Ecclesiastical Megalomania

by John W. Robbins

Book Overview

ECCLESIASTICAL MEGALOMANIA The Economic and Political Thought of the Roman Catholic Church In his Aquinas: Selected Political Writings. A.P. D'Entreves argues that "it is hardly possible for the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0940931753
• ISBN13: 9780940931756
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Trinity Foundations
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Terrific Book With Minor Flaws

Robbins takes up the considerable task of examining what the CatholicChurch position on economics and politics is and has been over its 1500+year history. He does this using church canon law, papal writings, andthe writings of its intellectual Fathers like Aquinas. In other words,he uses a great deal of primary source material to justify his analysis.(Well, he uses quotes of the source material found in later anthologies,to be more precise.) To support his analysis and conclusions, Robbinsalso cites a breadth of commentators and critics of Catholicism bothfrom within and outside the Church.This is primarily a work of scholarship not a popular or religiouscommentary (except as noted in the "Flaws" section below). Having saidthat, _you_ do not particularly have to be a scholar to understand it.Some general understanding of Church and secular history is helpful,and, if you are unschooled in theological terminology, a dictionarywould be helpful.Except as noted in the "Flaws" section below, this is primarily a workon economics and politics. Of necessity, it also addresses some issuesof Church doctrine and theology, since the economic/ political theorysprings in some degree from that doctrine.The Punchline-------------Robbins critique' is devastating. He makes a compelling case that theintellectual tradition of Catholicism is statist, collectivist, hostileto constitutional government, friendly to fascism and totalitariansecular states, hostile to property rights, and even supportive ofslavery and other human rights abuses. He further demonstrates thatthese were not just the positions of the ancient Roman Church, but arethe intellectual currency of the Vatican through the late 20th Century.Along the way, he provides a lot of little historical tidbits like howthe claim of the Church for temporal political power is founded on adocument ("The Donation Of Constantine" - reproduced in the Appendix)known to be a forgery as early as the 15th Century. Finally, andimportantly, he addresses late 20th Century efforts to rewrite historyand present the Church as friendly to Classical Liberal ideas.Like many non-Catholics, I'd always assumed that the Roman Church'sexcesses were merely the product of unfettered power prior to theReformation, and that it had adapted to Classical Liberal ideas in theWest. Robbins demolishes this idea, and goes to some lengths to showjust how hostile the intellectual underpinnings of the Church remain toCapitalist economy, property rights, separation of Church and State, andso forth. I never quite understood how an institution putativelyfighting evil could stand by quietly during the Nazi attrocities or thepederasty within the priesthood. Now I get it.Flaws-----Robbins is a scholar, but he is also a devout Christian in theWestminster Confession Presbyterian tradition. In and of itself, thispresents no problem. However, this book is by turns history, analysis,and polemic. The polemic is thankfully minimal, but he undermines thecredibilit

It's About Time

John Robbins has done something that should have been done at least a thousand years ago--he has written a devastating critique of Roman Catholic politics and economics. Ever wonder why Britain and Germany outpaced Spain and Italy as world powers? Ever wonder why South America languishes in poverty in spite of tremendous natural and popular resources? Ever wonder how Roman Catholicism has justified its long history of brutality and dictatorship? Ideas have consequences. Robbins identifies those ideas and shows what consequences must and do derive from them. Any familiarity with world events and history will allow the reader to see that what Robbins says makes sense. Any careful scholar will find Robbins' detailed and accurate research unimpeachable.Unfortunately, people who are so careful and so correct have not traditionally been popular with the Roman Catholic Church, and as tradition is a big part of RCC dogma and practice, I fear that Dr. Robbins may be in for a rough personal ride. With Scripture and logic on his side, Dr. Robbins may be hard-pressed and persecuted, but he will never be crushed or destroyed.

Is the Roman Catholic Church an enemy of liberty?

John W. Robbins says it is. And, agree or not, any reader will have to acknowledge that he makes his case with verve and vigor. Robbins, a disciple of the late Gordon H. Clark and head of the Trinity Foundation, is also a sturdy defender of capitalism and the private-property-based social order. (He should also be better known than he is as a powerful critic of Ayn Rand's "Objectivism.") As a sola-scriptura Calvinist, Robbins offers his defenses on purely biblical grounds -- so his work should be of tremendous interest to Christians who accept the authority of the Bible. And since he is also concerned to present the authentic teaching of biblical Christianity, this volume should be of general interest to _anyone_ who wants to know what Christianity really says about political and economic liberty. Robbins's attack on the Roman Church's official views will no doubt cause consternation to a handful of American Catholic thinkers who have recently held that Romanism is _not_ anticapitalist; indeed, among Robbins's targets are Fr. Robert Sirico and Michael Novak. However, Robbins presents a great deal of documentation for his view (up to and including the latest papal encyclicals at the time of his writing). It is hard to know how his critics will reply, but I shall be watching with interest. Readers who wish to "eye before they buy" will find an excerpt from the book on the website of the Trinity Foundation; see the April 2000 review, entitled "Intellectual Dishonesty and Roman Catholic Apologetics." Fr. Sirico's Acton Institute is probably the place to go for a contrary opinion.