Materialism, Spirituality, & Democracy: Critical Social Analysis of American Culture for Small Church Study Groups

By Stephen V. Riley

The purpose of this book is about the quest for spiritual maturity as it applies to the Catholic faith and American democracy. It is meant to engage the imagination of small church faith communities and bible study groups in light of Vatican II and what it means to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Vatican II encourages the Church to be a more prophetic and contemplative faith that leads to greater spiritual discernment. Discernment of the Spirits is more important than ever to overcome an imbalance between specialized human activity and a comprehensive view of reality that directs the mind to solutions which are fully human. This was the mind of Christ.
In summary, small church faith communities and Bible study groups are encouraged to consider scrutinizing the signs of the time by way of critical social analysis, spiritual discernment, and the work of the Holy Spirit. We the faithful are Cathedral Builders, never to see the end of our work. This is an evolutionary movement. As followers of Christ, we can learn to see ourselves as ongoing co-creators with God for the goodness of the entire human race.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463406875

Stephen V. Riley

Stephen V. Riley lives in Tahoe City, CA and is a member of St Francis of Assisi Parish in Incline Village, N.V. Steve has been a Catholic peace and justice activist for the past twelve years. He is also the author of Capitalism, Democracy and Emerging Christianity (Published 2010).

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Materialism,

      Spirituality,

            & Democracy

Critical Social Analysis of American Culture for Small Church Study Groups

Stephen V. Riley

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© 2011 by Stephen V. Riley. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 07/11/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-0688-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-0687-5 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011908173

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

A WORD OF CAUTION

Dedication

In Gratitude

True Transformation

REDEFING THE AMERICAN PURPOSE

Introduction

A WORD OF CAUTION

My spiritual journey over the past twelve years, including nonviolent social activism, religious conferences, reading, writing and much contemplative thought, has led me to publish my second book. I knew this book would be controversial, but I am not so sure how well prepared I am to face such controversy. This feeling is particularly acute in small church study groups whom I treasure and to whom this book is directed to. It is not easy viewing the harsh disunity it can bring to such small faith groups.

But the firm ground I must stand on is that Catholicism is meant to be a counter- cultural faith, and the Church has pretty much failed to teach this. In particular, Christianity in America has failed to transcend an alluring materialistic culture and challenge the institutions of domination and control that has been so successful in promoting such a materialistic and controlling culture.

As clinical psychologist and author Bruce E. Levine points out in his recent book Get Up, Stand Up, most people are more comfortable with the language of cooperation and harmony than with controversy and friction. However, in our preferred comfort, we can be actually disempowering ourselves to confront the reality of our times. Bruce Levine quotes Frederick Douglas, the great Abolitionist orator:

Those who profess to freedom and yet depreciate agitation are men who want crops without plowing. They want rain without the awful fear of thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of the waves. This struggle may be a moral one, or it may be physical, but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will. –—Frederick Douglas.

So with that, small church groups need to proceed with honest and kind dialogue. Critical thinking about politics and religion results in seeing some ugly truths about reality. It will call for much prayer and open hearts for honest spiritual discernment. A discussion of politics and religion can be volatile, but it must be faced if we are to do the work of Christ. As Christians, we must believe that the survival of humankind is depending upon the teachings of Christ. It is about community, social action, loving ones neighbor, compassion, humility, forgiveness, human dignity, dialogue, reconciliation, and peace through justice.

Your friend in Christ

Steve Riley

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those veteran Catholic and non-Catholic activists who are part of a universal force working for peace and justice. In particular I wish to dedicate this book to the Creech 14 defendants who stood trial for crossing the line at Creech Air Force Base on April 9, 2009 to protest the military drone flights to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The group of defendants included Fr. John Dear, Dennis DuVali, Renee Espeland, Judy Homanich, Kathy Kelly, Fr. Steve Kelly, Mariah Klusmire, Brad Little, Libby Pappalardo, Sister Megan Rice, Brian Terrill, Eve Tetaz, Fr. Louis Vitale and Fr. Jerry Zawada.

On January 27, 2011, the Las Vegas judge William Jansen ruled that the Creech 14 were guilty of the crime of trespassing.

But the judge also decided that the defendants, who stood trial for the misdemeanor offense last September in his courtroom, would be given credit for the time they served in jail and would be free to go. He simply said, Go in peace!

As well, I dedicate this book to the key witnesses for the defense, Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general under Lyndon Johnson; retired Army Col. Ann Wright, who reigned from the State Department in protest of the 2003 invasion of Iraq:; and Bill Quigley, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights.

In Gratitude

I give many thanks to my dear friend Brian Fox for editing my manuscript. His scholastic knowledge of Scripture and Catholic liberation theology has helped me greatly and he has always encouraged me in my writing.

True Transformation

The psychologist Carl Jung said that transformation happens primarily in the presence of images. They alone can touch the unconscious—in one invasive and healing reconfiguration of the soul. It might also take form of a biography, a song, a theater piece, a movie, a dream image, a sculpture, an inner vision, a piece of art. But after the encounter, you see things differently. One hundred sermons could never have moved you to this new place.

Ideas and concepts don’t change people: they tend to keep us inside our dualistic thinking, judging back and forth whether we agree with the idea, the wording, who said it, or how he said it. One could say that the reason we have 30,000 Christian denominations in the world now, is that they made it all depend on words. They should have known that the Word became flesh.

But here am I, a supposedly Catholic boy, writing more and more words! None of them will take until they become an image inside you.

From On the Threshold of transformation: Daily Meditations for Men by Fr. Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, NM. (Page 282, day 273)

REDEFING THE AMERICAN PURPOSE

The U.S. desperately needs a deep national introspection and a national conversation as to what we have become as a nation and to redefine the American purpose. This conversation needs to begin in small church communities and Bible