I really did want to be a liberal...

Responding to my thoughts concerning the Pat Robertson flap and the Sojourners' criticism, The Mont-ster said...

Nathan,
Bravo on your letter to the editor. It was thoughtful, scriptural, and irenic in its tone...
Rob

www.mont-sterreport.com

Well Rob, could you call it a "letter to the editor" if it never makes it into print???

That's right, this journal, comprised of persons resentful of traditional church people "hijacking the language of faith" couldn't find room to publish a concise, civil, and evenhanded comment questioning the tone of their Robertson-bashing editorial that yours truly worked on for a few short wee hours of the night.

I grew up with a certain amount of resentment towards the politically polarizing elements of a rural church background and feel like I do understand why the Sojourners, (Wallis, Batstone, and all the rest of them) are a bit upset. In fact, I got a blast from the past this Sunday at my current church in rural PA when a lady stood up in the service with a very charged, overdrawn, and fear-inducing announcement concerning what the ACLU is trying to do in the region and other such horrors.

Little incidents like this make me relapse a bit, but I am realizing that a lot of people with strongly voiced views, whether left wing or ultra right wing simply may have an awful lot of built up pain and hurts that might not be resolved. Worse, there probably could be quite a lot of unforgiveness harbored which complicates things. Of the two extremes, the right wing is worse since we are supposed to be living according to Kingdom values, authority, and especially love.

I think that neither end of the spectrum is helpful to the Kingdom if these issues are not addressed properly. Left wing people will never achieve their utopia, and the right-wing's past legislative victories (I'm thinking of Prohibition here, an admittedly skewed example) result often in massive blowback and rebellion. I know many people who are praying as I am for a culture of life to be legalized in America, but that is not enough; if abortion became illegal next month for example, the problem would not be solved, because enough people's hearts have not been changed. That is the thing we must also pray for.

It is appropriate and necessary to become displeased and angry in a fallen world but we have to repent from flipping out in rage and sliming people, or else there will be a bunch of confused Nathans walking around a decade from now, trying to find out if the liberal faith people are more Christlike than the people in the environment they grew up in. Why not ask the congregation to pray for, even bless the ACLU, Rev. Barry Lynn (People United for Separation of Church & State) and others since the Lord told us to pray for our "enemies".

Unfortunately I don't think liberals are much better at all, since after 5 years of reading Sojourners I cant remember much about the last compassionate article I read. They get pretty angry at things too, and unfortunately I wonder who would still be around to run the military (which protects our freedom to whine about others) since every time there is a scandal, charged voices call for resignations and/or firings. Failing to publish my letter doesn't help my perception of them either, especially since Katrina has since changed the opinions of thousands of evacuees regarding Pat Robertson's anomaly in social action, Operation Blessing, which has spent millions more to help the situation than the well-meaning Sojourners. I also don't know what kind of doctrinal position if any they have, and it's probably just as well.

I continue to have a respect for the opinions and views of comparatively less vocal, and I perceive, more thoughtful moderates including the Philadelphia based trio of Ron Sider "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" (my uncle calls him the "Christian Communist due to his views on progressive tithing) Tony Campolo, and Jim Ball (What Would Jesus Drive campaign)*. Doesn't mean I agree entirely, but that I appreciate their controversial stands on some issues and have reason to believe their views may stem out of a spirit-led lifestyle.

From the way the Sojourners have operated, the letters from their readers (some of whom seem to be looking for the legitimacy of a religious group), and the questionable affiliations and recommendations ("join Cindy Sheehan this weekend", Riverside Church of Manhattan, closing Gitmo, abandoning Israel's land-rights, etc...) I think they are jumping the shark and cashing in on things (appearances on numerous talkshows, Jon Stewart, CNN, etc...). This is a horrible accusation to make but just look at what is happening to Michael Moore* - the guy has traded in his credibility as an underground leftist documentary filmer, cashing in on the angst of Kerry supporters with a failed blockbuster/coup to oust the junior Bush. Sojo should watch that they don't MichaelMoore themselves.

That's all for now,

Nathan

*********
1. Sider in particular is reputable in my view (remember I don't have a wife or family and would be happy to give a whole lot more money for the Kingdom purposes, as I am sure you also would be) since he lives in inner-city Philly and has taken major flak from plenty of other people besides my uncle. His book contains some very challenging and thought out ideas that succeed in offending a lot of people. One review online was scathing in tone due to the guilt (I suspected conviction) the writer felt from the book!

2. Michael Moore had a provocative string of work before Fahrenheit 911 blew it all. Bowling for Columbine was perhaps loosely (don't report this blog to the NRA) credible at voicing a couple concerns relating to guns in America, to give Moore the benefit of the doubt. Before this, his work "The Awful Truth" really contained some material of interest as well as things I wouldn't recommend you necessarily watch it for. My favorite thing he did was lead a few of Phillip Morris Inc's. most faithful customers in a few Christmas carols at Phillip Morris HQ. (Moore set aside any offense his Jewish background might have found in this activity) These customers were so well-invested in the company that they all had survived cancer treatments (at least at the time of shooting) and had received artificial voiceboxes as a result of their dedication to smoking. Obviously smoking is not smart, but Moore raised questions of whether it is right for the company and shareholders to be making money off this. I'm less enthused about most of Moore's stuff, especially the most recent.

Kudos to Larry

Larry King has had a terrific lineup as of late.



First last week he had a Purpose-Driven Rick Warren with the lady that was taken hostage by the guy who killed a court official and held her hostage before turning himself in as a result of a very purpose-driven conversation. This was great stuff. Rick was talking in very plain, postmodern friendly terms about Jesus and other subjects including his AIDS charity. This guy comes off so well, what a great role model for the rest of us. Hard to accuse someone of the latest buzzwords (hate, intolerance, any -ism or -obia that you can think of) when he donates his bestselling book's income to an AIDS charity. He is also genuine and extremely likeable.

NEXT RECENT SHOW

Tracy Lindsey Melchior


This was also outstanding. You get a very attractive, well-spoken, and down to earth actress talking about her very difficult background and experiences. Obviously has been through major inner healing since she was able to talk about these things in a very transparent way.

I think Mr. King is a huge asset toward the faith community because he interviews people who are highly credible proponents of faith and Christianity as opposed to a lot of the other people that the media loves to hype, who just are not very good representatives, to put it nicely.

Thank you, Larry King.