It's been almost 3 years since I put up a diary here entitled, "Read the Beatitudes Before You Vote". James Dobson's now trying to pick a fight with Barack Obama. Time for an update.
By the way, it's good to be back here after taking a couple of months off, save for a little lurking, during the worst of the Spring Primary mud-wrestling here. I would be remiss not to mention that if you don't know Docudharma, you should. Wonderful site and a great "find" for me.
Back to The Beatitudes. I advocate the printing and wide distribution of a simple bumper sticker, patch, T-shirt, skywriting message, etc. in the run-up to the general election:
Read The Beatitudes Before You Vote
Keep going . . .
I would suggest firstly that it wouldn't hurt any of us (whether Christian, agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, James Dobsonite . . .) to read these sublime words from "The Sermon on the Mount". Second, such a thing doesn't endorse any candidate or party. Third, it would likely drive people like James Dobson nuts: they'd know that this cornerstone of Jesus' teachings cuts against, actually refutes, all the nasty and hateful teachings, preachings and admonishments of their rather sad and craven ilk.
I would add, Matthew 25:31-46 is also very a propos, as, in these verses, Jesus is addressing, is speaking of and regarding, not merely individuals, but "Nations". See below.
NOTE: There are two versions of The Beatitudes, one found in the Fifth Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew was probably written around 60-70 A.D., i.e., around 30-40 years after the crucifixion (and, virtually all scholars agree, written for a Jewish audience); Luke was probably written after 70 A.D. and, could have been written as late as 100 A.D. or after. Luke's Gospel was written for a more diverse, audience, i.e., Jews and gentiles. I, and most liberals/progressives, are partial to Luke's version (the first one below). However, when hatemongers such as James Dobson discount Luke's version, they are, according to their own "inerrant word of God" belief system, discounting the literal words of Jesus Christ. That should be troubling to their followers. At least it should give them pause...
Are these Jesus' actual, verbatim words in translation? Well, again, if you're a "fundamentalist", then you believe that they are and that they're not "open to interpretation" and that they mean exactly what they say! Or, if you believe that the writers were "inspired by the Holy Spirit," then you believe (something like) Jesus' words were etched into the heart of the writer by the Holy Spirit and that, through this miracle, they are verbatim or truthfully approximate Jesus' words. If you believe in a more secular, historical basis for these words, then you subscribe to the notion that Jesus' teachings were handed down in both a written and oral history and that the writers wrote what they did as the "final and definitive word" on Jesus and his teachings.
Luke 6:20-26 -- "The Beatitudes"
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice in that Day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
(New Revised Standard Version)
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Matthew 5:3-10 -- "The Beatitudes"
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdon of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
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Matthew 25:31-46
(Again, note that Jesus is talking about "Nations" here . . .)
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.' Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you.' And the King will answer, 'I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.' Next he will say to those on his left hand, 'Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.' Then it will be their turn to ask, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?' Then he will answer, 'I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.' And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life."
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As I was writing the first "Read The Beatitudes Before You Vote" diary about 3 years ago, I was tooling the 'nets and found an interesting site wherein the author writes at length about such things. One notable quote:
"Having a narrow, stingy reading of Matthew 25 is, to put it more bluntly, absurd. Would anyone seriously maintain that Jesus would say it’s okay for society as a whole to let people suffer and die, as long as some members give some money to charity?
"Please... Jesus would charge the entire society with the responsibility. There's every reason to think that each of us is judged by how the actions we each take influence our government and our society."
I'd say that that's a fair argument.
Finally, and returning to James Dobson and the fight he's trying to pick and kerfuffle he's trying to raise with or over Barack Obama, I suggest that this is wonderful news for the Obama campaign, just as Bill O'Reilly's suing Al Franken was good for sales of his, Franken's, book Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them. In a comment about this (in the thread under the Kos-written Confused Theology story re: Dobson's becoming all unhinged about Obama) I argue that Obama's (or his surrogates') response to Dobson should be something like:
"Dr. Dobson, forgive me for differing with you, but I allow the words of Jesus, such as those found in The Beatitudes, or in Matthew 25:31-46 to inform my outlook on life and society and faith. I respectfully disagree with you that anger, and prejudice, and hate, and a lust for war are the foundations and benchmarks of Christianity. Is it not wonderful that we live in this great nation where we have the fundamental right to differ about religion without the fear of imprisonment? May God bless and keep you, sir."
Selah.
Don't you think?