The Message Is Good But Does The Data Support It?

Mark Woods, a managing editor for Christianity Today (no bio available), has just written an article for Christianity today lamenting the attitudes of European Christians toward religious foreigners to their own country (click here for the article and click there for the study on which his article is based). And the news is not good if you're a Christian, at least it isn't suppose to be good. The news is this, that Christians, regardless of their church attendance, are more likely to harbor attitudes that could be construed as at least being partially bigoted than the religiously unaffiliated.

What are those attitudes that indicate bigotry? Those attitudes were part of a survey given to people of Europe. Those who claim to be Christians are classified as Christians and a distinction was made for those who regularly attend a church from those who don't. The approximate statements are below:

1.  Immigrants from the Middle East are not honest.

2.  Immigration should be reduced.

3.  Islam is fundamentally incompatible with their national culture and values.

4.  Are not willing to accept Jews in one's family.

5.  Are not willing to accept Muslims in their family.

In all of the above statements, more Christian showed intolerance in their answers than the non-religiously affiliated. From this, Woods concludes that Christians see their own religion as a 'cultural marker,' as a sign of national identity and belonging to their own society. And Woods has some legitimately strong words for those for such Christians.

What are Woods's words of correction? He calls the use of religion as a marker of cultural identity a tool for discrimination that can marginalize people from other groups. But more importantly, he sees the use of Christianity as a marker of national belonging as idolatry, and I could not agree more with his view. I see what he sees here. Making the Christian faith a symbol that identifies one earthly belonging is to put that earthly belong ahead of Christ.

Basically, I express Woods's analysis in a different way. I simply say that all of us Christian belong to multiple groups. And the temptation for us Christians is let our loyalty and our sense of significance from belonging to those other groups can become so high that those groups replace Christ in our lives. And one of the signs where group loyalty to an earthly group becomes greater than our loyalty to Christ will be indicated by how we treat other people, especially those who are different from us.

But before we sign off  in complete agreement with Woods here, we should note that further studies are needed to confirm his analysis. Why is that the case? It is because in the study Woods references, the percentage of church attending Christians who believe in the God of the Bible registers at only 64% while 32% of church attending Christians believe in another kind of god. And for those non-church attending Christians, only 24% believe in the God of the Bible while 51% do not. Thus, without a more detailed set of statistics, we can't firmly conclude from the study cited by Woods that being a Bible believing Christian in Europe positively correlates with holding to bigoted views of others.

However, we should note that what Woods said about European Christians, might also be said about religiously conservative American Christians, especially those who support President Trump's policies. Many of them have at least partially conflated their version of Christianity with what it means to be an American or even a Westerner. And there are plenty of religiously conservative Christian leaders who direct people to accept that view as their write disparagingly about the growing Muslim population in Europe and America.

Now national identity is not the only cultural idol that religiously conservative American Christians bow down to. Those Christians are just as happy at bowing down to the idols of their pet political and economic ideologies as they are to their national identity. This is easily seen when a fellow Christian challenge their political and/or economic sacred cows. Such a fellow Christian is often treated as a unbeliever for challenging those allegiances.

Perhaps, what is currently hurting the Church's credibility and witness to Christ the most are the loyalties we believers have for the other groups we belong to. Though belonging to these groups is unavoidable if a Christian is to live in the world in a way in which one can do his/her part in carrying out the Great Commission, having too high of a loyalty to those groups is not.
 
So though Woods needs better data to support the point he wants to make, his warning to fellow Christians regarding their loyalty to other groups could not more important to heed as it is now.






 
 

What Is Behind The Fans' Reactions To The Players Kneeling

This blogpost is written for some who have not taken kindly to Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. This article is written for some, not all. It isn't written for those who merely disagree with what Kaepernick did. I respectfully disagree with such people.

Rather, this blogpost is written for those who call for or even demand punishment for those players who have kneeled or found other ways to protest during the playing of the National Anthem. Some such people are going to boycott the NFL to put financial pressure on the owners to require players to stand.  

Such people are more offended when some don't stand for the National Anthem than they are for the reason Kaepernick protested in the first place: racism as exercised by some, but too many, police officers.  Such people want Black athletes to find better ways to protest without considering what they could do to reduce racism in our nation.

Such people essentially say they are offended because not standing for the playing of the national anthem shows disrespect to veterans without considering that some veterans support what Kaepernick did (click here). So if some veterans are supporting him, how can people say that what he did was disrespectful to veterans?

We should note the fear, anger, and hostility that some are expressing toward Kaepernick and others are really signs of personal problems. For example, do you believe that people who do not believe that this is the greatest nation in the world should leave? Then you should check the symptoms of narcissism. They include believing that one is more important than they are, being fixated on power and success, 'requiring constant admiration,' being unaware of or blind to what others experience and feel, and acting arrogantly (click here). BTW, we should note that narcissism isn't just for individuals, groups can enjoy it too. And those who participate in group narcissism don't have to be narcissists as individuals.

