February 24, 2005

Thoughts on selling out

I have been thinking about what I said in that post and think that it deserves a little more thought. Yes, I think the church has sold out, but I don't think it has received what it thinks it has. "Bait and Switch," should be the cry. You have given what appears to be unquestioned loyalty to this Bush guy in return for..... what? A few smattering of phrases in speeches about faith and Jesus? Working in some hymn phrases in State of the Union speeches? That seems to be all you are getting unless you really value the wealthy more than the poor, and you truly think that the environment doesn't matter. If you are that easy to buy, think about who else will be willing to pay.

I know, I know. I am too hard on the conservative church. I easily fall into the same trap they do, demeaning well-intentioned opposition and dismissing their claims. It's hard not to when your Compassionate Christian Bush has a budget that cuts benefits for the poor while padding the pockets of the rich.

But I am redundant. I know you won't become Democrats, and I can respect that. Not only are there many problems with the DNC, but there is a long and worthy tradition of conservative thought in this country. (Remember I said that when you badmouth liberals, btw).

But, you in the church have become distracted by unsolvable or imaginary problems while ignoring real moral and social ills that can be helped. You need to stop this badmouthing of gays. You aren't stopping anyone from being gay--you are merely insuring that they will hate you. Is that really what you want? They laugh about you--how you talk about compassion and love, but are perfectly willing to badmouth them and their families. Stop it.

And you are easily distracted trying to convince the rest of us that a) America is a Christian nation, and b) that means that your views are superior. Everytime you load up busses of people to go support a fascist like Roy Moore, you look silly. When you organize protests about the "under God" phrase, you look silly.

Here is a radical thought. You want to prove that America is a Christian nation and that your view of Christianity is so very powerful? Do it. But not by rallying around televangelists and opportunists. Not by buying Tim LaHaye and Rick Warren books. Not by lionizing a nut like Mel Gibson.

Do it, as the kids say, "old school." Take as your challenge to America to dramatically reduce poverty and uninsured people in this country. Work with liberals and Catholics who are concerned about this and let your actions be your witness. Eradicate child poverty. Reduce the uninsured so the poor can attempt good health. Eradicate infant mortality. Investigate and act when corporations endanger the poor by dumping carcinogens into drinking water.

You say you want them to work? Fine. Don't confuse the work with deserving to live, but we all agree that work and some degree of autonomy is a good thing. Teach the poor to read and help them get jobs. Help them avoid the traps of consuming themselves into poor health or bankruptcy. Help them form sustainable businesses that make a difference to their community. Put pressure on Congress to force insurance companies to open up these pools to the poor and working poor.

All these things I just said? They are possible. And if these were your priorities, you would not only demonstrate Christ's love, you would validate yourselves as institutions across this land. You would not have to battle over whether we were a christian nation or not, because even non-Christians would respect you as doing good work.

Unless, of course, you prefer to be disliked. And if you do, maybe you need to talk to a therapist.

6 comments:

Black Sheep said...

Well said Streak! Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Hi, there, Streak. I understand how you feel about the conservative political movement in this country, especially the social conservative movement and its relationship to at least some parts of the Church. I still have a hard time even looking at much less listening to him. Dr. Dobson's diatribes against some groups of people make me somewhat physically ill. I believe that many of the policies of the neoconservatives are truly wrong and are hurting our country, making us less safe and more hated around the world. This is very hard, especially when I hear about the latest American and Iraqi casualties who have perished in the latest suicide bombing or the latest cut in funding that dumps another few million people into the ranks of the uninsured.
I wonder, too, how parts of the Church can endorse much of what is currently being perpetrated by and on the watch of this Administration. It is hard not to despair.

However, I am trying to understand the people who are on the record supporting these policies because they are people who are close to me in my life and I am trying to understand them and how they come to believe so many things that are anathema to me. This is a continuing struggle for me.

I am fortunate to have conservative friends and relatives that I have been able to dialogue with on lots of things, like our underlying values (not necessarily theology) and what we think are important goals for improving our society, like addressing the ever-persistent tragedy of the poor and underprivileged. I know that many of these people are good people, even if their idea of being a good Christian is "to be cleansed by the Blood" and to naively accept every jot in the Bible as final revealed truth. That is not my path, but even with all the differences that I find we have in our beliefs and our ways of engaging the Divine, it has been a true epiphany for me to learn that many of these conservative, card-carrying Republicans' priorities and goals and values are actually much like mine. Talk about shock and awe! This was the type of blinding realization that almost made me pass out, it was so profound. What I have discovered is that although we share many of the same concerns and agree on what at least some of the problems are, we differ magnificently on how to address them. As a moderate liberal, I see our government as an extension of us as a people and an expression of the collective values of our society. A lot of conservatives (at least the traditional conservatives) do not see it this way. They are just as interested in helping people, reaching out to the less fortunate, but want to do it through faith-based groups, local initiatives, family and church-based safety nets. They see government as more of a threat to their freedom and that the taxes for public schools and social programs that they are forced to pay support programs that do not reflect their values and beliefs. This is obviously not an exhaustive treatise on how religious and/or political conservatives view the world, but it is a small attempt to illustrate that the viewpoints of our conservative brothers and sisters are not necessarily as different as we might think they are.

