(Not that there's anything wrong with that. . . )
It just seems to me that this Easter, I've hit outrage-overload with respect to the practices and beliefs of the religious right, the fundamentalists, the whatever term you wish to use. And at this point screaming or ranting passionately is beyond my capabilities.
All I'm left with is two thoughts on why their version of Christianity is so deeply and incontrovertibly opposed to the teachings of Jesus, as I, and many like me, understand them.
More after the fold . . .
Theme 1: It's All About Me
The first thing that always comes to mind when I think about the beliefs of Fundamentalists is how profoundly selfish they are. The story of the Gospels is that God so loved the world, he sent his only begotten son . . . Note the emphasis there: loved the world. Jesus came to help all peoples, and to teach a way of life in which his followers devote themselves to the welfare of others. He himself emphasized the point over and over in his ministry: in the Sermon on the Mount, in the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, in his actions healing the sick and feeding the multitudes.
Fundamentalist preachers may mouth the words, but what they preach is not salvation for the world, it is a highly personal salvation. Every man or woman shall have a "personal" relationship with Jesus, as if Jesus is your best friend, your buddy, the guy who's always there to lend a hand or a shoulder to cry on. And literally, that is how they expect to relate to God in their everyday life: as someone who is there for "them." Someone who answers "their" prayers for wealth, or fame, or athletic success. It's all about them. They may claim otherwise, but this is only self-delusion on their part.
Case in point: Last night I watched the NCAA tournament, the regional final between Illinois and Arizona. A very exciting game. Illinois came back from 15 points down with less than 4 minutes to go to tie the game and send it into overtime. They then won the game, but only when Arizona missed its last shot with no time left on the clock.
One of the most amazing comebacks in sports I've seen in some time. The players on the Illinois team were naturally beside themselves with joy. One, however, noticed a camera near him and began pointing to his shoes. As the camera panned down, we could see written on those sneakers verses from the Gospel of John and from the book of Isaiah. He pointed at the writing on the shoes, then pointed upwards. The message was clear: I am a good Christian and God has rewarded me, and now I get to tell you about it.
And this is not an isolated instance in contemporary society. How many people do we see pointing to their successes or their fortune in life as something God has chosen to personally gift them with? It's a constant theme with them, the idea that God rewards the faithful and punishes the wicked. Remember Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson after 9/11 claiming we were attacked because essentially we were not religious enough? Or more recently the plethora of pronouncements from conservative Christians claiming Bush's victory was his gift to them for their piousness?
Yet Jesus preached a very different message. In the Lord's Prayer, the first thing you say before asking for anything for yourself is "thy will be done." God's will, not the will of the speaker. His prayer is essentially one of submission to God, not an expectation that what is asked for will be granted if only one is righteous enough. And as for the constant public displays of faith we see (such as the Illinois ballplayer above), Jesus would be appalled. Jesus, who said:
Matthew 6:5 - And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
For he accurately assesses them for what they are: hypocrites, more concerned for themselves, their own lives and their own salvation, than the lives of others. Nowhere is this more poignantly expressed than in Matthew 25, when he explained what he would say to the saved on the Day of Judgment:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Fundamentalists, of course, claim they follow these principles, but 95% of all charitable donations they make are to their own churches, and most of those monies are used for missionary appeals rather than as direct help for the less fortunate in our society or in other countries. And they are adamant about reducing social programs that feed the hungry and shelter the homeless.
Reducing taxes is a greater mission than helping others, because, in the end, their faith is all about them. About the joy in their hearts from being "born again" in the Holy Spirit, and the certain knowledge that they are saved from eternal damnation. That Jesus ever preached a social agenda that radically differs from their dogmas of individualism and greed is simply not on their radar screens.
Theme 2: Strict Rules Are Us
The second theme, which fundamentalists get dead wrong, is their obsession with the strict authoritarian father figure of God as presented in the Old Testament. Mixed with the feeling of self righteousness their personal relationship with God engenders, it makes for a very dangerous and deadly concoction.
The appeal of a strict father is not difficult to comprehend. Rigid rules simplify life's complexities. They make it easier to choose what do in new situations; who to love, who to hate. In the law this is known as the seduction of the bright line: the idea that a judge's job can be made easier if there is a "bright line" that clearly demarks legal acts from illegal ones. Fundamentalists clearly fall into the camp of those who are too lazy to think for themselves, who would prefer that they only need learn the rules and follow them unthinkingly rather than use the reasoning power they were born with when confronted with new situations and new information.
This is why they are so rigid and unreasoning about their right to life views and their views on homosexuality. In the past, it was why the progenitors of the faith they practice today excused the practice of slavery. If God the Father's rules say it is okay to have slaves, to hate homosexuals, to slaughter ones enemies, to discriminate on the basis of sex or religious faith (all of which have been or currently are being preached) then so be it. Rules make it easier to avoid others with different views or passions, easier to dehumanize those who are not like yourself.
Of course, this flies in the face of Jesus' teachings and the example he set in his own life. Jesus, who mocked the Pharisee's for their strict observance of Jewish Law as described in the Torah, and who condensed all God's commandments down to two: first, to love God, and second to love your neighbor. Jesus, who healed the sick on the Sabbath, and who preached that we should love our enemies. Jesus, who associated with thieves, prostitutes, tax collectors -- all the riff raff of his time -- rather than spend time only with pious priests and Pharisees. Jesus, who taught that the kingdom of God is within each human heart, and that doing for others, even those who oppose you, is the highest way to worship a God of Love.
For fundamentalists this is simply too radical a theology. In a world of black and white you must have enemies you can hate. You must have sinners you can look down upon and judge as unworthy of God's love. A strict adherence to rules allows them to foster these hatreds, these feelings of superiority. It permits one a naked ambition to control the lives of others and compel them to do your will. All of the worst tendencies of human beings, all of our worst passions (greed, lust, hatred) are liberated when we can justify them as being part of God's commandments.
If forced to follow Jesus' prescription to "judge not, lest ye be judged" all these poisonous emotions would have no outlet, and they would be forced to look inward at their own souls, something no one does easily in this life. But that is what Jesus asks of us, to examine our own hearts and minds, not those of others. To accept everyone, unreservedly, as being worthy of our love and care no matter how different from us we find them. It is not an easy path to follow. Certainly fundamentalists have abandoned it long ago, if indeed it was ever something any of them considered at all. But on this Easter Sunday, they should consider it anew.
My Easter Prayer
So for Easter, I am left with this open plea to those who call themselves Christians, but in whom I find nothing Christ-like. Read the words of Jesus and not what your Pastors or Ministers say about him. Examine his life, how he acted toward all who crossed his path, then examine your own life and how you behave. Be like the Good Samaritan, not the hypocrite praying openly in the Temple. Stop thinking of your own salvation, and start thinking about how you can make the lives of all those around you better, even those you hate and despise. Love your enemies, not with empty words but with deeds of compassion. Perhaps you still may be born again, not to selfishness and a lust to judge others, but to true love and compassion, to the true Kingdom of God.