Because I seek to expose the hypocrisy in politics and religion, I'm also usually showcasing the negative. But I'm going to seek to show those that are doing good. And it's very easy to do for someone very close by. I cannot say enough good things about my wife's pastor, Paul Nelson at Celebration Lutheran in Peoria. Being a humanist, I do not attend church, but upon occasion ... usually a music program or some special thing for Alex ... I find myself at the church. I always feel a little bit guilty (I know that I shouldn't, but I do) when I do go, but the Pastor always calls me by name and greets me warmly. And after hearing his sermons, I'm always glad that I went. He is by far the most liberal religious speaker that I have met in person. The lesson that he stresses (and that I believe a lot of Christians have forgot) is to respect humanity. The church does a lot of great work in the community with the Westside Food Bank, Andre House, Habitat for Humanity, etc.
Pastor Paul recommended the book, God's Politics by Jim Wallis of Sojourners. It is a very good book that explores the role of religion in politics and vice-versa and how both parties make mistakes in handling it. Some of the more inciteful quotes from the book:
"It is also often said that fundamentalism comes from taking religion too seriously. The answer, then, is to take religion less seriously. Wrong again. The best response to fundamentalism is to take faith more seriously than fundamentalism usually does. The best critique of fundamentalism comes from faith itself, which challenges the accommodations of fundamentalism to theocracy, power, and violence. It is faith that leads us to assert the vital religious commitments that fundamentalists often leave out, namely compassion, social justice, peacemaking, humility, tolerance, and even democracy as a religious commitment.
... Of particular concern is how modern fundamentalism has made the move to theocracy -- in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. That move is really a betrayal of the biblical faith that regards political power much more suspiciously.
... Genuine faith, in all our traditions, either forbids violence as a methodology or, at most, says it must always be limited and lamented, never glorified or celebrated. True religion always seeks alternatives to violence that try to break its deadly cycle.
The organization that Jim Wallis is involved with, Sojourners, is great. They are, at their heart, very liberal and proponents of social justice.
So, while I do not believe in God, I respect that others may not agree. I try not to judge them by whether they believe in God or not, but rather in how they live their lives and treat others. Hypocrisy, in all its forms, is what irritates me the most and why religion is frequently the subject of my ire. The very tenets of religious faith would seem to preclude Christians from promoting violence and not caring for the downtrodden, but we have a large segment that does just that. And they are my focus. People like Pastor Paul and Jim Wallis, however, are what is right and good about religion.
And you had to know that I couldn't get through a whole post without bringing up something negative about religion. It's fairly easy to do as long as you read or hear Pat Robertson occasionally:
Robertson Links Sharon's Stroke to Wrath
I'm sorry, but if you are a Christian and you listen to a single word that comes out of this fool's mouth, you are an idiot.
5 comments:
Very nice post.
Virtually ALL of the theists that I know personally are great people. The ultra-Orthodox ones can be prejudiced and judgemental, but at least as many are sweet and selfless. Sometimes people are both prejudiced and otherwise sweet selfless at the same time.
The liberal theists I know are without exception full of compassion, and many devote their lives to helping others.
The biggest criticism I have of "good" theists is that they don't speak out loudly enough against the Pat Robertsons of the world.
Ditto. Great post. I shall seek out that book recommendation.
It always makes me laugh (in a heavily ironic way) that a religion based on love & compassion can result in things like the Inquisition, defence of the death penalty & much else besides.
..and you're right. People like Pat Robinson are idiots - as is anyone who who follows his 'teachings'. He gives all christians a bad name.
I really want that book God's Politics. I think the problem is that the religious people who are vocal (or allowed to be vocal by the media) are more often than not, politicizing an agenda using their faith - like Robertson.
It's the people working quietly in the corners who are, more often than not, doing good things - and not trying to gain something like a presidential nomination from them.
Politics corrupts everyone, even theists.
Laura said, "Politics corrupts everyone, even theists". Very good point. Wallis really stresses that in his book. His criticism of the Religious Right is that they sought their political power (and largely got it) before trying to convince with their moral power.
And now that they have the political power, real morality takes a back seat.
Great post. I think you and JA are excellent examples to the rest of our blog sphere. It's so easy to nurture our biases and surround ourselves with people who think just like we do that I think it starts to make us close minded and snobbish.
It's really not fair to the rest of us that Pat Robertson is like this larger than life spokesperson for people of faith. He's not the best guy for the job. He's not even close. If we had a vote, I'm sure we'd have come up with a much better representitive.
I never like to be called "religious".
In fact, the bible, on several occasions, paints religion in a negative light.
I just want to be a follower of Christ and a reader of His Word.
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