Author: Pat Liberty

In the United States which of the following is legal to be inducted into civil service:

Placing a hand on the Quran?

Placing a hand on the Bible?

Affirming a willingness to uphold the Constitution?

Using a copy of the Constitution to take the oath of office?

Using a Roman Catholic Missilette to take the oath of office?

The correct answer is “all of the above.”  The Constitution of the United States of America expressly forbids the requirement of a religious text for anyone to be inducted into public office. Article 6 Clause 3 states, “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and Judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust of the United States.” (Capital letters are quoted directly.)

An individual may use any sacred text or no sacred text, according to religious conviction or absence thereof.  Presumably this means if one belongs to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster one could be sworn in on a box of pasta.

In law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to taking an oath.  An affirmation has the same legal effect as an oath but is usually taken to avoid the religious implications of an oath. For example, Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses do not take oaths because it violates their religious beliefs.

Those who place their hand on a Bible and swear an oath while having no regard for the actual content of the book is another issue entirely.

For further historic clarification, President Obama took the oath of office on Bibles belonging to Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt did not use any sacred book when he took the oath of office.  John Quincy Adams and Franklin Pierce used a book of law to take the oath of office.  Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office with a Roman Catholic Missilette found aboard Air Force One. Newly elected Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota used a Quran for the optional ceremonial photo, but not for the swearing in.  New York Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo took an oath to uphold the US Constitution by placing her hand upon the Holy Quran.  As a practicing Muslim she holds the Quran to be a sacred text and as such chose this text as authoritative for her life.

If you have a problem with this, read the Quran and the Bible. And of course, study both texts with historically accurate knowledge and with an understanding of both languages in the original texts.  If you have a problem with the Quran, the Sutras, the Vedas, the Bhagivad Gita, the Tenach, Mishnah or Midrash as appropriate sacred texts, do some homework. Then read and understand the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Until then, zip it.

Furthermore, to require a Bible or any sacred text for an oath of office is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the first Amendment to the Constitution. This expressly forbids the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion or non-religion or non-religion over religion.

I recommend some of our judges and legislators review the Constitution and first Amendment. They either have forgotten or are flat out ignoring the requirements of our founding documents. 

As a new and historically diverse group of legislators take their place in our government, these distinctions are of utmost importance.  In this country it has been the tradition to use a Bible, but it is not required.  Tradition does not dictate present or future practice. 

For one to place their hand on a book in which they do not believe makes no sense. It makes far more sense for one to choose the book they adhere to as holy, or use no book at all and simply affirm their willingness to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.  We come dangerously close to merging church and state when one religious book is required over another. It is a bad idea for both political and religious reasons.

Thanks for reading my blog. Happy holidays to all and blessings of the season

Christmas food traditions are just plain weird. For example, roasting chestnuts on an open fire; have you ever tried to do this? They explode.  Then there is the French buche de noel, which tastes like the tree it is supposed to look like. Let’s not forget eggnog, which is a lot like drinking paint but is really just milk, cream and raw eggs with a little rum.  The rum is it’s only redeeming quality. Christmas cookies in every flavor imaginable, painstakingly decorated, are a lovely gesture for the palate, not so much for the hips. While people complain of being insanely busy, this cookie extravaganza suggests they have entirely too much time on their hands. While there are countless variations on the theme of Christmas dinner, many of them include the bizarre dish, boiled onions.  In whose sick mind did it ever occur that boiling little white onions in milk and butter was a good idea? Then there is fruitcake. It is widely rumored that there was a fourth Wise Man who was turned away for bringing one.  

I get that the symbolism of light shining in the darkness is big at this time of year, but an outside display that can be seen from Landsat is a little over the top. Combine that with tacky plastic snowmen, the inflatable crèche and Victorian carolers and you have the cultural Christmas mash up that leaves much of the world scratching its collective head.

