The Orange Order - a Tradition Betrayed
Now there's a book for the weekend. Quite seriously. At the launch of Rev Brian Kennaway's tome this week David Trimble took the opportunity to express his opinion that elements of Unionism joined forces with the rougher members of the Order to stimulate confrontation and break the Belfast Agreement. I'm no Unionist insider, but I'd say the man's spot-on.
Put any prejudice aside for one moment. At the heart of Orangeism was the desire to uphold the doctrine of post-Reformation Christianity in a predominantly pre-Reformation country. It was an organisation aimed at encouraging men in their faith and their Christian walk and building them up into men able to provide strong, Godly leadership in their families. Fair enough.
Today's flavour of Orangeism east of the Bann is a long cry from the declared tenet that a member is to be "ever abstaining from all uncharitable words, actions or sentiments, towards his Roman Catholic brethren". The fact that I can't see this or the other "Qualifications of an Orangeman" on the Order's website is perhaps an indication of the irrelevance those qualifications have now become.
My father was an Orangeman in the days when Orange parades were like the one I described in a post last September. My father had respect for everyone, and even in his days I think the Order fulfilled a worthwhile purpose. But no more. It's been infested by sectarianism fuelled by Tony Blur's appeasement of Republican terrorists.
That said, there is an active political conspiracy at work in Ireland to malign the Orange Order and stymie the Biblical truths of Reformation theology, many of which are now fully accepted by Catholic churches in mainland Europe (e.g. salvation not by 'works', i.e. anything we say or do, but purely by God's generosity in response to our faith alone).
Groucho Marx once said he'd never want to join any club that would accept him as a member. For my part, I'd never want to be part of anything sectarian, and unfortunately that's what Orangeism has become. It's time the Order either disbanded or applied its true values faithfully to the modern age.
posted by B.U. @ 10:22 a.m.
6 comments
6 Comments:
The Orange Order is an abomination and needs to disband IMHO. But if it won't disband then it needs to change.
Good post Big John.
" never want to be part of anything sectarian, and unfortunately that's what Orangeism has become."
Ignorance is Bliss
there are numerous defintions but all have the same jist, heres one from wikipedia:
"Sectarianism is an adherence to a particular sect or party or denomination. It also usually involves a rejection of those not a member of ones sect. A sectarian conflict usually refers to conflict along religious lines such as the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in northern Ireland and western Scotland, or between Shia and Sunni Muslims. Often it is promoted by a group within the dominant community, such as the Orange Order in Ulster."
Another one:
"Sectarianism is prejudice or discrimination based on religion or cultural association (ie discrimination shown by Catholic and Protestant groups in Northern Ireland towards each other)."
The Orange Order order has not became sectarian overnight or over recent decades here...they have always been, whether prohibting marriage to a Catholic or whether the fact that a surge in membeship and OO activity in the 18th century 'just happens' to correlate with the granting of a Catholic seminary in Maynooth in 1829 or with the rather late granting of Catholic emancipation...there are loads of Historical precedents one could cherrypick, from riotous behaviour in New york and Austrialia in the 18th century to riotous behaviour now. Just because if in your pa's day there was less riots doesnt make it unsectarian.
You really need to face that reality.
I mean, Rev Brian Kennaway's book is only a result of his experience of trying to make the Order, to some degree, 'progressive' in Bridge building and educating people (inc.'Catholics') on the order through the Education Commitee, which flumped and in no small part due to an ideological difficulty in trying to define Orangeism, as with Fascism,ideologically its not its as structured as a piece of crap(peanuts included)!
Get to grips, are you trying to say the Orange Order feel it there right to march anywhere (including nationalist areas) to promote the 'Biblical truths of Reformation theology'?! If so that bit of marches is very muted, particulary with their very Christain Behaviour towards other denominations given Belfast Hyper-segregated nature! Which we can prob thank the order in a small way for!
Every organization has bad eggs who do not follow the rules, 99% of orangemen follow the ethos of the Order, I have followed the Orange Order from the age of 5 and am proud to be associiated with it, I enjoy the Paradaes every year as do many of my friends who are of different religions and cultures, don't forget many orangemen were the first to volunteer for the british army and fought and died at the Battle of the Somme, the sames goes for the troubles when many members where murdered.
AH Petaldips, are you one of the many who wrongly assume that only Protestant men volunteered to fight for Britain in the Great War. What about the 60.000 (estimated)or so Irishmen from the other THREE conties of Ulster and the rest of the provinces which make up the island of Ireland, my uncle Willy Finlay of 28 Glenallen St Belfast was one of those horrendous numbers who were slaughtered at the Somme.
please dont call the orange order christian, its not! it was founded by some free masons, which is a non-christian religion. Also orangeism is sectarian and is more interested in northern irish triabalism then biblical christianity
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