Are you enraged with players like Colin Kaepernick because he isn't doing what has always been done which standing at attention for the playing of the national anthem? Then consider some of the signs of the Authoritarian Personality: a strict following of middle class values, automatic submission to authority, being hostile to those who don't follow conventions or traditions, fixated on being dominant over others, and projects their own feelings on others (click here).

From a Christian perspective, those who place too much importance on a symbol or entity run the risk of idol worship. In his book, Losing Moses On The Freeway, Chris Hedges says that the following is part of idolatry (see page 42 of his book):

Those who worship idols deal harshly with those who become apostates.

The idols of nation, race, religion, ethnicity,gender and class are idols that demand exclusive and false covenants. These covenants exalt ourselves as long as we only define ourselves through the narrow definitions and exclude others outside the circle. Idols are always about self-worship. The idols subvert the equality that protects us from tyranny and injustice, the respect that urges us to see worth and dignity in all human life, even in those who oppose us. But the fear of exclusion, of incurring the wrath of those who worship the idol, sees us willing to justify the ostracism and even  abuse of others.

 We should note that we didn't become group narcissists, authoritarians, or idolators on our own; we had help We grew up being told how exceptional America is and, when we were young, were at least implicitly guided to never question the wars America fought. In addition, my own faith, Christianity has always overemphasized authority structures and punishment to the point that it began to embrace authoritarianism. And with regard to idolatry, we should note what Paul wrote in Romans 1:21-25 (click here):

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Is it really rational for those who really enjoy watching pro football to not only abstain from watching the game, but go on to try to punish a handful of protesting players simply they didn't stand at attention during the playing of the national anthem? Or is there something else going on? The above article answers the last question with a definitive 'YES'!

Protesting The Worship Of America

Jonathan Aigner (no bio could be found) recently wrote a short blogpost (click here for the article) protesting the worship of America in churches which typically occurs around July 4th. His protest could be divided into two parts. The first part comments on some of the hymns we sing in church that pay tribute, perhaps too much, to our nation. The second part asks the very poignant declaration that we cannot serve two masters. That last part tells us to decide between serving our nation first or serving God. And according to Aigner, when patriotism involves the singing of praises to our nation during worship serves, then patriotism has become idolatry.

The hymns Aigner lists are The Battle Hymn Of The Republic, America The Beautiful, and God Bless America. To the first hymn, Aigner asks how Christian could ever sing praises to war and rely on military strength for our salvation. To the second hymn, Aigner rightly laments over the idolization of America and an expression of faith in the American people. To the third hymn, Aigner questions the existence of any meaningful theology as well as the claim that America is a Christian nation that is a light to the nations. Aigner's retort is most appropriate; there is only one Christian nation in the world: the Church.

Aigner goes on to predict that America, like all other empires, will fall. And he asks could we really go on singing praises to our nation if Jesus was physically standing in our presence.

The second part of Aigner's protest declares what the Scriptures declare: that we cannot serve two masters. He goes on by listing the words of a hymn to show the difference between appreciating one's own nation and worshiping it.

Aigner's article is not deep, but it could not ring more true. However, there is another point that Aigner could have made which supports his contention. That worship of one's nation, in reality, is worship of oneself. This point is made clear by examining the religious reasons some Christians gave for supporting Jim Crow, and you could add for ethnically cleansing Native Americans from the land. The grounds for the "Christian" support for Jim Crow was the heretical belief that the White race was not just superior to the Black or Native American races, it included the notion that the White race was the chosen race. In other words, what those who used Christianity to support Jim Crow were worshiping was themselves, their own group. And if singing patriotic hymns around July 4th follows the same reasoning, then the singing of those patriotic hymns is merely another instance of us engaging in self-worship by praising our nation. And perhaps why refusing to sing praises to America or challenging its legitmacy angers some people so much is because to not sing America's praises is to rob those Americans of the worship they believe they deserve.

Another SuperBowl, Another Wasted Chance

SuperBowl Sunday was the same-old, same-old here. It was a chance to get together with some old friends to watch a game. Of course, being with the old friends far outweighed the game in importance and enjoyment. None of us don't know why we wait until the SuperBowl to get together, we would all like to see each other more often. But such is life.

Not that I am a big sports fan, in fact, I am even less of a pro football fan. But the team I favor ever so slightly over the others was not only in the SuperBowl, it won. Coached by fashion-god Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots edged the Seattle Seahawks in a game in which both teams had played well enough to be called champions. It is unfortunate that only one team won this game.

