Today's Monasteries Are Surrounded By Invisible Fences

I was just at a memorial service for a person who was described by all in his church as someone who was compassionate. All of the recipients of this man's compassion, however, were people in the church. And such leads us to two important scripture verses. In Matthew 5:38-48, Jesus challenges us to not only not resist the personal evil someone does to us, He tells us to love our enemies. And He does that because following this command here models what God does. For not only does God bless the unrighteous (vs 43), He sent His son to die for His enemies (Romans 5:10).

Of course, it isn't only through loving one's enemies that we love the way God wants us. The Good Samaritan parable (Luke 10:25-37), shows how we are to love those who are in need who cross our path. And by making a Samaritan the hero of His story, Jesus is emphasizing that this principle of helping those in need extends beyond national and racial boundaries. 

With the above Scriptures, we could make the subject of this post compassion, but we won't. Rather, what is emphasized here is the question, How big is our world? 

Those with small worlds live simpler lives. They have less stress. They are more carefree. And they have less stress and more carefree because they have fewer concerns and people to care about. They don't have to worry about all who are affected by their actions. They don't worry about the harm coming to the environment by how they live and they don't have to worry about the exploitation of labor and others by what they purchase. They don't have to worry about the suffering which others go through because of the foreign policies of their own nation nor do they have to worry about the growing inequality that persists in today's world. They only have to worry about their own personal _______.

The word for that fill-in-the-blank for my fellow Christians is happiness-holiness. We search for our own personal happiness but just not any happiness will do. Our happiness has to color within the lines or we risk being punished or left behind. And what draws the lines for our happiness are the Scriptures.

So we seek to learn everything we can about the Scriptures in limited ways. That is we will study the Scriptures ourselves and we will learn more about the Bible from teachers. But those Bible teachers we allow ourselves to listen to are as carefully selected as the members of a Mission Impossible team from the old TV series.  And since we are so intense on worrying about our own happiness-holiness, books that deal with other subjects are usually overlooked/discarded/burned.

Thus, what we have here is a picture of many of America's conservative churches. Unlike many of the monasteries of the past, our churches are not geographically separated from the general public. But because of the above constraints, they might as well be because of how separated they are from the world and not all of those ways are good. For what do conservative churches allow themselves to learn from activists who are struggling to reduce the destruction of the environment or who stand up for those who are exploited or oppressed? 

The above question is a delicate one for many American Conservative Christians because what they could learn from those activists would infringe on their current pursuit of happiness-holiness. That is because that their current pursuit concerns the individual seeker and forgets the world outside. Such is the simple life for American Conservative Christians who are living today's monastic life. 

The appeal being made by Conservative Christians to the world today is look at us to see the happiness you can have if you join/imitate us. But the troubling question that comes back to us Conservative Christians is, is our monastic life keeping out the bearing of our own cross? And if so, are there those in the world, those who are so troubled by the exploitation and destruction they see both near and far bearing a part of our cross?

Is The Conservative Church Disturbing The Peace?

The answer to the question is both yes and no and in the wrong way each time. The Left's most often made criticism about the Church is that it serves as an institution of indoctrination. The purpose of the indoctrination is to teach compliance to the dictates of the rich and powerful. Unfortunately, the Conservative Church as met the Left's expectations admirably.

But first, who am I referring to when I mention the Conservative Church? It consists of the majority of American Christian Fundamentalist Churches. Fundamentalist Churches are those that adhere to specific tenets of the Christian faith of the inerrancy of the Bible, the Virgin Birth, that Jesus died for the sins of believers, Jesus' resurrection and His second coming. But as I write about the Conservative Church,  I am sad that I must write about friends and brothers and sisters in the faith.

How does the Conservative Church exceed the Left's expectations? It does so by how it keeps the peace. It does so by what it says to those who are under the whip of the rich and powerful as well as what it refrains from saying to those who use this whip. The Conservative Church has two messages for those who live under this whip for it speaks to two distinct groups: the minions and the victims. To the minions, the Conservative Church says this, "well done thou good and faithful servants, enjoy now the prosperity that has been promised to you." However, unlike the heavenly reward that true believers will receive, this reward consists of an abundant life here to which every good minion feels entitled. After all, the good minion has faithfully followed the orders of the proper authority figures and has thus earned a reward. And living faithfully and being rewarded provides the best witness to others on how to have it all in life in a sanctified way.

Who are these minions? Minions are those who are comfortable with the way things are. They are content because they have a decent income from either investments and/or employment. And since they themselves have benefitted from the system, they see no need to change it. Therefore these minions either work to continue the reign of the rich and powerful or they remain silent. They do not even consider the most minimal efforts one can take to change things, like voting for third party candidates. Their vision is severely myopic and this has blinded them to the suffering of others as well as made their hearts cold and their minds dull.

