Kengor_Catholic_Gay Marriage Anonymous Power_042213
One of my favorite quotes from Pope Benedict XVI deals with Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. Benedict states:
“Judas is neither a master of evil nor the figure of a demoniacal power of darkness but rather a sycophant who bows down before the anonymous power of changing moods and current fashion. But it is precisely this anonymous power that crucified Jesus, for it was anonymous voices that cried, ‘Away with him! Crucify him!’”
Think that one over. It’s profound.
Judas was a mere sycophant to what Pope Benedict dubbed “the anonymous power.” What was this power? It was the power of “changing moods and current fashion.” That’s a hugely influential power, one that you can’t always get a handle on, but it’s there, and with a great influence, a tremendous persuasive power upon the crowd, the culture.
It was indeed that same anonymous power, manifest in the form of anonymous voices, which yelled at Jesus, “Away with him! Crucify him.” We know not their voices, or faces. But we know they handed Christ over.
Mere days earlier, the same people had been hailing Christ with hosannahs, begging him to heal them, watching in awe as he did miracles, welcoming him into their homes and towns. And just like that, they turned on him. “Away with him! Crucify him.”
There are so many issues over the years where I’ve seen this anonymous power at work in our culture. And few strike me currently quite like the sudden fanatical push for gay marriage. It has come from nowhere. In mere years, the entirety of the Democratic Party and its leadership has switched from affirming traditional marriage to demanding homosexual marriage. America’s president and youth are overwhelmingly on board. Polls have flipped in their favor. It’s a cultural tsunami. On TV and Twitter and Facebook and the web, it’s an overwhelming obsession.
And who’s pushing it? Well, it’s anonymous.
It’s hard to get a handle on, but it’s there. Beware. Our culture, countless Americans, are mere sycophants to the anonymous power of changing moods and current fashion. Gay marriage is the latest example.
Cover image credit: Rob Banks
