The Arrogation of Godly Language

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and unto God the things that are God's"
----Rubens' The Tribute Money

Catholic priest Brian Graebe of the New York Archdiocese decries the secularization of "godly language": [bold added]

[The] arrogation of godly language for civil matters follows a recent trend in political discourse. That was perhaps most notable after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In condemning the attacks, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referred to the building as a “temple of democracy.” A temple is a place to worship God and, in a specific Judeo-Christian understanding, to offer him sacrifices. The U.S. Capitol is famous, iconic, and worthy of protection and respect. But it isn’t a temple, and democracy isn’t a religion.

Other examples abound, from Donald Trump’s declaring himself the “chosen one” to congressmen condemning anti-Israel demonstrators for “desecrating” various landmarks, not simply defacing or vandalizing them.

Jesus warned against confusing the things of God with the things of Caesar. Yet an increasingly irreligious culture seeks to adopt these orphaned words. In so doing, many give an outsize importance to the things of this world, to civic monuments and political processes. Scripture reminds us that we have no lasting city here and that the world as we know it is passing away.

My own pet peeve is the gross over-use of the phrase "existential threat," as in "Trump is an existential threat to democracy" or "climate change is an existential threat to the planet." Why the apocalyptic language for these problems--indeed, if these are problems at all?

Mr. Trump, even if he does become President, will be gone in four years, and there are no signs that his political philosophy--supposedly the ruin of America's constitutional order--has a cohesiveness that will last years beyond his term in office.

As for climate change--it appears that the elites who say that it's urgent we solve the problem now or we're all doomed don't behave as if that's true.

My humble advice is not to panic, don't give the Chicken Littles more power over our lives, and go to church (or study the Cold War's mutually assured destruction philosophy) to learn what a true apocalypse might look like.