Minions may also include those in law enforcement and the military who blindly follow orders because, they feel, it is not their place to step back and look at the big picture. Thus, they enforce the rule of the rich and powerful. Law enforcement agencies do this on a domestic level while the military expands the rule of its rich and powerful sponsors over new turf. This criticism is difficult to make because of the kinds of risks that those in both law enforcement and the military face when doing jobs that are necessary. They deserve appreciation and respect for that. But any group that offers near blind allegiance pretends that use of their services is never abused.

To those receiving the whip, such as those who have received the brunt of today's economic distress, the Conservative Church offers an interesting message of support. Here, the Conservative Church offers to teach these abuse victims how to become Spiritual Spartans. And one becomes a Spiritual Spartan by first believing the Gospel and then by learning to be content in all things, that is to suck it up or take a lap, and finally by yielding unquestioning obedience to the authorities, that is be good little children so one is not spanked. The goal of the Christian Church here is to get Spiritual Spartans to behave like the minions despite the wealth disparity.

The Conservative Church goes on to explain that being a Spiritual Spartan is the precedent set by leaders in the early Church, particularly Paul. Paul neither resisted the injustice visited up him by the Roman authorities nor did he teach others to do so. Paul is the apostle who told all to be submissive to the governing authorities, he told wives to be submissive to their husbands and children to be submissive to their parents, and he told slaves to cheerfully serve their owners and not to seek their own freedom. And, the Conservative Church reasons that if it was good enough for Paul, it must be good enough for the rest of us. In addition, the victims should never forget the heavenly reward that awaits them should they remain faithful Spiritual Spartans. And this focus on heavenly rewards is designed to make these Spiritual Spartans as myopic as the minions have become.

And though there is some truth in what the Conservative Church preaches to its flock, whether they be minions or Spiritual Spartans, not only do they leave out the context from their Biblical teachings, it keeps a disturbing silence when relating to wealth and power. This is where the Conservative Church refrains from disturbing the peace in the wrong way. It refrains from preaching a Gospel of Repentance to their benefactors--benefactors because the Conservative Church lives on the donations that come from the rich and powerful and their minions.

But by faithfully maintaining the status quo, the Conservative Church also becomes complicit in the sins and the violence being practiced. And by enabling the rich and powerful's oppression of others, the Conservative Church is disturbing the peace in the wrong way. The Conservative Church refrains from challenging America's use of wars and proxy leaders and by so doing it shows a reluctance to learn from the past. Certainly, it is aware of some past abuses, such as America's past support for leaders like Saddam Hussein, the Shah of Iran, or Pinochet; but it steadfastly prefers to maintain a disconnect in contrast to experiencing a shameful but healing sense of regret. So in the name of the minigod Patriotism, it supports troops and the havoc they cause.

Likewise, the Conservative Church supports violence on local dissenters and others. An extreme example of this support could be seen in the words one conservative church goer told me as I told him of a protest I participated in in D.C. He said that just as Jesus used violence to expel the moneychangers, he would have used a baseball bat on protesters like myself. But such an example does not characterize the Conservative Church. Rather, they lend explicit or implicit approval of whatever tactics are used by law enforcement on dissenters. In fact, it supports even harsh law enforcement on all others than themselves. In short, we could say that when the Conservative Church disturbs the peace, it does so through surrogates who wear uniforms.

The answer to the question of whether the Conservative Church is disturbing the peace depends on whose peace. For, as of late, the Conservative Church refuses to disturb the peace of the rich and powerful regardless of their sins. But by offering unconditional support to the same group, the Conservative Church vicariously disturbs the peace of all others. So for all its complaining about today's godless world and state of affairs, the Conservative Church seems to be content since it does not muster the courage required to change things.

Is The American Dream A Christian's Nightmare?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave a counter-intuitive interpretation of the monasticism of Martin Luther's days. Bonhoeffer saw it as an inconspicuous way of "loving the world"." This is puzzling for some because one does not normally think of leaving the world by entering a strict religious order as a way to enjoy the world. But our surprise here shows our blindness. Monastic life, during Luther's time, allowed monks to build the kind of world they could love rather than live their faith in the world that was. Thus Bonhoeffer saw Luther's leaving the monastery as the true not loving the world because by living in the world, Luther could then confront it rather than comply with.

When one looks at the American Dream, one must ask how much of Bonhoeffer's interpretation of monasticism applies. We must ask this because the American Dream has at its core an escaping from the real world to build a world that could be loved. Basically, the American Dream is a build-an-island--a fantasy island at that. Those of us who were taught to pursue this dream were told to live an isolated life for as long as possible. If we work hard enough to make enough money, we will be able to buy a house in the right neighborhood so our kids go to the right schools and buy enough stuff so as to please ourselves and shut out the world.

But the house and our neighborhoods are not the only part of our island. Our cars give us the power to choose almost everything such as where our work, houses, churches, and friends can be. Our cars allow us to escape we don't like about the neighborhoods we must visit.

If that is not enough, our TVs and our internet connections allow us filter out whatever else could intrude on us. And it is not that we need help to filter out what is unpleasant, the media does that for us already--testified to by those who are from other countries. Our media protects us from the real life negative stories about what our country and corporations do to others. In lieu of the unpleasant truth, our media, as Herman's and Chomsky's book Manufacturing Consent states, reports only that which does not interfere with our consumption of their sponsors' products. And out of that small selection that is left from all of this filtering, we use the remote to choose shows based on how they make us feel.

