Why I Get My Spiritual Guidance From Andrew Klavan And Jordan Peterson

 ... instead of my parish priest or Cardinal McElroy who leads our Catholic diocese.

After-the-post Preface: In discussing this with wife kitteh, it dawned on me that our bishop's letter, linked and excerpted below, was anodyne because he didn't want to be doing it at all. As my late father used to say, I'm reduced to four-letter words.

And now, on with the show...

New Internet friend Daniel R has an intriguing podcast called Solomon's Corner. The episode in question was this one, with the following teaser.

What is driving Christians to seek spiritual wisdom from political commentators like those at the Daily Wire rather than their clergy? Is the rise of the “Nones” an indication that America is becoming non-religious, or is there a “New Faith” behind this trend?

I hadn't thought of it before, but it's true. My modern religious influence is dominated by Andrew Klavan and Jordan Peterson of the Daily Wire. Most of my religious reading comes from people they've interviewed. Chesterton is still the giant in my life, but he's long gone. When it comes to the year 2022, it's all about the Daily Wire crew.

So why is that?

Well, this weekend, in the diocese of San Diego, our priests read a letter from Cardinal McElroy in lieu of their normal homily. Wife kitteh wasn't a fan of it, but I liked it in concept. It's one of the very few times the Cardinal has chosen to speak directly to the laity. The topic was the upcoming election, specifically Proposition 1, which will enshrine abortion in California's constitution. Here's the nonpartisan voter guide's take on the thing. Here's the key part of the proposed law.

SEC. 1.1. The state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion...

That seems to blow away any and all restrictions on abortion from conception to the moment of birth. Right now, there's a speed bump at 24 weeks, but this would seem to remove that.

The letter from McElroy was terrible. It was the normal, flaccid word salad we've come to expect from our leaders. Here's the text and below is a sample.

(W)e must work within our society to build a comprehensive framework that genuinely protects and builds the dignity and sacredness of human life it its fullness, at every stage and for every person.

That is why Catholic teaching points to the identity of human life as a gift from God. It is a grace that we have all received the gift of our lives as the foundational right that is the source of every blessing we know in our world. And it is this same sense of giftedness that frames our understanding that every member of the human family is equal in dignity and must be treated in this manner.

Normal people don't talk like that. Down the street at the Planned Parenthood in Pacific Beach, they will be allowed to jab scissors into the back of a fully formed baby's skull, suck its brains out with a vacuum, crush its skull and dismember it before finally throwing it into a medical waste bag. Babies cry when they're born. They'll be screaming in the womb when this happens. Think about that for a minute.

Imagine that baby screaming and how you would describe it to a friend. Would you say, "It is a grace that we have all received the gift of our lives as the foundational right that is the source of every blessing we know in our world. And it is this same sense of giftedness that frames our understanding that every member of the human family is equal in dignity and must be treated in this manner?"

I doubt it. You'd probably go nonlinear and use words like "&@*(*ing" and "**@#!" and "+_^%#." Your descriptions might include "satanic," "evil" and "barbaric." Your voice would rise until you were yelling.

Cardinal McElroy's letter-homily was pablum when the moment called for a howl of rage. Now I know that cardinals typically don't issue howls of rage, but for the love of God, you've got to do better than "The Church asks us to focus this weekend upon the comprehensive commitment to human life that is a vital part of the Gospel message and Catholic teaching."

This is what we get every single week. Thousands of children, my daughter included, are being poisoned and mutilated by the medical industry in pursuit of a sex change that can never happen and I have to sit in the pews listening to effete, "God is love" homilies. Our priests, bishops and the pope himself, as Daniel R pointed out, simply aren't relevant for the times.

Andrew Klavan and Jordan Peterson don't mince words. They don't howl in rage as I would, but they do speak plainly. That's why I look to them for insight instead of our clergy.

In the clip below, Andrew speaks plainly about Christianity and addiction in a way that our prelates would never do.