The appropriation of Christian terminology by the American political movement known as neoconservative has resulted in a breed of believer I'm tempted to call "avengelical," but in the interests of diplomacy will simply call right-wing. The fusion of right-wing politics and religiosity has changed America's leadership, altered our identity in the eyes of the world, and created a mood of close-minded vehemence in millions. Critics of the right-wing/fundamentalist conflation are now often demonized not just as "traitors to America," but as enemies of a new kind of Americanized "God." A growing number of people of faith, however, believe that Americans are being asked to worship a bogus image of God. Though examples of this are numerous beyond count, I'll describe two which came to my attention through the writings of the self-proclaimed evangelical Christian, Jim Wallis:
On the first anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, President Bush gave a speech in New York in which he said that the "ideal of America is the hope of all mankind." Six billion people on earth are not Americans; to call America their hope is, to put it mildly, hubristic. What's more, anyone who places their hope not in nations but in God is obligated by their faith to find Bush's statement untrue. But Bush's speechwriters ratcheted the rhetoric up even further: Bush added, "That hope still lights our way. And the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it." As Wallis points out in "Dangerous Religion" (Mississippi Review, Vol. 10 No. 1), these last sentences are lifted straight out of the gospel of John, where they refer not to America or any nation, but to the Word of God and the Light of Christ.
Excerpted from David James Duncan's essay "What Fundamentalists Need for Their Salvation," from the latest issue of Orion. I might have a few quibbles with Duncan's theology (though they'd be minor), but his political stance is bang-on. The article is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the most recent conflation of America and God, and its social, political and theological implications.
On the first anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center, President Bush gave a speech in New York in which he said that the "ideal of America is the hope of all mankind." Six billion people on earth are not Americans; to call America their hope is, to put it mildly, hubristic. What's more, anyone who places their hope not in nations but in God is obligated by their faith to find Bush's statement untrue. But Bush's speechwriters ratcheted the rhetoric up even further: Bush added, "That hope still lights our way. And the light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it." As Wallis points out in "Dangerous Religion" (Mississippi Review, Vol. 10 No. 1), these last sentences are lifted straight out of the gospel of John, where they refer not to America or any nation, but to the Word of God and the Light of Christ.
Excerpted from David James Duncan's essay "What Fundamentalists Need for Their Salvation," from the latest issue of Orion. I might have a few quibbles with Duncan's theology (though they'd be minor), but his political stance is bang-on. The article is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the most recent conflation of America and God, and its social, political and theological implications.
Ohmigahd--I read the same article a month ago during a thunderstorm at a local library. The mental thunderclap it registered was equally impressive. I had fully intended to blog about it's spiritual significance, but, that one fell through the cracks.
Posted by
lucretius |
6:46 PM
Hey Brain,
Its Carlos from seminary. This was a great article. In fact I am sending it in an email to a friend right now. Well, I'll see you in class soon. If you have a chance check out my blog.
Carlos
Posted by
Carlos |
10:47 PM