Dear Christian conservative,
For too long I have been noticing apparent contradictions between your politics and
the faith you hold dear. And so has the rest of the world. I have a few questions
for you. Please read this letter with an open heart and an open mind. If you
take time to reflect and to really be honest with yourself, maybe you will also
begin to see some of these contradictions and the harm they are causing in our
society.
First question: What is the foundation of your faith? For
me, it is that I am broken but Jesus died and rose again to save me from my
brokenness, and that I should strive to live as much like Jesus as I can. If
that is what you believe, then please take a long, hard look in the mirror. Please
begin to re-examine your political stances and see how well they match up with
the life of Jesus. Take time to seriously ponder the questions in this letter.
I don’t know what your answers will be, but please don’t brush the questions
off. From where I stand, the way you carry out your beliefs in the realm of
politics indicates that the Jesus you know is not the same as the Jesus I know.
I hope that is not true.
The Jesus I know, love, and serve is the most loving,
compassionate, and merciful person ever to walk the earth. When a prostitute was
about to be stoned for her sins, he stepped in and stopped it (John 8:1-11). If
the Jesus you serve acted this way, then why do you support political
candidates and platforms that advocate the death penalty?
Jesus served the
lowest in his society, touching lepers (Matthew 8:1-4; Mark 1:40-45; Luke
5:12-15) and hanging out with fishermen and tax collectors. Jesus loved those
who were at the margins of society. If Jesus did this, then why is it
acceptable to dehumanize innocent people trying to escape hardship? Why is it
okay to deport people who have done nothing wrong? How can you actively support
politics that create an atmosphere that psychologically harms children of
immigrants, both illegal and legal?[1]
How can you accept a culture that labels anyone who looks slightly Middle
Eastern or Arab a terrorist? (Hint: Jesus probably looked more like them than
he looks like you).
Jesus never turned anyone away, deciding to feed large
crowds gathered around him multiple times (Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke
9:10-17; John 6:5-15; Matthew 15:32-16:10; Mark 8:1-9). The early church he founded “sold property and
possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:45). Why then do you
support policies that make the rich richer and the poor poorer? Why do you
support the reduction and elimination of programs that help the poor and the
outcasts? Why do you support candidates who fight against the average worker in
favor of the rich business owner? If the answer is that helping the poor is the
job of the church rather than the government, then that requires a secondary
look in the mirror, because we’re doing a pretty crappy job. Even so, it
definitely does not require actively supporting the rich just to have more poor
people to help.
Simply put, Jesus is love. I’m not saying that means that
everything is acceptable and there should never be confrontation, but maybe it’s
time to reevaluate which confrontations you are choosing to have. You claim to
be pro-life, but based on what you fight for, one might be lead to conclude not
just that you believe life begins at conception, but that it ends at birth.
Imagine how much good could be done if everyone who considers themselves
pro-life spent as much energy fighting for the rights of poor people as they do
for the rights of the unborn.
If Jesus told Peter to put down his sword, then why is it so
important to own a gun? If we are supposed to be stewards of God’s Earth, then
why would you support the building of new oil pipelines more than research into
new green technologies? Jesus is not the current Republican presidential
nominee. Please wake up. For too long you have been confusing Jesus with Uncle
Sam, and faith with patriotism.
What does owning a gun have to do with Jesus? What does
building a wall to keep out human beings hoping for a better life have to do
with Jesus? What does imprisoning people at a higher rate than anywhere else in
the world have to do with Jesus? What does fighting wars have to do with Jesus?
Please stop kidnapping my Jesus and shoving Uncle Sam’s hat on his head, a gun
in his hands, and hateful words in his mouth. Stop walking by those in need
like the religious leaders in the parable of the good Samaritan. Many moral
atheists are playing the part of the Samaritan right now. Please dare to have a
bigger vision of life and advocate as strongly for those who are already alive
as you do for those who are unborn. Dare to forge a new path that is connected
not to the Republican Party, but to Jesus. Dare to treat all humans the way you
want to be treated: as a broken, sinful person in need of love and of a savior.
I have a feeling that if every Christian conservative did this, the world would
take notice.
Sincerely,
Steven
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePete, I know you deleted your post, but I still want to respond to it. Your first point, about not assuming that all __ are __ is completely accurate. I hope you believe me when I say that that was not my intent at all. I know that there are people who would consider themselves both conservative and Christian who do not believe these things. There are, however, people who do, and those were the people I was addressing. Each question was meant to address the set of people who believe a certain way about each topic. I also spent a long time debating whether to address this to "Christian conservatives" or "conservative Christians." Maybe it's an arbitrary distinction, but in my mind a "Christian conservative" is someone whose identity is first conservative, and then Christian (or someone whose faith and politics are inseparable), while "conservative Christian" is the opposite.
DeleteAs for your second point about Jesus reacting against the religious leaders and not the Roman government, there are many members of the Republican Party who seem to consider themselves both religious and political leaders. If there are people in government posing as religious leaders, then I believe they need to be held accountable on both fronts, which is something I wholeheartedly believe Jesus would have done. Also, while the Jewish religious leaders may not have been the leaders of Rome, they were certainly political leaders among the Jewish community.
Finally, I don't really appreciate the comment about "nothing better to do." I honestly think that fighting for social justice and striving to be as much like Jesus as I can be while holding my brothers and sisters in Christ accountable is one of the best things there is to do. So in that sense, you're right, I don't have anything better to do (I'm not trying to belittle raising children here, either. That's very important and I'm well aware that you have had it harder than most). Obviously I'm imperfect just like everyone else, so the chance that some things I wrote in this post are wrong is high, but it's something I feel God has put on my heart and to hold back would be wrong. If you want to try to find a time to talk in person I'd be willing to take the time. If not, I understand being busy. I'm free most evenings, weeknights and weekdays.
Steven, I understand your responses. I apologize for the "nothing better to do" jab and the rest of the off-handed comments I made about age, idealism, etc. They are the reason I deleted the original response.
DeleteI have written specific responses to each of your paragraphs, but I have decided not to post them here. I have been reading every blog post. I agree with some of arguments and disagree with others. I will continue to read your blog, but I will no longer be responding in the comments. If you are interested in my honest response to anything you've written in this post, prior posts, or future posts, email me directly.
Dislike simply because of the potshot and the misguided assumption that idealism, and apprantly thinking, is for the young. If you want someone to listen to you, don't insult them and at the same time make excuses. Insults I can understand - it's the excuses I expected a self-proclaimed mature man to be done with at your stage in life.
ReplyDeleteEngage or don't, just no excuses if you.
You are correct. I shouldn't have posted this, and I knew when I posted it, I would never be able to convey what I wanted to say. It could and did come off as pot shots and misguided assumptions. We have now both insulted each other. I'm sorry it came to this. Comment deleted. Internet discussion over. I don't know you, so if Steven wants to have a discussion about this, I am available in person.
Delete