In a FirstThings.com blogpost, Westminster Theological Seminary professor Carl Trueman blogged (click here) that sports are a Pascal-type distraction from the realities of life, not a religion. And just as it is sometimes a shame that there can only be one winner of a SuperBowl contest, it was sad that, rather than applying a Miller Lite beer commercial logic to his list of options, Trueman could recognize only one truth: that sports are a Pascal type distraction to life. By identifying a distraction as a Pascal type one, Trueman is saying that we sometimes use sports and entertainment in order to be happy as we ignore the realities of our own limits and accountability before God. We might add that happily ignoring what the immediate realities of life could be for us and others is another distraction we often embrace. Those realities that we might want to ignore would be how all of us suffer. But somehow, like our own prosperity, distractions can numb us to pain.

But us Christians also need to consider how sports and entertainment can be a gateway enjoyment into idolatry. At least, that is how I Corinthians 10:7 describes the lifestyles of those who are having too much fun (click here). For it seems that too many of us work in order to have as much pleasure as we can after work. That is that we've made the compartment of our lives set aside for enjoying things bigger than what God intended it to be. Thus, many pleasures could indicate that many of us Christians are polytheists at heart.

When we combine the truths that sports and entertainment are a distraction from the pressing realities of life and the hereafter and that sports can lead us down the path to idolatry, does it make sense for the Christian to invest as much into sports and entertainment what the unbeliever does?

Are We Too Prosperity-Whipped To Demand Real Democracy?

Our families spent part of the 4th of July at Virginia Beach. Not being a beach person myself, I walked the streets near the beach and observed people as they were celebrating our nation's Independence Day. It seemed to me that the first concern of the patriotic revelers was to do what babies and toddlers must learn to do when their parents ignore their cries for attention: that is to self-soothe. We must, because either we are entitled by our nationality or we are addicted to the feeling regardless of the facts on the ground, feel good about ourselves. 

How do we pump ourselves up? We do it through a combination of  constructing myths and consumerism. We use myths to tell ourselves that we are special and thus we deserve the best while forgetting that claiming to be special is normal. Our myths are based more on ignorance or a careful selection of historical facts than false information though the latter does play a significant role. The myths of our early history do contain an admission of some faults, after all, nobody is perfect, but our current state more than makes up for the past. Thus, the fact that millions of people have been killed because of our national sins neither brings emotional distress nor makes us doubt that we are the greatest  shows we have a significant disconnect with our real past.

But myths do not have the starring role in our Independence Day celebrations, prosperity does. For regardless of the credibility of our myths, our satisfaction with the rights and wrongs from either the past or the present really depends on how much we can buy and consume  today. We are told that we are the most prosperous country in the history of the world, and there is no reason to doubt that. However, such a belief is also said with an assumption of its permanence. So as long our lifestyle consists of enough pleasures and distractions, distractions being the successes and lifestyle of society's idols, we will be content with the status quo.

This pride in our level of prosperity, however, ignores the fact that many empires were the wealthiest in history in their day. Why we are the history's reigning champions is simply because our powerful empire is the most recent one. There is no reason why the empires that replace ours could not possibly exceed us in wealth. This reveling in our prosperity also reveals something about us as a nation. It reveals our bottom line and that bottom line is our prosperity, not our principles.

So we should ask ourselves whether we would be content with both our past and present if we did not live in such abundance. Would we continue to tolerate our current bipolar, two party political system if far more people were suffering from poverty and hunger? And are we willing to ask ourselves if we could no longer afford to do what the Hebrews did in Moses's day, which was to eat and drink and stand up to play, would we ignore all of the questionable and immoral actions of our government such as its surveillance of innocent people, its incarceration rate of minorities, its persecution of whistleblowers, and all of its illegal wars? 

We need to ask and answer these questions because regardless of both the rate of dissatisfaction the public has with its government and the newest revelation of government wrongdoing, the American people, as whole, seem to be too apathetic to even remotely follow the example that people from other countries like Egypt, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Brazil as they have been effectively expressing their grievances to their respective governments. In other words, the people from these countries are practicing democracy better than we are. And this democratic disparity that exists between us and them in challenging our respective governments begs us to ask if America is still "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Should we consider if Egypt deserves the above title? After all, despite significant government repression by totalitarian leaders, Egyptians have defiantly filled the streets in the millions to overthrow two autocratic leaders. And though things are still a mess there, regardless who is in charge, Egyptians have already achieved a level of independence from rulers gone bad and they have done this despite the price that some have had to pay. 

How do Americans compare with Egyptians? Despite millions of Americans losing their homes, the revelations about our war crimes, the news about our government's surveillance of its citizens, and the persecution and sometimes torturous treatment of its whistleblowers, we either passively or actively act to maintain the status quo rather than demand change. Why? Because we are content with what we have and do not wish to rock the boat and risk further loss. Thus, we have learned to put up with more and more infringements on our own rights and more abuse of others. 

