mbjones

I’m cleaning out my junk in preparation for a move into an apartment with a girl. Tonight, whilst cleaning out a draw, I came across some random high school papers. One of them was a packet of poetry I had to write in AP English. It made me chuckle to re-read them, so I thought I’d share them here over the next few days. I’ll start with the first tomorrow. Enjoy!

The Torture Report, an editorial from the NY Times on December 17th mentions that a bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee has laid out evidence for bringing criminal charges to top ranking current/former Bush administration officials. Specifically, the report:

said these top officials, charged with defending the Constitution and America’s standing in the world, methodically introduced interrogation practices based on illegal tortures devised by Chinese agents during the Korean War…The officials then issued legally and morally bankrupt documents to justify their actions, starting with a presidential order saying that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to prisoners of the “war on terror” — the first time any democratic nation had unilaterally reinterpreted the conventions.

I was really glad to read this; these officials need to be prosecuted of war crimes if we are going to as a nation pretend to have any sense of justice whatsoever. In radically redefining torture, the Geneva convention and official policies of years gone by they’ve seriously threatened America’s place in this world (in areas of security, the majority of experts see torture techniques as ineffective and counterproductive; in areas of justice, how can the rest of the world trust an unjust leader?).

And lest you think that torture is not what was happening, here is what the various branches of the armed forces had to see on the policy’s initiation several years ago:

• Air Force: serious concerns regarding the legality of many of the proposed techniques.
• Army: some techniques that stopped well short of the horrifying practice of waterboarding “may violate the torture statute.”
• Marines: arguably violate federal law.
• Navy: pleaded for a real review.

All taken from the linked article.

This is serious and totally against every fiber in the fabric of democracy (and last I checked those were the values we hold seriously as a nation).

Just one story (from the article) of someone these policies affected:

By then, at least one prisoner, Mohammed al-Qahtani, had been threatened with military dogs, deprived of sleep for weeks, stripped naked and made to wear a leash and perform dog tricks. This year, a military tribunal at Guantánamo dismissed the charges against Mr. Qahtani.

Stop and think about all that he was put through only to have them realize: “Oh. He’s not actually what we are after.” And then think of the many more like him still imprisoned in shadowed detention centers like Guantanamo Bay

Again — this is a serious issue. War crimes are deserved and they need to be explored further and those responsible for atrocities at the hand of Americans need to be brought to justice. We have a new president now. Join in calling for a turn toward justice in the White House.

Originally published on Facebook and http://www.breakingsilence.org during the previous months outage…

Election day is quickly approaching and everyone wants to know who everyone else is voting for. But most people don’t really want to know who you are going to vote for — instead most seem to have preconceived notions about you and the boxes they think you fit in to. That’s the funny thing about our system — we have a limited number of boxes (two if we’re being honest) and we seem to inherit our stances more than anything else (from family, social groups, etc). Most of the time this is ok with people; it doesn’t seem that many take the time to seriously check up on who and/or what they support, towing the company line — so to speak — instead. It’s certainly easier that way. And it certainly explains all of the distortions, half-truths and outright lies being passed off as absolute truth.

This “box” situation changed for me after the last presidential election. Truth be told — the aftermath of that election made me cynical about our whole political process; I began to question it from the ground up (paying particularly close attention to the boxes I found myself in). From the get go, things I was seeing from elected officials didn’t add up (particularly considering the platforms I thought they had run on). And more important than all of that, the Holy Spirit was convicting me about the positions I thought were important thereby forcing a reevaluation of everything. It was back to the drawing board at this point; conviction required throwing off the (republican) mantle I grew up rooted in; it was time to look at the world through new, Kingdom eyes.

It’s been a really healthy process although not without its ups and downs. A healthy cynicism about the political process is proving to be a boon to Kingdom living for one thing. After all, as a Christian I have citizenship in a new kingdom ruled by values not of this dying world. In addition, the process has also forced me to face some hard truths like the fact that western values aren’t necessarily anything like Kingdom values (including the fact that the modernization and the hyper-individualization thrust on us is quite anti-Kingdom). It’s causing me honestly to see problems through these new eyes I previously mentioned — eyes baptized and anointed by the King of kings; the solutions sometimes become strikingly different than what we are used to expecting (for example — considering letting a non-vote stand as a vote against a corrupt system).

The “strikingly different” part of these solutions resides in the conviction that the Church should represent an alternative Kingdom to the (dying) kingdoms of the world. This Kingdom should be telling an alternative story from what we hear in the press and see lived out before our eyes daily. It’s story should be wholly unlike that of any candidate because this Kingdoms leaders are wholly different. And most important — this alternative Kingdom should offer people something that no earthly power ever can — the liberation and reconciliation of a dying world to its Maker.

As I hope I’ve implied, this new outlook is striking in its penetration. It affects all of my life. Gone is the dualism so common in American churchianity (the separation of life into spheres — most commonly broken down as the so-called religious sphere and public sphere). Replacing it is a faith that informs the entire being. No more distinction can be made between the public and the private, the physical and the spiritual. Gone is the sentiment that I can love a personal enemy but not an enemy of state (for example). More than just a private guarantee of life in heaven, the Gospel has become a flowing river of life bringing heaven down into reality.

