I am thinking again about the victims of our government, many of them innocent, imprisoned in our torture camps around the world, most notably in Guantanamo Bay. It depresses me to realize that even the election of a Democratic president will not guarantee justice for these people. I was horrified by the parade of Republican candidates in the debate on Fox TV, stumbling all over each other to advocate more torture - to thunderous applause by an audience of devoutly Christian American patriots.
Of the Republican candidates, only John McCain spoke against torture of the prisoners and he did not address it from a moral standpoint but rather because torture is ineffective as an interrogation method. But we are not torturing prisoners to beat information out of them. We’re doing it to demonstrate our power over them. We’re doing out of a collective sense of helplessness.
There are so many issues that have spun out of control in modern America. I’m deeply concerned about global climate change, runaway budget deficits, the erosion of our civil rights, the deliberate policies to take wealth from the middle class and deny vital services to the poor to enrich the already wealthy. But none of these issues strike me as deeply as our government’s systematic torture of people of middle-eastern descent - some born British citizens, others abducted from around the world.
In my gut I sense that this depravity goes deeper than the Bush administration - admittedly the most depraved Presidency in living memory and arguably in American history. But I think this evil runs deeper. It is a sickness at the core of American culture. The same sickness that created Nazi Germany. The same sickness that perverted the French Revolution and turned it into an endless bloodbath. The same sickness that led Mayan priests to unbelievable orgies of human sacrifice.
Could a President Clinton keep the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay? Would a President Obama close the secret American torture camps around the world? Even with a landslide victory, an incoming Democratic president would be hard pressed to end this madness. The American people have not just tolerated it. Those prisoners are not just victims of our indifference. I believe they are victims of our vengeance, and more deeply, victims of our sense of insecurity.
America cannot control the entire world and each of us feels the world slipping from our grasp - never stopping to think that we never had any right to it in the first place. For a brief moment, America held the world together. We could do it and we had to do it because we were the only industrial power to survive WWII. We got used to it - even though it was a situation that could never last. The rest of the world eventually re-built - and we were wise enough to help rebuild much of it.
But that wisdom has left us and in its place is an ebbing sense of superiority that we have now propped up with clumsy exhibitions of power and cruelty. I have no faith that the victims of Guantanamo Bay will ever be freed or that any of them will ever have justice. They are the most helpless. Some of them were our enemies. Others were innocent. At this point it doesn’t matter that much. They’re all torture victims now. Our treatment of them is not justice. It is sickness.
I have to fight for them. I feel it in my gut. I just don’t know how to. Yet.
rbs
Monday, May 21, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Why I am a Christian
This is the second of a pair of essays exploring my beliefs. The first is entitled: Why I am an Athiest.
I do believe in miracles. Not the virgin birth or the sun standing still in the sky for a day, but there is the miracle of Christianity itself - the survival and infusion of the teachings of Jesus into Western culture. We take this cultural bias for granted, but there is no evidence that egalitarianism could possibly have come to undergird modern Western thought without the unprecedented success of Christianity.
While the Hebrews developed an egalitarian society during the period of the Judges, between their Exodus and the ascension of King David, that equality really only ever applied to other Hebrews. It was Jesus who revived those ideals and preached that they should be universal. There may have been other teachers who put forward such ideas but no one had the success Jesus had.
His teachings fell on fertile ground because of the history of the Hebrews. The idea that all people are, regardless of background or wealth or education or breeding, equally children of God, was, because of their traditions, not entirely alien to the Jewish people.
Another key reason Jesus’ teachings could survive to found the modern world was that he put them into action. And he died for them. And as he died, he did not stop teaching, but made his death an indispensable part of his ministry. The power of his example and his charisma survived in the oral traditions that eventually became the four synoptic gospels - written at least eighty years after his death.
The power and pervasiveness of these teachings cannot be overstated. It is entirely appropriate that the majority of the world uses Jesus’ birth (actually his 5th birthday - close enough) as the dividing line between the ancient and modern eras.
