Sometimes It's Hard
Being a progressive and a Christian is difficult. The liberal view of Christians is distorted by the fundamentalists who have hijacked the religion of peace and love and turned it into the cult of hatred, bigotry, and power seeking. I suppose it's as much my fault, and those like me who are liberal believers, as anyone else's because we let the cult of death-and-damnation-to-those-who-would-disagree take over the public podium. We should have stood up and called bullshit on those folks right from the start, but, like the Democrats in Congress and the state legislatures, we sat politely on our hands and let them steal our faith and good name with ease. As a result, whenever liberals get together to talk, the insults run thick with condemnation of the Christians and the mess they're making.
Actually, I understand the ire: the fundamentalists, not content with stealing our religion, are now attempting to steal our government (all branches, all levels) as well. There used to be a time that politics and religion were never used as discussion topics in polite conversation. That rule has certainly gone by the boards. Not only are both prime topics of open discussion, they are always linked. The goal of the "Christian" Right is to tear down that wall separating church and state and to completely gut the Constitutional prohibition against the establishment of religion.
Well, folks, if you insist on inserting your cult into the public arena, at least get it right. At http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/ Father Jake, an Episcopalian priest, got it right:
"Since the pollsters came out with their claim that the election was decided on 'moral values,' now every politician, Republican and Democrat, is looking for opportunities to talk about God. I'm not sure that more God talk is going to convince anyone anymore that the speaker deserves their vote. It won't convince me.
"What will convince me are actions. Specifically, actions that reveal a desire to offer a hand up to the poor and a willingness to explore the systemic causes of poverty. What will convince me to support a candidate are actions that give evidence of a consistent life ethic that includes not just discussion of abortion and euthanasia, but also of the thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died due to the American invasion and those on death row who will be murdered in the name of the state. What I'm looking for are politicians who express their belief in the dignity of every human being by standing up for those who would be excluded because they are different in some way from the majority. I want a leader who recognizes our responsibility to be good stewards of all of creation, if for no other reason than to make sure that we don't leave our children's children a toxic wasteland."
That's what we Christians ought to be preaching, and teaching, and shouting to the nation. And what we should be demanding from our reborn pols.
Actually, I understand the ire: the fundamentalists, not content with stealing our religion, are now attempting to steal our government (all branches, all levels) as well. There used to be a time that politics and religion were never used as discussion topics in polite conversation. That rule has certainly gone by the boards. Not only are both prime topics of open discussion, they are always linked. The goal of the "Christian" Right is to tear down that wall separating church and state and to completely gut the Constitutional prohibition against the establishment of religion.
Well, folks, if you insist on inserting your cult into the public arena, at least get it right. At http://frjakestopstheworld.blogspot.com/ Father Jake, an Episcopalian priest, got it right:
"Since the pollsters came out with their claim that the election was decided on 'moral values,' now every politician, Republican and Democrat, is looking for opportunities to talk about God. I'm not sure that more God talk is going to convince anyone anymore that the speaker deserves their vote. It won't convince me.
"What will convince me are actions. Specifically, actions that reveal a desire to offer a hand up to the poor and a willingness to explore the systemic causes of poverty. What will convince me to support a candidate are actions that give evidence of a consistent life ethic that includes not just discussion of abortion and euthanasia, but also of the thousands of innocent Iraqis who have died due to the American invasion and those on death row who will be murdered in the name of the state. What I'm looking for are politicians who express their belief in the dignity of every human being by standing up for those who would be excluded because they are different in some way from the majority. I want a leader who recognizes our responsibility to be good stewards of all of creation, if for no other reason than to make sure that we don't leave our children's children a toxic wasteland."
That's what we Christians ought to be preaching, and teaching, and shouting to the nation. And what we should be demanding from our reborn pols.
posted by Diane at 7:03 AM
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