President Obama can never seem to win with Republicans, who seem to attack him for not talking about the Bible enough and then attack him even harder when he does. Take, for example, American Family Radio host Sandy Rios’ interview…with Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., in which Brat expressed his anger that Obama cited Christian teachings when he criticized Republicans for their attempts to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S. The president, Brat said, “is using the Christian tradition and trying to bring about compassion by bonking Republicans over the head with the Bible. It’s almost a comedy routine on what compassion and love is. He’s mocking his enemies in order to compel a larger federal state using the tradition of love.”…. He said that the conservative movement “needs to reeducate its people that we own the entire tradition” of Christian love, because liberal professors “have rejected natural law” and religious ideas.
In the space of a few short sentences, Rep. Brat just succinctly nailed why I consider myself good without God. Brat represents the smug, arrogant wing of Christianity personified by this bit of wisdom from Mahatma Gandhi: “I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.” This sort of religious intolerance and self-ascribed moral and theological superiority render “Christians” like Brat unable to accept or even recognize that they lack (and have never had) the moral authority to determine who “owns” Christianity.
The Founding Fathers created the separation of Church and State to protect the Republic from hyper-religious zealots who believed their God by rights should be our government. All one need do is look at countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iran to understand the perils and pitfalls of mixing religion and government. Going back in history, there are myriad examples to be found of government corrupted and brutalized by the introduction of religion. Government, at least in this country, exists to serve ALL citizens, not all of whom are Conservative, White, and Christian. When government is defined to be of, by, and for a particular religion, it’s become the locus of the very tyranny zealots like Brat claims to live in mortal fear of.
Of course, it’s not “tyranny” when you’re doing it to someone else, is it? It’s only a problem when they’re doing it to you.
“He’s using the Christian tradition and trying to bring about compassion by bonking Republicans over the head with the Bible,” Brat said. “It’s almost a comedy routine on what compassion and love is. He’s mocking his enemies in order to compel a larger federal state using the tradition of love.”
The President? “Bonking” his “enemies” with the Bible? If you believe that you and those who believe as you do to be the “owners” of Christianity, you’re probably comfortable with the idea of believing President Obama to be a “false” Christian. Here’s the thing, though; I remember enough from my Sunday School days to remember that God doesn’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat; He cares about how you treat people. Despite the self-serving arrogance that characterizes Brat’s self-congratulatory theology, being a Democrat doesn’t disqualify one from the fellowship of the Lord.
Being a self-righteous ass just might.
No person or ideological demographic “owns” Christianity? Faith by its very nature is ephemeral and intangible and not amenable to being claimed by any one person or group. Those who believe that hey have the God-given right to claim Christianity as their own only demonstrate how little they truly understand and live they faith they claim as their exclusive property.
There are a number of people in my life who call themselves Christians. Given the way they endeavor to live their lives, it’s clear to me they not only understand the teachings of Jesus Christ, they’re actually trying to live them. They recognize Christianity isn’t about hatred, exclusion, or intolerance; it’s about acceptance, love, inclusion, and tolerance…and they make every effort to model those qualities. They don’t believe they “own” Christianity. They don’t prove the depth of their faith by cutting off funding to Planned Parenthood and effectively denying poor women reproductive health care. They don’t occupy and destroy public property because “the Lord” told them to do it. They also don’t discriminate against and consider others to be “less than” because they don’t share their narrow, self-interested definition of an acceptable theology.
Christianity, at least as I was raised to believe, is a fairly simple, open, and accepting philosophy. It’s about inclusiveness and compassion, something Rep. Brat and the self-righteous fellow travelers who believe they “own” Christianity could stand to learn.