Certainly Christianity has been far more often misused by its leaders and misunderstood by multitudes of followers than followed according to the principles Jesus taught. But despite the holy wars, slaughter of heretics, conversion by the sword, burning of witches, divine right of kings and any multitude of modern distortions of Jesus’ teachings, the idea that we are all of us equal in the eyes of God and should love not only our neighbors but also our enemies has percolated throughout Western culture.
I have heard evangelical preachers claim that the USA is a country founded on Christianity. While untrue - most of the founders considered themselves Deists rather than Christians - it has some validity in that the concept that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights evolved from the teachings of Jesus. The Enlightenment is a product of Christian principles.
Without these teachings, very few American citizens would have cared about freeing the slaves and there would have been no abolitionist movement. Gandhi’s non-violent campaign to free India from the British Empire would have fallen before an unsympathetic, uncaring British public - as happy to kill Indians as to free them. The American civil rights movement of the 1960's would have been simply unimaginable. The Nazi horror would have been seen for what it really was - an extension of the ethos of ancient Rome.
It is hard to imagine a modern world in which Christianity had never flourished. Would some other ethos of universal equality have arisen instead? There is no evidence of any. Islam is a descendent of Christianity. None of the various European pantheisms propounded the idea that all people, regardless of origin, should be treated as equals. There would have been no such tradition for philosophers such as John Locke to draw upon.
I am very far from endorsing any version of organized Christianity. Each carries its own distortions of the teachings of Jesus and several put the word of their own leaders above the word of Jesus. They tend as often to be sources of division and derision as unifiers of people of Christian faith - much less of all people regardless of their religion. While American Evangelical Christian leaders have spent the past thirty years decrying the sins of homosexuals and women forced to make the choice to terminate a pregnancy, if Jesus were here, he would decry those religious leaders - as he did during his life. Christianity should uplift, not oppress.
But the organized Christian religions have, in spite of the worst distortions of their leaders, preserved and propagated the most important teachings of Jesus - that we are all equal and that we should strive to care for all people.
I cannot say I am a good Christian. I have not taken up the cross. I do not give to the poor as I should. Instead, I am saving up to build a gigantic needle which I intend to install upright, pointed toward the sky with the enormous eye just above ground level at an oasis in Saudi Arabia in hopes that Bedouin tribesmen will lead their camels through it.
But I do fight in my own way for the rights of the oppressed. It is usually only talk - and writing - attempting to persuade my fellow Christians that we do have a moral obligation to make a better society for the poor and to free the oppressed. I support same-sex marriage, the rights of women, and human rights. No one should be treated less because of their gender, or sexual identity - or because they are powerless before an oppressive government or sanctioned group.
And I believe in the USA’s potential - that each American should fight hard to make our nation the shining city on the hill that we all know it can be. To offer freedom instead of oppression to all humanity. To care for our own and offer that care around the world. To use our might for the betterment of all humanity - or better, to leverage that might so we don’t have to use it.
For me there is no contradiction between being a Christian and being an Atheist. I don’t create hybrid terms to describe these philosophies. I am neither a Christian-Atheist nor an Atheistic Christian. I describe myself as one or the other depending on context. There is no bright line - that Christianity describes my ethos and Atheism my metaphysical understanding of the universe. It’s far more complex than that. But that’s close enough for starters.
rbs
I do believe in miracles. Not the virgin birth or the sun standing still in the sky for a day, but there is the miracle of Christianity itself - the survival and infusion of the teachings of Jesus into Western culture. We take this cultural bias for granted, but there is no evidence that egalitarianism could possibly have come to undergird modern Western thought without the unprecedented success of Christianity.
While the Hebrews developed an egalitarian society during the period of the Judges, between their Exodus and the ascension of King David, that equality really only ever applied to other Hebrews. It was Jesus who revived those ideals and preached that they should be universal. There may have been other teachers who put forward such ideas but no one had the success Jesus had.
His teachings fell on fertile ground because of the history of the Hebrews. The idea that all people are, regardless of background or wealth or education or breeding, equally children of God, was, because of their traditions, not entirely alien to the Jewish people.