I think it’s going to take an example to fully explain what this means to me. One thing this simple truth now makes me is wholly pro-life. Genesis makes it clear that we are all image bearers of God (we bear His Eikon). This separates us from the animals and makes us all special. This is quite important and bares emphasis: it’s not because of innocence or some other earthly notion — it’s the fact that we bare the image of our Maker that makes us special. And that applies to all of us, from the womb to the tomb as some have put it. The New Testament fleshes this out quite a bit in the life of Jesus. One story I specifically think of is the Pharisees confronting Jesus about taxes. They want to trap Him into saying something but He responds to them by saying, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s but render unto God what is God’s.” Jesus uses the same phrasing of Genesis to describe the image on Caesar’s coin and makes the direct comparison of the coins of Caesar (they’re Caesar’s because they are stamped with his image) and humanity (we belong to God alone because we are stamped with HIS image). So yes — give to Caesar the coins if you are playing that game but never forget that you all belong to God alone — He is the author of your life and demands all of who you are. I use this example because it exemplifies the importance of Eikons, human bearers of God’s image, to God. If we are going to label ourselves as being for life we must never forget this.

And so it follows, as a restored Eikon, I can’t help but recognize the intrinsic value that humanity has in the eyes of its maker. And this fosters a commitment to spur Eikons towards restoration (rather than seeing them cracked further). This means I say no to abortion, no to the death penalty, no to war and no to torture. Essentially I must say no to anything that might in the slightest way crack the life of an Eikon anymore than they currently are. Conversely, this means I’ll generally say yes to anything that encourages life and restoration.

Coming to these conclusions makes voting a tricky thing as neither party has completely pro-life policies. On one hand you have a party that won’t take a strong stand against the killing of the unborn and on the other you have a party currently bent on war, torture, the death penalty and other pleasant things like that. Some would have you consider the innocence of each side (ie, abortion vs war, etc). This argument isn’t acceptable as it cedes that some life is more valuable/more important than others (either way you swing it) which I think seizes to be true once we consider everyone to be stamped with the image of God. You also have the problem with defining innocence — it’s highly subjective. What makes the Iraqi child mutilated and killed by our troops or mercenaries any less innocent than one of our own? This mode of thinking (relegating one side as inherently more important than another) only gives in to the anti-Christ spirit ruling the world (it gets us at a very base level to see some life as invaluable, unredeemable, beyond saving, not worth saving, etc). I’m sorry but that’s not a spirit I’m willing to give into and it saddens me that so many do.

As I said, this leaves one in a tricky spot as neither party offers up a wholly pro-life agenda. If this is all I have to consider — I can either give into the evil of one candidate or not vote at all. I don’t think this is all their is to consider though, as it only looks at the surface. I think it is possible to get below the surface and potentially find an overriding ethic of life, in spite of some surface policies. There is a way to navigate the mess that has become apparent the more I pray, meditate and think on what happens on November 4th.

For starters — a serious examination of all the issues must be made. That starts with a serious look at where our country currently is and the direction it would be going, broadly speaking, given any particular candidate. With Bush we’ve witnessed the demise of the Republican party of yore. Replacing it is a hotbed of neo-liberal theory that is rapidly turning our country into one run by the corporate elite and marked by fascism. The extreme unregulated privatization of everything (including traditionally government sectors) is not the way towards national prosperity or security. It’s destroying this nation in fact. Our rights are being increasingly eroded — as a start I can think of the Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act, FISA and numerous other presidential orders and statements as examples of this. Ordinary citizens are now being spied upon without their consent. Some have been disappeared (we like to call it “extraordinary rendition” apparently). At a whim, our administration can now deny you habeas corpus — guaranteed by the constitution — simply by labeling you an enemy combatant. Even worse — torture is endorsed. It begs the immediate question, “Why in our search for justice after 9/11 did we lose site of what we stood for, becoming in the process what we were chasing?” Unfortunately the answer hits a little too closely to home, I think, as it has more to do with our greed as a nation (and less to do with any real search for justice). I mentioned earlier in this paragraph the privatization of previously and historically public sectors. The military/war machine is one such example that I DON’T believe should ever be privatized, yet we did with the ambiguous war on terror. Look no further than the billions of dollars we are funneling into corporations like Haliburton and Blackwater. Blackwater is a mercenary organization, privately owned and operated, with over a billion dollars in defense contracts (such as guarding the embassy in Iraq — wait a second…shouldn’t our military be doing this???). Haliburton/KBR is another company making bank off of our government; wartime profiteering has never been so high. I watched just last night a satirical film about the privatization of everything called “War, Inc”; this exchange from it pretty well sums the situation up quite nicely:

Walken: Every empire is summed up in Rome. The Romans, Hauser, dudes of the human race, torchbearers of culture! You and I are centurions, on a bout to defend civilization against the barbarians!
Brand Hauser: Let’s cut the [crap], Walken! I like killing people as much as the next guy, but I signed up to kill the bad ones! Health clinics, trade unionist, journalists, agricultural co-ops, catholic liberation theologians, impoverished Colombian coffee farmers, these are the barbarians that are brave opponents of civilization? We turned Central America into a [f’n] graveyard! Whoever momentarily interrupts the accumulation of our wealth, we pulverize! I’m just not feeling good about that anymore, sir!