We have become prisoners of our prosperity. And this is the natural consequence of putting materialism on the highest pedestal. And this is not just the fault of  those who are well off, many of us who have less live vicariously through the lifestyles of our rich heros. We have become like the Hebrews of Exodus 32 to the extent that both societies have carved images of the same kind of animal to worship where both figures represent wealth and that we spend so much time playing. And because we wish not to lose what we have, we give up our freedoms and rights so we can continue to be kept people. 

There are uprisings throughout the world where people are demanding a greater degree of morality and rights for themselves and others. And some of those participating do so at great risk and hardship. And if we, who call ourselves Americans, continue to procrastinate participating in an uprising our own because more have not suffered, then we would have shown ourselves to be a people who are too cowardly to care about morality and others because we are afraid to lose the mammon that both we cling to and enslaves us.

Has Israel Become America's Pope?

Perhaps the article from the Atlantic Wire, Israel Is OK with Hagel as Secretary of Defense, was the last straw. After all, all through the election, Republicans used how Israel views Obama as a campaign ploy to wrestle votes away from Obama. Also, those speaking before the media in America have less freedom to criticize Israel than their Israeli counterparts. And finally, us Christian Fundamentalists are told that we should never criticize Israel or we will merit the judgment of God and the label of anti-Semite. I have had enough with those who tell us that from all of America's foreign policies to every attitude should be judged by the question, "What would Israel say?" This is such a paradoxical situation for the land of the free.

Though what grabs our attention are issues dealing with Israel and a selected use of anti-Semitism, Palestinians are Semites too but nobody ever cries "anti-Semitism" when they are denigrated, the real issues are much broader. The real issues include tribalism and blind obedience to propped up authorities and the ramifications of such not being challenged. One such possible consequence should we continue in our current tribalism addicition is that, in combination with an ever advancing and accessible technology, our very existence is being threatened (see article).

We should note that a Get Out Of Hell Card Free makes the end of human life on earth, as well as massive human suffering, seem trivial to the "real" Christian. And the more we embrace tribalism, such as the tribalism we see by both those who support Palestinian terrorism or carte-blanche use of the Israeli military, the more we embrace moral relativity. Though the word tribalism is a bit archaic, it has us cling to gang warfare in the name of survival.

All of this should make all Christians stop dead in their tracks and reconsider what they are doing when they offer unconditional support for any nation let alone Israel, but it doesn't. We have been conditioned to see tribalism as part of our spiritual heritage. We read of God lending some support for tribalism in the Old Testament and because of that, we assumed that He also supported a similar tribalism as European settlers began to practice ethnic cleansing here in America.

But we should note that nowhere in the New Testament is tribalism spoken of positively. The reasons for the difference from one testament to the other is not important here, but that such a change has taken place is. Whereas in the Old Testament, belonging to God's chosen people was determined by lineage and ceremony, it is decided by faith in the New Testament (Galations 3:6-10). And we should add here that God does not show partiality to those who do either good or bad (Romans 2:11). So with the New Testament, the age of tribalism has been vanquished. To continue to cling to it is to practice an aggrandizement that leads to idolatry.

But, as one believer said to me right before Church one time, our own cultural bias often overrides any objective attempt to understand the Bible. And so tribalism lives, though it does so unrighteously and as an affront to God. Thus to feel confident in a nation's decisions simply because another nation, in this case Israel, condones it leads us to boldly entwine oneself to sin.

But tribalism is not the only problem here, blind submission to authority figures also comes into play.  We should note that Christian Fundamentalists are suckers for anyone with authority. We are always told to, almost, unquestionably submit to every authority figure. And what could be a more fitting example of this addiction to submission than to be pleased that one's own sovereign nation's decisions are to be judged by reactions of another  nation? Such a devotion to authority reminds us of past Church failings when adherence to authority made it deaf and blind to reason. History tells us how that the overemphasis on authority and the minimizing of reason discredited the Gospel rather than glorified God.

In addition, there is no human authority figure or institution that merits blind obedience. Only God's Word does. And that Word is replete with examples of how human authorities had to be respectfully corrected rather than unconditionally obeyed. To do the latter, just to practice tribalism, is to engage in idolatry. And that is the most basic issue here. Blind obedience to human authorities can lead to a multitude of sins and a plethora of suffering. And such is the case in the world today.

What Christians Can Learn From The Penn State Scandal

As expected, the reaction to the punishment handed out by the NCAA by some from the Penn State community is one of anger. Some are angry over what is perceived to be the unfair treatment of Joe Paterno and his legacy. Some are angry over what is perceived to be unfair treatment of the players and coaches. Some are angry due to angst over possible ramifications of the loss of income from the football program. But all fans are angry because of the tarnishing of the group that provides them significance. The question then becomes, are these Penn Staters angrier over the sexual assaults and coverup than they are over the sanctions.

