An Excerpt to Chew On
June 30th, 2006 | by Scott |I know this quote is long but I encourage to reflect on what is said. Don’t just react if you disagree, but prayerfully consider our need to reassess our faithfulness. It is from Michael Lerner’s tremendous, insightful and indicting book, The Left Hand of God:
When Jews were enslaved by Egyptian imperial power, they were subjected to genocidal measures on the part of Pharoah (who sought to kill all the male children), constant physical oppression, material deprivation, and religious repression. It was in this context that they responded to the death of the Egyptian army sinking into the waters of the sea by celebrating God as “a man of war: and proclaiming, “Your Right Hand O Lord, is Mighty in Power” (Exodus 15:3–6)
Yet history often shows that this is a difficult balance to maintain, because once one justifies using violence and domination over others in some circumstances to overthrow oppressive rule, one can develop a psychological proclivity for using violence to solve one’s pressing problems.
What the prophets saw, and what has happened once again in contemporary Israel, is that the Torah tradition could be used to justify a social order that was in many respects the exact opposite of the loving message of God. When the message of the Right Hand of God, developed for the powerless, is adopted instead by the powerful, existing inequalities and systems of oppression are ignored and calls for social justice, peace and nonviolence are dismissed as pretty thoughts about some future messianic era (for Jews) or a Second Coming (for Christians). Arguing that the “real world” is too dangerous for the demands of the Torah, the Prophets, and Jesus to be taken seriously, the powerful insist that the only path to peace and social justice is to impose their own religous vision on the whole world, and to accept cruelty and injustice as inevitable until that apocalyptic transformation has taken place. The purveyors of this distortion can always refer, as they always have, to external threats as evidence that the world is not yet ready for the transformative call of the Left Hand of God.
Jesus railed against the Jewish establishment of his day, like other prophets had done in their own time, and once again highlighted a commitment to the poor and the oppressed. Jesus insisted that people not duplicate Rome’s oppressive rule in the way that they treated each other. His followers and many early Christians understood this message clearly–understood, as did the powerful in Rome, that it was a revolutionary message calling upon the faithful to reject the power of tyrants and embrace the power of love, which would ultimately be more forceful than anything Rome could deliver. Just as the message of Torah was tragically turned into its opposite by “the religious” and their establishment, so Christianity, taken over by Constantine, became its opposite, a system that provided justification for the powerful while ignoring or even actively subverting the needs of the poor and the powerless…
These perversions of Judaism and Christianity took place in the name of the original vision, drawing on the texts and the justifications that could be found there because at one point those triumphalist texts had provided needed empowerment for the poor and the downtrodden, and had been a psychologically necessary buttress against despair.
In the United States, the powerful have appropriated God and religion to justify imperial rule around the globe. They are not intent on using power to rectify the situation of the powerless. On the contrary, as their domestic moves make clear, they redistribute wealth upward from the poor to the rich. The global system of capital that they have created has had that same impact, increasing the suffering of the powerless while empowering a small class within each society to act as the guardian of the interests of Western capital in third-world countries.
The Religious Right allies with and provides much of the ideological cover for this development. It allows the powerful to worship their own power and then, taking the work of their own hands, declare it the God to be worshipped by all. This is pure idolatry. It allows America, the most powerful and arrogant of all the arrogant and powerful nations that exist today, to identify itself in its own mind with the oppressed children of Israel and thus to imagine that its use of force is divinely sanctioned.
It is long past time that we re-examine the prophets for what they have to teach us about Kingdom, Idolatry and chosenness.
8 Responses to “An Excerpt to Chew On”
By R-Liz (Ruthie) on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
I, like you, enjoy the frustration and tension of wrestling with these issues. This quote definitely has the wheels turning. Hopefully it’s occurring with others too. And I’m sure it bangs hard against the comfort zones and rationalizations of many out there.
Is the idea of “chosenness” something you encounter a lot where you’re at? Perhaps wax is in my ears, but I don’t feel like that’s something people feel passionately about here.