Current economic woes in this country are symptomatic of these (failed) policy decisions as well. In truth — the rampant deregulation went great lengths to create the economic mess we currently find ourselves in. Our middle class is (not so) slowly disappearing. The top 1% in terms of income earn more than the entire bottom 50% (and that number is only continuing to grow). While some might choose to believe that capitalism is the last best hope for our world, capitalism unrestrained and unregulated feeds off our lusts and becomes a monster consuming all in its path; it “pulverizes” any who “interrupts the accumulation of our wealth”. Honestly this is one reason that you see fascism intimately connected to extreme capitalism (just as you see communism connected to extreme cases of socialism) and if you notice, the policies I mention above inch us ever more quickly in that fascist direction. We really can’t forget that the fall of man affects us all; its naive to think in a tainted world we could be free of its pitfalls (and the actions of our administration these past 8 years stepping towards fascism only confirm this). Its also quite irresponsible to do nothing in response.

Now, this isn’t to say socialism is the answer by any means. Markets I think should be as free as possible but checked against the extreme greed and lust of a few. They should be regulated in such a way that prevents the wild speculation and “bubbles” that cause crashes like the ones we’ve experienced these past few months. We could have prevented these problems years ago had our leaders stepped up to the plate but alas, they didn’t (some tried to — Ron Paul predicted this in the late 90’s). And I want to stress this again — traditionally government held “markets” should stay in government hands. War should never, ever be made into a market. Some things were not created to be privatized.

Now, back to socialism for a second — it needs to be clear that it isn’t the answer that anyone with a shot at being elected is proposing. It’s irresponsible and honestly a lie to say so. I had to laugh a few days when reading an interview with the leader of the socialist party in Chicago saying how he was offended that someone would even begin to consider Obama a socialist because it’s just so far from the truth (and McCain admitted this finally a few nights ago on Larry King Live). “Change” though is the answer being proposed by Obama’s camp. And change, at least superficially, sounds nice. The question though is whether or not there is substance in the change.

Honestly, I think there is more substance than a lot of people in the boxes I used to find myself in recognize. For one, Obama’s economic plan from the get go is designed to spur economic growth, not hinder it. Data from the past 60 years show more economic growth under democrat leadership as its designed to spur employment (not hinder) and contribute in real ways to the incomes of the middle/lower classes. The vast majority of folks under Obama’s plan would be seeing tax breaks (as would many, many businesses). And his plan gets flack because it does increase taxes on the wealthiest (to Reagan levels) but it does provide businesses especially breaks to spur economic growth (such as the $3000 tax credit for every new hire over the first couple of years). Here is a good study that compares the two tax plans being proposed: The McCain and Obama Tax Plans for Individuals. The bottom line summary is pretty important. McCain’s plan depends on investors investing in the American economy (historically not a given) and “unprecedented federal spending cuts”, something not at all likely if you look at the rest of McCain’s plans for government. In contrast, Obama’s produces revenue that will cut the deficit while giving tax breaks to taxpayers likely to invest their savings in the American economy, thereby spurring its growth.

The fact remains that money is necessary to support the workings of our government and we need to begin to pay off the massive debts that our unjust war (among other things) has created. “Wealth redistribution” is the attack buzzword right now and honestly it’s getting rather annoying. Wealth redistribution is something that McCain himself is for (until it’s inconvenient to say so):

McCain: “I think it’s to some degree because we feel, obviously, that wealthy people can afford more.” Doctor’s daughter: Aren’t we getting closer and closer to, like, socialism and stuff? McCain: “Here’s what I really believe. When you are, reach a certain level of comfort, there is nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”

And Colin Powell rightly pointed out in his endorsement of Obama that all taxation as we know it is wealth redistribution. As the current administration and McCain would have it, wealth would be redistributed to the wealthiest of our nation; a corrective to this would not be a bad thing. And so, while not necessarily ideal, I think there is certainly a case to be made for Obama’s plan (especially considering the alternative).

Taxes and the economy though aren’t the sole issues; the buck doesn’t stop with them, so to speak. Health care is something else that is important to consider. I think its tragic that we supposedly live in one of the freest nations but have one of the worst health care systems in the first world. And honestly I find it more tragic that so many people don’t care. McCain’s plan is honestly abysmal. There is no guarantee of coverage for people with pre-existing illnesses. Further — he would remove tax breaks on health care plans choosing instead to give people a credit to go out and get their own (completely privatizing it, I might add). The problem here is that the credit isn’t nearly enough to afford health care in the vast majority of cases. Not only that — there isn’t any space for regulation of any kind. If you have a less-than-perfect health history — good luck! You’ll likely see either sharply increased prices or a rejection at every door. It’s conservatively estimated that 21 million folks will be dropped from their company sponsored health care plans and an additional 47 million will join the ranks of the completely uninsured (currently 46 million). This is truly tragic to consider (and speaks against any ethic of life, honestly).

And there are many other issues that one must consider as well: immigration, defense, energy, environmental concerns, etc. They should all be weighed and considered. This is something I’ve been doing these past few weeks and months. I’ve waffled between coming out and endorsing a candidate, keeping my mouth shut but voting still or choosing instead not to participate in a flawed system. It’s honestly a tough decision.

I know though through my time studying and praying that McCain is not someone I could ever through my vote/endorsement behind. Broadly speaking — he only represents more of the same (as I’ve discussed above). He voted with Bush and his party 90+% of the time and his campaign is filled with the same advisors. Frankly I’m tired of hearing the word “maverick” tossed around because not only is more of the same not what this country needs, there is nothing “mavericky” about it.

