Fr Longenecker On Nazi Zombies

Anyone actually interested in the topic of Nazi zombies should check out a neglected 1966 British horror film The Frozen Dead, which can be found in its entirety on YouTube:

This is one of many that inspired parts or all of episodes in Fringe.

But back to the actual subject of this post, Fr Longenecker's take on Nazi zombies, not horror flicks about them.

What is the difference between real religion and Nazi zombies? It’s the difference between faith and an ideology. Here’s a clue: in The Imitation of Christ Thomas a Kempis wrote, “Why do you wish to change the world when you cannot change yourself?” An ideology tries to change the world. Real religion tries to change a person.

He's talking about religious ideologues, "people who are basically and fundamentally self righteous".

They believe in their ideology 100%. That’s okay. The sickness comes in when they see their group, their belief and code of behavior as a way to change the world (or create a utopia) not as a way to change themselves. At that point the focus shifts away from themselves to others. They’re okay. Others become the problem. Others need to fall into line. Other people need to get with the program. Other people need to conform. Other people need to help create the perfect world the ideologues envision.

It gets worse. The ideologue soon attracts other people who share his vision. They form a group, and that group is the elite. You are either in or out. If you are out you are considered as the enemy. Having enemies is the best way to bolster the group’s coherence. Having an enemy bolsters the ideologue’s self righteousness. Having an enemy helps build fear in the group and loyalty to the leader.

He concludes,

[B]eware of any religion that has as its main priority some sort of social agenda. It’s a false religion. Beware any preacher, pastor principal or priest who sets before you some great agenda to change the world, to bring about social justice, to create the perfect parish or the perfect religious community or the perfect school.

However, you can trust and work with a pastor, preacher, priest or principal who simply wants to serve and love God and love and serve other people.

Remember, “the first commandment is this: Love the Lord your God with all your soul, heart, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Do this and you will change yourself. Do this and you will change your community. Do this and you will change the world.

Don’t do this and you will mess up everything. . . and you might end up as a Nazi zombie.

It seems to me that Nazi zombification is a problem that's come to afflict the North American ordinariate. I think it's tacitly understood that the original model of Anglican parishes coming into the Church as groups with their clergy ran its course after only a couple of years. Since then, there have been two sources of such growth as it's had, either small made-up evensong groups that exist primarily to ordain newly recruited married candidates for the priesthood, or larger groups made up almost entirely of cradle Catholics intent on creating the perfect parish outside their diocese.

In other words, Nazi zombies. In some cases, there are factional disputes within ordinariate parishes where the former Anglicans fight the Nazi zombies. As Henry Kissinger said in a different context, it's a shame they both can't lose. I think Vaughn Treco was a Nazi zombie (and he may still be one). I would guess this is an indication that Houston has some awareness of the problem.

A visitor recently described the situation surrounding the building in which the Our Lady of Grace Covina group now meets as a "circle of weirdness" of some years' standing. It would appear that its current manifestation as a locus for cradle Catholics intent on creating the perfect parish is only the most recent version. It's interesting to me that Fr Barker, who did so much to establish the model of "continuing" Anglicanism and its own effort to create the perfect denomination, should now be at least unofficially shepherding this little group.

I know about little groups who intend to create the perfect parish. I might call what seems to be happening in Covina history repeating, or perhaps as Mark Twain put it, history rhyming. Or maybe it's karma, but that's not Catholic. Maybe it's generational demons.