News
Intelligence Analysis
From JesusontheFamily.org
The
Christian Minority
Putting
Christ Back into Christianity
by Dr. Theresa
Whitehurst
December 21,
2004
See also http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/whitehurst2.html
[Editor's Note: The Yurica Report combined two different
versions of Dr. Whitehurst's article in order to bring the entire
article to our readers.]
"Jesus walked the earth as a revolutionary
hero of a very different sort...His teachings, delivered with
gentle confidence, bothered the rich and powerful of his day.
His refusal to back down from his convictions threatened those
in authority, especially those who were accustomed to enforcing
religious rules, deciding who did and didn't measure up."
Dr. Teresa Whitehurst
The Christian Minority
Coalition
Because Following Jesus Has Never Been
the Popular Thing to Do
Jerry Falwell is recruiting members and dollars
for his Moral Majority
Coalition. The title of that group implies that there are
more of "them" than there are of "us".
Judging by the way things are going, I would
have to agree.
Rev. Jerry Falwell is worried that Christmas
isn't in the public square, when the real problem is that it
isn't in our hearts: American Christians increasingly
see the babe in the manger as sweet but irrelevant when it comes
to the way we treat others at home and abroad.
Many Christians today see Jesus as their ticket
to heaven, and little more. When it comes to political philosophy,
they much prefer the wrathful, violent images of God that are
found in selected verses from other parts of the Bible.
But in all fairness, some who go along with
mean-spirited campaigns are privately uneasy with the changes
they're seeing in their faith, from their own pulpits and from
the White House itself, but fear the backlash if they speak out.
And they're right to worry. Many Christians
from conservative churches have written to me, to describe that
backlash they've had to endure from churchgoers and family members
whenever they've dared to stand up for Jesus' teachings...particularly
those that are inconvenient to certain political agendas.
Why We're Outnumbered
"Enter by the narrow gate; for the
gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction,
and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and
the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are
few." Jesus
We who oppose war, domination, intolerance
and the persecution of minorities under the banner of our faith
are outnumbered. It's easier to be a Christian when
Christ's words and example are cast aside as "for our personal
lives only" or "spiritual teachings that aren't relevant
to political matters" or simply "impractical in worldly
affairs".
Indeed, the world rewards conformists--Christian
and nonChristian alike--who worship flags, follow political leaders,
endorse violence or political bullying to get their way, and
hate all the right people. The path to power in this country
is to promote Christianity as a federal religion, to incite contempt
for people of other races, sexual orientations, religions, income
levels, races, political views, etc, and above all, to stay with
the herd.
Contrary to George
W. Bush's view of Jesus , in a comment that brings to mind
the phrase, "damning with faint praise", Jesus was
not a "political philosopher". Jesus is, for
believing Christians, the Son of God, the Christ, Prince of Peace,
the Messiah...our Savior, in case we've forgotten. For
Christians, Jesus isn't just another philosopher to read and
discuss and put back on the shelf.
Christianity in America has been infected
with an unseen but deadly virus that's eating away the very cornerstone
of our faith.
If you listen carefully to the words of radical rightwing Christian
leaders, you'll detect a subconscious disrespect for Jesus and
something akin to atheism regarding his divinity: Were Jesus
truly believed to be divine, his teachings would be
granted the same respect and obedience as those of the wrathful
God taught in other parts of the Bible.
If "conservative" Christian leaders
really believed that Christians must give top priority to Jesus'
teachings, they wouldn't dare urge us to endorse contradictory
attitudes and behaviors. But they do, and it's time we called
them on it. There comes a time, particularly when pre-emptive
wars are waged in Jesus' name, when
silence is betrayal.
Fundamentalist political and religious leaders
all over the US are giving Christians, through word and deed,
permission to explain away, ignore or disobey Jesus' commands
if the situation "requires a different response", or
if there's a Bible verse better suited to one's goals, or if
one's president prefers a more wrathful approach.
That's Christian relativism.
Christian Relativism
It does seem that the majority of Christians
in America today would prefer to keep Jesus safely confined to
two events that don't require us to change our interpersonal
or international attitudes and behaviors: (1) birth in a manger
and (2) death on a cross.
Both of those events, at Christmas and at
Easter, can be celebrated without our having to change the way
we think, speak and behave. In many churches, what Jesus said
and did between those two events is taught as nice but
less relevant to "family values" than Old Testament
law or Paul's advice.
Rev. Falwell worries
that Christmas isn't in the public square, when the real
problem is that it isn't in our hearts: Christians increasingly
see the babe in the manger as sweet but irrelevant when it comes
to the way we treat others at home and abroad.
Many Christians today see Jesus as their ticket
to Heaven, and little more. When it comes to political philosophy,
they much prefer the wrathful, violent images of God that are
found in selected verses from other parts of the Bible.
But in all fairness, some who go along with
mean-spirited campaigns are privately uneasy with the changes
they're seeing in their faith, from their own pulpits and from
the White House itself, but fear the backlash if they speak out.
And they're right to worry. Many Christians
from conservative churches have written to me, to describe that
backlash they've had to endure from churchgoers and family members
whenever they've dared to stand up for Jesus' teachings...particularly
those that are inconvenient to certain political agendas.
Different Quotes for
Different Folks: Biblical Ammo
For activist leaders of the radical religious
right and its representatives in the Bush administration, the
Bible isn't so much a spiritual guide as an ammunition storehouse.