I also feel strongly that his campaign has shown everything BUT integrity these past few months. Has there been a single non attack ad? FactCheck is full of rebuttals. Even worse — rampant fear mongering should never be the basis of a campaign. If it is — there is obviously something wrong with the issues you support and you should probably start looking at revising them. It’s honestly despicable to hear cries of “Terrorist!”, “Kill him!” and “Off with his head!” at the republican rallies. The cry of socialism as well is rather hypocritical coming from someone who supported the nationalization/sem-nationalization of a good chunk of our financial institutions and suggested buying failed mortgages from citizens (not to mention having a running mate who likes to spread the wealth in her own state). That last parenthetical brings up another good point: the running mate. She’s already had serious ethic charges brought up against her as governor of Alaska and her record is proving to be the opposite of what she says (on things like earmarks and such). And it’s quite worrisome that her foreign policy experience is summed up by the word “oil” (and that she doesn’t know of strategies such as the “Bush Doctrine”). This choice in running mate alone is causing many conservative republicans to jump ship, so to speak, and get on board with the other side. Andrew Sullivan has been doing a good job of tracking such things on his blog.

Now this may all sound like I’m gearing up for an Obama endorsement. I’ve spent a good chunk of writing time so far confronting the policy of McCain and the republican party. This is primarily because of the ethic of death I see permeating it. And it is really disappointing to see others recognizing this as well and being demonized for it. I have heard one too many disciples of Christ called names for this conviction (or even worse — had their faith completely questioned). I let this writing stand as testimony against that ethic of death and the attitudes of those pushing it onto others. Let it be known though that I’m not truly happy with Obama’s campaign either. I don’t like that the only thing he’ll say outright about abortion is that “no one is pro-abortion”; I think the democrat party could go lengths to build bridges to those morally more conservative by readily identifying the elimination of abortion as a serious agenda item (as quite a few democrats have). Obama just hasn’t though and I’d be much more comfortable with an endorsement had he. Not only that I’m not thrilled about supporting a candidate wanting to feed the military machine. While his foreign policy is certainly more appealing than that of McCain, it still calls for military buildup continued engagement in this ambiguous war on terror. Despite seeing an ethic of life dimly twinkling within the democrat’s party, these two policy choices (among others) are quite bothersome. They do stand in opposition to what I see as “pro-life.” While I haven’t gotten the specific “NO!” I received whilst praying about the McCain campaign I haven’t gotten an enthusiastic “YES!” either (actually silence so far).

I think this silence, at least in part, is because above all I must remember to not take things — my vote — too seriously. If I cast it, it’s simply to lend a voice, to give opinion about direction and really, nothing more. True societal change will never come through politics. It just can’t. Power is structured differently — built on strength, not weakness — on authority, not sacrifice — on security, not love. Political leaders hold completely different values important. And this won’t change until once again our King of kings makes an appearance on the scene, when swords are turned to plowshares, when the nations are smited by His LOGOS and when every knee bows before His throne. Until that time, rather than taking the political situation so seriously, the church is infinitely better off investing her time in being that alternative kingdom that stands in direct opposition to the body politic.

And that is why I write this — not as an endorsement of a single candidate but as a prophetic encouragement to unleash the church upon a desperate generation. The time has passed for us to sit and do nothing. Any one who believes that a vote is the end all/be all fix of social issues needs a reality check: A vote will not change society; as long as you believe that it will, you will fail to be the change you so desperately desire (and I know so many of you want to see this nation changed). This goes for those standing on both sides of the aisle. Abortion is not going to be changed by a vote; the republicans have proven this throughout the years. What might though is taking the time to get your hands dirty — to stand with the unwed teen, the poverty stricken widow, the misguided hipster — to offer assistance whatever it might look like, be it finances for healthcare or offering an adoption or more. And poverty won’t radically disappear with a vote from either direction; what might make a dent though is a Biblically mandated socialism where we all hold everything in common, where generosity is the norm and not the exception and where millions of dollars are funneled into the broken and needy in our communities instead of bigger and better buildings. And the need for huge defense budgets certainly won’t change voting for a candidate; every platform tells us this, across the board. The church though should be a massive movement of peace in this war torn world rather than jumping on board with and selling out to war’s destructive power.

So this is the message that I want you to take as you go out to vote (if you even do — I can certainly understand not wanting to). And remember this well. Neither candidate can offer the world what the Kingdom of heaven does. We err when we mistakenly think that they do. Hold your vote lightly because there is a much more important way to affect society. Obama, McCain, Barr, Nader, Baldwin or any other faceless name that might appear on your ballot will only ever be able to do so much working out of a corrupt system in league with the darkness of the present world. Truly cast a vote for change: involve yourself in Christ’s kingdom wherever you are at.

Originally published during the unfortunate blog outage of 2008.
I recently started re-reading Luke. Right from the start it hones in on the mission of Jesus in the world; it’s quite refreshing to read. Here, Mary responds to her pregnancy:

And Mary said, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Savior, because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.​For from now on all generations will call me blessed, because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name; from generation to generation he is merciful to those who fear him. He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position;​He has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Lk 1:46-55

Her simple faith should be inspiring to us. As an unmarried, soon-to-be mother, she could have had much to worry about and much to fear. But she gives that all to God and looks at her situation as a blessing, seeing the bigger picture instead: God is good and merciful and takes care of His people; He lifts the lowly and scatters the proud. He is in control of the destiny of this world and reigns supreme regardless of men who might think otherwise.