Christmas music; why is that everybody and their ukulele has to do some version of Silent Night?  And what’s up with the Little Drummer Boy? If I spent hours trying to get a baby to sleep and some kid came in with a drum I would brain him on the spot.  Of course this year everyone is upset about “Baby, Its Cold Outside.” I like to think of myself as a fairly well informed feminist but since I only have so much outrage to go around, I’ll save it for something else.  Then there’s “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” and the “Twelve Pains of Christmas” which is almost as interminable as the original song it parodies. And if I hear “Domenick the Donkey” one more time I may go hunting for the first time in my life.   Then there are the more bizarre and less well known (thank God) songs like the South Park parody of Peanuts Christmas specials featuring the song, “Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo.” 

Moving on, next in my sights are the weird church traditions, like the Christmas Pageant. In this attempt at a worship service we dress children up with dishtowels on their heads. They look like people we profile the rest of the year. Wise Men from the East bring gold, frankincense and myrrh when a meatloaf, diapers and an offer to baby sit might have been more appreciated.  If we take out all the refugees and foreigners from the manger scene we are left with a few jackasses and a camel.  It’s worth pondering.

Next are the chrismons.  These are Christmas ornaments in the shape of Christian symbols.  They can be quite beautiful but my experience is that they are cut out of Styrofoam and decorated with way too much glitter and gold rick rack.  Each year they look a little worse and are dragged out to decorate the phony tree put up somewhere in the building because, after all, what’s Christmas without a tree?  The fact that the tree is a throwback to pagan celebrations appears to have slipped corporate Christian consciousness.

If we peer beyond the Christmas window dressing we have some hope of redeeming the silliness this holiday has become.  Beyond it all, the unshakeable message is that God has not given up on this sorry planet despite what we do to ourselves and each other.  There is still a way to symbolically find our way to the manger and in so doing find a new way of life. 

The true light that shines in the darkness is not found on our houses but in our hearts.  It lights our way when we are lost, shines through us for others to find their way and illuminates a heart that is a reflection of God’s eternal love affair with all things human. 

In celebrating the quintessential symbol of vulnerability, a completely dependent child, we see how God hopes to work through us. We need not be perfect, beautiful, strong, or successful. We need not have all our beliefs figured out to be of use to the God who is and is to come in this season. God loves us as the human messed up people we are and works through us just as we are. 

This holiday comes around once a year with all its weird and wonderful traditions to remind us that long ago a baby and a very brave family accepted a challenge from the Holy: to live lives of holiness that would change the world and change everyone who followed in that way.  

The God of abundance deigns to come to us, not to grant our every wish for the newest gadget or gizmo (that’s Santa Clause), but to burst open the lies and empty promises of worldly things.  The abundance is about grace and love, peace and joy.  I know it sounds cliché, but that’s the deal of the season. And it’s the best one going.

Right wing news media outlets and a scattering of Christians of many different theological stances have declared that there is a war on Christmas.  It centers around saying Merry Christmas and not Happy Holidays.  Those who think the only way to acknowledge the season is by saying Merry Christmas are offended by those who use a more generic seasonal greeting, Happy Holidays.

Christmas is not the only religious holiday celebrated in December. Hanukkah (Jewish), Bodhi Day (Buddhist), Yule (Wicca), Zarathosht Diso (Zoroastrian), and Kwanzaa are just a few of the religious and cultural celebrations that take place in December.  It is impossible to know everyone’s religious affiliation and it is insulting to say Merry Christmas to adherents of a different faith.

Freedom to practice any religion is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment.  It was adopted on December 15, 1791. It established the separation of church and state and prohibited the government from making any law that established a religion. It also prohibited the government from interfering with a person’s religious beliefs and practices.

For all of our talk about religious liberty, our history living it out is less than stellar.  In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Pilgrims who came to the New World for religious liberty promptly established a state church.  Droning preachers reminded people they were going to hell in services that lasted hours. Puritanism has been defined as the nagging uncomfortable notion that somewhere someone was happy.   