Another key reason Jesus’ teachings could survive to found the modern world was that he put them into action. And he died for them. And as he died, he did not stop teaching, but made his death an indispensable part of his ministry. The power of his example and his charisma survived in the oral traditions that eventually became the four synoptic gospels - written at least eighty years after his death.
The power and pervasiveness of these teachings cannot be overstated. It is entirely appropriate that the majority of the world uses Jesus’ birth (actually his 5th birthday - close enough) as the dividing line between the ancient and modern eras.
Certainly Christianity has been far more often misused by its leaders and misunderstood by multitudes of followers than followed according to the principles Jesus taught. But despite the holy wars, slaughter of heretics, conversion by the sword, burning of witches, divine right of kings and any multitude of modern distortions of Jesus’ teachings, the idea that we are all of us equal in the eyes of God and should love not only our neighbors but also our enemies has percolated throughout Western culture.
I have heard evangelical preachers claim that the USA is a country founded on Christianity. While untrue - most of the founders considered themselves Deists rather than Christians - it has some validity in that the concept that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights evolved from the teachings of Jesus. The Enlightenment is a product of Christian principles.
Without these teachings, very few American citizens would have cared about freeing the slaves and there would have been no abolitionist movement. Gandhi’s non-violent campaign to free India from the British Empire would have fallen before an unsympathetic, uncaring British public - as happy to kill Indians as to free them. The American civil rights movement of the 1960's would have been simply unimaginable. The Nazi horror would have been seen for what it really was - an extension of the ethos of ancient Rome.
It is hard to imagine a modern world in which Christianity had never flourished. Would some other ethos of universal equality have arisen instead? There is no evidence of any. Islam is a descendent of Christianity. None of the various European pantheisms propounded the idea that all people, regardless of origin, should be treated as equals. There would have been no such tradition for philosophers such as John Locke to draw upon.
I am very far from endorsing any version of organized Christianity. Each carries its own distortions of the teachings of Jesus and several put the word of their own leaders above the word of Jesus. They tend as often to be sources of division and derision as unifiers of people of Christian faith - much less of all people regardless of their religion. While American Evangelical Christian leaders have spent the past thirty years decrying the sins of homosexuals and women forced to make the choice to terminate a pregnancy, if Jesus were here, he would decry those religious leaders - as he did during his life. Christianity should uplift, not oppress.
But the organized Christian religions have, in spite of the worst distortions of their leaders, preserved and propagated the most important teachings of Jesus - that we are all equal and that we should strive to care for all people.
I cannot say I am a good Christian. I have not taken up the cross. I do not give to the poor as I should. Instead, I am saving up to build a gigantic needle which I intend to install upright, pointed toward the sky with the enormous eye just above ground level at an oasis in Saudi Arabia in hopes that Bedouin tribesmen will lead their camels through it.
But I do fight in my own way for the rights of the oppressed. It is usually only talk - and writing - attempting to persuade my fellow Christians that we do have a moral obligation to make a better society for the poor and to free the oppressed. I support same-sex marriage, the rights of women, and human rights. No one should be treated less because of their gender, or sexual identity - or because they are powerless before an oppressive government or sanctioned group.
And I believe in the USA’s potential - that each American should fight hard to make our nation the shining city on the hill that we all know it can be. To offer freedom instead of oppression to all humanity. To care for our own and offer that care around the world. To use our might for the betterment of all humanity - or better, to leverage that might so we don’t have to use it.
For me there is no contradiction between being a Christian and being an Atheist. I don’t create hybrid terms to describe these philosophies. I am neither a Christian-Atheist nor an Atheistic Christian. I describe myself as one or the other depending on context. There is no bright line - that Christianity describes my ethos and Atheism my metaphysical understanding of the universe. It’s far more complex than that. But that’s close enough for starters.
rbs
Why I am an Atheist
I did not initially intend to publish these two essays. I wrote them to work out these ideas for myself. But after I described them to some of my readers, I have been encouraged to publish them - probably because they sound like such a contradiction. How can anyone be both an Athiest and a Christian? This is the first of two essays to explain why I consider myself both - and see no contradiction in those positions.
