08/10/2004: "Tell us how much you care, Reverend"

I don't know where they got this, but the Institute for Religion and Democracy, in their "Quote of the Week" feature, has a priceless one-liner from the Rev. Albert Pennybacker, head of the liberal Clergy Leadership Network:

"Real religion isn't how often you pray but how deeply you care."

Not how you act, mind you, but care. Actually doing anything that might help the poor or conserve the environment or free people from tyranny or help achieve peace is secondary, if it matters at all, in Pennybackerian religion. Seeking the help of the Lord of the universe is apparently not that big a deal either. As long as one's heart overflows with fuzzy feelings, you have "real religion."

But then, we all remember what Dietrich Bonhoeffer said about "religion," don't we?

Replies: 1 Comment

on Tuesday, August 10th, Christopher said

This is one of the main characteristics of secularism or "neo-Epicureanism". Since personhood, mind, etc are products of a material mind, and the soul is not "real", then good and evil move out of the realm of ideas into the emotions. Given the nihilism of such materialism, it's not how you behave, or think, or act, or pray, it's how deeply you feel that marks your authentic self. Unfortunately, modern secularists/neo-pagan/epicurean (chose your poison) are so poorly educated, and so poor at basic logic and thinking, they do not know themselves. Mr. Pennybacker does not really know how absurd and blasphemous his statement really is, because he projects his philosophy backwards into the tradition. It would be just sad, but since the man is in some influence over others, it's dangerous for souls...