The Religion of the Christian Left

Two of the finest people I've ever known were a Mennonite couple.
In case you don't know what that is... find an Amish guy, set him next to a Baptist, figure the median lifestyle between the two, and that is what a Mennonite is. (At least that's the way they seemed when I was a kid) Anyway... The guy had been a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war and served in the medical services. All the time I knew him a hateful word never crossed his lips. He and his wife adopted a couple underprivileged black kids from the inner city. They contributed generously to charitable causes... were suspicious of capitalistic ventures and the American government... and if they voted, they voted Democrat. They were good. They were selfless. And they held no discernible allegiance to this country.

The Mennonite Central Committee (no, really... that's what it's called) has become politically active on the following issues: Central American Foreign Aid Bill, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Ecojustice in the Department of the Environment, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Handgun Bill, UN Peacekeeping Funding, Health Care Reform, Environmental Justice.

Oh, and the guy doing the smuggling, feeding, housing... and generally facilitating illegal immigration into this country? ...There is a very good chance that the guy is Mennonite... The modern day "Underground Railroad."

Then at the other end of this spectrum that I'm calling the Religious Left, you have the United Church of Christ, whose web page says "God is still speaking." (which suggests that "God may be changing his mind") And who does their site quote? Jesus? Paul? ...No.
"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." -Gracie Allen
The UCC spawned the Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. (And suddenly everyone got the picture!)

I think I understand the Mennonite group, though not necessarily its "Central Committee." To them, God and Country ...is God diluted. They are to be the Good Samaritans, even if it means breaking a couple laws along the way. Military force is never justified because Jesus wouldn't choose a career in the Army. I too, cannot see Jesus holding an M-16, but I think if he had advocated the dismantling of all military forces, or even the prohibiting of his followers from joining the services, he would have said so. To my thinking, the Mennonites have honestly chosen a narrow interpretation of the Bible and they try to live by it. And their affection for Environmental Justice? No help. I don't even know what that means.

The second group, represented above by The United Church of Christ, is much less complex, but not any easier to understand. On a web site that might be run by a UCC member, and which appeals to non-believing liberals, I found this:

And so, our liberal friends, don't assume that all Christians are the enemy! Many of us detest the "Religious Right" even more than you do, because these fanatics are not only threatening our country, but our religion as well. Liberals need to recognize that there are Progressive Christians, and that such Christians can and should be among your most effective allies!

This and another site I found talks quite a bit about the "Jefferson Bible" which is apparently handed out to new members of Congress. From the second site:

Jefferson cut out the virgin birth, all the miracles, including the most important one, the Resurrection, then pasted together what was left and called it The Philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth...

No, this guy wasn't being critical. According to him, the deletions were one of the virtues of this (I assume shorter) Bible.

I think this brings us to a basic understanding of this second group of the Religious Left... and these two quotes were chosen for two key words... "fanatics" and "miracles," which pretty much sums up the problem they have with us -the Religious Right.

They prefer a Jesus stripped of his miracles... stripped of his divinity, which allows them to make God in their image and pick and choose the teachings of Jesus that they like, and strike those that they don't. It's a heretical stance as old as creation... as old as the Garden when Eve was told she could be as great as God.

So now what's the reason for joining such a church ...a church with no Divine authority or Divine foundation? Well, I think it's like throwing salt over your shoulder for luck. It's trying to be relatively good (relative to the next guy) just in case there is really something up there. It's a way a liberal clergyman can stand up before a group and entertain them with his philosophy on life. It's singing "hymns" like "You'll Never Walk Alone," "I Believe," and "There's Got to Be a Morning After," and others that sound vaguely religious... but don't worship anyone. (Worship is reserved for the people who are being good and those standing in the pulpit.) It's sticking your toe in the tub and calling it a bath.

Fanatics worship. Fanatics are exclusive... just as the Bible excludes certain behavior. Fanatics re-arrange their lives, re-arrange their finances. They allow their faith to influence their policies... scary! Worst of all they don't hold Barry Lynn in awe... they attribute to him absolutely no authority... ouch!

Summing up... If what I found on the blogosphere is a true indication, the modern Mennonite (not to be confused with neighbors of mine who are the salt of the earth) is basically a "believing" Leftist who looks to the Bible to justify his politics. The UCC version of the Religious Left is basically a non-believing Leftist who uses portions of the Bible to justify his politics.

I like to think that the Religious Right reads the Bible, worships, and prays while developing a world-view and political stance. The hard part is being passionate about what's right, and at the same time loving those doing wrong.

Jesus said that if we followed Him the world would despise us. It's good to be despised.