I grew up in a Christian extended family - but my nuclear family was more or less agnostic. So while I was exposed to the Bible and its great stories at an early age, I was always expected to determine for myself what I believe in. Among the first books I read were two great collections of Mark Twain’s cynical and daring anti-Christian essays: Letters from the Earth and A Pen Warmed Up in Hell. As I recall, I had devoured these along with the Bible by the time I was 12.
I struggled with Christian philosophy and mysticism throughout my life, never willing to believe in the mysteries of virgin birth and all the other hooey - er - miracles... and never selfless enough to follow the shining example of Jesus. Gradually, I realized I have nothing but disdain for the former and only admiration for the latter.
Listening to hellfire and damnation sermons turned me right off of Christianity. No God who could create hell is worthy of worship. Nor have I ever been the least bit interested in the antiseptic, castrated heaven I heard extolled time and again by preachers and virtuous elders.
My bloodline is strongly Scottish, which means that more than with most people of European ancestry, Viking blood runs through my veins. If there is an afterlife, Valhalla is more my speed. Given my choice, I would much prefer a human place - a great hall and grounds filled with good-natured brawls, contests of wit, lots of tawdry sex, bad poetry, worse jokes, fantastic beer, and backslapping good times. A table provided but not oppressively dominated by a loving god, where I could find my old friends and meet new friends for a long quiet talk or a lively jam as the moment feels right. A place with endless wonders to explore.
Nice fantasy, but I see no evidence that the universe works that way. I am an empiricist. Not willing to believe what I don’t see evidence for. Fascinated with the marvelous universe our great scientists and philosophers have been unveiling - or rather the models they have been creating to better describe the universe we live in. They have gone so far, so much further than most of us even know, without bumping into heaven or hell or Valhalla or God and needing none of those to explain the wonders of the night sky. But this is not why I am an Atheist.
We cannot possibly know more than a tiny corner of our universe - a single grain of sand out of all the vast deserts and beaches that have ever existed throughout time. There is certainly plenty of room in this universe for an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God.
Here’s a simple ontological argument for His/Her existence. Think back to the last time you were throwing up. As you knelt there with your head hanging over the toilet - feeling like you were about to die - disgusted because the toilet was not cleaned well enough - as the vomit was surging in your throat... Whom did you call upon? Whom did you beg to for release?
If in such a moment you did not call upon God, then you can honestly say that you truly do not believe in one. It’s been many a New Year since the last time I drank too much champaign, but I remember quite well moaning my need for a God as I paid my dues to the bubbly on a lurching and slightly out of focus New Year’s morning.
There cannot be any better proof of an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God - for certainly no such creature would ever show itself directly to humanity. Especially if He truly did make us in His own image. The results would be all too predictable. Indeed they were predicted by Saint John the Divine in the greatly misunderstood Book of Revelation.
If God were to show up, announce Himself, and toss off a few miracles for proof, humanity would splinter as never before. Vast hordes of His worshipers would become mindless slaves. Others would go feral and take His presence as the sign that they must slaughter anyone who ever expressed the slightest variation from their own belief - regardless of what this now clearly present God told them to do or not to do. And a sizeable minority of us would decide that what we were encountering would have to be not a God, but a Fraud... a powerful alien with admittedly knock-out technology and a dangerous god complex who should be thwarted at every turn and destroyed as quickly as possible.
It is not God that I do not believe in. It is religion that I cannot believe. Well - I certainly believe religion exists, but its value in modern human society is more than questionable. Christian and Muslim leaders alike preach often against the evils of secular humanism. If they truly cared about humans as at least Jesus if not Mohammed teaches, they would have to look upon secular humanists not as evil competitors, but as partners in improving our common lot.