By len on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
There is definitely some things to think about in that article, although I do have some problems with parts of it. I’ll hold off my opinions until I’ve had more time to digest it. I do know this: on the way to my church this morning I passed by the largest church on my side of town. Their sign out front proclaimed “Patriotic Celebration, 9:00 Service”. That has set so wrong with me. The purpose of believers gathering is not to celebrated patriotism but to worship Jesus. We definitely need to change some aspects of what we are doing.
By scott on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
This book, which I will talk more about in the future, is a very detailed, insightful argument for my break with the Republican Party.
I don’t agree with all of his positions, of course. He is a Jewish rabbi, so obviously we approach things a little bit differently. However, his analysis of the selfishness of a market-based economy, and by extension, much of the religious right is indicting.
I think “chosenness” is something that is very prevalent in our society. It’s not spoken of in those terms but is ever-present in our propensity to further our own interests over against the needs of humanity.
Len, I’m anxious to hear your thoughts, as well. The whole idea of a Patriotic Celebration drives me nuts. Are the agendas of the nation and the Kingdom the same? If they are there is a whole lot we need to change. Let’s keep it about Jesus.
By R-Liz on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
May I ask– when it comes to the Sunday nearest to the 4th of July, does your church pay some sort of tribute to the country, be it with a hanging flag, Pledge of Allegiance, “God Bless America,” or anything? If I’m not mistaken, mixing national holidays or relgious holidays with church isn’t something that traditional coC’s do, but just curious.
Our church is more of a traditional community church, so incorporating relgious or national holidays in a Sunday service has been done for years. However, this year two paths sort of came to a head with this issue, and it was interesting how it all played out. I think a lot of it is tradition– you just do it because we’ve always done it. But when you lay out a reason for not doing it, people understand it, but some still just want to do it b/c it’s always been done. Needless to say, this will take time, patience and understanding from all parties. And many of us will never completely see eye-to-eye on this issue, so it’s tough, and delicate.
For me personally, I TOTALLY understand where you’re coming from, Scott. However, I find that many veterans or servicemen/women I know have a hard time in separating all of this– and understandably so. I want the veterans and servicemen/women in our congregation to know that I care for them and respect them (regardless for how I may feel about their Commander in Chief, whom I pray for regularly). When I do things like wear red, white and blue, I do it out of respect and love for them, not b/c of my country. It’s like when I put Ellie in an outfit I think is really ugly, but I know someone might’ve taken a lot of time in picking it out or sewing it together, and this person will be delighted to see her in it. It strengthens a bond of brotherhood.
But it’s a tough balance– showing love and respect for my fellow man without appearing like I support or want to further an earthly agenda.
By Doug Freeman on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
When can you not talk about patriotism in the church? Yes today there was about a 5 minute reference to the Declaration of Independence. Our worship was on Faith based on Gal, 1:23 and Acts 6:7. If it were not for patriotism this country would be in deep trouble. The more i read the more i see of people trying to destroy the very principles this country was founded on. I have faith in my country, not necessarily in some of the folks in politics. My struggles are with self and i don’t need people continually dumping on the very things that i hold dear. Lets stick to the bible and leave out some of these writers who have all the answers, but probably very little faith.
By Scott on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
Our congregation has done nothing, but that is probably due to who was preaching (me). In my experience we have been able to celebrate the 4th or Memorial day much more readily than we could Christmas. I think this congregation has done those things in the past.
I understand what you are saying and I too do not want to convey the idea that I don’t appreciate and owe a debt of gratitude to our veterans. Regardless of my personal feelings about war these brave men and women acted out of their strong convictions and I respect that. I benefit greatly from being American.
Yet, I long for something more. And you are right, it’s a tough balance. One I haven’t yet been able to hit.
By Scott on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
Dad, if we stick to the Bible in church, then where does the Declaration of Independence fit in?
By Doug Freeman on Jul 2, 2006 | Reply
Scott, at the beginning of service, after one song, our pulpit minister welcomes everyone and today alluded to the 4th 0f July being Independence Day and what it means to Americans. This is not the actual worship period.