Five
Biblical Concepts Our Political
Leaders
Just Don’t Understand
by
Rev. Paul J. Bern
Right-wing
Evangelical Fundamentalism, as well as much of America's conservative
political leadership, claims to return to the roots of Christianity.
Few of these fundamentalists care much about the early church, the
four Gospels, the apostle Paul's letters, or St. Augustine. Rather,
they blend Southern Conservatism, bastardized Protestantism, Aryan
heresies, gross nationalism and a heavy dose of naive
anti-intellectualism for a peculiar American strain of what I will
tactfully call spiritual sophistry. As a pastor by the name of
Reverend Cornell West has noted, “the fundamentalist Christians
want to be fundamental about everything, except ‘love thy
neighbor.'” I couldn't agree more. So, I decided to make that this
week's commentary (I never liked the word 'sermon', it seems too
stiff and formal to me). Here are some verses we liberal Christians
wish they would get more “fundamentalist” about:
1.
Immigration: The verse: “When a stranger sojourns with you
in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the
stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall
love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I
am the Lord your God.” - Leviticus 19:33-34, KJV.
Bogus
'Christians' hate this verse because fundamentalists are almost
universally xenophobic. The truth of the matter is religious
fundamentalism is only a reaction to the multiculturalism of a
liberal democracy, and particularly in multicultural churches. Rather
than seeking a “brotherhood of man,” religious fundamentalism
longs for a colonial community, without the necessary friction from
those with foreign beliefs, cultures and customs, and especially with
different skin colors. We are called to discern among “sojourners”.
The original meaning of this word in this context is 'those who move
about from place to place'. This looks to me like a euphemism for
what some call 'illegal immigrants'. People looking for a home have
been around ever since humankind began to explore the earth. (the New
International version translates 'sojourners' as “aliens”, which
has a more familiar right to it) There are currently 11 million
illegal immigrants who want to become citizens, with likely an
additional 20 million family members as new citizens within about a
decade. What does God say about those who hate without cause and
mistreat foreigners? “I will be a swift witness against… those
who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the
fatherless, against … those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do
not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:5., KJV
2.
Poverty: The Verses:
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
- Matthew 19:24, NIV.
“Now
listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is
coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your
clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will
testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded
wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the
workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries
of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You
have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened
yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered
innocent men, who were not opposing you.”
James 5: 1-6, NIV
To
myself, at least, one of the most absolutely hilarious aspects of
modern-day, far-right Christianity is its reverence of capitalism.
That’s because Christ could be considered anti-capitalist, as well
as Moses (see Exodus 22: 25-27, in any Biblical version you like).
Consider that there is some version of the story of the rich man
approaching Jesus that appears in every Gospel. In the Gospel of
Mark, Jesus tells the rich man, “go, sell all that you have and
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” (Mark
10:21) The story of Lazarus should similarly terrify modern day
fundamentalists. Lazarus is a beggar who waits outside of a rich
man’s house and begs for scraps. When both Lazarus and the rich man
die, Lazarus ends up in heaven, while the rich man ends up in hell.
When the rich man begs for water, Abraham says, “Child, remember
that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in
like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in
anguish.” Luke 19:25.
So-called
“conservative Christians” (the very term is an oxymoron) hate
these verses because the only thing fundamentalists dislike more than
immigrants is poor people. Seriously. A former Tea Party congressman
once said he thought the government should cut food stamps entirely,
“The role of citizens, of Christians, of humanity is to take care
of each other, but not for Washington to steal from those in the
country and give to others in the country.” Former congressional
representative Michelle Bachmann has also made a similar statement.
The entire Tea Party movement is based on the idea that a huge
portion of Americans are “takers” who suck the lifeblood out of
the economy. Never mind the fact that the reason all those people
aren't working is because their jobs got exported overseas for
pennies on the dollar, leaving them destitute. The majority of
Christian “fundamentalists” insist that poverty be explained in
terms of a personal moral failure, or even mass incompetence. They
therefore hold that success should be described in terms of morality,
when in fact the Bible says quite the opposite: “In the last days
many will compare godliness with gain”. The poor are considered
culpable so that they can be punished – like today’s cuts to food
stamps or the public shaming of those on disability, welfare or
unemployment.
3:
The Environment The
Verses: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of
God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them
and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth
and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 1:27-28
“By
him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —
all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all
things, and in him all things hold together.”