Leaders of Massachusetts Bay Colony banished Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson for having the audacity to challenge Puritan theology and practice. I think they were tossed out because the Pilgrims couldn’t stand the thought that some people were not as miserable as they.  And for the record, Puritans did not celebrate Christmas at all.

Christmas has a spotty history.  The first recorded celebration was in 336 c.e. when the Roman Emperor Constantine chose the 25^th of December as the day to mark the birth of Jesus. Several years later Pope Julius 1 made it official and declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on December 25.  It was in part an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia Festival. 

The point is that Christianity doesn’t have a monopoly on December religious holidays. There is no war on Christmas. There is a great melding of religious traditions that mark celebrations in December.  This diversity is, in part, what makes our country great.

So maybe instead of getting all bent out of shape, we might work at acknowledging our American sisters and brothers who embrace other religious traditions. It is a freedom guaranteed by our Constitution. It is also a way to not be a jerk.

Maybe those who are convinced that Christianity is the superior religion might develop some humility and celebrate the great religious diversity that is woven into the fabric of our society. Jesus had some advice for people with superiority complexes; get the tree out of your own eye before you try and pluck out the speck from someone else’s eye.  

Maybe people could remember that the heart of every religion is love.  Religious extremists of every stripe do not speak for the vast majority of people who adhere to that religion. Isis does not speak for Islam and the white evangelical base that supports the Occupant does not speak for Christianity.

There is much that makes this season holy. So get your panties out of a bunch, put on your grown up pants and honor the religious diversity of our great nation.

Happy Holidays.

I am none too fond of Christmas.  Mostly I don’t like what Christmas has become; one huge orgy of buying more things for people who already have too much.  I don’t like how people get their knickers in a knot about saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, as if Christmas makes any difference in the way they actually live their lives. I don’t like the thin veneer of holiday cheer that hides franticness and fear, self-imposed impossible deadlines, and Christmas letters describing the Hallmark family. I don’t like how parents buy war toys and violent video games for their children as gifts that celebrate the Prince of Peace.

I don’t like the gluttony of food that adorns the season while so many people are hungry.  I don’t like the phony charity that feeds the hungry at this time of the year, ignores them the rest of the year and refuses to address why they are hungry in the first place.  I don’t like hearing “Hark the herald angels sing glory to the newborn King” over the Muzak at the pharmacy; it assures the ongoing need for my blood pressure meds.

Most of the hoopla of Christmas is an adventure in completely missing the point.

The antidote to the lunacy of it all is John the Baptist.  He is a wiry, hyper man with wild hair and a beard showing the remnants of his last meal: bugs and honey.  His clothing is more akin to rags, and he is yelling himself hoarse with a simple message.  “Repent, you brood of vipers.” Don’t bother looking for cards with John’s message at the Hallmark store, you won’t find them.

John’s call is a steady heartbeat under the increasing noise of the season.  He invites us to hear our own heartbeat; that place of our deepest longing and greatest hopes, the place of our shattering fears and wrenching loneliness.  When we allow ourselves to think beyond our own needs, the sorry state of our world is also part of our own heartbeat and it carries its own brokenness and fears.

The antidote to all that breaks us and breaks around us is in John’s simple call to repent.  It means to get a new heart, to receive what is offered from the abundant and gracious heart of the One in whose image we are made.  The way of life to which we are invited in this season is a transformational way of loving the world. John announces that the old ways are getting the boot and the new way is one of radical acceptance of those who are different.

As a rising tide of hatred and intolerance threatens to drown all decency, it is a timely and needed message.  As people of faith we are called beyond mere tolerance, a low bar at best, to genuine love and acceptance.  It is far beyond what we are able to accomplish under our own steam.  After all, there are times when we have trouble loving the people we are supposed to love.  Complete strangers who look different, talk different and smell different are just beyond the pale.  That’s why we need someone like John the Baptist telling us it isn’t just about us and what we can do on our own.  It’s about getting a new heart and turning toward the Source of Love, the One who makes us far more than we can be on our own.

