Flobots Interview with Sojourners Magazine.
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All posts in Politics
Society has Absorbed our Action
Nice article over at the Jesus Radicals blog. This piece peaked my interest:
the words of Jacques Ellul: “Each time the people of God becomes effective according to the world´s criteria, this only implies that society has absorbed our action and is using it for its own ends and for its own profit. …The efficacy we think we have is simply a power in the world´s service, for the perfecting of its own being, for its better organization….”
And I am also reminded that Jesus sent out his disciples, not only poor, but humanly powerless, “as lambs in the midst of wolves.” I recall how he squandered his popular following and fell prey to the religious authorities of his time, because he did not respect the power of the crowd or the power of rulers. Jesus did not need their power to build his kingdom. God had given the kingdom. It existed in the lives of Jesus and his disciples as a gift to them, and they announced it as a gift wherever they went: “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”
bullying
Today I’ve been thinking about bullying.
I know when i use the word “bully,” certain images come to mind: images of a mean 4th grader telling another 4th grader that she’s fat, or a group of jr. high girls blatantly “shunning” another girl, or maybe the image of a cocky college football player comes to mind.
But bullying takes so many different forms. I see it everyday in so so many places. Chase Bank recently “bullied” me into following their policies even though i was told differently. Time Warner cable recently bullied a friend of mine by quoting him several different rates for the same cable package. The big 3 auto-makers bullied our governement into handing them tax-payer money, even though their collapse was based on their poor business model. Churches all over the world “bully” people into agreeing with them. Churches use hell, the bible, emotions, traditions, and membership as leverage to get people to follow. Renters use a well-i-own-this-property mentality to bully rentees into submission.
Notice that each of these “bullies” may use a different form:
I’m not saying that these “bullies” have no right to whatever they are getting, they do. I am saying that they could get the exact same thing without bullying. They could simply respect and love people.
Also, people tend to leave and move away from bullies. Bullies end up as things of the past. I’m leaving Chase bank. MY buddy is leaving Time Warner. Millions of people are leaving the big-3 automakers and moving to something else (honda, toyota, etc…). And everyone knows about a dozen people who have been pissed off by churches in one way or another.
So this is my new resolution: if people are bullies, i’m leaving (then they’ve got no one to bully) and also, i’m not going to be the bully.
Jesus said his yoke was easy and his burden was light. He scolded religious leaders for lording their authority over people. Jesus didn’t like bullies (even if they were “technically” correct). In fact, no one like bullies.
post-election peace pledge
head to Ed Gilbreath’s blog and read about his “post-election peace pledge”
my pledge:
- i pledge to support and pray for the president and government leaders – regardless of whether i voted for them
- i pledge to be critical of the president and government leaders – regardless of whether i voted for them
- i pledge to continue to stay well read in local/national political issues – because my vote on november 4th is actually a very small part of my duty as an american citizen
- i pledge to continually engage others in a healthy, civil political dialogue – regardless of who’s in power
what is your post election peace pledge?
generation we
rethinkngyouthministry brought my attention to this video. great stuff.
take the blinders off
a couple of days ago i had a post that started some real decent discussion about the presidential candidates. good stuff.
but i think what i was really trying to get at, is that we need some real honest discussion. america doesn’t need people to be blindly democrat or blindly republican. we need some honest discourse about the strengths and weaknesses of candidates.
listen to jon stewart drill the fellas on crossfire. that’s what i’m talking bout….
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McCain’s Slogan: Country First
Aaron Monts writes a great article about the idea of “country first” and if that idea can be aligned with Christianity.
McCain’s slogan is “country first.” Great stuff right? As a Christian, I would have to say that I am first and foremost committed to being a disciple of Christ. That means accepting and living out Christ’s teachings. Therefore, I cannot place “country first.” It is my hope that people would associate the tag “Christian” with me before they would associate the tag “patriot” (though both aren’t bad).
Also, I would have to say, country can’t be third, because my wife would fill that spot. Nor can it be fourth, because my friends and family would fill that void. Nor can country be fifth, as I think Jesus’ call to care for the poor, sick, widow, and needy falls before my commitment to America.
I would also say that I think those in other countries have just as valid claim to freedom and right to establish their governments as they see fit, so I wouldn’t even say that America is first (in my mind) among all countries. I would go even farther as to say that I’m not even committed to democracy (though I appreciate it and am very thankful for those who defend it and i am going to exercise my democratic rights). I’m not saying democracy is the worst (it may be the best) I’m just saying that I’m not committed to it. There are other things that are much more important than democracy.
Green Jobs Now
With our economy in the midst of a major restructuring, America has a couple of options. Rebuild the same system that has failed and hope it doesn’t happen again. We’ll make some minor tweaks to it, add some more legislation, etc. Or we can take things in a new direction. The Green Jobs Now initiative strives to rebuild our economy with a new focus, sustainable growth. Now, because we’re going to be rebuilding anyways, would be a very opportune time to restructure the way we think about energy, jobs, and sustainability.
I hope you’ll click through and sign the petition at GreenJobsNow.com. Also, check out the video below. I have no idea if it portrays “newt” in an accurate way, but i’m more excited about “patrick” and what he has to offer to America and the world.
A faith beyond of the economy
Ok. so most people have heard the news. Lehman Brothers (no relation to me) filed for bankruptcy. The Dow had the biggest drop in 7 years. CNN seems to be running 24/7 coverage of 3 things: presidential campaign, the declining economy, and hurricanes.
Now here is my point: things are going to get very very very tough for a lot of people. Some people are going to lose their jobs. Some people are going to struggle to make ends meat. Some people are going to lose their houses and have their world turned upside-down by the economy or by the weather. These are all very bad things.
For you Christians out there: these things should not effect your faith. The bad economy is going to lead to more and more people being very tight with their posessions. Giving is going to go down at your church. People are going to give less to charities.
It seems that, too often, we think that our faith is going to hit a rough patch when “things” aren’t going to be easy. Sure, maybe the candidate we want won’t be president. Maybe we’ll have to rebuild our house after the wind tears it down. Maybe we’ll have to tell our kids they can’t have the newest/coolest clothes this year.
But when tough things happen, we must remember to cling to Jesus. It is in those tough times that God can show up in HUGE ways.
remember when China kicked out all the missionaries? oh no, how will the Chinese learn about Jesus? how can God’s work be done when faith isn’t made easy? Missionaries get kicked out and what happens….?
BANG. BOOM. KA-POW.
Christianity EXPLODED in China. Underground churches seem to do better evangelism than mega-churches? Really? Lots and Lots of chinese Christians are dieing because of their faith. How did they learn the bible? What worship songs did they sing?
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ~James 1:2-3~
so…
times may be tough. life may get hard in certain areas. some people are really going to struggle. and faith can EXPLODE
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