So I let Chesya Burke get loose on a post here yesterday on Glenn Beck (which isn’t the first time I let someone run amuck on my blog, as my brother did his “Letter from a Former Black Conservative” not too long ago). These days I don’t find myself nearly the political animal I once was. I considered myself a black Republican, though my strong social justice leanings apparently made me the worst Republican ever.
Anyway, to stave off the comments/e-mails (like the ones I received after my How I’m Still Pro-Life and my No Longer Marching to the Pied Dobson pieces), I don’t care about your politics. Seriously. To be quite honest, I didn’t even know who Glenn Beck was. I did used to listen to Rush Limbaugh way back in the day and figured Beck was just another in the line of agent provocateurs of that ilk. A conservative Republican showman, more court jester to give voice to those who need the rhetoric and someone to provide fodder for The Colbert Report. Am I missing something? What gives me pause, as I looked Mr. Beck up, is when someone cloaks themselves in God language in order to bless their politics.
I know, I know religion and politics have been not so strange bedfellows for as long as there have been either. I know I have attended several churches where being a champion for Jesus meant voting Republican (and I still remember the scathing message left on my Facebook Wall the day after President Obama was elected). It always troubled me, if for no other reason than it was presented that no Christians could be, dare I say it, a Democrat (or for that matter, even a patriot), until I realized that politics trumps theology in this brand of “Christianity.”
When folks of any stripe wrap themselves in the flag and God, conflating their politics and their Christianity, I get a little antsy. Politics and religion have different jobs to do and I can only imagine how difficult it must be for a man of faith to navigate political waters. When people “fear” religion, this is one of the things they’re talking about. And we’re not even talking about religion in the strictest sense anyway.* This is more about a civil religion–call it “generic Christianity” or “Christianity in name only”–than about the Gospel. The only thing civil religion does is allow people to be united under the banner of allegiance to the United States of America … under God.
So let’s not confuse a “civil religion” with Jesus flavored rhetoric with a Jesus-shaped Gospel. There’s a huge difference between an American civil religion/watered down Christianity vs. the kingdom of God. The American government is not my Lord. The Republican Party is not my God. Politics is not my call to worship. Jesus didn’t die for lower taxes, smaller government, pro-business policies, and an individualistic worldview. If your religion is to mean anything, then be about the poor, the “least of these”, and then get back to me. Until then, spare me your rallies and rhetoric.
*Speaking of unlikely bedfellows, the Glen Beck rally provided an interesting confluence of differing religious ideas: Mormons (Beck) and Evangelicals finding themselves under the same covers (didn’t Glenn Beck even give a commemorative address at Liberty University/Jerry Falwell U) in order to accuse President Obama of being Muslim/having “a perversion of the Gospel”.
Jesus wouldn’t label himself Republican or Democrat. He is the God of all people.
OHHHH Maurice! … where to begin here…
Let me start with Jesus, who is the “Alpha and Omega” (The “A” and “Z”), the “Beginning and the End”.
You are correct that Jesus mission was to save us from our sin (are we allowed to use that word?) He didn’t die for political or personal freedom, He died to free us from the power and the penalty of our sin so that we could become Children of God.
Jesus position as God means that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and as Dr. S.M. Lockeridge so eloquently said, “…we didn’t elect Him, we can’t impeach Him, and He’s not going to resign!” (from The Lordship of Christ, a sermon by S.M. Lockeridge.)
Upon His return, according to the Scriptures, He will reign (He will BE THE GOVERNMENT!)for 1,000 years. This reign will begin and end with battles. The first of these will include the rescue of Jerusalem from it’s enemies and the SPIRITUAL redemption of the family of Israel who will at last accept Him as their Messiah.
This is important to understand because it shows us that HE, as GOD has all power and therefore supercedes all human government. It also tells us that evil exists and that there are “just” wars.
These facts bring us to three questions with regard to human government… 1)How would Jesus govern? 2)Can we govern like Jesus would? and 3) should we govern like Jesus would?
Jesus would/will govern perfectly with the perfect balance of justice and judgement, and mercy and grace.
He can do this because He is without sin and because He knows what is in the heart of each individual. This is why humans can never govern perfectly like Jesus would and will. We have sinful and selfish hearts that cloud our ability to act justly in every instance. We don’t have the ability to read and know what is in the heart of an individual, Jesus does.
That leaves us with the question, “How, then should humans govern themselves?”
This is the question that the Founding Fathers of the U.S.wrestled with when they began this country.
Because of their understanding of the Gospel, that all men are sinful and in need of the same salvation, they made a revolutionary statement, “All men are created equal…”. This was a repudiation of the “divine right” that had heretofore been ascribed to kings. This was a statement that no one has “special rights” to rule over others.
The following part of the statemnent that certain rights are “…endowed by our Creator…” flew in the face of the practice of kings imparting nobility upon people at will.
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were in essence saying that “We are able to govern ourselves and our communities without intrusion or interference of a “babysitter” (or big brother).
The idea of holding our RERESENTATIVES IN GOVERNMENT accountable and having elections (instead of shooting them) in order to replace them was also revolutionary and a result of the influence of the Gospel on the civility of the founders.