Here is a simple test: Do religious teachers choose to join hands to serve humanity or to fight each other with words and deeds and turn our world into a rancorous, bloody mess? The vast majority of religion fails again and again.
Pope Benedict XVI now preaches hellfire and damnation. Islamic mullahs call for war not only against Christianity and the Infidel, not only for murder of Shia by Sunni and vice-versa, but even for murder within their own sects. Evangelical Christianity in the USA has blindly brought our cherished democracy - the greatest gift of the Enlightenment to mankind - to its knees and the hands of their myopic preachers are wrapped in a stranglehold around the throat of our cherished liberties. Nor do I have any praise for Buddhists who counsel withdrawal from the human condition altogether. And as long as Israel oppresses Palestine, Judaism suffers the common judgement along with the rest.
Given the state and the history of religion, Atheism - the absence of religion - does not appear to be that bad an alternative. In fact, I pray that God is an Atheist. God help us if He turns out to be, say for example, a Mormon... There are only a few million of them. The remaining billions of us would then be condemned to whatever hell the Mormons believe in. So I really do pray that God is an Atheist. You might consider adding that to your evening prayers...
rbs
I grew up in a Christian extended family - but my nuclear family was more or less agnostic. So while I was exposed to the Bible and its great stories at an early age, I was always expected to determine for myself what I believe in. Among the first books I read were two great collections of Mark Twain’s cynical and daring anti-Christian essays: Letters from the Earth and A Pen Warmed Up in Hell. As I recall, I had devoured these along with the Bible by the time I was 12.
I struggled with Christian philosophy and mysticism throughout my life, never willing to believe in the mysteries of virgin birth and all the other hooey - er - miracles... and never selfless enough to follow the shining example of Jesus. Gradually, I realized I have nothing but disdain for the former and only admiration for the latter.
Listening to hellfire and damnation sermons turned me right off of Christianity. No God who could create hell is worthy of worship. Nor have I ever been the least bit interested in the antiseptic, castrated heaven I heard extolled time and again by preachers and virtuous elders.
My bloodline is strongly Scottish, which means that more than with most people of European ancestry, Viking blood runs through my veins. If there is an afterlife, Valhalla is more my speed. Given my choice, I would much prefer a human place - a great hall and grounds filled with good-natured brawls, contests of wit, lots of tawdry sex, bad poetry, worse jokes, fantastic beer, and backslapping good times. A table provided but not oppressively dominated by a loving god, where I could find my old friends and meet new friends for a long quiet talk or a lively jam as the moment feels right. A place with endless wonders to explore.
Nice fantasy, but I see no evidence that the universe works that way. I am an empiricist. Not willing to believe what I don’t see evidence for. Fascinated with the marvelous universe our great scientists and philosophers have been unveiling - or rather the models they have been creating to better describe the universe we live in. They have gone so far, so much further than most of us even know, without bumping into heaven or hell or Valhalla or God and needing none of those to explain the wonders of the night sky. But this is not why I am an Atheist.
We cannot possibly know more than a tiny corner of our universe - a single grain of sand out of all the vast deserts and beaches that have ever existed throughout time. There is certainly plenty of room in this universe for an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God.
Here’s a simple ontological argument for His/Her existence. Think back to the last time you were throwing up. As you knelt there with your head hanging over the toilet - feeling like you were about to die - disgusted because the toilet was not cleaned well enough - as the vomit was surging in your throat... Whom did you call upon? Whom did you beg to for release?
If in such a moment you did not call upon God, then you can honestly say that you truly do not believe in one. It’s been many a New Year since the last time I drank too much champaign, but I remember quite well moaning my need for a God as I paid my dues to the bubbly on a lurching and slightly out of focus New Year’s morning.
There cannot be any better proof of an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God - for certainly no such creature would ever show itself directly to humanity. Especially if He truly did make us in His own image. The results would be all too predictable. Indeed they were predicted by Saint John the Divine in the greatly misunderstood Book of Revelation.
