Belief
Here are some verses liberal Christians wish they would get “fundamentalist” about.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/Vlue
July 30, 2013
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Right-wing Evangelical Fundamentalism claims to “go back to roots of
Christianity.” In fact, the “literal” (i.e. the earth was created in
seven literal days) reading of the Bible was
invented in the 19th century.
Few fundamentalists care about the early church, the Gospels, the
Catholic traditions, Augustine, Arian heresies, encyclicals and
councils. Rather, they blend Southern Conservatism, bastardized
Protestantism, some Pauline doctrine, gross nationalism and a heavy dose
of naive anti-intellectualism for a peculiar American strain of
bullshit. As Reverend Cornel West has noted, “the fundamentalist
Christians want to be fundamental about everything, except ‘love thy
neighbor.'”
Here are some verses we liberal Christians wish they would get “fundamentalist” about
:
1. Immigration:
The verse:
When
a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among
you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the
land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 19:33-34.
Why Fundamentalists Hate This Verse:
Because
fundamentalists are xenophobic: religious fundamentalism is a reaction
to the multiculturalism of liberal democracy. Rather than seek a
“brotherhood of man,” religious fundamentalism longs for a tribal
community, without the necessary friction from those with foreign
beliefs, cultures and customs. Here’s
an open letter from the President of an organization called
Christians for A Sustainable Economy (Or as I call it: Christians for an
unsustainable environment):
We
are called to discern among, “sojourners” (like Ruth and Rahab who
intend to assimilate and bless) and “foreigners” (who do not intend to
assimilate and bless) and to welcome the former with hospitality.
This
is an odd spin, given that in Leviticus, the command is unambiguous,
there is no aside about a distinction between those who intend to
assimilate. The letter then addresses the immigration bill:
Its
passage would allow 11 million illegal immigrants to become citizens in
the short-term, with likely an additional 20 million family members as
new citizens within about a decade. ... The net price tag of S. 744 will
be in the trillions of dollars. ... Such escalation of debt is one way
to destroy a nation. It is immoral. It is theft from American seniors
and children. It is unbiblical. It is unkind.
I could write a bunch of stuff about those numbers being crazily inaccurate, but let me allow the Lord to respond:
I
will be a swift witness against… those who oppress the hired worker in
his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against … those who thrust
aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi
3:5.
2. Poverty
The Verses:
One
of the most humorous aspects of modern-day, far-right Christianity is
its reverence of capitalism. That’s because Christ could be considered
almost “anti-capitalist.” Consider this verse:
Again
I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. - Matthew 19:24.
There
is some version of the story of the rich man approaching Jesus that
appears in every synoptic Gospel. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells the
rich man, “go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven.”
The story of Lazarus should similarly terrify modern day fundamentalists:
Lazarus
is a beggar who waits outside of a rich man’s house and begs for
scraps. When both Lazarus and the rich man die, Lazarus ends up in
heaven, while the rich man ends up in hell. When the rich man begs for
water, Abraham says, “Child, remember that you in your lifetime received
your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is
comforted here, and you are in anguish.” Luke 19:25.
Why Fundamentalists Hate These Verses:
Because
the only thing fundamentalists dislike more than immigrants is poor
people. Seriously. Just this year, Tea Party congressman Stephen Fincher
explained why he thought the government should
cut food stamps entirely,
“The role of citizens, of Christians, of humanity is to take care of
each other, but not for Washington to steal from those in the country
and give to others in the country.” Michelle Bachmann
has also
made a similar statement. The entire Tea Party movement is based on the
idea that a huge portion of Americans are “takers” who suck the
lifeblood out of the economy.
The Catholic Church actually has a long history of decrying the exploitation of the poor and supporting union movements(See
Rerum Novarm). G.K. Chesterton’s writing on the rich often hits Occupy
Wall Street levels (“The rich man is bribed… that is why he is rich.”)
But fundamentalists insist that poverty be explained in terms of a
personal moral failure. They therefore hold that success should be
described in terms of morality; this is the so-called Protestant ethic
that Weber praised. But it is also, as Nietzsche noted, the “ethic of
the hangman.” The poor are considered culpable so that they can be
punished – like today’s cuts to food stamps or the public shaming of
those on welfare.
3. The Environment
The Verse:
In
Genesis, man is given stewardship of the Earth, God’s creation.
[Stewardship, in the Christian tradition implies protection. Man should
exist in harmony with the earth, not work against it.] As is noted in
Colossians 1:16-17:
By him all
things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were
created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him
all things hold together.
Why Fundamentalists Hate The Verse:
Jesus Christ once told his followers:
No
one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the
other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve both God and money. - Luke 16:13.