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH JESUS BEING A REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
First, it is critical to understand that there is a difference between a REPUBLICAN and a CONSERVATIVE just as there is a difference between a LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE and a DEMOCRAT.
CONSERVATIVES (NOT Republicans) generally (not all) believe in those principles of 1)EQUALITY BEFORE GOD (given by God not government)– Basic Human rights; 2)FREEDOM — limited government power and activity;
3) CHARITY — Respect and decency toward all. This includes helping those who can’t help themselves. We believe that helping the poor means giving willingly and personally helping those we can — not having the Government “redistribute” what we have worked for by taking it from us so they can waste it.
4) DECENCY AND MORAL VALUES — Generally, conservatives believe that the “Freedom of Speech” portion of the First Amendment refers to the freedom to voice disagreement with our government without fear of reprisal. It was not intended to give anyone the right to be vulgar or base. (Read th First Amendment before you respond!)
5)GOD is our provider, NOT Government– GOD has given each of us abilities to do things that we can do to contribute to society. Some of these things give us the ability to earn the money that is needed to support our families and give so that we can help others.
We believe that the government has debilitated and trapped poor people by maikng them dependent and not equipping them to overcome their poverty.
We believe that helping the poor means getting involved personally within our communities and churches — not creating cumbersome, expensive, and wasteful bureaucracies.(By contrast LIBERALPROGRESSIVES, such as our current President and Vice President talk about “helping the poor” but give very little of their own money to do it, according to their own tax returns!)
6) Conservatives generally believe in FREE MARKETS AND FREE ENTERPRISE–This means free of government manipulation and interference. While we understand that some general regulation may be necessary to maintain order, we believe that the marketplace should generally be driven by consumers who can make their own choices.
LIBERALPROGRESSIVES are generally secular and therefore believe that the GOVERNMENT REPLACES GOD as provider, and grantor of rights.
LIBERALPROGRESSIVE philosphies are rooted in Marxism.
LIBERALsPROGRESSIVEs promote the superiority of the ruling class because they believe that the people “are stupid” (according to Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman)
THERE ARE CONSERVATIVES AND LIBERALPROGRESSIVES IN BOTH PARTIES7!
REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ARE POLITICIANS (POLITICAL PROSTITUTES) — THAT MEANS THAT THEY WILL SAY OR DO WHATEVER THEY NEED TO GET ELECTED
Republicans try to co-opt the conservative groups and the tea party groups to get elected and then betraying them in the legislative process.
Democrats have co-opted African-American communities pretending to “help” them but imprisoning them in perpetual poverty and inferior educational systems, denying their parents the right to choose their own school so that they can continue to keep them under-educated and dependent.
Conservatives believe in the individual, liberals believe in Government.
Conservatives believe in REPRESENTATIVE Government with limited power; LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVEs believe in a SUPERIOR RULING CLASS WITH ABSOLUTE POWER
As for accusations of racism– 1) I personally donated to the campaign of a Black Presidential candidate — Alan Keyes– a true conservative who left the Republican party.
http://www.Alankeyes.com
2)The Civil Rights Bill was initiated in mid-1950′s by President Eisenhower (a Republican) and blocked by the head of the Senate, a Democrat named Lyndon Johnson, who later took credit for it after MORE REPUBLICANS THAN DEMOCRATS VOTED FOR IT’S PASSAGE.
because I can’t resist being a douche and chiming in, here we go:
I just figured that our dear Mr. Rick might want to catch up on works like “The Rights of Man” that heavily influenced the drafting of the constitution. Please also remember that document was written after a failed attempt to allow the individual stated to govern themselves, which nearly lost the former colonies their sovereignty.
Most importantly, though, please recall the definition of classical liberalism (minimum government with maximum protection).
There. I’m done being a douche and can go back undermining the moral fabric of this nation with poop jokes.
Oh, and most people are stupid. Anyone who works in customer service can tell you that.
Hey Anton!
Thanks for paying attention to history!
Did you mean to refer to Locke’s Treatises where he promoted (and probably introduced) natural rights? Because I don’t think Paine published The Rights of Man until 1791.
There is a distinction between Natural Rights and Creator-given rights. The former accommodates a secular worldview but the latter acknowledges a Creator, to Whom we are ultimately and individually responsible.
Your observation on the term Liberal is accurate but the contemporary group that is known thereby is much different and that is why I coupled it with the term Progressive which is probably the more accurate (albeit misleading) name for those of left-leaning political persuasion.
Finally, as for your comment about “stupid people”, your sources (csr’s) have impeccable expertise in this area which makes them hard to argue with! LOL!!
[...] What would Republican Jesus Do – this is me not wading into political discussions… [...]
[...] (American Christianity) with a Jesus-shaped Gospel. As I’ve said before, I don’t ask “What Would Republican Jesus Do?” because in the final analysis, the American government is not my Lord. The Republican Party is [...]
[...] Political and economic policy choices have a moral dimension and life is more than an intellectual pursuit with rhetoric and stances that lacks heart, compassion. I’d feel more comfortable if the remains of the “religious right” put their money where their mouths are: where conservatism falls short, the churches making their mission to have concern for the poor, those who fall through the cracks of the system, should be their mission. Not repping for Republican Jesus. [...]