This was beautifully written, and extremely sensibly as well. These topics (from mercey, to the current immigration situation and how it's impacted communities in the Midwest already, to the overall political climate) are rightfully topics that produce emotions. Or in my opinion, should produce emotions. That being said, there's nothing in this article that doesn't feel thoughtful, deliberate, and sincere, in the most sensibly approached manner.
As an outsider, it's not my lane to take a side on the "real Christians" debate thar pops up on social media. I do have two thought on it, as a Jewish person.
One one side,which seems to be your position in the article, I think the folks have a reasonable point that if one adheres closely to what's widely considered the teachings of Yeshu, then that should dictate a certain approach on basic humanity, and this also teaches and promotes treating others kindly. On this I am surprised there's any controversy, because Christian Gospels are not hard to locate. Often passages about the poor in Christian Gospels, are quite and concise, and clear. Why some Christians find some parts more important than others is odd to me. Especially considering how few actual words of Yeshu in the Christian Gospels that scholars attribute to him. It's very little, so one would think every word would be given tremendous weight. But alas. When right wing Christians, use their scripture to back certain legislation, do they use the words of Yeshu? Never.
No, they use Christian versions of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, and often mistranslations at that. As is often the culprit, I find nomatter the religion, those with a good understanding and solid education(a knowledge of theirvown scriptures, the hist of the scriptures to an extent, badic theology behind the scripture)of their own religion practice it more faithfully. Or is my impression of my own religion, yours, and others is that religious education only makes great religious people better and often more thoughtful. Education is always so important in any area, but religion education is so crucial, because all of us should make the most informed religion choices we can imo.
Lastly, I'm glad you didn't mire much into the "real Christian" debate. One, because you have far more interesting things to say and think about in the article. It touches on it but from a different more genuine angle than I usually see on socials. I.e, saying "a real Christian" wouldn't do something bad. I wish that waa true. The Crusades, the Inquistion, countless pogroms throughout Europe. Those were all performed by very real Christians. Just as some of the most cruel people in the political climate, are very much active at their churches and places of worship. Confronting and dealing with the worst of our own ranks is often, I think, the hardest thing to deal with. I have no clear answers on how we deal with that within each of our religions, because the problem exists in all of them, in similar ways.
Really well written,Joshua. Well articulated, and communicated.
Thanks for the comment, Jessica. There's a lot to reflect on here, but I will stick to the "real Christians" bit. I think anyone who claims to be a Christian is a real Christian, because that's the name of a religion and has some assumptions about reality and the world. This is why, as you pointed out, real Christians have enacted some horrific policies and committed some heinous crimes against humanity. I also think it's important to let people name themselves by whatever religion/spirituality they want, and in this case, if I assume that a person who claims to be a Christian really means that, then I can, like Bishop Mariann did with Trump, appeal to our commonality. I'm not asking Christians to do anything other than what is written in our common Scripture.
It is certainly true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Like you I was disappointed that Trump did not take the oath with his hand on the Bibles. I was watching in real time and it seemed Justice Roberts started the oath process before Melania arrived in position with the Bibles. This was especially a loss given the historic, family legacy value of his mother's Bible. I recently served on a jury in a heavy criminal court case at our local county court. Witnesses did not swear on a Bible to tell the truth. They merely raised their right hand and repeated the oath. I asked a bailiff about that and he said that Bibles had not been used for a long time. I don't know more history of why and when that happened but was sorry to learn it. I assume it was related to a multicultural attempt to not favor any religion. We can either denigrate or idolize symbols and icons but should be careful that we don't "throw baby out with bathwater." As the eminent historian Victor Davis Hanson says in a different context, something does not have to be perfect to be good. A still picture is a slice of life that captures a second in time, without even visual (not to mention historical) context. We have very little patience for seeking broader understanding of a problem. And even less self-restraint and humility to withhold judgement pending the other's perspective. No ordinary person has time to study 360 degrees of an issue. Much less the desire to do so. And so we give great weight to pictures. A bit of caution is all I am suggesting.
I think you're right, which is why I wanted to set this within the framework of symbols and symbolism. Both of these actions sit within the complex narratives of these men, narratives that are coalescing. I hope I approached these narratives truthfully, as that is my desire.
I am so proud that I know you. I’m so proud that you stand up for what is right and for speaking up and not being afraid. I know that it takes a lot in this culture to do that. My prayers for you are that you continue to be that voice and that you will continue to be brave! God Bless
Thanks, Vanita. I'm walking with some fear and trembling these days. Trying to do well and do right without devolving into bitterness and being mean spirited. Pray for me!
