Feb 3, 2019 - "1 Corinthians 12:12-30"

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.”  This verse from last week’s Second Reading (1 Corinthians 12:12-30) has been on my mind owing to recent events on the news.  I am thinking of a video of supposedly racist confrontation that happened in front of the Lincoln Memorial between a high school student and a Native American elder.  The internet community immediately made the judgment that the boy was effectively taunting and belittling the elder.  Other videos posted later from wider angles as well as testimony presented by the young man have raised lots of doubts about the original assessment.  It is not for me to cast judgment on this situation.  Rather, I want to follow the lead of Bishop Robert Barron and make some remarks on the deeply troubling—and indeed, morally outrageous—nature of the response to this occurrence.  Bishop Barron would characterize this response as Satanic. Here is the link so that you can read Bishop Barron’s comments directly:   https://wordonfire.org/resources/article/the-internet-and-satans-game/6002/.
 
When Bishop Barron became aware of the first video posted on line, it already had millions of views on Facebook and had been commented upon over 50,000 times.  As Bishop Barron checked out the comments, he found them to be practically one hundred percent against the young man and marked by the cruelty that can be found in the comments section in social media.  As he continued looking at the comments, he became concerned because dozens were demanding vengeful punishment of the young high school student.  Dozens of other comments provided the addresses and email contacts of his parents, his school, and his diocese.  Bishop Barron wondered if these people knew what they were doing—they were in effect destroying—even threatening—the life of this young man.
 
Bishop Barron reports that his thoughts then turned to the writing of René Girard, a well-known Franco-American philosopher and social commentator who is best known for his speculations on what Girard called the scapegoating mechanism.  Girard maintains that most human communities, from the coffee klatch to the nation state are in some way based on this dysfunctional and deeply destructive instinct.  Here is how it works.  When tensions build in a group, people begin to look for a scapegoat, someone or some group to blame.  Because it is deeply attractive, the scapegoating move rapidly draws a crowd which quickly becomes a mob.   Filled with a self-righteous excitement, the mob then works to isolate and finally eliminate the scapegoat, since they have convinced themselves that this will restore order to their society which has been really stirred up.  A great example of this action occurred in Germany in the 1930’s when Hitler working up a scapegoating frenzy in Germany of the 1930s to bring his country together in a truly evil way.
 
Girard had studied Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, and other literary figures carefully.  But the most profound influence for his scapegoating speculations was the Bible where the problem was identified and a solution was presented.   The story of the woman caught in adultery in the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel presents almost a case study of what Girard saw regarding sin and the solution.
 
“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greek, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.”  This verse from last week’s Second Reading (1 Corinthians 12:12-30) has been on my mind owing to recent events on the news.  I am thinking of a video of supposedly racist confrontation that happened in front of the Lincoln Memorial between a high school student and a Native American elder.  The internet community immediately made the judgment that the boy was effectively taunting and belittling the elder.  Other videos posted later from wider angles as well as testimony presented by the young man have raised lots of doubts about the original assessment.  It is not for me to cast judgment on this situation.  Rather, I want to follow the lead of Bishop Robert Barron and make some remarks on the deeply troubling—and indeed, morally outrageous—nature of the response to this occurrence.  Bishop Barron would characterize this response as Satanic. Here is the link so that you can read Bishop Barron’s comments directly:   https://wordonfire.org/resources/article/the-internet-and-satans-game/6002/.
 
When Bishop Barron became aware of the first video posted on line, it already had millions of views on Facebook and had been commented upon over 50,000 times.  As Bishop Barron checked out the comments, he found them to be practically one hundred percent against the young man and marked by the cruelty that can be found in the comments section in social media.  As he continued looking at the comments, he became concerned because dozens were demanding vengeful punishment of the young high school student.  Dozens of other comments provided the addresses and email contacts of his parents, his school, and his diocese.  Bishop Barron wondered if these people knew what they were doing—they were in effect destroying—even threatening—the life of this young man.
 
Bishop Barron reports that his thoughts then turned to the writing of René Girard, a well-known Franco-American philosopher and social commentator who is best known for his speculations on what Girard called the scapegoating mechanism.  Girard maintains that most human communities, from the coffee klatch to the nation state are in some way based on this dysfunctional and deeply destructive instinct.  Here is how it works.  When tensions build in a group, people begin to look for a scapegoat, someone or some group to blame.  Because it is deeply attractive, the scapegoating move rapidly draws a crowd which quickly becomes a mob.   Filled with a self-righteous excitement, the mob then works to isolate and finally eliminate the scapegoat, since they have convinced themselves that this will restore order to their society which has been really stirred up.  A great example of this action occurred in Germany in the 1930’s when Hitler working up a scapegoating frenzy in Germany of the 1930s to bring his country together in a truly evil way.
 
Girard had studied Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, and other literary figures carefully.  But the most profound influence for his scapegoating speculations was the Bible where the problem was identified and a solution was presented.   The story of the woman caught in adultery in the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel presents almost a case study of what Girard saw regarding sin and the solution.

One of the principal names for the devil in the New Testament is ho Satanas, which can be translated into English from the Greek as “the accuser.”  Girard thinks that it is very significant that ho Satanas offers all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, implying that all human kingdoms are tainted to a large degree by the satanic game of accusing, blaming, and scapegoating.
 
Bishop Barron then wants to apply the insights of René Girard to the incident in Washington and the truly nasty reaction to it on the internet.  Bishop Barron has used the internet in a very positive manner in his work of evangelization for a long time.  For that reason he does not agree with those who want to issue a blanket condemnation of the internet.  On the other hand there is something about social media that can make it a destructive breeding ground for scapegoating.  Perhaps it is because it is anonymous.  Perhaps it is because of the ease in which comments can be posted.  Perhaps it is because of the prospect of finding a large audience with little effort.  But, Bishop Barron contends, these forums are more and more fever swamps in which hatred and accusation breed.  The Bishop goes on to say that if you want to look for the influence of the Satanic in our culture, it is a waste of time to look at special effects made popular by all of the exorcism movies.  You should look instead at your computer and the twisted “communities” that it makes possible and the victims that it regularly casts out.
 
Bishop Barron ends his remarks by making a pastoral pronouncement to all those who use social media.  When you are about to make a comment, ask yourself a very simple question:  “Am I doing this out of love, out of sincere wish for the good of the person or persons whom I am addressing?  If not, shut up.  If it becomes clear that your comment is simply spleen-venting, scapegoating, or virtue-signaling, shut up.”  The internet can be a marvelous tool or it can be used as a weapon for Satanic purposes.  When you apply the test of love, this can effectively undermine the scapegoating mechanism and drive the devil out.
 
Until next week
Fr. John