The Christian sees this isolation by his secular fellow-American and raises his own theological hiding. For many conservative Christians have embraced theologies that further sequester them from others. For example, in my domination's magazine, I rarely see any articles that deal with current events no matter how many people are suffering. Rather, their articles are concerned with fine theological points, evangelical efforts, or how to run church services.

But it is not just the articles that are printed in our literature that show how we distance ourselves, we use our gospel of individual salvation to shut out what is disturbing. We so reduce our standing before God to the current state of our inner self and beliefs that we become hyper vigilant over our own internal state. As a result, we become agitated and even panicked when the concerns of the world ask for our time. And it isn't just the negativity of the news that disturbs us, it is its complexity. Since things are simple when we only have to care for ourselves, we prefer to pay as little attention as possible to others.

And when we do see and respond to the suffering of others, it is only to a chosen few--fellow Christians or to those whom we cannot avoid. But such an approach to helping others goes against what the Bible teaches. Isaiah chapters 58 to 59 and Jeremiah 22:16 closely tie helping those in need with having seen the light. Likewise, Jesus's parable of the sheep and the goats not only taught that those who helped those in need were the sheep who received eternal life, it also showed that those who neglected the needy were banished from paradise. He also demonstrated this latter principle in His parable of the rich man and Lazarus and in His parable of the rich man who built extra barns to hold the excess of his harvest and told himself to eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow he could die--and sure enough, he did. Last in our list but not in the Bible, Amos 6:1 pronounces judgment on those who live at ease in a land where there is a great deal of injustice.

But perhaps the most pathetic way that Christians remove themselves from the world is by submitting to authority. It is not that Christians are not called to submit to those in authority, quite the contrary. But many of today's Christians do so as a way of shielding themselves from the risks that come with confronting evil rather than from punishment. Thus, submission to authority is sometimes practiced not in order to love God and others, but to secure for oneself the kind of world that is most tolerable if not lovable. And so when evil prevails in either the private or public sector, this legitimate command to submit to the authorities is used to hide oneself, as Jonah tried to do, from the mandate to preach the Gospel. But not only are we negligent when we fail to confront who abuse power, we become complicit in its evil ways. And we do so in order to ride in on the coattails of evil and power rather than risk any reprisal for challenging it.

Martin Luther King faced this very dilemma when he stood up to the legal racism and hatred that was rampant in the South. He wanted to honor and follow the commandment in Romans 13 that told him to submit to the authorities. At the same time, he knew that many authorities were enforcing unjust laws and allowing abuse and terrorism. He could have submitted and just gone along with the status quo and he would have avoided making himself a target. But that would be the coward's way out! For if he was quiet, then others would continue to suffer horribly. So King concluded that he could meet both responsibilities by using respectful dissent and peaceful protest. When arrested, he made no effort to resist. He did not challenge authority of the police; but he did challenge the validity of unjust laws and the society that enjoyed them.

Finally, there is still even a greater escape from our responsibilities to the world that many Christians use and I am not referring to belief in the rapture. That flight consists of relying solely on prayer to confront the sins of the status quo. It isn't that prayer should be forsaken. But prayer without the actions can be dead, especially when we passover opportunities to speak out.

What makes the last two reasons for not speaking out most despicable is that when using them, we use a veneer of righteousness and concern to cover our fear and apathy. While neglecting the suffering of others, we say to them that we care but our lack of actions show that it is only for ourselves. Some Christians will protest by pointing to individual acts of helping those in need or to mission trips taken to help those in need. But while such actions should be passionately embraced, they cannot excuse us from failing to defend those who are being oppressed. Private acts of charity must be done in conjunction with preaching the Gospel to power.

There is a Biblical reason why the American Dream is so desirable to Christians. It is because we see the American Dream as Paradise restored and thus our Christian duty to enjoy. In fact, some think that the purpose of God's Word is to make Paradise accessible again. Such Christians argue that basing one's life on God's Word is like following the right blueprints when constructing a building and they have a point. The more we follow God's Word, the more we can avoid the hazards of sin.

But the big question becomes did God give us His word to return us to the Garden or to help us through the Wilderness? But before answering that question, we must understand why would Jesus commanded us to collect our treasures in heaven rather than on earth and why the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us we to look for a home to come rather than a home here.

To believe that God's Word tells us how to regain Paradise, even in part, is to believe a lie. The real attraction to the American Dream isn't the opportunity to restore what was lost but to worship what can be found--mammon. The American Dream is a monasticism with benefits. Its preachers assure us that we can be righteously selfish. It allows us flee from what is unpleasant and distasteful in the world while enjoying its corruptible fruit. This makes the American Dream a trap for the Christian. For when we try to take what we want, we become deaf and blind to both the world God wants us to share His love with as well as our own spiritual condition.