Fire On The Earth
Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur
February 24, 1936
Paul Hanly Furfey, AuthorAssociate Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America
The Macmillan Company, New York, 1936
Reviewed by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.
Fire On The Earth by Msgr. Paul Hanly Furfey, published in 1936, is a sociological doctrine on what Furfey called Supernatural Sociology. It is based upon the premise that a healthy society for all people must have its roots in divine charity (as he defines it), as exhibited in responsibility by all people for all people.
Msgr. Furfey’s Christian sociological idiology is significant for its change in thought from a natural, scientific based study of society to what he termed the supernatural (God-infused) compassion for others coupled with empirically gained information. His thinking at the time was in many ways radical, having ties to future Liberation Theology.
Furfey bases much of his presentation upon the human ministry of Jesus and the Bible verse, Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31), and the use of merits that are particular to Catholic thought, that merits gained may be dispensed to others for more equality in society. I believe that there is much to be learned from reading this book whether or not one ascribes to Catholic theology. Historically, Furfey writes in response to what is happening in the 1930’s, the Great Depression, Racism, and the impending war. For the uninitiated, it will give knowledge about why those of the Catholic Christian faith think and believe as they do.
The key to understanding Msgr. Furfey’s writings is to use his definitions of certain words and phrases, and these are laid out clearly in the book. For example, the word charity as defined by Furfey has a very specific meaning. I found it helpful to compare texts of several Biblical translations.
Very thought provoking to me was how Furfey viewed the verse, Love your neighbor as yourself (see above).The love of neighbor means the love of God as He is in our neighbor. (p. 33)He uses verses from Matthew 25, stating that this is what Jesus meant when he said, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Mt 25:40)
Lastly, I offer a few passages from Fire On The Earth to show that although this book was written in 1936, one might think that Msgr. Furfey was speaking out against social injustice (stemming from a flawed society) today.
This false distinction between charity towards individuals and charity towards nations, has gone so far that we actually regard as virtues in international relations those very acts and attitudes which we recognize as vices in our personal relations. If we hate another individual, if we distrust him, if we bully him, we are ashamed of these disgusting and unworthy attitudes. Yet national selfishness, together with hatred and distrust of other nations, is actually looked upon as a virtue and by a curious misuse of terms is labeled patriotism. There are persons who feel quite acutely the duty of individual kindness to persons of other races, and yet who seem to be totally unconscious of the injustice of existing race relations as a whole. The same is true in the economic sphere. man of wealth who is kind in all his personal relations with his economic inferiors? Even more, he is willing to give generously to a wide variety of charities. Yet, this same man will move Heaven and earth to block the passage of social legislation which would safeguard the rights of his employees. (pp. 50-52)
… between the theorists and the practioners there exists an evil aliance … find that active and visible unity of opposition … rich men patronizing intellectuals, endowing universities, hiring press agents … intellectuals serving the rich, praising them, and justifying the selfish society which they have created. … politicians protecting the interests of the wealthy in our legislatures, while the wealthy contribute to the politicians’ campaign funds. … exceptions do exist, and there are fortunately a good number of them. Remember, however, that we are now discussing not individuals but social groups. …. Still less does it give us the right to judge a man harshly merely because he is wealthy. Only God can read the secrets of the heart. … Respectablility, however is not precisdely the same thing as morality. … a pseudomorality created to hid the hideousness of materialism … I can never meditate enough upon the fact that He chose to be born in a stable. (pp. 69-72)
But this world which calls us extremists is not afraid to demand extreme heroism when its own selfish aims are to be served. The world takes it for granted that our young men must die in the next useless war, as you men died in the mud in Ethiopia. (p. 136)
Scripture resource: Biblegateway Sociology and Faith: The Witness of Paul Hanly Furfey by Msgr. George P. Graham, J.C.D., Ph.D.
No comments:
Post a Comment