This was beautifully written, and extremely sensibly as well. These topics (from mercey, to the current immigration situation and how it's impacted communities in the Midwest already, to the overall political climate) are rightfully topics that produce emotions. Or in my opinion, should produce emotions. That being said, there's nothing in this article that doesn't feel thoughtful, deliberate, and sincere, in the most sensibly approached manner.
As an outsider, it's not my lane to take a side on the "real Christians" debate thar pops up on social media. I do have two thought on it, as a Jewish person.
One one side,which seems to be your position in the article, I think the folks have a reasonable point that if one adheres closely to what's widely considered the teachings of Yeshu, then that should dictate a certain approach on basic humanity, and this also teaches and promotes treating others kindly. On this I am surprised there's any controversy, because Christian Gospels are not hard to locate. Often passages about the poor in Christian Gospels, are quite and concise, and clear. Why some Christians find some parts more important than others is odd to me. Especially considering how few actual words of Yeshu in the Christian Gospels that scholars attribute to him. It's very little, so one would think every word would be given tremendous weight. But alas. When right wing Christians, use their scripture to back certain legislation, do they use the words of Yeshu? Never.
No, they use Christian versions of the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, and often mistranslations at that. As is often the culprit, I find nomatter the religion, those with a good understanding and solid education(a knowledge of theirvown scriptures, the hist of the scriptures to an extent, badic theology behind the scripture)of their own religion practice it more faithfully. Or is my impression of my own religion, yours, and others is that religious education only makes great religious people better and often more thoughtful. Education is always so important in any area, but religion education is so crucial, because all of us should make the most informed religion choices we can imo.
Lastly, I'm glad you didn't mire much into the "real Christian" debate. One, because you have far more interesting things to say and think about in the article. It touches on it but from a different more genuine angle than I usually see on socials. I.e, saying "a real Christian" wouldn't do something bad. I wish that waa true. The Crusades, the Inquistion, countless pogroms throughout Europe. Those were all performed by very real Christians. Just as some of the most cruel people in the political climate, are very much active at their churches and places of worship. Confronting and dealing with the worst of our own ranks is often, I think, the hardest thing to deal with. I have no clear answers on how we deal with that within each of our religions, because the problem exists in all of them, in similar ways.
Really well written,Joshua. Well articulated, and communicated.
Thanks for the comment, Jessica. There's a lot to reflect on here, but I will stick to the "real Christians" bit. I think anyone who claims to be a Christian is a real Christian, because that's the name of a religion and has some assumptions about reality and the world. This is why, as you pointed out, real Christians have enacted some horrific policies and committed some heinous crimes against humanity. I also think it's important to let people name themselves by whatever religion/spirituality they want, and in this case, if I assume that a person who claims to be a Christian really means that, then I can, like Bishop Mariann did with Trump, appeal to our commonality. I'm not asking Christians to do anything other than what is written in our common Scripture.
It is certainly true that a picture is worth a thousand words. Like you I was disappointed that Trump did not take the oath with his hand on the Bibles. I was watching in real time and it seemed Justice Roberts started the oath process before Melania arrived in position with the Bibles. This was especially a loss given the historic, family legacy value of his mother's Bible. I recently served on a jury in a heavy criminal court case at our local county court. Witnesses did not swear on a Bible to tell the truth. They merely raised their right hand and repeated the oath. I asked a bailiff about that and he said that Bibles had not been used for a long time. I don't know more history of why and when that happened but was sorry to learn it. I assume it was related to a multicultural attempt to not favor any religion. We can either denigrate or idolize symbols and icons but should be careful that we don't "throw baby out with bathwater." As the eminent historian Victor Davis Hanson says in a different context, something does not have to be perfect to be good. A still picture is a slice of life that captures a second in time, without even visual (not to mention historical) context. We have very little patience for seeking broader understanding of a problem. And even less self-restraint and humility to withhold judgement pending the other's perspective. No ordinary person has time to study 360 degrees of an issue. Much less the desire to do so. And so we give great weight to pictures. A bit of caution is all I am suggesting.
I think you're right, which is why I wanted to set this within the framework of symbols and symbolism. Both of these actions sit within the complex narratives of these men, narratives that are coalescing. I hope I approached these narratives truthfully, as that is my desire.
I am so proud that I know you. I’m so proud that you stand up for what is right and for speaking up and not being afraid. I know that it takes a lot in this culture to do that. My prayers for you are that you continue to be that voice and that you will continue to be brave! God Bless
Thanks, April! Doing my best out here! Pray for me 🙏🏼
Thank you for standing up for the Truth Josh. I so respect you.
Thanks, Vanita. I'm walking with some fear and trembling these days. Trying to do well and do right without devolving into bitterness and being mean spirited. Pray for me!