Things have been quiet around here lately because I’ve been busy in real life. For a quick update, I’M ENGAGED! That’s incredibly exciting. It is also keeping me busy with planning and such (the wedding is only about 4 months away). So — don’t expect me around here to often. I’ll probably try to post a few life updates and book reviews (I’ve got several I need to do, including The Blue Parakeet).

People also seem to want to talk about politics. That’s another reason I’m not likely to be super active here as those discussions aren’t proving fruitful at all. In fact, it’s brought out truly hateful sides in surprising people. And so this rule I’ve instituted: If you are republican — I’m not likely to talk to you about politics until you admit that (a) Jesus was not a republican (nor any other party as we know political parties) and (b) a Christian can be a Christian and registered independent, another party or even (shocker) democrat.

That being said if you really want my opinion on the political side of things (and pay attention as this will probably be the most I say here), here you go:

I have trouble deciding between the lesser of many evils. While the candidates themselves are not any more evil than you or I, like it or not their campaigns aren’t ever going to match what I would consider the Politics of Jesus because they approach power from a different angle. And like it or not they all have “trouble spots” in their campaigns. Because of that I haven’t fully decided if I’m even going to cast a vote as I’m not really sure my place is to play Caesar. That’s still be prayerfully considered though.

If I do cast a vote — it will not be for the McCain/Palin ticket. From a leadership standpoint, McCain has shown particularly over the past month that he can’t lead his own campaign. How could we expect him to lead our nation? The biggest issue here is his use of FUD tactics (fear, uncertainty and doubt for the curious). I haven’t seen a single commercial or ad or anything from him in quite some time that wasn’t some sort of direct attack on his opponent (most of them being outright lies). Not only that, his mockery of a VP candidate is stirring the pot even more — encouraging chants of “Terrorist!” and “Kill him!” at the mention of Obama’s name. These folks are coming to rally’s believing him to be an “Arab” or “Muslim” or “Terrorist” and those flames are only be fanned and honestly its outright despicable. And yet with all of the attack points — he’s unwilling to say these face to face in debates (truth be told, for some reason he seems unwilling to even LOOK at Obama in debates). My stomach honestly turns at the lack of integrity exhibited here and it pushes me even harder towards casting an Obama vote because, through it all, he’s looked presidential — he’s remained calm — and he’s resisted the urge to attack at all costs (most of his ads still are about issues and polices, over 2/3 last I saw). Regardless of who’s elected, I just pray that all of the fear and hate stirred up by McCain’s campaign doesn’t lead to violence; we don’t need that hanging over the nations head.

Back to a potential vote though: Some of the strongest Holy Spirit driven conviction I’ve experienced has been from regret for casting a vote for Bush. What this country desperately needs is change. The neoliberal philosophy driving the current republican party isn’t going to offer that, as our current economic mess indicates. Obama offers an alternative way (with policies that attempt to make a difference in the lives of people) but when all is said and done, I don’t think that is even the change that we need (regardless of how much I might or might not agree with him — there are definitely problem areas with his policy choices).

And so I’m back to where I started this political rant: playing Caesar. Like it or not America is empire. And like it or not, I don’t think Bush is our emperor. We are (right now) as it’s our voice that drives policy. If we want to see real change in America we need to recognize this and be willing to do a couple of things about it. First — recognize the power that drives every government. I’m thinking Revelations 18 is a fitting scripture:

18:3 For all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior.” 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, so you will not take part in her sins and so you will not receive her plagues,

It’s speaking of the whore of Babylon and how ALL the nations have, well, been with her. What is the voice of heaven telling us to do? “Come out of her!” Played out I don’t have any hard and fast advice for you — I’m still figuring that out myself. At the very least though it should force us to examine our own roles in the political process and how we treat political power. The second thing I think necessary if we want to see real change in this nation is to stop pretending and actually be the church. We need to be ambassadors for the alternative kingdom. That means a whole lot but starts with throwing off the lust that drives consumerism and individualism and replacing it with genuine generosity and concern for our neighbors. Social policy is an issue solely because the church refuses to do this (investing in multimillion dollar buildings for example instead of providing for the widow, orphan, broken and needy in their own midst). More energy needs to be spent here rather than campaigning. In the end being the church really does matter.

Anyways — I think that’s all I’m in the mood to say for the time being. Maybe after the election I’ll have more thoughts. Chances are I’ll be too busy though.

I’m thinking of a doing a series on politics and the Bible because I get asked lots of questions about my political stances. I think it might be helpful to have a resource to point people to when they ask me (particularly the more conservative of my friends that think it crazy that I would even consider voting anything BUT republican). And so, I’ll kick things off by rehashing an old article that sets the stage: Political Language in the New Testament.

In that particular post, I mention some of the “Gospel” language that comes directly from the imperial language. Here are some examples (if you aren’t interested in clicking the link):

Gospel:

• Imperial definition: an important pronouncement such as the birth of an heir or a battle won

• Gospel definition: the good news that Jesus came proclaiming (Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!)

