than get sucked up in the obvious momentum of the movement that makes it clear the value of human life ends where the fleeting promises of my narcissism and hedonism begin, let's pause to remember all victims of violence, hate, anger, and victimization by an ideology that promises godhood to anyone, then strips away God to oppress everyone.  Let's rise above it, pray for the victims, their families, and yes, the killers all.  Act as we are called to do, and pray that we can break from the juggernaut and truly be courageous enough to look for the real solutions, not just the ones that satisfy competing agendas or dominant ideologies. 

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

    my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you

    from the fowler’s snare

    and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his feathers,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

You will not fear the terror of night,

    nor the arrow that flies by day,

    nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

    nor the plague that destroys at midday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

You will only observe with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,

    no harm will overtake you,

    no disaster will come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;

    they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call on me, and I will answer him;

    I will be with him in trouble,

    I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

    and show him my salvation.”

Psalm 91