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Title: Ecclesiastical Megalomania: The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church by Gordon H. Clark, John W. Robbins ISBN: 0-940931-52-4 Publisher: Trinity Foundation Pub. Date: October, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Terrific Book With Minor Flaws
Comment: Robbins takes up the considerable task of examining what the Catholic
Church position on economics and politics is and has been over its 1500+
year history. He does this using church canon law, papal writings, and
the writings of its intellectual Fathers like Aquinas. In other words,
he uses a great deal of primary source material to justify his analysis.
(Well, he uses quotes of the source material found in later anthologies,
to be more precise.) To support his analysis and conclusions, Robbins
also cites a breadth of commentators and critics of Catholicism both
from within and outside the Church.
This is primarily a work of scholarship not a popular or religious
commentary (except as noted in the "Flaws" section below). Having said
that, _you_ do not particularly have to be a scholar to understand it.
Some general understanding of Church and secular history is helpful,
and, if you are unschooled in theological terminology, a dictionary
would be helpful.
Except as noted in the "Flaws" section below, this is primarily a work
on economics and politics. Of necessity, it also addresses some issues
of Church doctrine and theology, since the economic/ political theory
springs in some degree from that doctrine.
The Punchline
-------------
Robbins critique' is devastating. He makes a compelling case that the
intellectual tradition of Catholicism is statist, collectivist, hostile
to constitutional government, friendly to fascism and totalitarian
secular states, hostile to property rights, and even supportive of
slavery and other human rights abuses. He further demonstrates that
these were not just the positions of the ancient Roman Church, but are
the intellectual currency of the Vatican through the late 20th Century.
Along the way, he provides a lot of little historical tidbits like how
the claim of the Church for temporal political power is founded on a
document ("The Donation Of Constantine" - reproduced in the Appendix)
known to be a forgery as early as the 15th Century. Finally, and
importantly, he addresses late 20th Century efforts to rewrite history
and present the Church as friendly to Classical Liberal ideas.
Like many non-Catholics, I'd always assumed that the Roman Church's
excesses were merely the product of unfettered power prior to the
Reformation, and that it had adapted to Classical Liberal ideas in the
West. Robbins demolishes this idea, and goes to some lengths to show
just how hostile the intellectual underpinnings of the Church remain to
Capitalist economy, property rights, separation of Church and State, and
so forth. I never quite understood how an institution putatively
fighting evil could stand by quietly during the Nazi attrocities or the
pederasty within the priesthood. Now I get it.
Flaws
-----
Robbins is a scholar, but he is also a devout Christian in the
Westminster Confession Presbyterian tradition. In and of itself, this
presents no problem. However, this book is by turns history, analysis,
and polemic. The polemic is thankfully minimal, but he undermines the
credibility of his scholarship when he includes footnote comments like,
"the antichrist can be heard in the encyclicals of the present pope." I
have no particular objection to his doctrinal observations and opinions,
they are simply not segregated clearly from his historical scholarship
and analysis, which is after all, what the book is supposed to be about.
In weaving his theological commentary into the economic/political
history, he opens himself up to the legitimate criticism that parts of
the book read like a religious tract rather than pure scholarship.
In those places where he does indulge in theological observations, he
does a poor job of defining terms. His use of the term "Christian" or
"Scriptural" are not what most secular readers or even Catholic readers
would understand them to be. I have the advantage of a pretty thorough
background in Christian theology in various traditions, but if you do
not, these portions of the book will seem at least strange, or more
probably, inflamatory and ad hominem in nature (which I do not believe
he intended).
Thankfully, this is a minor problem - the book remains primarily a
historical fact gathering and critique' of Catholic economics and
politics.
The other problem here is validating the analysis (I take it on faith
that Robbins facts are right). I am aware of no scholarly response to
Robbins claims which might refute or amend his conclusions. It would be
interesting to see, for example, a Jesuit response to this book...
Finally, there is a theme taken up in the book I wish he had spent more
time on. Early in the writing, he shows how our modern Classical Liberal
ideas about property and personal rights sprang, in part, from the
Calvinist Reformation thinkers. Furthermore, in keeping with the overall
theme of the book, he goes on to say that these Classical Liberal ideas
were in direct opposition to Roman Catholic thinking. I wish he would
have _ended_ the book with this topic and expanded it a lot more. There
is some very rich analysis to be done here, and his treatment is long on
assertion, but shallow in supporting evidence. What's there is really
good, but I wanted another 50 pages on this topic alone because it is
not well treated in any Church History I've ever seen.
Recommendation
--------------
As I said at the outset, this is just a terrific piece of scholarship
and writing. It is as about well written as something of this nature can
be ... it is not an "easy" read, but it is not a dry scholastic text
either. If you enjoy reading detailed histories, you should enjoy this
as well. Again, I caution the devout Catholics among us - be prepared to
be shocked, dismayed, and/or angry if you read this - Robbins
conclusions are extremely unkind (to say the least) to Roman
Catholicism, both past and present.
Rating: 1
Summary: A bizarre book filled with bad logic, inaccuracies & spite
Comment: John Robbins' book fails to meet the basic requirements of any critical analysis: to represent the ideas to be analyzed fairly, and to criticize them logically. This flaw contaminates the entire book. Like Don Quixote he fights against the giants of his own imagination.
There are many statements that are false. He states that John Paul II has repeatedly expressed his support for Liberation Theology (p. 102). He states that Catholics support every mother becoming a welfare mother (p. 88). He asserts that private property is not a natural law right in the Catholic tradition (p. 152). Whatever he is arguing against, it is not Catholic social teaching. Indeed, sometimes his interpretations take on the fancy of creative fiction (see pp. 61, 91). The third most common element of the book, besides unproven allegations and misrepresentations, are logical fallacies. Indeed, the fallacy of repetition so densely populates the text that there is no logical argumentation left at all (see pp. 57, 62, 155).
In the end, the book has the flavor of a conspiracy theory novel, particularly when he quotes favorably Nino Lo Bello's delusions of millions of "papal James Bonds, or pontifical 007's" (p. 189). Sometimes the logic just defies description and enters the twilight zone (see p. 94). Unfortunately, the book also overflows with hatred for the Catholic church, referred to throughout as the Roman Church-State or simply Romanism (p. 128). On page 115 we are told, "the antichrist can be heard in the encyclicals of the present pope." In sum, the book displays a high level of ignorance in the context and meaning of Catholic social teaching.
Rating: 5
Summary: It's About Time
Comment: John Robbins has done something that should have been done at least a thousand years ago--he has written a devastating critique of Roman Catholic politics and economics. Ever wonder why Britain and Germany outpaced Spain and Italy as world powers? Ever wonder why South America languishes in poverty in spite of tremendous natural and popular resources? Ever wonder how Roman Catholicism has justified its long history of brutality and dictatorship? Ideas have consequences. Robbins identifies those ideas and shows what consequences must and do derive from them. Any familiarity with world events and history will allow the reader to see that what Robbins says makes sense. Any careful scholar will find Robbins' detailed and accurate research unimpeachable.
Unfortunately, people who are so careful and so correct have not traditionally been popular with the Roman Catholic Church, and as tradition is a big part of RCC dogma and practice, I fear that Dr. Robbins may be in for a rough personal ride. With Scripture and logic on his side, Dr. Robbins may be hard-pressed and persecuted, but he will never be crushed or destroyed.
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