The reaction of Penn State fans to the punishment is due to group identity and loyalty. We join or become fans of groups because of the significance and/or sense of security they appear to offer. We join or become fans of groups that we identify with because of what the group does. In America, we have been trained to join or become fans of groups from right after birth. The names of our groups are on our clothes and on our treasures. We pick sports teams to root for and fan clubs to join. We invest a great deal of emotional energy into our groups. One of the biggest groups we will ever be a member of is our country. And when group loyalty and allegiance runs deep, talking down about another person's group is the same as talking down about someone's momma in that it can start a fight.

When our sense of group identity is strong, we like to flatter our own groups because, in so doing, we flatter ourselves. When we have a strong allegiance to a group, we have problems with either admitting to what our group has done wrong or being fully connected with what was wrong. At best, we reluctantly acknowledge what was done wrong but our emotional reaction is weak if it exists at all. Why? It is because of the dissonance that comes from the sense of significance we get by associating with the group and the demands of justice; and people react to dissonance by taking the easiest way out.

For the Christian, there is an even more important problem. That problem is the stronger association we have with a group, the more likely we practice group idolatry. That is right, idolatry. The more importance we gain from a group, the more likely that that group has become a god to us.

I use to be a very rabid Penn State football fan. In fact, a former minister from one of my past churches constantly suggested perhaps my love of Penn State football was idolatrous. I ignored those comments of course. After all, JoePa and Penn State football was the embodiment of what was good. It was specially blessed by God. And it was my job, as a devoted fan, to defend their honor. Then came the losing seasons at the beginning of this century and I realized that being an avid sports fan is just another way of being a manic-depressive. But when I became an activists in 2005, I realized that there was real suffering in the world and that those problems should draw more of my ire than when my team loses or is underrated.

After the 1994 season, I was livid that Penn State was not awarded a share of the National Championship with Nebraska. I was willing to go on a crusade to right this wrong. But my world was small then and so was my god. I was angry, not just because my team was cheated out of the recognition it deserved, I was mad because I was deprived as well.

What can group identity do to us? When we are a fan of a group that does well, such as a fan of a championship team, we can be loud and proud as if we deserved partial credit. We definitely feel a high; but it is a cheap high. It is a high we have neither earned nor sacrificed for. And we Americans have learned how to live off of cheap highs. We are addicted so we join as many groups as we can. But when one of our groups does something wrong, such as what some did at Penn State, we can experience a tearing battle with dissonance. Here, we must either acknowledge the wrong and let our idol be blasphemed, or we can minimize the wrongdoing by either rationalizing it or suffer a disconnect from seriousness of the injustice. And as horrible as the immoral acts that were done at and covered up by Penn State, what has been and is continually done in the name of our country during wars and other military interventions is far worse.

How do we know when group identity has morphed into group idolatry? It starts when we employ pedestals. It starts when the group and its reputation becomes more important than morals. It starts when what happens to the group becomes an escape for us from what is happening in the world. If we want to know how important belonging to groups, and even admiring individuals, should be, then we should read what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:1-11. For then, Paul belonged to one of the most prestigious groups he could have belonged to. And unlike being a sports fan, the group he belonged to required participation. He was a "Hebrew of Hebrews" (vs. 5) and a keeper of the law. And yet, this meant nothing to him because his significance came from Christ and Christ alone.

Certainly, we cannot go through life without belonging to groups. Paul used his Roman citizenship in order to gain an audience with the Roman government. I, myself, am an American, a Socialist, a Red Sox fan, and so on. In addition I belong to Occupy Wall Street and the International Organization for a Participatory Society. This issue here is not the mere belonging to any group; it is self-serving worship directed toward any group we become fans of. And this worship can be so subtle as to be undetectable at times. If more people at Penn State had Paul's dedication to Christ or were more committed to justice or had little to no group identity issues, perhaps the coverup might have never occurred. In other words, the beginning of the coverup may have just started with yelling, "WE ARE ...

Do We Need A Noam Chomskyland And Other Post Family Vacation Reflections

When he was 5 years old, my one nephew would crawl into a chair with me so I could read Noam Chomsky to him. At 6, he used a Noam Chomsky book I gave him to learn new words like "is" and "the." Because he is currently taking a sabbatical from reading Chomsky, I quipped to him while in a line to a ride in the Universal Studios Islands Of Adventure amusement park that I was going to take him to Noam Chomskyland after our trip. And when I reflected on my comment, I decided that if such a park was successful, it would put Conservatives in a dilemma of having to agree with Chomsky because of the dictates of the market while Liberals would have to pay attention.

A family vacation can be an interesting time to learn and reflect on what is going on around us. I found, as expected, that the staff of the vacation villa where we were staying easily understood some things that even some of my academic colleagues refused to acknowledge. For example, I was saying to one staff member behind the reception desk that if a person only cared about those in his or her own group, then that person had adopted a gang mentality. This concept is not intellectually challenging at all; but it does make some defensive, especially those who belong to society's dominant group.