John isn’t the Source, he just points to the Source.  Follow this guy Jesus, he’s the real deal.  His teachings right what is wrong with the world and heal what is broken in us. Or to quote John, “repent you brood of vipers.”     

This season is less about a baby than it is about a way of life. It is high time we stopped worshipping the baby and freaking ourselves out thinking about whether or not Mary had sex. Who cares? It is just a diversion away from the demands of a radically loving God whose abundance aches to flow through us.  

All the ways we miss the point are diversions away from John’s unapologetic call to life lived in the transforming embrace of a God who dreams of a new world where peace is the norm, there is enough for all, our fears are transformed by love and our deepest loneliness is met with renewed purpose.

We don’t have to eat bugs and honey, but let’s hope the whole repentance thing catches on.

 

 

A new report on climate change authored by 13 U.S. government agencies builds on what we already know. If we don’t change how we live on this planet, the planet will change how we live on it. We will see this in more destructive weather patterns like hurricanes and tornados, an increase in devastating fires, increasing food shortages and rising sea levels.  The response of the Occupant, not surprisingly, is to bury the report and attack the credentials of its authors and the agencies they represent. It is a report of his administration. Go figure. 

Climate change has been news for thirty years. A New York Times article cited reports built on 100 years of data beginning with the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius. He was the first to estimate the impact of coal burning on the temperature of the planet.  It is now accepted by 97% of scientists that greenhouse gases have widespread detrimental effects.    

As usual, statistics only tell part of the story; the rest of it is economic, relational and theological.  Over 85% of the world’s energy comes from burning coal.  It is the most economical fuel in the world.  There are over 1200 new coal plants in varying stages of construction throughout Asia.  It is the most accessible source of energy for developing nations to satisfy their increasing need for electricity as they raise themselves out of poverty.  It is difficult to sell the idea that the world shouldn’t be burning coal when the Occupant is rolling back regulations on coal burning here in the United States.  If the richest nation in the world isn’t concerned, why should the poorest nations stop accessing the main component of their economic growth? 

This is where the economic meets the relational.  Despite the Occupant’s “America First” rhetoric his coal policies do not serve the American people or the planet.  It traps coal mining states in an economic niche that costs its residents dearly.  We will see an increase in black lung disease and deaths from mining accidents as the “need” for coal increases. Meanwhile the government continues to roll back health care reform and protection for workers in general.

Falling back on a cheap energy source also stunts investment in alternative energy sources that are better for the planet, like solar and wind. It is interesting how government subsidies continue to go to the coal and oil lobbies while monies for alternative energy have all but dried up.  It may have something to do with the fact that the acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, is a former coal industry lobbyist.

All of the above demonstrates a striking selfishness regarding others and the planet.  Many are quick to say “not my problem,” except it really is.  The earth is not a limitless resource.  There is a limit to how much the planet can absorb of the impact humanity has on its water, soil and air. We are seeing the edges of that limit drawing closer.  There is a plastic ocean floating in the Pacific that is three times the size of France. We are now realizing how short sighted it was to ship our trash out to sea and hope “the ocean will take care of it.”  This is just one example of many.    

We are admonished in Hebrew Scripture to be stewards of the earth’s bounty.  We are told to “till the earth and keep it” (Genesis 2:15).  To be a steward means to care for something on behalf of another.  We are stewards of the earth on behalf of the Creator.  This is the second creation narrative in Genesis. The problem is that the first Creation narrative in Genesis 1 is more familiar. In this narrative it states that humans are to have “dominion” over the earth.  That has been interpreted as permission to exploit the earth, its resources and its people in the name of progress. The word “dominion” is a translation error.  When translated correctly both creation narratives agree that humans have a sacred duty to care for the earth and its vast resources.  It is troubling to think that hundreds of years of plundering the earth is encouraged by one mistranslated verse of scripture.