Colossians 1:16-17
Why
do so many fundamentalists twist and distort these verses? In
Genesis, man is given stewardship of the Earth, God’s creation.
Stewardship in the Christian tradition implies protection. Man should
exist in harmony with the earth, not work against it. Jesus Christ
once told his followers: “No one can serve two masters. Either
you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
- Luke 16:13. Increasingly, the religious right (which is neither, by
the way) is trying to do exactly that, intertwining Evangelical
fundamentalism with unfettered capitalism — with disastrous results
for the earth's environment and the US job market. Thus, American
political life is increasingly dominated by Christians from the
extreme right who reject the religious ethos in favor of capitalist
ethos. It is these same Christian right wing nuts who seeks to
discredit the threat of global warming. It also claims the threat of
climate change is “alarmist” and fears that efforts to clamp down
on emissions will hurt the poor (read: Fortune 500 corporations). In
reality, climate change will have its greatest effect on people
living on less than a dollar a day who can not adapt to higher
temperatures. Conservative Evangelicals are not concerned with
dwindling biodiversity, the destruction of ecosystem, rampant
pollution, global warming and the numerous other environmental
challenges we face. Rather they, with the business community, are
only concerned with the bottom line. The future is irrelevant (unless
we’re talking about government debt). Thus, the Biblical command to
protect the environment is quietly swept under the rug.
4.
War The Verses: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not
resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right
cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and
take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone
forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” - Matthew 5:
38-42, NIV “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons
of your Father who is in heaven.” - Matthew 5: 43–45.
As
a religious and political movement, fundamentalists have defined
themselves as a party of opposition, rather than of love, grace and
mercy. Some scholars are erroneously calling this a “third great
awakening”, even though it is different from the other two. This
one is full of contempt disguised as piety toward those whose
understanding of religion fails to meet their lofty standards. While
past “Great Awakenings” have looked inward, seeing sin within the
conflicted self, this new awakening looks outward, seeing sin in the
wider culture. The culture, which is secular, is evil, while the
church is sacred. This is why modern religious fundamentalism
gravitates towards xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, etc. Fear and
disgust are its motivating factors. This fundamentalism inclines some
religious people toward a preemptive “war of religion” and a
strong disgust (that sometimes culminates in violence) toward Muslims
and gay people. Oddly enough, the Christian tradition has developed a
theory of “Just War” (developed by Thomas Aquinas) which condemns
war except when all other options have been exhausted and there is
just treatment of prisoners (with a specific condemnation of
torture). If only one of the past two “Christian” presidents had
listened.
5.
Women The Verse: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28
Although
the right often claims the Bible supports their absurd ideas about
gender roles, such sexist claims have been thoroughly debunked by
theologians. Generally, when you’ll hear an explanation of why
women belong in the home, it’ll rely on a misreading of one of
Paul’s doctrines. In contrast to Paul, Christ rarely concerned
himself with sexual mores, although he clearly was against divorce.
He was far more concerned with fighting oppression and injustice.
Fundamentalists want to keep women submissive and subservient, but
Jesus won’t let them. In Luke, for instance, Jesus is blessed by a
priestess named Anna. He praises a woman who stands up to a judge and
demands justice. It’s worth noting that in a time when women could
not testify in a court of law, all four resurrection stories have
women arriving first to Jesus’ tomb. Jesus talks with a Samaritan
woman at a well even though Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans,
and he praises Mary Magdalene for listening to his words (see Luke
10:38-42). These verses are powerful and I believe that they should
be carefully considered.
I'm
becoming increasingly concerned that Christianity and religion in
general is represented by its most ultra-conservative, fundamentalist
elements. Remember that Karl Marx drew his inspiration for the famous
quote “From each according to his abilities, to each according to
his needs” from the example of the early church (Acts 4:32-35). But
once the moral potshots are finished, we all have to face the
fundamental and aching deprivation of having been born. We can
continue to have a fun time berating those who believe the Bible
explains science. The Christian message doesn’t contradict science,
and nor is it concerned with American politics. Ultimately,
Christianity is about transcending politics and fighting for social
and economic justice. Think of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Malcolm X
– all of whom were influenced by their religion to change the
world. Jesus saw how oppression and oppressors consumed the world. He
has, as always, sided with the oppressed. This Johnny-come-lately of
skewed fundamentalism I'm writing about is radically new and far
removed from true Christianity. True Christianity offers us a far
superior doctrine — one of social justice, love and equality. When
we practice all of these, we are following Christ regardless of
religious denomination.
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