My family knows that I am not the best person to take to amusement parks. We were in Orlando Florida where we all visited the Universal Studios theme parks, Sea World, and Aquatica. My kids and their cousins also spent a day at Disney World. The adults and my granddaughter went to Aquatica
 twice. Both times, I wore jeans and a teeshirt and spent most of my time either reading books like Anti-Capitalism: The New Generation Of Emancipatory Movements by Adamovsky and The Cross And The Lynching Tree by James Cone or pushing the stroller so the granddaughter could fall asleep. On the Harry Potter simulator in the Islands Of Adventure park, which I rode to be with the wife, I kept my eyes closed, to prevent motion sickness, and held my hat with one hand and my glasses on with my other. It was one of those unmanly things to do. And on our last day there, I stayed in the condominium because vacation food was not agreeing with my system.

While at the Hogwarts Village, see above, I was able to converse with two tourists from England. We compared countries and discussed some of the problems both countries had. My friends told me how some of their society's benefits killed, in some, the incentive to find work. I added that this is true especially when one is brought up in a society that teaches us to seek our own pleasure first. This was one of the highlights of the amusement park trips for me. And in addition to the books I read at Aquatica, I almost finished the book Days Of Destruction Days Of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco, a book not sold at most of the amusement parks we visited probably because it is considered to be a possible mood wrecker.

If one wonders why Americans are either ignorant of or apathetic to what is happening in today's world, it could very well be because our society puts so much energy into celebrating entertainment and fantasy. And we do so bravely considering the courage required to remain unmoved despite the certain self-destruction we are rushing towards. If anyone doubts the fact that we are enthusiastically embracing our own demise, consider the picture below advertising, what I thought was new but was later corrected, a bacon sundae.

We found the above at a Burger King in South Carolina. And because of this, I am now convinced that the doomsday predictions made by the Mayan Calendar are correct.

Like the Israelites who went off to play and worship a Golden Calf of their own making because Moses took too long, we too have become idol worshippers. Of course, family vacations and occasional trips to amusement parks does not idolatry prove. Rather, one only needs to observe the great cathedrals of amusement and entertainment erected throughout the whole country. And if that is not enough, consider how much money we spend on magic boxes that act as portals to some fantasyland escape and compare that with what we spend on educational materials that help us to both understand the plight of others and appreciate more of what it is to be human. Perhaps the final proof is that too many of us look at work as the price of admission to enjoying a "real" life of frivolity rather than take joy in working to give to others.

What is behind all of our efforts here is a sneaky sense of entitlement that says "whatever!" and "talk to the hand" to those who pay the real price for our euphoria. That is why the deprivation that comes from a lack of funding does not bother us as long as our centers of entertainment are state of the art. The same goes for the conditions that sweatshop-slave-child laborers have to endure to make the fun products we buy affordable. Thus, the drug of entertainment, which we are constantly mainlining,  makes us numb to the suffering of others. But it also makes us blind and deaf to the real state of the world around us. We seem unaware that our current unsustainable system is about to collapse.

Perhaps we should ask ourselves the question, how much time and money would Jesus spend on entertainment and amusement.

Writing History To Rationalize Anything

While celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary in Boston, MA., history became a topic often discussed. This was due in part to the land and sea Duck Tour we took along with walking the Freedom Trail. And one of the lessons we learned was that those who report the news have something in common with those who write history, both can have agendas.

Two such historical events that illustrate this point are Paul Revere's Ride and the Boston Massacre (its site is pictured on the left). We learned that Paul Revere's Ride was not as dramatic as Longfellow's poem would have us to believe. When challenged on the historical accuracy of his poem, Longfellow replied that he was a poet, not a historian. Similarly, the name "the Boston Massacre" implies that more people were killed than the five who lost their lives. But both events were hyped with the latter being used by some colonists to inflame passions against the British.

But not all of our history has been exaggerated. While walking the Freedom Trail, we visited the U.S.S. Constitution (pictured below). Multiple tour guides were quick to describe the ship as Boston's only undefeated team (33-0). With its sides being made from Georgian oak, cannonballs either bounced off or got stuck in the hull limiting damage to the ship during battle. As the ship's reputation grew, would be opponents would sometimes forfeit, that is surrender before the fight began, in order not to become another victim.

Another piece of history that was more honestly reported was what was said about the Puritans. The Puritans came to this country seeking religious freedom. Unfortunately, they didn't practice the Golden Rule in this manner as evidenced by how they treated Quakers. In fact, the Puritans could also exhibit a high degree of intolerance against their own who were seen as religious slackers.