Being good stewards means that we are as concerned for others as we are for ourselves.  It is what most of the gospel, and a good part of the Old Testament is about. In a practical way it means being as concerned for coal workers in Tennessee as we are for the people of Japan in the wake of their nuclear disaster. It means we are as concerned about drought and famine in other parts of the world as we are about our own grocery bill.  It means we are as concerned about the oil pipeline traversing Native American lands as we are about the price of gas at the pump.  It means we are as concerned about our carbon footprint as we are about the price of cucumbers.  It means that we see ourselves as members of a global community whose well being is intimately tied to our own. It means we take seriously the responsibility we have to “till the earth and keep it.” 

Sources:

www.claimbentorah.com

www.nationalgeographic.com

www.newyorktimes.com

 

  

Those of us who sit at tables laden with food in the company of friends and family are quick to count our blessings and give thanks for all we have.  It’s a good thing and perhaps we should do it more often.  Others who sit at tables with barely enough food or who are alone or lonely also may be quick to count their blessings. 

Counting blessings isn’t about what we can touch with our hands or what we can see with our eyes.  If that were true we would have to assume that the blessing train left without a majority of the world’s population.  It is difficult to claim blessing when most of the world doesn’t have the basic things needed to survive. Thinking that we are objects of God’s favor can only lead to the conclusion that those who do not have enough are on God’s not-so-favored list. 

What we have is not completely of our own doing.  What others lack is not completely of their own doing.  There are some variables that rig the system.  Most people who are born in poverty live in poverty for the rest of their lives.  There is the occasional story about persons who “pulled themselves up by their bootstraps” and broke the cycle, but they in no way offset the number of people who live in poverty from generation to generation.

Most of us are quick to judge the poor as lazy, unmotivated, unwilling to do menial labor and somehow undeserving the advantages that many so easily take for granted.  In our society of rugged individualism, we see ourselves as “self-made.”  We have worked hard, gone into debt for our education and climbed our way to whatever socio-economic stature we have at the moment.  However, those of us who enjoy a comfortable standard of living have depended on others along the way.  There are parents, teachers, mentors, friends, employers who “gave us our first break” and others who have smoothed the immediate path ahead of us and encouraged us to move forward. This is not true for everyone, and without those “breaks” it is almost impossible for one to survive in this country. There is no place in the United States where someone can work a full time job at minimum wage and make ends meet. 

We have created a permanent underclass of people, and our economy depends on people working menial jobs for substandard pay.  All the while CEO’s make millions in a free market capitalist (read predatory) economy. 

This has been true from the beginning of the colonizing period in what is now the United States.  We have a revisionist view of history where the Indians and the Pilgrims sat down together and shared a bountiful “thanksgiving” feast.  The first mention of any kind of thanksgiving was in 1627 as the colonists celebrated the brutal massacre of the Pequots.  The Thanksgiving Holiday we know today was instituted by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 as an effort to unite a country torn by civil war, a war fought over the predatory economy predicated on the slave trade.

It’s hard to look honestly at what is true about our history and our lives while holding onto a traditional Thanksgiving holiday. Discomfort is a good thing. Realizing that most of the country and most of the world do not live as we do is a beginning. A stance of true gratitude acknowledges the abundance and steadfastness of the Divine and asks that we live in faithful response.  Such a stance is the root of generosity and compassion.  Discomfort and gratitude are the burr under the saddle of our complacency, for God’s abundance is not just for us but for all people.

It means that our gratitude for what is true in our lives is held with a breaking heart for what is true in the lives of others. As people of faith (such as we have and such as we hope for) we are called to bear witness to the relentless generosity and abundance of the God we say we believe in.  We do so by our own acts of generosity, compassion and kindness.  We do so by gathering with honest gratitude, the kind that realizes that our lives are not of our own doing; we are part of a whole that needs us and our action to make God’s abundance known in tangible ways to those in need.

