Santorum's "Theology"

Feb 27th, 2012

Daniel Larison is gobsmacked by Santorum's recent theocratic declarations:

"Santorum made a very weird statement when he was trying to defend his “phony theology” remarks:

We’re not here to serve the Earth. The Earth is not the objective. Man is the objective.

Santorum has defended his statement in terms of affirming a Biblical understanding of man’s role as a steward of creation, but if we took this later remark at face value we would have to say that Santorum doesn’t understand the concept of stewardship very well. After all, the purpose of Christian stewardship isn’t simply to serve human needs (much less desires), but to preside over the natural world as God’s viceregents and to rule it in a manner pleasing to God, all of which is directed towards giving God glory and thanksgiving for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. We are to see creation as something entrusted to us by God, and as something that we are responsible for preserving and keeping as part of our obedience to Him. That necessarily involves limiting and restraining our desires so as not to exhaust or waste what has been entrusted to us. Viewed that way, we are here to care for the earth and for one another, and in so doing serve the Creator Who made both."

Of course, this is obvious to many. But to refer to Santorum as a Christian or a Catholic obscures his strict adherence to Dominionist ideology. In his view, "stewardship" and unrestrained exploitation are interchangeable. more frightening, he seem to regard the latter as a requirement of "faith."