voices of dissent...

I have to say that it is refreshing to see that there are others out there who share the same opinion. I was quite frustrated the other day and believe that my frustration appears quite readily in my comments. I do not revoke them, though, as I thoroughly believe that what I wrote is something that needs to be considered regardless of one's position on such matters. Certainly it would not be complete without considering things on a more well-rounded facet, though, and thus I am intent in trying to vocalize the ways in which I see a more true hermeneutic being put into praxis in regard to our theology. I should note that I believe that our theology only extends as far as we are willing to be obedient to Christ, regardless of our "right thinking" or whether or not our lives are not in-congruent to the Christian norms to which we have become accustomed. Re-evaluation (or evaluation, as "re" part would necessitate a prior critique that I am not always sure that we have done) is beneficial in many ways, specifically as we become more and more willing to accept the humility of Christ as part of who we are. That leads us to reconsider much of the way we do things, why we do them, and to what extent it is good or true. This is a difficult task for anyone, as we try to do the impossible: looking outside of ourselves at ourselves. Our ears must be open to the stories that make up not only our lives, but the lives of others as well. We do not travel in this story on our own, nor are we the only ones affected by the story of Christ (leading us to the concept of our interpretation not necessarily being the truest interpretation). In what ways is Christ liberator? In what ways is He loving savior? In what ways is He righteous judge? How does this look to one who lives under condemnation versus one who lives in complacency? How do they differ? How are they the same?

I know my vision is lacking, as I am often reminded in conversations with other Christians. I also know that the philosophical underpinnings of my epistemological functions are different than they are/were for my parents, and in some cases some of my peers. I do practice a different hermeneutic than many of my evangelical brethren, and even would be called into question whether or not I was evangelical at all in other circles. I do know this: I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer, the Son of God, and that through Him (in a way that I dare not pretend to truly understand) I am granted eternal life, whatever that means. My life has to reflect that which I believe, which is a daunting, if not impossible, task to begin with, so my words here reflect some of my thoughts on that from time to time. Hence my Memorial Day comments regarding church. Hence my thoughts on creation. Hence my distaste for patriotism that very strongly influences and blurs the lines to what my hermeneutic tells me Christianity actually is. I am green. I am green because I believe that God calls me to be so. I am political. I am political in the sense that I believe God calls me to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and take care of the alien. What meaning does this have in this day and age, in this place? For me it means much about the rights of humanity, regardless of economic status or position or nationality. I am for amnesty, not for economic purposes, but because I love my neighbors, many of whom are undocumented. So I continue to participate (in small ways, but positive ways) to educate, to feed, to clothe, to disciple those with whom my family and I come into contact. I will continue to do so, even as I see families torn apart and the economic structures continue to cheat and swindle those who are already downtrodden. There are too many similarities between my own people and those who I see on the "underside" of society here, and it breaks my heart.

Humanity is a problem. My distaste for global, democratic capitalism is something that has come from the problem of sinful humanity. My Marxist sympathies come from such distaste even though I realize that political systems are as corrupt as the humans who are participating in such systems, and that is a problem. I don't believe that global democratic capitalism has any higher standing in the kingdom of God than does the values of a communist structure (without the "godless" aspect). I don't believe that democracy is inherently beneficial to societies, especially when, in many cases, it is inherently beneficial to a small amount of people while the rest are encouraged to continue on in their sheepish ways. Follow the herd. Don't wander too far from the flock. Etc.

Voices of dissent are often met as voices of the enemy and are often met with aggression that is not called for. This voice is one of dissent in most circles in which I travel, but I don't believe I am the enemy. I often have heard it said that we are lucky to be in a place where we are free to worship any way in which we please, but I wonder if that statement is true. What would be said if I offered smoke prayers to the north, south, east and west? What would happen if a congregation of Native Americans practiced the Ghost Dance in such a free land? Would they be slaughtered (Wounded Knee)? Is it so free? And if that freedom is true, does it disadvantage us by fostering a complacency which is unseen, unheard, unknown because of the ease of "worshipping" our God? I don't know. But I wonder.

So what kind of difference can we make? Again, what are we willing to do? Are we willing to be obedient? Are we willing to get up and go? Are we willing to do that which we are called to do even though it might not be our first, second or hundredth choice? What are we willing to do? Are we willing to live more simply? To take care of the earth? To actually value what it means to be the Bride of Christ? How would our lives look different? How would we treat the alien? How much gas would we use? Would we buy that shirt or shoes or those bananas? That Jesus is a hard act to follow. Seriously.


By the way, got the new Wilco and am enjoying it. Should I be buying more cds? I don't know. I am always fighting that one...