There is no shortage of grief and loss in our world. Hundreds of people in California have lost everything, many have lost their lives and there are still hundreds missing, many of whom are presumed dead. There have been over 300 mass shootings in the US this year, each victim leaving behind shattered families and friends. As the “holiday season” looms larger all the losses come into clearer, sharper focus. For some, the loss of what never was and never will be is the greatest sadness of the season.

The language most often heard on the heels of loss is about “moving on.” And it is usually said way too soon and is way too shallow to mean anything.  The language of moving on neglects the reality that grief is a process that takes time.  There is no magic formula for getting through grief, no handbook and no one way to find one’s way.  It’s why the language of moving is so hollow. 

Grief is a multi-faceted and complicated process that is as unique as each person’s loss.  It never ceases to amaze me how some people assume they know more about your life than you do. People “should” all over you:

There is no end to the stupid things people say in an attempt to be “helpful.” Mostly people mean well, but they are often overwhelmed at the enormity of your pain and don’t know how to just be with you in it.  This will take a lot of energy out of you, so marshal your time with people who “don’t get it.” The people who can show up to your pain are not always the people you expect and sometimes the people you assume will be there aren’t able to be, for reasons that are not clear. It’s one of the things that can complicate grief.

When it comes to the holidays, do what feels right for you.  There is no right or wrong answer regarding how to survive the first, the second or the fifteenth holiday season.  There is your way, and that way may change from year to year and that’s okay.  Realize that no one is an expert on your life but you.

People also blab out all kinds of pious platitudes that fail to honor loss:

Death does not come as punishment or reward for how one lived or failed to live.  Death comes because we are created human.  We all have expiration dates.  Don’t let anyone sell you some theological garbage about God’s will when it comes to dealing with loss.  Find people who can help you think through what you believe and don’t believe, what works for you and what no longer works.  Sometimes long held beliefs fade when life falls apart, and you are left to rework your faith in light of your experience.  There is no one way to look at the Divine on the other side of loss.  Find people who can be with you in the questions and back away from people who have answers.  You need to find your own answers.

Ultimately the meaning you make out of loss is up to you.  It isn’t work someone can do for you, and the only way out is through. If the truth is told, in some ways grief lasts forever. It is the price you pay for deeply loving someone.  The good news is that grief changes in acuity as time goes on.  It isn’t always like a jelly fish stuck to your face.  There will be times when you ache with loss and it feels like yesterday even if it has been years.  There are other times when you glimpse a different life and it is okay.

Mostly, I hope you will be gentle with yourself in this season of (often artificial) cheer.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: at 29 she is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress
• Jared Polis: First Openly gay Governor of Colorado
• Jenny Durkan: First openly lesbian Mayor of Seattle
• Danica Roem: First transgender woman elected in Virginia statehouse
• Andrea Jenkins: First openly transgender black woman elected to Minneapolis City Council
• Vi Lyles: First black Mayor Charlotte, NC
• Kathy Tran: First Asian American woman and daughter of Vietnamese refugees elected to VA House of Delegates
• Tyler Titus: First transgender person elected to public office in PA
• Sheila Oliver: First black Lieutenant Governor of NJ
• Sharice Davids: First openly lesbian Native American woman elected to Congress
• Deb Haaland: First Native American woman elected to Congress
• Kim Reynolds: Iowa’s first female Governor
• Rachel Rollins: Massachusetts first black Attorney General
• Janet Mills: Maine’s first female Governor
• Marsha Blackburn: Tennessee’s first female Senator
• Catalina Cruz: New York’s first DREAMer elected to public office
• Susan Ruiz and Brian Woodard: Kansas’s first openly gay lawmakers
• Eliza Guzman and Hala Ayala: First Latina women elected to Virginia House of Delegates

This incomplete list represents the growing number of legislators and leaders in the United States who are GLBTQI, culturally diverse, female, or people of color. What is significant is not the number of seats won and where they were won, it is a commentary on the changing political landscape of the United States.  It is a hopeful sign in the midst of much that seems hopeless.  It is a step toward a government of the people by the people and for the people.  The election of such diverse national and state leaders is a clear signal that how we do business as a nation is going to change.  The under-served populations are finding and claiming their voices. 

