It seems as though the Christian Right has not read the Bible that they are preaching from. Feeding the poor, love your neighbor, treat aliens as family. These are all lessons I have learned. I recently had a discussion with a “Christian” about how we should feed the poor. He said that should be a personal choice not a government choice. He also stated that LGBTQIA people should not be able to get married and pro choice was murder. I told him that should be personal choice not government. I am a Christian who believes that Jesus would be sad that people are using his name to spread hate.
So, helping the poor should be a choice, but non-heterosexual marriage shouldn't be? And forced birth? His radical individualism is hurting us all. Thanks!
Mr Leonard, extremely well written and precise. My understanding is that the greatest growth in "Christianity" world wide is this prosperity gospel, often with a charismatic leader spouting the promises of riches on earth. At times in past history Christianity functioned with an appeal of a blissful Heaven awaiting the faithful who were fated to simply endure their suffering on earth. The prosperity gospel of today offers riches right now if you just pray loudly enough and say all the right things. No wonder it draws and hoodwinks. And if you aren't rich, well you were not committed enough or not a true believer. Those is poverty have only themselves to blame because they didn't pray hard enough and thus can be consigned to a fate of their own making. The words of Jesus in the Gospels are weird and irrelevant. Jesus is the "personal savior" who is there to protect and reward you specifically.
Well put. The irrelevancy of the Gospels to them astounds me. And I must say their "charismatic leaders," from the TV and radio preachers to Trump, all seem clownish and not charismatic. But millions of people see them as charismatic. Thank you!
As a scholar of American literature, I can't help but feel depressed by this post, not only because the problem is intractable, but because it's been present since the first chapters of European settlement in North America. John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity" -- a favorite allusion of conservatives for its reference to the City on the Hill -- conveyed the alarming conviction that Puritans had been sent on a mission from God to transform the wilderness back into Eden. While he uses lovely metaphors about love being a "ligament" that binds the body together, he also endorses a fixed class system that is pretty similar to GOP views of wealth and poverty now. There were Christian liberals at that time, too. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were two of them. They were summarily banished for their trouble. John Woolman, a Quaker abolitionist, was another. A student of mine once responded to an essay question for my early Am Lit survey, Is America Great?, with a two part answer. The first half of her essay began, "America is not great. America has never been great." She recounted torture, genocide, slavery, and sexism in that section. The second half of the essay began, "America is great. America has always been great." In that section, she told the story of those like Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, John Woolman, Phillis Wheatley, Margaret Fuller, and others who have always been advocating for justice and equality. Both halves of the essay are true. I do not know how they can possibly be reconciled. So there is a fight for the nation's soul? Maybe. But there always has been, and I can't see how anyone will ever win it. The closest we've come is in abandoning the binary metaphor of a zero sum political war and replacing it with cultural pluralism and religious freedom. But I'm not sure that has ever been a prevailing view. As George Packer says, we live in many different Americas, and no faction is strong enough to make their America the only America for all.
Thanks for the historical and literary overview. Packer's book is fascinating, I read it when you suggested it to me. You should take this reply, fill it out, and get it to a broader audience. Most of this was new to me. Thanks again.
I always recommend Kurt Andersen's Fantasyland when talking about what presents as America's conflicting nature. Maybe a bit on the pop-history end of the spectrum, but enlightening nonetheless. "America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA."
It seems as though the Christian Right has not read the Bible that they are preaching from. Feeding the poor, love your neighbor, treat aliens as family. These are all lessons I have learned. I recently had a discussion with a “Christian” about how we should feed the poor. He said that should be a personal choice not a government choice. He also stated that LGBTQIA people should not be able to get married and pro choice was murder. I told him that should be personal choice not government. I am a Christian who believes that Jesus would be sad that people are using his name to spread hate.
So, helping the poor should be a choice, but non-heterosexual marriage shouldn't be? And forced birth? His radical individualism is hurting us all. Thanks!
Mr Leonard, extremely well written and precise. My understanding is that the greatest growth in "Christianity" world wide is this prosperity gospel, often with a charismatic leader spouting the promises of riches on earth. At times in past history Christianity functioned with an appeal of a blissful Heaven awaiting the faithful who were fated to simply endure their suffering on earth. The prosperity gospel of today offers riches right now if you just pray loudly enough and say all the right things. No wonder it draws and hoodwinks. And if you aren't rich, well you were not committed enough or not a true believer. Those is poverty have only themselves to blame because they didn't pray hard enough and thus can be consigned to a fate of their own making. The words of Jesus in the Gospels are weird and irrelevant. Jesus is the "personal savior" who is there to protect and reward you specifically.
Well put. The irrelevancy of the Gospels to them astounds me. And I must say their "charismatic leaders," from the TV and radio preachers to Trump, all seem clownish and not charismatic. But millions of people see them as charismatic. Thank you!
Bob, your personal experiences woven into commentary are powerful. Thank you.
As a scholar of American literature, I can't help but feel depressed by this post, not only because the problem is intractable, but because it's been present since the first chapters of European settlement in North America. John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity" -- a favorite allusion of conservatives for its reference to the City on the Hill -- conveyed the alarming conviction that Puritans had been sent on a mission from God to transform the wilderness back into Eden. While he uses lovely metaphors about love being a "ligament" that binds the body together, he also endorses a fixed class system that is pretty similar to GOP views of wealth and poverty now. There were Christian liberals at that time, too. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were two of them. They were summarily banished for their trouble. John Woolman, a Quaker abolitionist, was another. A student of mine once responded to an essay question for my early Am Lit survey, Is America Great?, with a two part answer. The first half of her essay began, "America is not great. America has never been great." She recounted torture, genocide, slavery, and sexism in that section. The second half of the essay began, "America is great. America has always been great." In that section, she told the story of those like Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, John Woolman, Phillis Wheatley, Margaret Fuller, and others who have always been advocating for justice and equality. Both halves of the essay are true. I do not know how they can possibly be reconciled. So there is a fight for the nation's soul? Maybe. But there always has been, and I can't see how anyone will ever win it. The closest we've come is in abandoning the binary metaphor of a zero sum political war and replacing it with cultural pluralism and religious freedom. But I'm not sure that has ever been a prevailing view. As George Packer says, we live in many different Americas, and no faction is strong enough to make their America the only America for all.
Thanks for the historical and literary overview. Packer's book is fascinating, I read it when you suggested it to me. You should take this reply, fill it out, and get it to a broader audience. Most of this was new to me. Thanks again.
I always recommend Kurt Andersen's Fantasyland when talking about what presents as America's conflicting nature. Maybe a bit on the pop-history end of the spectrum, but enlightening nonetheless. "America was founded by wishful dreamers, magical thinkers, and true believers, by hucksters and their suckers. Fantasy is deeply embedded in our DNA."
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35171984-fantasyland
-Shaylon (very much enjoying your writing here!)
Good to hear from you! I'll check it out.
Josh - I think you've nailed the American dilemma. Our dissociative identity is, at the same time, our strength and our achilles heal.