Basilea:

• Imperial: The empire of Caesar

• Gospel: The kingdom of God (YHWH at the head)

Son of God:

• Imperial: Caesar’s popular title

• Gospel: Jesus’ title

Ekklesia:

• Imperial: Town meeting or public assembly where citizenship was bestowed, political concerns discussed, elders appointed, Caesar was worshipped

• Gospel: The name for the Church

Parousia:

• Imperial: The return of Caesar to a town

• Gospel: The second coming of Christ

Savior:

• Imperial: Specific title of Caesar Augustus who “healed the chaos of Rome and brought it into a new golden age”

• Gospel: Simply put, Jesus

Growing up — I was never told about any of these connections but none the less they are there, clearly visible in the New Testament. Our political words are different than those of the Roman empire so its honestly easy not to see the connection. And honestly — it is understandable to see no direct correlation between Jesus and politics because of the culture we live in. Religion is just another consumed good — individualized and privatized. It doesn’t seem to penetrate all of life as it did in New Testament times. And so, the assumption would go, his language speaks to only private matters of the heart and doesn’t encompass all that we are. But thank God this isn’t the case — the message of Jesus and the Kingdom of GOD does speak to all of life (including the political). By co-opting this language in the gospels, Jesus sets Himself against Caesar and the empire; the kingdom of GOD becomes a visible, viable alternative to the empire power structure. To use one example from above, whereas Rome hails a parousia event as the blessing of Caesar’s return to a town, Jesus turns this on its head by instilling a wild hope in an ultimate coming of Christ that establishes His reign for good (answered at least in part by His impartation of the Holy Spirit).

By taking these political words and radically re-defining them, Jesus very much says something about politics, if we care to listen. The answer to the question posed by this post is most definitely “Yes!” Naturally following this (and what I plan on exploring) is how it informs our own politics as Christians.

‘Pay close attention to these things also. Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then I will be pleased and honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce. Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’”

Haggai 1:7-11

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying spending time reading the so-called “minor prophets” of late. They generally aren’t highlighted segments of scripture and a lot of folks ignore them. And I’ve rarely heard sermons from them (the exceptions that come to mind are when Micah and Joel have been taught at NormCom). Anyways, its been good reading and this passage highlights one of the reasons.

Even though so much of it applies to a time and place incredibly distant from “now” and “here,” the weight of the passage’s conviction is still incredibly palpable. Here in Haggai, the Lord is commanding that His house be rebuilt. The Israelites, now back in Judah, have failed to do this — focusing instead on their own rich dwellings. As a result of this displeasuring the Lord, the entire land is affected. Rain isn’t falling and crops aren’t appearing and things are on the verge of getting much, much worse.

Now, we don’t have a physical house for the Lord anymore. With the death of Jesus, the veil in the temple was forever torn and the Lord now dwells with all of us. And this is where it gets convicting. It doesn’t mean we need to now go out and build up our church buildings and dump millions upon millions of dollars down the drain there. Instead we need to be paying attention to where the Lord IS and WANTS to be dwelling now: our lives. Our we favoring our own special wants, lusts and desires in our hearts? Is the Lord’s temple in ruins because of this? Or are we intentionally building His home in our lives? And certainly even more convicting — have we given up all notions of a life our own and given it totally to God?

Like I said — reading the minor prophets is good. I recommend spending some time. You shouldn’t come out on the other side the same.

Last week I finally bit the bullet and did something I’ve been meaning to do for quite sometime: join Kiva. For those unaware, Kiva is an organization whose goal is to see worldwide poverty eliminated. They go about things differently though than your typical aid organization: they provide local people with small micro-loans (generally only a few hundred US dollars or less) that empower them to start, expand and develop their businesses, with an end goal of financial independence.

How It Works:

Kiva directly partners with various micro-financing across the developing world who then provide the Kiva community with loan opportunities. These various institutions upload pictures of the people, their history and a detailed plan on what the money is to be used for. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued but at the same time skeptical because it sounds like a system just ready for scams of all sorts. But Kiva does their homework. Not only do they do detailed checks on all of the micro-finance institutions they partner with but they also keep detailed records of all loan history. That way, you can see payback rates, default rates and more for every institution (and even those receiving loans if they’ve had them in the past). Everything is designed to be completely transparent so that you know exactly where your money is going and what type of risk is involved. Oh and Kiva keeps none of your monies themselves. They rely completely on the donations of the community to function. One hundred percent of what you lend goes straight to the field, so to speak.

Why do it?

A lot of organization operate under the “handout” system (I’ll call it) where the provide goods and service without price to those in the developing world. And in a lot of cases, these organizations are great, needed and much appreciated. But one thing that was expressed to us repeatedly by the missionaries in Cape Town this summer was the importance of letting the people take ownership in what they are doing. There, the m’s told us that rather than pass out Bibles for free, we should charge some nominal sum (and I do mean nominal…practically nothing) because if the people purchased their Bible they were immediately vested in it whereas if they were given it, many times they would turn around and sell it (and head for a beer at the nearest Chabean). The same principle is at work in the ideology of Kiva: empower and enable the people to work for change in their lives — vest them in it in fact — and you’ll begin to see real change.

And so — I’m directing a portion of my charitable givings (even though this really isn’t a charity) to Kiva. It’s encouraging to know that my monies last month went to helping Abena Banwah, widow and mother of three, expand her food business in Ghana. And, once she repays (8 months from now), I’ll be able to relend that money! If you want to join with me, let me know! We can start a group and impact people’s lives together! (note: I’ll be focusing on African countries and any business that isn’t a bar. If that sounds intriguing, let me know!)

