The good, the bad and the ugly
This weekend I was traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wheeling, West Virginia via automobile. As is my habit, I listened to the radio during much of the trip. As is also my habit, I listened to a variety of programs and individuals making it a point to listen to those who I know have political and religious opinions which are different than mine. Clearly, it is important to gather all the facts and opinions I can if I am going to have make informed decisions.
Traveling though the Midwest one has access to many religious stations, lots of country music and, of course, news from commercial stations as well as public radio stations. Many of the religious programs which I repeatedly heard were a part of Bott ministry featuring Christian ministers which includes John and Richard Bott.
This was the weekend celebrated in the United States as Independence Day. I was not surprised many of the sermons mentioned this fact. Repeatedly I heard and observed:
· The belief that it is only through an acceptance of Jesus as Lord and savior that one can be saved from eternal damnation.
· The belief that there is a direct connection between Christian belief, the Constitution, the church, and patriotism to the United States (repeatedly referred to as America).
· The belief that Christian faith demands the support of family values - heterosexual, nuclear families only. In fact, some equated the downfall of this nation with legalizing marriage for same sex couples.
· The belief that Christian faith demands complete allegiance to Israel’s policies towards Palestine.
· The belief or the assertion that these United States were created as a Christian nation and must remain so despite the fact that we do not have a national religion and our citizens represent many religions.
· The belief that climate change is related to our sexual and other sins and not the sin of our pollution of the planet.
I was also stuck by the absence of any mention of:
· History of slavery.
· History of the theft of land and other abuses of the indigenous people who were here before Europeans arrived.
· The rich history of Mexico, Hawaii and other regions of the country which preceded the formation of the United States.
· Racism
· Sexism although there was mention of the “God assigned gender roles” to males and females.
· The gross unequal distribution of wealth.
· The fact that we incarcerate more people for longer periods than any other so-called developed nation and have a higher recidivism rate than any other nation.
· The fact that we do not have national health care.
· The fact that we are destroying the earth through global warming and use non-biodegradable products such as plastics.
· The fact that politically conservative and religious people are less likely to be vaccinated.
· The treatment of refugees fleeing violence and poverty. Much of the violence and poverty is directly related to some of our historic policies as a nation as well as the policies of other nations.
· Our attachment to guns and violence.
· Our attachment to monetary profit often at the price of our professed core values.
I would like to say I was surprised by some of these observations but, sadly, I was not. For some reason, I am always surprised by the absolute certainly they have the only possible truth; that Christianity, as they teach it, is the only possible or true framework.
While I respect the right of all of us to practice the religious beliefs which makes sense to us, it seems dangerous to me to define the saved and the patriotic by one’s particular beliefs, especially when that belief system seeks to dominate others. It also seems to me that a religion whose original teacher declared that “the truth shall make you free;” needs to consider a wider slice of history if it is to brand itself as patriotic. To what or to whom is one being patriotic if it is to a whitewashed or partial version. As all of us are a composite of the “good, the bad, and the ugly”, those who love us love the whole of us. The same has to be true for this country. This country is also a composite of the good, the bad and the ugly.
We will never be at our best as individuals, as a spiritual community and as a country if we cannot face who we are in all as a complex mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly.
Written July 6, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
This weekend I was traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Wheeling, West Virginia via automobile. As is my habit, I listened to the radio during much of the trip. As is also my habit, I listened to a variety of programs and individuals making it a point to listen to those who I know have political and religious opinions which are different than mine. Clearly, it is important to gather all the facts and opinions I can if I am going to have make informed decisions.
Traveling though the Midwest one has access to many religious stations, lots of country music and, of course, news from commercial stations as well as public radio stations. Many of the religious programs which I repeatedly heard were a part of Bott ministry featuring Christian ministers which includes John and Richard Bott.
This was the weekend celebrated in the United States as Independence Day. I was not surprised many of the sermons mentioned this fact. Repeatedly I heard and observed:
· The belief that it is only through an acceptance of Jesus as Lord and savior that one can be saved from eternal damnation.
· The belief that there is a direct connection between Christian belief, the Constitution, the church, and patriotism to the United States (repeatedly referred to as America).
· The belief that Christian faith demands the support of family values - heterosexual, nuclear families only. In fact, some equated the downfall of this nation with legalizing marriage for same sex couples.
· The belief that Christian faith demands complete allegiance to Israel’s policies towards Palestine.
· The belief or the assertion that these United States were created as a Christian nation and must remain so despite the fact that we do not have a national religion and our citizens represent many religions.
· The belief that climate change is related to our sexual and other sins and not the sin of our pollution of the planet.
I was also stuck by the absence of any mention of:
· History of slavery.
· History of the theft of land and other abuses of the indigenous people who were here before Europeans arrived.
· The rich history of Mexico, Hawaii and other regions of the country which preceded the formation of the United States.
· Racism
· Sexism although there was mention of the “God assigned gender roles” to males and females.
· The gross unequal distribution of wealth.
· The fact that we incarcerate more people for longer periods than any other so-called developed nation and have a higher recidivism rate than any other nation.
· The fact that we do not have national health care.
· The fact that we are destroying the earth through global warming and use non-biodegradable products such as plastics.
· The fact that politically conservative and religious people are less likely to be vaccinated.
· The treatment of refugees fleeing violence and poverty. Much of the violence and poverty is directly related to some of our historic policies as a nation as well as the policies of other nations.
· Our attachment to guns and violence.
· Our attachment to monetary profit often at the price of our professed core values.
I would like to say I was surprised by some of these observations but, sadly, I was not. For some reason, I am always surprised by the absolute certainly they have the only possible truth; that Christianity, as they teach it, is the only possible or true framework.
While I respect the right of all of us to practice the religious beliefs which makes sense to us, it seems dangerous to me to define the saved and the patriotic by one’s particular beliefs, especially when that belief system seeks to dominate others. It also seems to me that a religion whose original teacher declared that “the truth shall make you free;” needs to consider a wider slice of history if it is to brand itself as patriotic. To what or to whom is one being patriotic if it is to a whitewashed or partial version. As all of us are a composite of the “good, the bad, and the ugly”, those who love us love the whole of us. The same has to be true for this country. This country is also a composite of the good, the bad and the ugly.
We will never be at our best as individuals, as a spiritual community and as a country if we cannot face who we are in all as a complex mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly.
Written July 6, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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