But there is another kind of history. It consists of under or unreported stories from the past. I noticed on Boston's Duck Tour that little to nothing was said about the plight of the indigenous peoples, who witnessed the landings of the Pilgrims, and for good reason. Our forefathers ethnically cleansed the land of these Indians. The attacks on the native population in New England were often done in the name of God as the Puritans saw themselves as the New Israel who were to take possession of Americas as their own Promised Land while regarding the Indians as the early Israelites did the Canaanites. Neglect in reporting this history also shows an agenda.

But why would those having an agenda use history? It is because history plays a significant role in how people live in community. History can give us reasons for either hanging together during tough times or making joint sacrifices to meet challenges. And history can obligate us to continue what was started by others. In any case, a certain level of conformity and following orders are necessary and history can justify such obedience. This means that a favorable history would be binding on individuals and groups in contrast to a troubled one.

Thus, we see why those who are more patriotic want to idealize our past. For the more exceptional our Founding Fathers are perceived to be and the more we think they have given us, the more obligated we are to follow their lead. We can also see why an honest reporting of facts would be threatening to those who are patriotic. In fact, troubling past actions are rarely acknowledged unless one is under duress. We only need remember how German civilians who lived through WWII never fully admitted what their country had done to the Jews and others until invading armies made them visit the extermination camps. Perhaps this can explain why we still show a serious disconnect with our nation's treatment of the American Indians since we were never forced to face our atrocities against them.

The history of provision is important in the covenants described in the Bible. Adam was told of the Garden of Eden before God commanded him not to eat the forbidden fruit. God told Abraham how he brought him out of the land of Ur and gave land to him and his descendants as the reason for why he should obey God. The Ten Commandments start with God having brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt and slavery as the reason why they should obey the Commandments. And in Romans 12, Paul tells us that it is the mercies of God that obligates us to offer ourselves as sacrifices.

The question that American Christians must face is whether attributing our freedoms to the Founding Fathers borders on idolatry. For the higher the regard we have for our nation's Founding Fathers, the more their perceived provision obligates us to follow them. And the more we feel indebted to them, the more our loyalty is divided between honoring them and worshiping and following Jesus.  Some attempt to resolve this conflict by making the story and message of our Founding Fathers an extension to the Gospel. But in so doing, not only must they depend on a strongly filtered history of our nation's founders, they must change the Gospel message to make it conform to our nation's founding documents.

But there is one more point at which an inflated esteem for the Founding Fathers could conflict with Christianity. The more we admire the Founding Fathers, the greater difficulty we will have in fully acknowledging their sins.  And difficulty in recognizing their sins can become a refusal to confess our own. It is here that our admiration for the Founding Fathers and our reluctance to admit sin will allow us to continue doing wrong including those sins that have caused the most destruction.

The inflated self-esteem of those who settled this country gave them permission to visit atrocity after atrocity on America's indigenous peoples. The idea that we are a city on the hill allowed our nation's first European residents to live and grow rich off the backbreaking labor of Black slaves. And when we buy their view of themselves, we continue in committing their atrocities. We invade country after country or overthrow one government after another or install and support harsh dictator after harsh dictator because we feel entitled to exert our will over any country we can. As one friend so callously put it without reflection, it is what America does. So while we rightly condemn governments like Syria's for its deadly attacks on dissidents, we remain silent on the government of Bahrain and its suppression of dissidents because its present government is useful in meeting our strategic goals. And the first reason we assume that we have the right to rule the world is idea that we have a unique history that puts us above all other nations. But the irony is that as our perceived uniqueness moves us to imitate so many examples of history's past empires.

America And The Deadly Sin Of Gluttony

There is no official Biblical list of deadly sins, but there is an unofficial well recognized list. Gluttony is one of those sins. It is defined as consuming more food than one needs. In a country that struggles with obesity, gluttony can be assumed to exist. The problem that we Americans have with gluttony is that we only associate gluttony with the consumption of food. We might want to consider whether we Americans are gluttons of other things too. One thing that comes to mind is whether many of us Americans are gluttons of entertainment?

Biblically speaking, consuming too much entertainment has been associated with idolatry. This was the case in Exodus 32 where the people ate, drank, and played. Those people received God's harshest judgment. But there is no reason not to see our excessive enjoyment of as a form of gluttony as well. Consider some of the signs of compulsive eating [1]:

Always thinking about food

Eat to feel better

Continuing to eat even after feeling full

Overeat

Hunger makes you feel vulnerable and uneasy.

The above is just a partial list of signs of compulsive eating. The site goes on to say that if one suffers from at least 3 of the above signs, then you most likely have eating problems. So what should we think if we apply the above signs to our consumption of entertainment. Entertainment, here, includes listening to music, watching TV, going to the movies, watching sporting events, and playing games, all of which can remove us from an unpleasant real world.