Some Stats for the Curious

• Total value of all loans made through Kiva: $40,462,385

• Number of Kiva Lenders: 331,071

• Number of loans that have been funded through Kiva: 57,186

• Percentage of Kiva loans which have been made to women entrepreneurs: 77.45%

• Number of Kiva Field Partners (microfinance institutions Kiva partners with): 88

• Number of countries Kiva Field Partners are located in: 42

• Current repayment rate (all partners): 98.47%

• Current default rate (all partners): 1.53%

• Average size of loan for funding: $473.41

• Average total amount loaned per Kiva Lender (includes reloaned funds): $123.61

• Average number of loans per Kiva Lender: 3.24

It’s fascinating (but not super surprising) that the majority of the loans go to women. Also, a 98.47% repayment rate is not to shabby at all and makes it totally worth the risk (in my eyes).

Well — Obama gave his acceptance speech for the democratic nomination last night. It was a pretty historic event — the first African American to ever be nominated for president. I didn’t actually watch the speech, instead choosing to do other things, but I did today on youtube. And if there is one think that is certain — should he be elected he would likely be the most regal president in modern history. He is by far the best speech giver of any politician I’ve seen: enthralling, inspiring, honest and to the point in many circumstances (typical political posturing not withstanding).

So what were my thoughts on it as a whole (since I’ve already been asked once and will probably be asked again)? I like Senator Obama. It’s hard not to, truth be told. And I agree with many of his policy decisions and choices (with a few notable exceptions). But will I vote for him? I don’t know yet. Here some quick thoughts about the speech that help move me, one way or the other to a decision on that.

I like that Obama is unafraid to speak to the current political situation. Voting for Bush the second time around is honestly one of the biggest regrets in my life and something that the Holy Spirit has used to intensely convict me in regards to my beliefs and understandings. The vision of change naturally, it follows, speaks to this as change is what I desire to see in our grand country.

Obama starts by speaking to the American promise, that every American, through hard work, can pursue their own dreams. He lays out how the current administration has threatened it intensely (by entering an unjust war, by allowing debt to pile, by creating an economic situation where markets are crashing all around us…) with their neoliberal economic policies. “We are a better country than this…We love this country to much to let the next 4 years look like the last 8,” he says (which gets a resounding “Amen!” from me). And the next 4 years (under McCain) would like the last 8. McCain’s primary economic advisor would like nothing more than to continue the process of shocking and destroying our economy (we are a nation “suffering from mental recession…a nation of whiners”). I’ll likely post more about this later but I just can’t in any way, shape or form stand behind the neoliberal methods of shock to completely reshape an economy. Not everything can (or should) be privatized (One of Bush’s most nefarious legacies will be the privatization of war but I digress; that is a discussion for another time).

Obama goes on to spell this out clearer, how our job market is rapidly in decline (with multinationals taking jobs where labor is cheap) and how new jobs aren’t being created (23 million were under Clinton) and how the average American income fell $2000 under Bush (it grew $7500 under Clinton). And then he lined out how he saw the government functioning in society, how it is to (broadly) “protect us from harm, provide a good education, keep our water clean and toys safe, invest in new schools, roads and science and technology” and ultimately be “for us not against us,” insuring opportunities for every American willing to work for them (and not just the rich and powerful).

Again — he is really a powerful orator. There are echos of Martin Luther King Jr in there (which he recalls specifically before the speech is done). But to this point he has yet to outline his platform in any grand sense of the word. We know what he doesn’t like about Washington currently but what change would he push upon election?

Taxes:

• A tax code that rewards businesses and workers NOT lobbyists.
• Stop tax breaks to companies who ship jobs over seas (instead doing the reverse).
• Eliminate capitol gain taxes for businesses and startups.
• Cut taxes for 95% of all working families (so as to not tax the middle class).

These points I honestly agree with. I think pushing our own economy forward specifically by enabling and rewarding job creation and innovation here is a grand idea. And while I’d prefer a 1 or 2% VAT tax on everything over an income tax OR a flat tax across the board with no breaks whatsoever on income I’d much prefer to see cuts come in such a way that encourages the middle class to be involved in the market and that does not put the load of the tax burden on their backs whilst simultaneously taking it off of the back of the wealthiest in the nation.

Energy:

• End dependence on oil from the middle east in 10 years.
• Invest in reneweable energy/reuseable fuels (wind, solar, bio) — thereby creating new industries and new jobs.
• clean cole/nuclear/natural gas/retool autos/

This is something I whole heartedly agree with. I can’t wait for the day when we have no dependence on oil. Truth be told — big oil actually owns patents that could completely get us off of it but its not lucrative to them to make use of them. That needs to change. I would love to see some actually lead out in this area and stimulate awareness. I think in many ways (regardless of what you think about him — I’m not a big fan by any means) Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” has been an excellent catalyst and we really need to take advantage of the situation. And it will likely take someone whose pockets aren’t lined with big oil money.

Education:

• Provide world class education for every child.
• Invest in early childhood education.
• Support teachers
• Higher standards and accountability
• College edu to all willing to serve country

Again, this is an area thats hard to disagree with. Public school education is good (but not sufficient). Privatizing it has proved mostly disastrous (as New Orleans post-Katrina attests to). It would be wonderful if this were an area a President was diligent in speaking to (particularly supporting teachers, and higher standards and accountability).

Health Care

• Affordable health care to every American.
• Lower premiums.
• Health care like congressmen have for those that don’t have it.
• No discrimination against those that are sick and NEED care.

