Nearly every Christian tradition has its own view on Christ & Culture; that is, how the Christian church relates to secular culture and political powers. In this episode, Pater Edmund joins Matt and Derek to discuss the classic Roman Catholic political theology of Integralism.
Timestamps:
Intro + definition of Integralism [0:00 - 5:10]
What does the subordination of the temporal power to the spiritual power look like? [5:10 - 7:40]
Would it be wrong, then, for spiritual authorities, like bishops, to wield power (i.e., armies)? [7:40 - 11:20]
How sin justifies the church’s direct intervention in politics under integralism [11:20 - 14:00]
Why are other conservative Roman Catholics hesitant about integralism? [14:00 - 17:19]
Can integralism exist in a classical liberal society? [17:19 - 29:25]
How is the church supposed to direct the unbaptized? [29:25 - 37:49]
How does this go from theory to some sort of practice, must it be done through brute force or is there room for a democratic process? [37:49 - 40:33]
Nature and Grace, the baptized, what to do with Protestants, other denominations, and whether the Mortara baptism was justified [40:33 - 59:40]
What ultimately keeps Matt from signing on to something like integralism + Conclusion [59:40 - 1:03:44]
Resources mentioned:
Article: NON POSSUMUS by Romanus Cessario, O.P. (the story of Mortara) on First Things
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Finally, as always, follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Motte for his sound editing work. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.
Caleb Wait
Caleb Wait (MATS, Westminster Seminary California) is a writer and the producer of Mere Fidelity. He and his wife Kristin have two children and live in Northern California. You can follow him on Twitter @calebwait and he invites you to email him at ciwait93@gmail.com.