If God were to show up, announce Himself, and toss off a few miracles for proof, humanity would splinter as never before. Vast hordes of His worshipers would become mindless slaves. Others would go feral and take His presence as the sign that they must slaughter anyone who ever expressed the slightest variation from their own belief - regardless of what this now clearly present God told them to do or not to do. And a sizeable minority of us would decide that what we were encountering would have to be not a God, but a Fraud... a powerful alien with admittedly knock-out technology and a dangerous god complex who should be thwarted at every turn and destroyed as quickly as possible.
It is not God that I do not believe in. It is religion that I cannot believe. Well - I certainly believe religion exists, but its value in modern human society is more than questionable. Christian and Muslim leaders alike preach often against the evils of secular humanism. If they truly cared about humans as at least Jesus if not Mohammed teaches, they would have to look upon secular humanists not as evil competitors, but as partners in improving our common lot.
Here is a simple test: Do religious teachers choose to join hands to serve humanity or to fight each other with words and deeds and turn our world into a rancorous, bloody mess? The vast majority of religion fails again and again.
Pope Benedict XVI now preaches hellfire and damnation. Islamic mullahs call for war not only against Christianity and the Infidel, not only for murder of Shia by Sunni and vice-versa, but even for murder within their own sects. Evangelical Christianity in the USA has blindly brought our cherished democracy - the greatest gift of the Enlightenment to mankind - to its knees and the hands of their myopic preachers are wrapped in a stranglehold around the throat of our cherished liberties. Nor do I have any praise for Buddhists who counsel withdrawal from the human condition altogether. And as long as Israel oppresses Palestine, Judaism suffers the common judgement along with the rest.
Given the state and the history of religion, Atheism - the absence of religion - does not appear to be that bad an alternative. In fact, I pray that God is an Atheist. God help us if He turns out to be, say for example, a Mormon... There are only a few million of them. The remaining billions of us would then be condemned to whatever hell the Mormons believe in. So I really do pray that God is an Atheist. You might consider adding that to your evening prayers...
rbs
Thursday, May 3, 2007
The Politics of Jesus - report
I just finished this book by Dr. Obery Hendricks, Jr. Although a minister, he does not accept the title “Reverend”. I really hope that Dr. Hendricks will write a more thorough analysis of the Old Testament - and the New... But that’s not what this book is. While it contains by far the best biblical scholarship I have ever read, it is primarily a political manifesto.
Dr. Hendricks builds the case for his manifesto first by a breathtaking analytical overview of the Old Testament which alone is worth the price of the book. I will certainly re-read the Old Testament with greatly expanded understanding of its significance - particularly in the description of the early stirrings of egalitarian society from which Jesus no doubt drew his inspiration.
Hendricks explores seven key strategies of Jesus’ ministry in detail:
1. Treat the People’s needs as Holy
2. Give a Voice to the Voiceless
3. Expose the workings of Oppression
4. Call the Demon by Name
5. Save your Anger for the Mistreatment of Others
6. Take Blows without Returning Them
7. Don’t just explain the Alternative, Show It
Hendricks then subjects the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to careful analysis in light of the strategies and goals of Jesus’ ministry. With predictable results - the author takes them apart with precision and only a minimum of rancor.
I will reserve the rest of this post to repeat the manifesto Dr. Hendricks is building toward throughout the book - with the following recommendation... I have struggled with the mysteries and philosophies of Christianity for my entire adult life. They really should be taken separately. I greatly appreciate Dr. Hendricks for doing such a good job of that. One of the best books I've ever read - I highly recommend it. Here’s the manifesto:
“...It is in this spirit, the spirit of Jesus the revolutionary, that we who follow him must call upon the religious and political leaders of America to reclaim our biblical mandate to act justly in our nation and in the world.
“We call upon our government officials and elected representatives to turn away from the greed and imperial ambitions of Caesar to embrace Christ’s call for us to care for those in need of care: the weakest, the neediest, those in the twilight of their days.
“We call upon the politicians to stop the crony capitalism that enriches the few and impoverishes the many.
“We call for provision for all Americans of adequate health care, a liveable minimum wage, and access to an education that can prepare them to be fruitful in the marketplace and to contribute to the common good of all.
