Respite from Their Harangues

Admonitions against self-righteousness ("pot calling the kettle black", "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones") go back centuries or longer:

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? [Matthew 7:3]

The first European colonists brought strict moral codes to the New World, and the Puritan tradition held sway for hundreds of years.

Burt Lancaster won Best Actor in 1961 for
his portrayal of a con-man evangelist.

The philosophical revolt began in literature, then continued in film. Morally compromised clergy became so commonplace in fiction that nowadays it is unusual to read the story of a man of the cloth who is not consumed by lust, avarice, and/or ambition. Real-world revelations of child abuse, adultery, and financial chicanery contributed to the erosion of Christianity's moral authority.

By the end of the 20th century the status of Christianity was so undermined that few clergy had the temerity to pontificate upon the evils of society, preferring to minister to the needs of their congregation and focus on individuals' spiritual health. (To be sure, some issues like late-term abortion did rouse conservative Christians from their torpor, but those occasions were rare.)

There was a strain of Christianity--endemic in my Episcopal Church--that embraced progressivism (Marxism rechristened) and gave full-throated advocacy to identity politics, the denunciation of "structural" racism/sexism/economic inequality, and the use of State power to rectify perceived injustice.

Academia, Hollywood, and mass media merged with progressive Christianity to create a new priestly caste, the educated philosopher-kings who marched on the right side of history. After Donald Trump was elected in November, the outrage from these morally superior beings has been broadcast unceasingly over all TV, radio, print, and internet channels.

Until last Sunday, that is, when the deeds of Harvey Weinstein came to light. He was one of their spiritual ringleaders, and his crimes--moral and social, if not legal---were far more severe and extensive than any Donald Trump might have committed.

The priestly caste will not be shaken from their worldview by the actions of one, two, or ten Harvey Weinsteins, but here's hoping that for a little while we will be granted respite from their harangues.