The President's Gospel vs. Ralph Reed's Bigotry

President Obama's clear understanding of the message of Jesus being, in part, the necessity of caring for the poor among us came up against Ralph Reed's narrower perspective on the meaning of Christianity yesterday. I thought the contrast was stark and important to bring to greater attention.

The President, quoting from Luke 12:48, said his view of social policy coincides with the statement, "for unto whom much is given, much shall be required." That was an accurate paraphrase of the actual quotation from the King James Version but I prefer the NIV on this: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded;"  The passage goes on to say, "and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

That the largest portion of Jesus' teachings -- insofar as we have them recorded reliably -- is about neighborly love and caring for the downtrodden. So, too, were the teachings of virtually every Hebrew Scripture (Old Testament) prophet,'

But Reed, of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, said that for the president to tie his tax policy to Jesus’s teachings “is theologically threadbare and straining credulity.”

It's a classic clash between the Social Gospel and Socially Conservative Fundamentalist Christians. This clash, in turn, is a product of late 20th Century America. Jesus talks not once about abortion or gay rights or any of the other social issues on which the Christian Right is focused like a laser beam while ignoring most or all of his teachings about love, relationship, charity, compassion and forgiveness.

It's sad, really. This time, at least, the President got it right and the guy with a Ph.D. in history who leads a large faith-based movement got it, if not wrong, at least sideways.
Tagged Christianity Politics Spirituality

The Magic of Christianity

Fred Plumer of the Center for Progressive Christianity has released a thought-provoking, insightful and, for me at least, resonant column that provides interesting parallels between Christmas and Christianity from a progressive perspective.

Building from a childhood Christmas experience, Plumer sgues to a discussion of how Christianity is faring in the midst of deep questioning of its roots and essence by an increasing number of clearly qualified, brilliant scholars who are grounded in that faith. The column is well worth reading, but whether you read it or not, perhaps you can identify with this quotation that seems to summarize his thoughts on the subject. I know I did.

You see for me the magic of Christianity is not in the miracles, or in the beliefs, or in the written word. It is not even so much in having the correct information about the historical Jesus. The magic of Christianity is in the living and being. It is more about praxis than it is about belief. It is more about trust than it is about blind faith. The transformative “magic” can only be discovered in the doing, by opening, not closing, by letting go, and not by clinging. It is not about trying to decide what is divine and what is not. It is about discovering the divine in all things.

 
Tagged Christianity Christmas Jesus Progressive Christianity Religion

Spirituality and Political Activity Can Co-Exist

(In an email chat with my good friend Paul Jimerson @pauljimerson, a Baha'i for whom I have great respect, I found myself addressing the question of how to reconcile a fundamental spiritual belief that radical political action is incompatible with a true spirituality based in Oneness, and a gut-level perceived need to do something. What resulted seemed worth sharing.)

I think the key to our dilemma lies in the Christian admonition to be in the world but not of it and in an acknowledgement of the deep truth of the Buddhist teaching that suffering derives from attachment to outcomes. We suffer when we are tied to specific outcomes that we establish in our own minds. So, e.g., in terms of environmentalism if I were to be attracted to that as a primary socio-political cause,  I would try hard to be focused on solutions rather than problems, and open to a potential range of solutions rather than focusing on one specific law or action that I had determined was the best. For me, in these cases, it's about integrating the idea that the wisdom of Spirit (or the Universe if you will) far exceeds my own.

When I meditate, contemplate or pray about political concerns, I am (or try to be) careful to add, "This or something better" to my prayer when it does focus on a desired specific outcome. 

I am anti-capital punishment. I can (and do) pray for the United States to become sufficiently enlightened to outlaw its use. But I have recently become more open to other solutions Spirit might bring to bear such as:
  • enlightening humanity to the point where we no longer kill each other
  • awakening Americans so that they no longer favor capital punishment (in some polls) heavily enough to offer political cover to those who govern
  • reforming the justice system so that the chances of executing an innocent person decline to near zero (not a real solution, in my mind, but clearly a significant potential improvement)
  • sudden spiritual awakening around the demonstrated execution of an innocent person (such as happened in Illinois a few years back) that results in a single, bold executive decision to suspend the practice indefinitely
I'm sure there are others. The point isn't to be specific about alternative outcomes but to be open to them. I have found Buddhism's teaching that suffering comes from being tied to the outcome to be so repeatedly true in my life that I have tried earnestly to avoid attachment. I'm a long way from there, but I'm a lot closer than I once was.

(BTW, if this is an area you find interesting, I heartily recommend Marianne Williamson's wonderful book, Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voice as Spiritual Citizens, recently re-issued under its new title. The book isn't really America-specific; it has global value and meaning.)
Tagged Buddhism Christianity Politics Spirituality

Ex Chaplain Has Nice Take on "Gotcha Evangelism"

I troll the Web in search of spiritual insights that aren't making headlines or produced by the mega-speakers and blockbuster authors who are making tons of money on spirituality. Not that I have anything against those folks; I hope to be one someday (though the days of my life run short). But today's insight into what he calls "Gotcha Evangelism" comes courtesy of a former Air Force Chaplain named Norris Burkes writing in the Elmira (NY) Star Gazette.

In a column that starts out being about the highly visible public failure of Harold Camping's predicted end of the world on May 21, Burkes offers these keen insights:
Heaven, Jesus rightly pointed out, is someday and today.
"The kingdom of God" he said, "doesn't come by counting the days on the calendar nor when someone says, 'Look here!' or, 'There it is!' And why? Because God's kingdom is already among you."

Grace and forgiveness are not something we escape to, but rather something we are blessed to live in. Grace is so big we can't possibly get our arms all the way around it. It's constantly unfolding to us.

Tagged Christianity Fundamentalism Spirituality
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