“We call upon our political leaders to stop their cynical misuse of religion and “faith” to support exclusionary policies, exploitative policies, policies that deal in killing and death.
“We call upon our leaders to serve the justice of God rather than grasping for political power.
“We call upon all who claim to be politicians “of faith” to return integrity to America’s political culture by embracing the same humility that moved the psalmist to say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart;/ test me and know my thoughts./ See if there is any wicked way in me,/ and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
“We call upon all who bear the name of Christian to reclaim the holistic spirituality that Jesus taught, not the one-dimensional imitation practiced by many in the Church that frees us from the responsibility to make justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
“Finally, we call upon our politicians to end their ceaseless drive for power and to begin to sincerely serve the needs of those entrusted to their leadership. For the politics of Jesus seeks not possession of worldly power, but to serve the justice of God.”
My book for May: Christopher Hitchens - God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
I’m sure it will be a hell of a read.
rbs
P.S. - please continue to go to the previous post (I’m Mad As Hell) and give me your ideas for the George W. Bush Pack of Lies.
Dr. Hendricks builds the case for his manifesto first by a breathtaking analytical overview of the Old Testament which alone is worth the price of the book. I will certainly re-read the Old Testament with greatly expanded understanding of its significance - particularly in the description of the early stirrings of egalitarian society from which Jesus no doubt drew his inspiration.
Hendricks explores seven key strategies of Jesus’ ministry in detail:
1. Treat the People’s needs as Holy
2. Give a Voice to the Voiceless
3. Expose the workings of Oppression
4. Call the Demon by Name
5. Save your Anger for the Mistreatment of Others
6. Take Blows without Returning Them
7. Don’t just explain the Alternative, Show It
Hendricks then subjects the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush to careful analysis in light of the strategies and goals of Jesus’ ministry. With predictable results - the author takes them apart with precision and only a minimum of rancor.
I will reserve the rest of this post to repeat the manifesto Dr. Hendricks is building toward throughout the book - with the following recommendation... I have struggled with the mysteries and philosophies of Christianity for my entire adult life. They really should be taken separately. I greatly appreciate Dr. Hendricks for doing such a good job of that. One of the best books I've ever read - I highly recommend it. Here’s the manifesto:
“...It is in this spirit, the spirit of Jesus the revolutionary, that we who follow him must call upon the religious and political leaders of America to reclaim our biblical mandate to act justly in our nation and in the world.
“We call upon our government officials and elected representatives to turn away from the greed and imperial ambitions of Caesar to embrace Christ’s call for us to care for those in need of care: the weakest, the neediest, those in the twilight of their days.
“We call upon the politicians to stop the crony capitalism that enriches the few and impoverishes the many.
“We call for provision for all Americans of adequate health care, a liveable minimum wage, and access to an education that can prepare them to be fruitful in the marketplace and to contribute to the common good of all.
“We call upon our political leaders to stop their cynical misuse of religion and “faith” to support exclusionary policies, exploitative policies, policies that deal in killing and death.
“We call upon our leaders to serve the justice of God rather than grasping for political power.
“We call upon all who claim to be politicians “of faith” to return integrity to America’s political culture by embracing the same humility that moved the psalmist to say, “Search me, O God, and know my heart;/ test me and know my thoughts./ See if there is any wicked way in me,/ and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
“We call upon all who bear the name of Christian to reclaim the holistic spirituality that Jesus taught, not the one-dimensional imitation practiced by many in the Church that frees us from the responsibility to make justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.
“Finally, we call upon our politicians to end their ceaseless drive for power and to begin to sincerely serve the needs of those entrusted to their leadership. For the politics of Jesus seeks not possession of worldly power, but to serve the justice of God.”
My book for May: Christopher Hitchens - God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
I’m sure it will be a hell of a read.
rbs
P.S. - please continue to go to the previous post (I’m Mad As Hell) and give me your ideas for the George W. Bush Pack of Lies.
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