The point here is not that entertainment is bad. That is not true. The point is do we consume too much entertainment. One way to determine that is to scan the above list and see if what is said about eating also applies to our consumption of entertainment. Do we

Always think about enjoying some form of entertainment or fun

Enjoy entertainment in order to feel better

Continue to be entertained long after we have been entertained

Consume too much entertainment

Are there times when we are restless when not being entertained

And while we are indulging in entertainment, we should note what is happening in the world around us. How many people in our own towns struggle economically, suffer abuse, experience hunger, and suffer fro health problems. After that, we might want to ask how many people around the world suffer the same. What would the world be like if we spent just a little less time being entertained and more time being involved with a suffering world?

I remember how we were taught to look down on the story of Nero playing music as Rome burned. How much different are many of us from Nero? How many of us seek contentment through entertainment while the world burns.

[1] http://www.freedomyou.com/compulsive_eating/compusive eating signs.htm

Sunni vs Shia American Style

While living in relative comfort, we Americans are often confused by why there is so much fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Of course, part of our confusion is because we are ignorant of important details. Because of our ignorance, we often oversimplify the problem and make inaccurate generalizations regarding both Shiites and Sunnis.

Despite that, there are problems between some Shiites and some Sunnis that should not puzzle us and about which we should not be self-righteous because we have our own religious divide right here in the US. Our divide is not between any of our religious groups such as Catholics and Protestants or between Christians and Jews. Rather, our great divide is between Republicans and Democrats and this division cannot be any more glaring than during this election year.

But how can one compare the current power struggle between Republicans and Democrats with the bloody Sunni-Shiite battles that are full of violence? We cannot. But we can compare our Republican vs Democrat contests with Sunni-Shiite battles when it comes to religion. We saw the religious fervor of both the Republicans and Democrats at their respective conventions.

What went on the Republican and Democratic conventions? The conventions included mindless cheering, singing, and emotional calls to loyalty to their candidates, parties and country and the atmosphere was far more intense than any spirit of worship I have witnessed in all of the Churches I have ever attended combined.

What is the object of their worship? It is our country of course and die hard Democrats and rabid Republicans wanted to show the nation that their expressions of patriotism were more holy and faithful than that of their counterparts.

The Democrats started first with a theme that is similar to what Bush promised during the 2000 Presidential campaign. As Bush promised to restore dignity and honor to the White House, so the Democrats promise to restore America as the hope for democracy and mankind. And as Obama described how he would reestablish America's place in the world, many Democrats cheered and waved small American flags.

The Republicans responded with their own show of worship of country. With a huge American flag shown on a giant screen behind their speakers, many convention delegates held signs that echoed the theme of both their convention and McCain's message. That theme was "Country First."

What cannot be missed was that these themes are religious statements according to the Bible. For example, the prophet Jeremiah warns us that those who trust in man are cursed while those who trust in God are blessed. Jeremiah's message is clear. one cannot trust in both (Jeremiah 17:5-7). In the Old Testament, the hope of Israel was never the nation of Israel; it was God.

We should also note, for those who held signs saying "Country First," that God does not smile on those who put anything else first before Him. The first two commandments given to Moses are very clear as to who should be first. According to Moses in Exodus 20:1-6, we are not to have any gods or make any likeness for worship--like an eagle. What is ironic here is that the party that claims to know the most about God promoted the breaking of the first two commandments by putting their country first.

Now worshiping one's country does not show that a similar divide exists between Republicans and Democrats as exists between some Sunni and Shiites. But the disdain that convention attendees showed for their counterparts does. Democrats looked down on their Republican counterparts for their moral failures of not caring for those in need and for condoning and practicing torture, their economic policies that benefit the rich and hurt the rest of the country, their rush into an unnecessary war, and their assault on the Constitution.

But despite what the Democrats said, ironically, the most mean-spirited and belittling statements were made by the religiously righteous Republicans. And the object of the Republicans' scorn was not just what could legitimately be thought of as being legitimate Democratic faults such as their moral relativity or their perceived reluctance to use the military to defend the nation; the Republicans viciously attacked community organizers by stating that their work carried no responsibilities. But that is not the only expression of hatred that some Republicans have for Democrats. I would add, from my blog experiences, that SOME of these conservatives demand that all Democrats should be arrested for treason.

Much of the self-adoration and the denunciations against counterparts made by both Republicans and Democrats could be easily dismissed if it were not for an implication that results from either hoping for America to reclaim its position as the hope for democracy and mankind or putting your country first when making decisions. The inescapable conclusion of both of these themes is that whatever leadership we vote in, our military adventurism and exercises in empire will be placed above all accountability. That is because if America is the hope of man and Democracy, our leaders must be free to do whatever they think is necessary to protect the Free World from its enemies. And if our decisions are guided by the principle "Country First," then there is no other law by which our decisions can be judged. After all, when one's nation is one's god, there are no laws limiting how one can defend it.