Tag Archives: God

God and Campaign 2012

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Cover of "God and Politics"

Cover of God and Politics

 

 

 

10-0: the number of times Republicans mentioned God in their platform versus Democrats’ references to the Deity—until Fox News noticed the discrepancy. Which means Republicans are faithful to God, while the Democrats are guided by—Satan, I guess. Republicans, of course, know who God is and exactly what God wants us all to believe: that stewardship of the environment is unrelated to faith, that women lack the moral fiber to make decisions about their own bodies, that homosexuality is a sin. Since Republicans know with certainty what God wants, they’d surely govern according to God’s rules. Therefore, God-fearing people should vote Republican.

 

It’s name dropping, so many references to God, not all that different from my trying to gain your confidence by frequently mentioning my close friendship with Laura Bush or Oprah (neither of whom I, in fact, have ever met).

 

Nowadays people with money contribute a lot to political campaigns. Anonymously. Of course their wealth is the result of having worked hard, very hard. (Apparently the mechanic who’s been fixing cars for decades, older waitresses in our local restaurants, and nurses’ aides in their fifties haven’t worked hard enough. Or they’d be rich too.)

 

We admire the wealthy. On TV we look enviously at their houses. We want the kinds of cars they drive, the clothes they wear. Trying to be like them we give them power to influence us. We come to believe their words that what’s good for them is also good for us and that they know what’s best for the country.

 

To gain our confidence they rely heavily on name dropping: God this and God that. TV commercials costing PACS millions of dollars affirm our core values, tying God to patriotism and freedom. Wealthy supporters pay consultants big bucks to manipulate us into liking what they want us to like, hating what they want us to hate. We’re against welfare queens though we have no first-hand knowledge of them. Though few cases have been documented, we’re upset about voter fraud and support a candidate favoring rules to make voting more difficult. We don’t pause to ask who really benefits from such positions. Who is harmed?

 

May we not someday wake up to discover we’ve been hoodwinked and that our country has paid a great price. Because we believed them when powerful people said God this and God that.

 

God Bless America

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On Route 40, somewhere east of Old Fort, I noticed a sign in front of a church: “God BlessAmerica.” As we approach the anniversary of our country’s independence, I continue to wonder what exactly the people who placed the sign there meant.

English: The Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

English: The Rocky Mountains in Colorado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We call on God to bless a meal, newborns, a marriage. “Bless this house, Oh Lord we pray.” Often, as at mealtime, we’re vague. “To its intended use,” my father used to pray. When a baby is baptized or dedicated, parents and grandparents may be praying that God will keep him safe. Help her grow up to be healthy and happy. By happy, we may envision a good education, someday a well-paying job, a loving partner, a roomy house. Maybe a large-screen TV too.

A wedding or commitment ceremony marks the occasion to bless a union. Please, God, we’re thinking, help them be faithful to each other and act in loving ways. Help their relationship survive.

What do we mean, then, when we ask God to bless our country? Maybe, God, help us remain strong militarily. Keep us wealthy. And please keep us exceptional among all the nations of the earth.

I suggest we ask God to bless America in the following ways:

God, bless us by giving us good judgment in our relationships with other countries. Help us engage with them respectfully with neither a desire to dominate nor exploit them. Bless us with a careful attitude that knows when to intervene in conflicts and in what ways.

God, bless our relationships here at home. Help us work together for a society that is just, tolerant of differences of opinions and lifestyles.

God, bless us as we deal with change. Technology, the interdependence of economies, the ways of a younger generation. Help us adapt to the complexities of a world quite different from the one we are comfortable in.

You have already blessed us with forested mountains, clear rivers and lakes, a rich diversity of plant and animal life. Please bless us with knowledge of how to use your creation without exploiting it.

“God Bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above.” No matter what we mean by these words, let us pray that God’s vision for the United States, for all nations of the world, becomes our vision.

Who’s a Real Christian, Who’s Not

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Two priests demand a heretic to repent as he i...

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With a scripture to support each belief, Daddy denounced just about every form of fun there is: dancing, drinking alcoholic beverages, playing cards. I wasn’t allowed to wear pants or lipstick or nail polish, and when the time came for me to marry I was to be submissive to my husband. African-Americans, Daddy believed, were inferior because they were descendants of Ham, who’d been cursed by God. Homosexuals were headed for Hell.

An adult now, I play cards every chance I get; I wear jeans, lipstick, and nail polish, have an occasional glass of wine. No one who knows me would say I’m submissive to my husband. I consider African-Americans, gays, and lesbians children of God and worthy of every right that I have (including marriage).

If he were alive, Daddy would denounce me as a non-Christian.  And he’d be wrong. Oh, I don’t use salvation language, but I try to live my life according to the teachings of Jesus: loving my neighbor as myself, caring for the poor, the imprisoned. I am opposed to war and honor the beautiful world God created. I respect the beliefs of Jews, Muslims, and Hindus. For sure I don’t measure up to Jesus’ teachings, but I consider myself a Christian nonetheless.

So when I hear voices in the Republican Party question whether President Obama or Mitt Romney is a Christian, I take it personally. Sure, Franklin Graham said in Tuesday morning’s interview on MSNBC that he cannot judge what’s in a person’s heart, and if Obama says he’s a Christian… But then Graham went on to manipulate the audience to do the judging for him—by saying  Muslims consider Obama one of them, and that Obama only started going to church because someone said he’d be more effective as a community organizer if he did. (Though Obama has said that by going to church he became a man of faith.) Santorum has accused the President’s environmental policies of being the result of a phony theology.

Republicans throw around the word elite a lot these days, accusing the President and Democrats of thinking they know best what’s good for the country. More frightening to me is the religious elite who are convinced they are qualified to decide what the rest of us should believe. Everything else is heresy.

So here we are: Inquisition 2012.

And yes, Daddy, I am a Christian.