Betray to Obey

Words giving me life today.

A post for the anonymous religious fellow as a response to his this-is-not-about-politics political message in my mailbox today.

I received in the mail today a word from the Lord on the only issue Christians are to use in determining who to vote for this year.  Anonymous said,

“Why argue over taxes and immigration and the like while we stand aside and watch as Satan and his army storm by as we do nothing to stop him, but welcome him in. [sic] Where will you stand?  Shall we vote for sin?  This really becomes the question.”

The issue, you ask, that is the same as Satan’s armies marching in?

“One of the things we must understand is that, taxes, Social Security, healthcare, green energy, immigrations, etc. are not moral issues. [sic] …But abortion, homosexuality, and same sex marriage are moral issues and absolutely sin.”

And as a result of this logic Anonymous says,

“How could any Christian vote for those who support such?”

Anonymous’ not-so-veiled attempt to tell me who to and not to vote for seems to have a reductionistic and highly selective reading of Scripture.

A quick comparison:

• Homosexuality is prohibited by less than 10 verses in the Bible.
• The word for immigrant is found 92 times in the Old Testament alone, and most of these references are a call to care for the immigrant.  Jesus makes welcoming immigrants a salvation issue (Mt 25:43).
• Jesus said nothing about homosexuality but did spend most of his days providing healthcare for the sick and diseased.
• The biblical account of the origin of all things (i.e. Creation), which I am certain Anonymous would defend, also celebrates the goodness of the earth and our role to care for it.
• There are over 2,000 passages that discuss wealth, poverty, and justice.  Most of these are a call to God’s people to care for the vulnerable.  The Bible repeated shows that God has preferential interest in the poor.
• Caring for the vulnerable, according to the brother of Jesus, is the heart of religion.  Jesus Himself, again, made our treatment of the poor a salvation issue

“Generations ago would never have stood by and watched the abominations we are witnessing.”

Which generations are you referring to, exactly?

• The Christians that landed here and killed and stole from the indigenous tribes?
• The Founding Fathers who owned slaves?
• Those churchmen who fought against giving equal voice to women and actively supported racial segregation?

I am disappointed that a follower of Jesus could write this and that a church that carries the same name as my own tradition would willingly print this in its weekly mailing.

The article ended with (emphasis original): “Make your vote count for righteousness.”

On that point we agree.  I just hope he can come to understand that righteousness according to Scripture is bigger than a few handpicked verses about one issue, and that there are many great Christians who will vote in different ways because they are doing just what he says… just in a more theologically robust way.

Some may ask why bother posting a response to Anonymous since he represents a simplistic view.  I respond partially because I fear this way of thinking is not as uncommon as I would like for it to be.  See Billy Graham’s recent full-page ad in the WSJ.  More so, though, I respond as an effort to remind myself and others that the moral of voice of Scripture rests primarily on the side of the marginalized, oppressed, the poor, the alien, and widow, and the orphan.  No single issue, even one of biblical import, should be allowed to turn the weighty matters of justice (Mt 23:23) into “matters of opinion.”  Whether I am voting, speaking, spending, or acting it needs to, as Anonymous reminds me, “count for righteousness.”  

I Love the Bible

This is from Rachel Held Evans blog.  It is about wrestling deeply with Scripture as it comes to us, not as we would have it.

This way or reading the Bible resonates deeply with me.  The limp I walk with is a result of many battles with values I had to betray in order to embrace a deeper fidelity.

How a true betrayer prays….

simplyorthodox:

It is not enough to say prayers: we must become, be prayer, prayer incarnate. All of life, each act, each act, every gesture, even the smile of the human face, must become a hymn of adoration, an offering, a prayer.  One should offer not what one has but what one is.

- Paul Evdokimov

On Being Blog: The Civil Conversations Project: In the Room with Gabe Lyons and Jim Daly (live video and interactive chat)

I am so disappointed in this!  CIVIL conversations!  Are you kidding?!  This is time for fear, anger, slander, lies!!!!!  I think I am going to ask Colbert for another March to Keep Fear Alive.  Civil conversations could ruin us all!

beingblog:

when: Wed, Sep 12th, 2012 (6pm CST/7pm EST)
where: Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, U of Minnesota

We kick off our second season of The Civil Conversations Project (CCP) with four live, public events. This Wednesday at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Krista…

‎”We urge that this ignorant attempt to provoke the religious feelings of Muslims in the Arabic-speaking world be ignored and that its extremist producers not be given the cheap publicity they so desperately seek,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations.”

Once a media fire starts, its hard to get that cat back in the bag. That’s the worst irony of this latest chaos: The crowds who were angered had been led to believe that this ridiculous anti-Muslim film was “widely viewed” in the West. And now, since most of us suffer from a salacious curiosity powered by broadband internet, it will be. 

Let us betray that instinct. 

May God’s peace be with those who were killed, and God’s transformation be upon those who participated.

Submitted by contributor Adam Hoyt