We are a nation of immigrants, children of immigrants, slaves, children of slaves and native peoples.  We have not been well represented by white patriarchy, big business and profit making corporations.  We have not been well served by back room business deals and quid pro quo politics which make promises that benefit a few.

By changing leaders we change the narrative.  When we elect single mothers the conversation includes affordable child care and housing. When we elect Native peoples the conversation includes righting historic injustices.  When we elect people of color the conversation includes combating the racism that still runs through the fabric of our society. When we elect LGBTQI people the conversation includes equal rights. When we elect educators and health care professionals the conversation includes public education and health care as basic human rights. When we elect people who represent values over political alliances, country over political party and responsible world citizenship over narrow nationalism, we begin to ask different questions:

• How do we live as responsible global citizens in a global economy?
• What kind of planet do we want to leave to our children and our children’s children?
• How do we embody a public ethic of love and respect for all people?
• How do we build a sustainable economy that benefits all people?
• How can we be responsible to the poorest and most vulnerable members of our country and our world?
• When will we learn to work together for common sense gun control and hold the out of control gun lobby and its bought and paid for legislators accountable?

Mark Twain said that politicians and diapers need to be changed regularly, and for the same reason.  This is a move in the right direction.  Our political system works when we participate.  If you voted, thank you.  If you didn’t vote, think about why and remember it is a right denied to many. 

If “your” candidates didn’t win, don’t withdraw from the political process.  Continue to ask the questions that will make our world a better place for everyone.  Think beyond “you” and “yours” and include those whose needs are different from yours.  Realize you are a citizen of a global community. Practice generosity. Seek the well-being of others.  

 

 

It seems the loudest voice in the Judeo-Christian tradition is the white “evangelical christian” voice.  The problem is that this voice is not evangelical in the true sense of spreading the life giving word of God.  Neither are they Christian in their following of Jesus’ words and teachings.  They are a socio-political block with a conservative political agenda designed to roll back human rights (especially women’s rights), reproductive rights, care for the poor and disadvantaged and stewardship of the environment while catering to the richest members of society.

As we go to the polls on Tuesday, here are some thoughts to ponder:

• “The arc of the universe bends toward justice.” (William Sloane Coffin)
• Love is the essence of every major religious tradition in the world.
• Spirit is the holy in all of us and in creation.
• Creation reveals God.
• We are God’s agents of love, peace and justice in the world.
• The teachings of Jesus are our guide and guard.
• Jesus was a Middle Eastern Jew. There is no room for anti-Semitism in the Christian faith.
• Jesus was a person of color. There is no room for racism in the Christian faith.
• Mere tolerance is a low bar for people of faith.
• The first and second testaments stand on equal ground.
• The Bible inherently favors the poor and disadvantaged.
• Jesus’ harshest judgements were focused on the wealthy and the religious leaders who colluded with them.
• The Christian life is a life of dissent against the injustice of the world.
• All paths to God are equally valid; those who claim the name of Christian choose one path among many.
• We are called to preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, to use words (St. Francis of Assisi).
• Healthcare is a right not a privilege.
• Those working full time should earn enough to support their family.
• There is enough for everyone’s need, not everyone’s greed.
• The world would be a better place if humans practiced what they preach when they claim the name of Christian.
• The gospel agenda is non-partisan.
• We cannot give into the politics of despair, fear and powerlessness.

Vote the values of the gospel.