It's Time to Start Thumping Some Skulls (Metaphorically, Of Course)

Wait till you read what St. Paul has to say about unrepentant and obstinate sinners in the Church in 1 Corinthians 5.

St. Paul gives a great principle and teaching on how immorality, especially sexual immorality, should be treated in the Church in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 5. In it, he talks in blunt terms about those who are obstinate, public and unrepentant in their immorality and he lays out directly what should be done to such people. It is far past time that the Church start practicing and applying this principle to those inside the Church who behave in this manner.

For too long, the bishops, priests and laity have accepted and tolerated wanton sinful behavior from those who claim to be Christian with flowery language about accepting and dialoging with those who reject Church teaching, and to claim that all are welcome in the Church. But is this how St. Paul says to treat those Christians who are living lives of wanton sinfulness and immorality, with no intention of repenting or turning away from those sins? Absolutely not.

The first principle is that the sin is publicly known and there’s not even an attempt to hide this sin. The Church and laity should not be investigating the private lives of the members of the Church. Each person should be afforded a certain amount of privacy and we all struggle with sins and weaknesses for all or most of our lives. This is not who St. Paul is discussing and not what this post is addressing. St. Paul is directing his teaching against a particular person who is sinning in a manner that is openly known by the entire Corinthian church.

5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife.

This man is openly and brazenly living with, and have sexual relations with, his own stepmother. St. Paul notes that this shockingly sinful behavior is not even found among the wildly hedonistic pagans that make up the vast majority of the city of Corinth. St. Paul is shocked and appalled that the Christians in Corinth have allowed this man to continue to attend Mass and be part of the congregation, when they should have thrown him out immediately until he repents and changes his ways. He also says the Corinthian Christians should have been performing acts of penance and contrition for allowing this behavior to continue unabated!

2 And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you?

So at this point, St. Paul, as bishop and the authority over the Corinthians, lays down the hammer and declares that this man should be excommunicated. But that’s not all. St Paul even pronounces are bodily curse and judgment upon this man so that hopefully he will suffer enough to finally repent and flee from his sins. He says the man shall be even handed over to Satan so that his body may be destroyed! (No dialogue and accompaniment for brazen sinners with St. Paul.) The goal is to smack him upside his head sharply enough that he will wake up from his sinful stupor. This is similar to Jesus making a whip and whipping the money changers in the Temple.

3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment 4 in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

St. Paul tells the Corinthians that their Sacrifice, specifically the Mass and the Eucharist, will not be spiritually beneficial and will actually be dangerous for them if they do not root out such manifest and public sins.

6 Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

He reiterates and doubles down on this teaching in 1 Cor 11 as well. He literally says that our own salvation or damnation can be affected by this:

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the Body and Blood of the Lord. 28 Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the Body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. 30 For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Now at this point, St. Paul wants to be clear that this teaching does NOT apply to those who are outside the Church, the unbaptized and pagans. For them, he realizes that you will be unable to evangelize and unable to even live in the world if you shun those outside the Church. This teaching is aimed at Christians, who by their Baptism and Confirmation, have received the enlightenment of God and know that such behavior is sinful and they must avoid it. (Note also that St. Paul references a prior letter that he had written to the Corinthians, but this letter is not in existence anymore.)

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons— 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world.

St. Paul then finishes up this chapter with a strong warning to the Corinthians that going forward, they are not permitted to ignore grave, manifest and public sins of Christians in the congregation. He is absolutely clear that these must be confronted and those who refuse to amend their lives (or even attempt to amend them) should be driven out of the Church until they repent. He even cites from Deuteronomy the command to push the obstinately wicked person from the congregation. (These verses especially will cause heartburn among those who use the teaching from Christ to “judge not” to excuse ignoring wanton immorality. St. Paul explicitly says we are to judge the actions and words of others.)

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? 13 God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.”

And for final good measure, in the next chapter, St. Paul lists out again multiple grave sins that he says will lead you to damnation and must be opposed. (These verses also destroy the Protestant doctrines of Eternal Security and Once Saved Always Saved as well.) By our Baptism, we are enrolled in the New Covenant; we are sanctified and justified with God. With this entrance into the New Covenant comes with it several responsibilities, among which is the command of God to avoid sin.

6:9 Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Let’s stop trying to “fix” or “improve” upon the Christian faith. Let’s stop making excuses for our cowardice and start metaphorically cracking some skulls and excommunicating those in the Church who obstinately and manifestly refuse to stop their sinful ways.