On Religion and Politics
Thought for your day #15, Sun 9/10/00.
Here's where I get into trouble.
We live with a very long history where religion is supposed to be in the private heart, and will be safely respected there, as long as it never breaks its ugly head out into the light of day by trying to have anything to do with anything at all.
The "System" (by which I mean government on all levels, commerce, the so-called educational system, and, shockingly enough, organized religion) is perfectly happy to allow us the "freedom of religion" to believe whatever silly things we might want to (have you actually spent any time looking at religious "newsgroups " and "chat rooms" on the internet? We really haven't come very far from the medieval debates of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.) as long as we keep those beliefs quiet, and they never attempt to affect "The Things That Really Matter In Life", like taxes, indoctrination, TV and consumerism.
Regularly the System will run 2 amazing propaganda campaigns (aka Public Service Announcements) that say the same thing, only for 2 different arenas:
 | "Attend the house of worship of your choice, but attend." |
| "Vote for the candidate of your choice, but vote." |
The System does not care which religion you have, as long as it doesn't mean anything. Likewise it doesn't care which candidate you vote for. Why? Because the system is going to do whatever it chooses.....The will of the people is irrelevant, as countless overturned "propositions" proves. What DOES matter to the System is that we keep up the APPEARANCES of a representative government, and the APPEARANCES of a free & dynamic religious life. Then, and only then, is the System really free to continue to do as it chooses.....The lie must be maintained at all costs.
You know in your hearts this is the truth. "Never discuss religion or politics." Everything else is fair game, but those 2 things are off limits.
Why? Because they are the only 2 things in life that matter. HOW WE LIVE, and HOW WE GOVERN ONE ANOTHER is ALL THAT LIFE IS!!
And yes, I include the so-called "Church" in the "System"....For Centuries Christianity has told us that true religion is a matter of faith and the soul, not a matter of politics. Martin Luther, the Great Reformer (in the 1500's) , refused to have anything to do with the pressing social problems of the day. As (for example) hundreds of peasants were slaughtered by their controlling landlords, Luther's only comment was that he should not take the Lord's Church and turn it into an arm of the government. Real Christianity had to do with whether Jesus was literally or symbolically present in Communion, not whether hundreds of innocents were being slaughtered. (Of course, in the centuries before Luther, the Church was the government. Wonderful....Out of the frying pan and into the fire.)
And this is not only ancient history....Even to this very day the so-called Church sits by and watches, even helps, the Government carry on all sorts of atrocities. It is a fact of history that Martin Luther's writings ("On The Jews And Their Lies"....it is still available in almost every Lutheran Pastor's library) contained the step-by-step instructions Adolph Hitler followed to try to eliminate every Jew from the planet. Quotations from the great Church leader appeared, in context, on Nazi propaganda posters, as the Lutheran Church in Germany did everything it could to assist Hitler.
"The Lord establishes the times, seasons and rulers. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, little sheep. Pay your taxes thankfully to continue to fund genocide....send your sons to murder Jews....This is your duty to the Lord....and continue to fill the plates we pass so we can afford to keep telling you to remain the mindless surrogate murderers you are."
And the church still teaches the same thing, even to this very day. In America. I know this first hand.
And they continue to be wrong.
And Jesus continues to weep.
So I cannot keep silent. Religion and politics DO matter....But if religion does not affect how we live, which ultimately means the political system, then religion is useless.
So, I try to make religion matter. I attempt not to fill your head with meaningless chatter that has nothing to do with leading a balanced, blessed life.
And for the next little while, I want to show you quite clearly how all this "God-talk" relates to our social order.
And I am quite aware that there is, indeed, a global community being touched by The Church of Yahweh. So a few comments:
| There are ills all across the globe. But I am simply not qualified to comment on the modern political situation outside America. So, unfortunately, I must restrict my comments to the current American political / religious system. |
| So, both in and outside America, maintain that "There may be problems, but America is still the best place to live." Well, as to whether or not that is factually true I do not know and cannot say. But even if it is, today's America is deeply sick. And it is in desperate need of healing. To say it may be "better" than others is simply not even remotely the point. If I have lung cancer and you "only" have skin cancer, does that mean your cancer should not be treated? Of course not. |
A reader comments:
Wow, just read thoughts for Sun and Mon. Pretty alarming. I guess I won't be announcing ''I'M A LUTHERAN!" to the volunteers running the Lutheran High School food booth at the ******* Fair NEXT memorial weekend like I did this year. I think I'm embarrassed. And we even have a Volkswagen! (and I had two VWs when I was single!)
My response:
I really don't think in today's world there's anything wrong with being a Lutheran, just like in itself there's nothing wrong with being German......What I DO think is wrong, however, is Lutheranism trying to hide the fact or re-write history....Kind of like the neo-nazis who are trying to claim the Holocaust never happened.....The Lutherans (and ANYONE) who teach their children just one side of the story, as though to make Luther out to be a hero, ignoring the Evil within him, are practicing (in my opinion) child abuse that is actually worse and more damaging to the soul than incest....Sorry to be so direct......But I have known HUNDREDS, even THOUSANDS of people who think that when Jesus was walking on the water Luther was right there next to him, holding him up........NOTHING COULD EVER BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH.....And I think God is done a HUGH disservice by twisting the historical record....The real message is that EVEN A HATEFUL, EVIL MAN LIKE MARTIN LUTHER CAN BE USED FOR GOOD BY A GRACIOUS GOD.
Now THAT is something I and the whole world can learn from and embrace.