I’m for socializing health care. In fact while Obama’s plan is probably better suited to make use of the existing infrastructure, I quite like the idea of a fully socialized health care (particularly after spending time in countries that have it and discussing it with their inhabitants). Regardless, I like a WHOLE lot that health care would be offered across the board to those that don’t get it/can’t afford it. Finally. Also, I’d love to see an end to corporate discrimination against those who are sick and in need. It breaks my heart to read of those with cancer and other diseases who could SURVIVE with proper treatment but are refused.

Random points:

• This would all cost money.
• Close corporate tax loopholes.
• Eliminate programs that don’t work and make those that do more efficient

This first point here fits in his tax plan. I’m not an accountant but it makes sense that close loopholes in the tax code would increase government revenue. The second point also makes a lot of sense (and is eerily like “limited/small government” of republicans of lore). Working for a state institution, I know a lot of programs “don’t work” and could easily be made much, much more efficient.

• Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility.

This is one of the best points I’ve heard a politician make (and one that almost makes me want to toss my vote his way). He spent several minutes talking about the need for individual responsibility and how Washington or a single politician could never be expected to do everything, that at some point mom’s and dad’s needed to stand up and turn off the TV’s and raise their kids, etc. WOW! Great, great points to be made, both inspiring and a-traditional (as far as politics are concerned).

Foreign Policy:

• Opposed war in Iraq from the start.
• Has voted for more troops in Afghanistan (including taking out Bin Laden) and wants to see the fight finished there.
• Time frame to remove troops from Iraq.
• Tough diplomacy with Russia and Iran.
• Build new alliances.
• Restore moral standing.

One of Obama’s strengths in this election is his foreign policy. It helps that he was adamantly against the unjust Iraq war. It helps that he understands that the Iraqi people want us out of there. And it helps that he is a non-interventionist (willing to take tough stands against Russia and Iran for example). This last point actually does bother me though. Being increasingly an advocate of non-violence, I found our quick attitude for intervention that precedes diplomacy troublesome. I like though that Obama is calling for diplomacy above…other…options. And I like that he recognizes a lot of our struggle with Islamic societies specifically and the rest of the world in general comes from how they view our moral standing as a nation (look to the NIE reports for the truth of this, as well as take some time to talk to people from other cultures). This
is important — much more important than a lot of people realize.

Obama also appeals to a common purpose transcending traditional political boundaries (democrat/republican agendas) which is helpful. He specifically appealed to the desire to see a reduction in the number of abortions in general, an upholding of the 2nd amendment whilst keeping AK-47’s off the streets and basic human rights for the gay and lesbian communities. I think these appeals are areas that are garnering him support from a much broader crowd than the democrats usually pick up (including many from evangelical circles). In fact one well known registered republican pastor (Joel Hunter) points to some of these ideals as being the way of pro-life politics going forward (see here).

My Conclusions

All that being said, the question still remains: vote for Obama or not? At this point McCain isn’t even an issue as I disagree with him on most everything. It’d take a complete renunciation of neoliberal economic theory and a foreign policy revision to get me to even consider him again (things I don’t foresee happening). And I love a lot of what Obama is saying. But I don’t love everything. For one I don’t like the messianic language that surrounds his campaign. He is not now, nor will he ever be my savior. It out right troubles me to see how people almost bow down in worship to him. One of the driving forces in this phenomena is his use of spiritual/otherly language in his campaign. There’s lot of “hope” and “transcending” talk as well as dabblings of “salvations.” Add to this biblical imagery like “a city on a hill” and you’ve got yourself in a tricky spot. While I’m not going to doubt or call into question his personal faith — it troubles me to see a man put himself into a place like this. It’s an ill-conceived notion and brings forth imagery of the Roman empire and a Caesar who was the salvation of his people (and who Jesus explicitly subverts with His very presence in this world). The continued escalation of this just turns me more and more away from his campaign.

Actually this last point really gets to the heart of where I’m at. It’s hard for me, at this time, to justify voting because I see myself as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and NOT of the US of A. Increasingly I see my social role as actually being the Kingdom before man (meaning actually living out its principles). This is something that no politician could actually get away with legislating because the power structure is so radically different, leaving an ambassador of Christ in the place of choosing between two different evils (whichever they perceive as the lesser). And as we all know — evil is as evil does. Anyways — this speaks to the dilemma I have and what I’m working through and towards. Actually there will probably be further posts about this in the future so don’t think I’m purposely skirting this issue. There is a LOT more I could say.

And, because this post is getting quite long, I’ll leave you with this: Obama calls us to “hold firmly without wavering to the hope that we confess (Hebrews 10:23)…” Do do this, but know what that hope is. It’s not the promise of America or Freedom or any president or leader but the hope of Christ and what He alone can offer.

* So as not to confuse folks to badly, I use the term neoliberal instead of neoconservative as it’s what the rest of the world calls such policy directions…

If anyone wants to buy me a gift, I highly recommend this option: The Criterion Edition of Bottle Rocket. If you’ve spent anytime around me when I’ve talked movies, you probably know that my favorite comedies are the quirky Wes Anderson flicks, Bottle Rocket being my favorite. I already have the regular edition DVD and its gotten TONS of use. This edition includes commentaries, documentaries and the original 13-minute short that the movie is based on. Also it has 11 deleted scenes and lots more.

I can’t wait!