I am a person of faith, a Christian of a type: a Christian of a more contemplative intuition, a more universalist and nonjudgmental intuition about people of other faith traditions, or of none at all. The deeper my prayer and contemplative experience has taken me, this is the direction it has taken me in. I can live by my faith and allow others to live by theirs, or not. I can live a faithful life--devout, in its own flawed way--without the felt need to legislate or force-feed my faith ideals on those who neither profess nor have interest in them. I can be confident in how God reveals himself to me in the writings He inspires, in prayer, in community, in the Mystery of His intimacy with me—and still respect the faith orientations of others, and hear and see God in them. You can, too. I have said this before.
But it bears repeating--again and again--for far too many Christians and people of other faith traditions fail to adopt this posture toward all the other people God also loves, as is so clearly called for by Jesus, by Christian and other reverenced Scriptures and writings, by the example of those more fully given over to His way and His will. So I feel relieved and fortunate to live in this time and place, within a political philosophy and context of freedom and protection from such people and their need to impose themselves and their will on me and others.
But allow me to be clear about this: absent the constraints of secular government philosophies and institutions—and particularly the pluralism of representative democracy—man has shown a propensity across time and cultures to evolve his religious movements and institutions into brittle, often brutal, theocratic nightmares. Surely, the wisdom, the constitutional necessity, of the separation of government institutions and religious institutions—the protection of people of differing faiths and those of none at all—is also quite clear. It's the only way to protect us all from the extremes of organized religion, and protect organized religion from itself.
Yes, I have said this before, too, and I cannot say it often enough, to enough people in enough places. Yet, it still does not fully protect us from those who would impose their will and views on us. All have a right to their views and their advocacy, of course. So, we must still exercise our own self-protective disciplines and wisdom gained, the lessons of life and human history.
Jesus, in his time, sent out his disciples saying,
But it bears repeating--again and again--for far too many Christians and people of other faith traditions fail to adopt this posture toward all the other people God also loves, as is so clearly called for by Jesus, by Christian and other reverenced Scriptures and writings, by the example of those more fully given over to His way and His will. So I feel relieved and fortunate to live in this time and place, within a political philosophy and context of freedom and protection from such people and their need to impose themselves and their will on me and others.
But allow me to be clear about this: absent the constraints of secular government philosophies and institutions—and particularly the pluralism of representative democracy—man has shown a propensity across time and cultures to evolve his religious movements and institutions into brittle, often brutal, theocratic nightmares. Surely, the wisdom, the constitutional necessity, of the separation of government institutions and religious institutions—the protection of people of differing faiths and those of none at all—is also quite clear. It's the only way to protect us all from the extremes of organized religion, and protect organized religion from itself.
Yes, I have said this before, too, and I cannot say it often enough, to enough people in enough places. Yet, it still does not fully protect us from those who would impose their will and views on us. All have a right to their views and their advocacy, of course. So, we must still exercise our own self-protective disciplines and wisdom gained, the lessons of life and human history.
Jesus, in his time, sent out his disciples saying,
"I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves--but beware of men..."
He was well aware of the loveless temple religious and legalists they would encounter. He often admonished the scribes and Pharisees and taught of his disdain for their pride, self-interest and spiritual waywardness. And since it was to the lost sheep of a theocratic Israel--the wayward religious--that Jesus sent out his disciples, we know it was the judgmental temple legalists, and particularly the temple leaders, that the disciples were being forewarned of. And, just as that was the state and balance of Judaic religious life in that time and place, so it is today among many Christians. More, I sense the situation the disciples might be sent into today is worse still--to the point that Jesus might appropriately deliver a revised charge:
For some kinds of people, things just don't change--not even in 2000 years. And even if they claim Jesus, they won't let Him change them.Venture among religious organizations or people at your peril, for with many you will surely be as sheep among wolves; therefore, be open, loving and kindly, yet wary and discerning--but beware of the brittle and exclusive, the judgmental and self-righteous religious leaders and people, more still the political religious...
© Gregory E. Hudson 2010
First written: August 2010
[Posted also to Hyde Park's Corner]
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