I don’t listen to or watch news outlets – I read two local papers and articles – liberal and conservative – that come across my feed. And while I am vaguely aware of people like Candace Owens, I only occasionally hear or read what they have to say. Recently, though, I read about a lawsuit against Owens by none other than the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife, Brigitte. It seems that Ms. Owens has been claiming that Ms. Macron is, in fact, not a woman, but a man. No matter how many times she is told otherwise, Ms. Owens, a popular neo-conservative advocate, has been holding firm to this idea. The Macrons are tired of this behavior and have decided to take action. It will be interesting to see what happens and how they figure out the truth. For me, I don’t care who is what – that’s their life. Leave them alone.
What I care about is that Ms. Owens, who used to be opposed to conservatives but is now a proponent of what she believes are “family values”, claims to be a Christian. While her upbringing, religiously, seems to have been like most Americans’ (moderate), she is reported to have been baptized into the Catholic faith in 2024. This kind of commitment is rare for someone her age, and it is a beautiful statement of faith. Except for this: as a Christian, she should be giving up some of the behavior she exhibits. She shouldn’t be making accusations she cannot prove -that’s bearing false witness. She shouldn’t be calling science a “cult” – that’s delusional. She shouldn’t be saying things like, “If Hitler just wanted to make Germany great and have things run well, okay, fine.” She later retracted that statement, explaining what she really meant.
I don’t expect anyone of any faith to be perfect. Ever. What I do expect is that those of us who say we believe in God behave in ways that are not hurtful or dangerous or destructive. I expect people of faith to work towards the common good, not self-interest only. I expect people of faith to be respectful of differences and try to do good while not doing evil. I don’t expect heroics – I don’t expect martyrdom or vows of poverty. At this point, I would be happy if people who say they have faith in God would occasionally show that faith to the world around them. Ms. Owens may be a good person who does acts of charity daily, and if she is, that’s great. All I see coming from her, however, is vitriol and viciousness. That seems like false Christianity to me.
Prayer – Help us to seek good in our lives, God, as we walk this road together. Amen.
Today’s art is “St. Catherine” by Kurt Russell.