I fear that in this heady time of newly realized political power and respect (at least at the level of lipservice) from the highest levels of power, a certain element of hubris has crept in. I think that we liberals have erred in this way, as well, when we were in power. I think we have got to try to work toward finding common ground with these folks and try to dampen the extremely destructive polarity, demagoguery and uncivility that is now the norm in so much of our public discourse. I don't know how to do this other than to suggest that a first step is to concede that honorable people can disagree and that the solution might be best met in the middle between the two extremes. I also think we need to take care of the log in our own eye before trying to take out the speck in our brother's. Many of the programs that were based on very well intentioned liberal policies have not had the intended consequences and,in the worst situations, have actually made the problems worse. I believe we need to rigorously evaluate what has worked and what has not, keep and build upon what has worked and unceremoniously jettison the things that have not met with success.

Even as I agree with so many of your points that at least part of the Church (I suspect that there are a lot of people in the Church who disagree with many of their Church's "official" positions) has accepted policies that seem antithetical to what I understand Jesus' message to be all about, I feel that we need to try to reach out in love to these people to try to find and build upon what we have in common. As Paul reminded us, nothing in creation can separate us from the love of God. God loves us all and he wants us to love each other. And if we can do that, I think that we will find that we will find ways to make things work out somehow.

Sorry to have gone so long. This has been a help to me to put these thoughts down on paper. Thanks for the opportunity. God has blessed you with a strong sensibility and the urge to share it with the greater world as a way of making change for the good. It does make a difference. Peace and blessings. GG

Streak said...

GG, you make some great points. I agree that many in the conservative church share our concerns. I think I am trying to get them to see that they don't have to share all of my approaches (at all) but are not furthering their faith or their values by following this administration.

But you are right. I am trying very hard to understand how people I respect and care about can differ so significantly on issues of the day.

Perhaps I am so jaded by having my own faith and values questioned when I stepped away from the conservative path. I constantly had to defend the idea that I was somehow going through a phase or was just being manipulated by "liberal" professors. That stung, and at times, I lash back.

But you are right. We have more in common than we do in disagreement. We all want to help the poor and the downtrodden. We care about peace and take the charge that we are to care for our enemies seriously. At least I hope we do.

Thanks for the great comment and contribution.

Anonymous said...

Greetings.
I read your rabid liberal rantings, and wonder, "So, just when did this stuff become so leftist?"

In that twenty years ago, I felt fairly centrist, and don't *think* that I've moved, but suddenly, I feel kind of . . . out there. My concerns sound suspiciously like your rabid liberal rantings. Except mine are clearly from within the church.

Which begs a question. Just how is it that you find yourself so disassociated from the Church? To wit, a body of believers, the Body of Christ? Or are you just speaking of the Church, the political institution that meets under the auspices of religiosity?

I find my own spirituality to be primary to my life. Incidently, I end up Anglican. My connection within that arena, and the connections to believers of other manifestions of faith don't seem to have quite so much distaste for me as much of what you . . . prophesy about.

So. Are you talking about Church, faith folks doing a community gig, or Church, politik? And do you even see a difference?
Oh. You ever ask you. . . questioner why she wasn't mad?

jws.
(supervisee of kms)

Unknown said...

Anonymous' comments notwithstanding, I live in a part of the world where being left of centre is being in a distinct minority. The church I serve is a moderately conservative congregation within my denomination. I drift to the right theologically, which drives me to the left socially and politically, because of the social and political implications of the gospel.

Having said that, there are many wonderfully compassionate, caring, faithful members of my congregation who would be earnest, but not rabid, Republicans. I respect that. They believe that gov't help the private sector create the kinds of jobs that help people find their feet.

I happen to think they have an overly romantic view of the nature of capitalism and the nature of humanity. But these are the first ones to open their wallets when a homeless man comes to the door, or when a member experiences a tragedy many of these conservatives are at the hospital bed, the funeral home, or whatever.

They know where I stand politically and they respect it, of not agree with it. But they know at the end of the day, that we are both sisters and brothers in Christ.

But these neo-cons are not these kinds of conservatives. Neo-cons use Jesus for self-interest, ignoring any obligations towards people in need.

Just some musings on Friday afternoon. Now back to writing my sermon.

Kevin

Bruce said...

I feel that we are still in a period of time where the connections between socialism/communism and a threat to religion are still very fresh. During the fifty some odd years of the Cold War an alliance between capitalism and religion was forged. The former Soviet Union represented a threat to both and as such each saw in one another a mutual partner. Religion has the motivated masses to fight and vote while the owners of capital have the money to fund such actions.

Nowadays it not uncommon for me to meet resistence of any mention of social programs as "creeping socialism" and hence religious death.

The connections are still very fresh in some people's minds, less so in the younger generations. The Cold War was a horribly polarizing event (as will be the War on Terror) that caused both sides to veer dangerously close to an idealogically edge, with the Soviet Union eventually collapsing and the United States becoming very militaristic and right wing.

But during those days the rough alliance between the capitalists and the religious proved very useful to the people making the weapons and pushing a hard right social agenda. Both had a mutaul boogeyman in the communists to push their agenda.

Its not entirely an accident that the names and faces in the White House read like a "who's who" of cold war politics. The "War on Terror" has replaced the Cold War for all intents and purposes. The irony is that this time, instead of the enemy being a left wing secular idealogy its a right wing religious one. But the answer is still the same, a ramping up of religious fervor and an increase in spending for arms makers.