Increasingly, the
religious right is trying to do exactly that, intertwining Evangelical
fundamentalism with unfettered capitalism — with disastrous results for
the environment. Thus, American political life is increasingly dominated
by Christians who reject the religious ethos, in favor of capitalist
ethos.
One Conservative Evangelical publication,
World Magazine,
hypes the “We Get It” campaign, which seeks to discredit the threat of global warming. It also claims the threat of climate change is
“alarmism” and fears that efforts to clamp down on emissions will
hurt the poor (read: corporations). In reality, climate change will have its greatest effect
on people living on less than a dollar a day who can
not adapt to higher temperatures.
Conservative Evangelicals are not concerned with dwindling
biodiversity, the destruction of ecosystem, rampant pollution, global
warming and the numerous other environmental challenges we face. Rather
they, with the business community, are concerned with the bottom line.
The future is irrelevant (unless we’re talking about government debt).
Thus, the Biblical command to protect the environment is widely
eschewed.
4. War
The Verse:
In two Gospels, Jesus tells his followers:
You
have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if
anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if
anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as
well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. -
Matthew 5:38-42, Luke 27-30.
In another passage he says:
You have heard that it was said, ‘You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be
sons of your Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 5:43 – 45.
Why Fundamentalists Hate This Verse:
As
a religious and political movement, fundamentalists have defined
themselves as a party of opposition, rather than of love, grace and
mercy.
In her fantastic essay, Onward Christian Liberals, Marilynne Robinson argues:
The excitement we are seeing now is called by some scholars a thirdgreat
awakening, yet it is different from the other two... it is full of
pious aversion toward the so-called culture... and toward those whose
understanding of religion fails to meet its standards.
While past
“Great Awakenings” have looked inward, seeing sin within the conflicted
self, this new awakening looks outward, seeing sin in the wider culture.
The culture, that which is secular is evil, while the church is sacred.
This is why modern religious fundamentalism gravitates towards
xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, etc. Fear and disgust are its motivating
factors.
This fundamentalism inclines some religious people
toward a pre-emptive “war of religion” and a strong disgust (that
sometimes culminates in violence) toward Muslims. Oddly enough, the
Christian tradition has developed a theory of “Just War” (developed by
Aquinas) which condemns war except when all other options have been
exhausted and there is just treatment of prisoners (with a specific
condemnation of torture). If only one of the past two “Christian”
presidents had listened.
5. Women
The Verse:
There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no
male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28
Why Fundamentalists Hate it:
Although
the right often claims the Bible supports their absurd ideas about
gender roles (just like the Bible supported anti-miscegenation) such
claims have been
thoroughly debunkedby
theologians. Generally, when you’ll hear an explanation of why women
belong in the home, it’ll rely on a misreading of one of Paul’s
doctrines.
In contrast to Paul, Christ rarely concerned himself
with sexual mores, he was far more concerned with fighting oppression.
Fundamentalists want to keep women submissive and subservient, but Jesus
won’t let them. In Luke, for instance, Jesus is blessed by a priestess
named Anna. He praises a woman who stands up to a judge and demands
justice. It’s worth noting that in a time when women could not testify
in a court of law, all four resurrection stories have women arriving
first to Jesus’ tomb (although it’s unclear which women). Jesus talks
with a Samaritan woman at a well and praises Mary Magdalene for
listening to his words (Luke 10:38-42).
Fundamentalism Obscures True Religion
These verses are powerful and I believe that they should be carefully considered.
I
worry that Christianity and religion in general is represented by its
most conservative, fundamentalists elements. Remember that Marx drew his
the inspiration for his famous quote “From each according to his
abilities, to each according to his needs” from the example of the early
church (Acts 4:32-35).
I understand the fun that Sam Harris and
Reddit have destroying fundamentalism, and I went to a Christian college
and had jolly good time of it as well. “Haven’t you read your own
book?” I would ask smugly. But once the gleeful potshots are finished,
we all have to face the fundamental and aching deprivation of having
been born. We can continue to have a fun time berating those who believe
the Bible explains science and that there was a snake in the Garden of
Eden, but it’s really a waste.
The Christian message doesn’t
contradict science, and nor is it concerned with bourgeois politics.
Ultimately Christianity (and many other religions) are about
transcending politics and fighting for social justice. Think of Martin
Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and Thich
Quang Duc – all of whom were influenced by their religion to change the
world. Jesus saw how oppression and oppressors consumed the world. He,
as all great reformers have, sided with the oppressed. This kind of
skewed fundamentalism is radically new and far removed from true
Christianity. True Christianity offers us a far superior doctrine — one
of social justice, love and equality.
Sean McElwee is a writer for The Moderate Voice and blogs at seanamcelwee.com. He has previously written for The Day and The Norwich Bulletin and on WashingtonMonthly.com and Reason.com. He blogs at seanamcelwee.com. Follow him on Twitter @seanmcelwee.