Verses are handpicked from here and there (carefully ignoring
those scriptures that might get in the way of their own "godly"
image and political ambitions) to justify whatever they want
to do.
And since there are commands in various parts
of the Bible to do terrible things that Jesus never condoned
– like stoning your rebellious children to death, or stoning
gay people, or killing everyone in an enemy's village except
the young virginal girls...well clearly, there's something for
everyone, no matter how cruel, no matter how vile.
Favorite books of the Bible for the majority
of Christians who've gotten swept up by the seductive words of
racist, pro-war, gay-persecuting, woman-silencing and child-beating
proponents include: Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Romans,
Thessalonians, and Revelations.
Non-favorites of the majority that are quoted
less often and very selectively, because they're filled with
teachings of nonviolence, respect for those who are different,
love of neighbor and enemy alike, true humility and liberal compassion,
are: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
So how did Jesus get demoted, and why? A reading
of the gospels will make that quickly apparent. The Sermon on
the Mount alone presents tremendous difficulties for those who
would use the Bible to enforce their personal prejudices, take
from the poor to give to the rich, or justify pre-emptive wars.
Jesus was a troublemaker in his day and in
ours because he stood up for those who were reviled and persecuted
by religious authorities under the banner of faith. He taught
people to see God as a compassionate, accepting parent to love,
not as an angry, violent, punitive authority figure to fear.
How Jesus Got Demoted
by the Religious Right
Leaders of the decidedly nonconservative "conservative"
right avoid focusing on what Jesus actually said; his teachings
would prohibit their campaign to forcibly remake others –
Christian and nonChristian alike – into their own image.
But they can't just come out and say "don't
pay any attention to Jesus' teachings" because this would
alarm the majority of Christians who would revolt. So Right-Wing
religious leaders are doing what tyrants aiming to divide and
conquer Christians have always done:
(1) They distract us away from Jesus' teachings
and commands by focusing exclusively on his birth, death, and
ticket-to-salvation role,
(2) They claim to be biblical literalists,
"Bible-believing Christians" to preempt criticism,
yet blatantly pick and choose only those verses that serve their
purposes, and
(3) They refer constantly to "God"
rather than "Jesus," a potent subliminal strategy that
convinces Christians to focus on a violent disciplinarian God
rather than a gently shepherding Jesus. By instilling the terror
of God's punishment instead of the love of Jesus' guidance, rightwing
Christian leaders have convinced American Christians that the
wrathful, violent God portrayed in pre-Christian times is the
one they’d better obey, while they need only to believe
in Jesus (easy), not obey him (difficult).
That's why Jesus had to be demoted in the
current strain of politically-focused "conservative"
Christianity. Such Christians deny this of course, exclaiming
that they do obey Jesus' teachings – in their hearts.
They'll say that Jesus never expected us to actually implement
those teachings, that they were more or less spiritual insights:
We can persecute and kill, so long as we do it with a pure heart.
Leaders of the radical right give all manner
of creative reasons for disobeying Jesus' teachings--especially
those that contradict other scriptures condoning sexism, war,
slavery, domestic violence and the domination of others.
Most damaging of all, rightwing political
and religious leaders are inserting the word "Jesus"
into their ugliest campaigns in the US and around the world.
"Let's get Jesus
back"
Bill Moyers
It's lonely, going through that narrow gate.
That's why we're forming a fellowship of Christians who are grieved
by the way our faith is being used to create suffering at home
and abroad, and long to stand up for Jesus. We're out to clear
his name.
Contrary to George W. Bush's view of Jesus,
in a comment that brings to mind the phrase, "damning with
faint praise," Jesus was not a "political philosopher."
Jesus is, for believing Christians, the Messiah, in case we've
forgotten. For Christians, Jesus isn't just another philosopher
to read and discuss and put back on the shelf.
Christianity in America has been infected
with an insidious virus that's eating away at the very cornerstone
of our faith. If you listen carefully to the words of radical
rightwing Christian leaders, you'll detect a subconscious disrespect
for Jesus and something akin to atheism regarding his divinity:
Were Jesus truly believed to be divine, his teachings would be
granted the same respect and obedience as those of the wrathful
God taught in other parts of the Bible.
If "conservative" Christian leaders
really believed that Christians must give top priority to Jesus'
teachings, they wouldn't dare urge us to endorse contradictory
attitudes and behaviors. But they do, and it's time we called
them on it. There comes a time, particularly when pre-emptive
wars are waged in Jesus' name, when silence is betrayal.
Christians who take seriously the Sermon on
the Mount may not be in The Moral Majority, but that doesn't
mean we're wrong: It means we're The Christian Minority, following
Jesus at a time when many Christians are following men.
This Christmas, let us celebrate the passions
of the Christ – the teachings he gave to a troubled world
– and honor him by bringing him back into Christmas, and
into Christianity, too. Jesus called for a revolution of the
heart and the soul. Let it begin with us.
"For the gate is narrow and the way
is hard, that leads to life,
and those who find it are few." Jesus
Dr. Teresa Whitehurst [send
her mail] is a clinical psychologist and the author of Jesus
on Parenting: 10 Essential Principles That Will Transform Your
Family (2004). She offers parenting workshops and writes
the column, "Democracy, Faith and Values." Visit
her website.
Copyright © 2004 LewRockwell.com
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