First, a quick history lesson. America was NOT founded on the principals of the bible. If you learned this, it is a lie that can easily be learned with very little time and research. The founding fathers of the United States were NOT christian. They were deists, but most rejected the bible, Jesus, and the church. Most of the Americans here in germany with me had learned that the founding fathers were christian and most of the laws we have are because of our christian foundation as a nation. I had never even heard this theory until last week and I was shocked that most people here believed this and that America has been a successful nation because of its christian foundations. However, the nations foundations were built on the ideologies of the time and most of those came from France and were in no way biblically based. And the USA has been largely successful by exploiting other people (native american indians, chinese, immigrants, slaves) which is really not a very christian thing to do. Go ahead and do your own research if you don't believe me. Please. Research your beliefs people! God gave us a brain for a reason.
I finally finished reading "Jesus for President" by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. I loved this book. The Introduction states that it is "a book to provoke the christian polital imagination." It's divided into four sections with the first section discussing the politics of the Hebrew people and how God set them apart from the world they lived. The next section talks about Jesus and how he came and set them even more apart from the worldly politics all humans were stuck living in. The third section talks about how the church went from being persecuted to persecuting others and the current politics of the United States. And the fourth section discusses some practical ways to work with politics as a christian.
This book has confirmed my pacifist stance. Violence begets violence. Jesus would not be proud of America going to war in Iraq. Jesus would not drive tanks into Baghdad. Jesus would not assasinate Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, or any Islamist extreme terrorist. Nor would he have done nothing. Jesus is love. Jesus loves his enemies and asks God to forgive them. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, "Love your enemies. Return good for evil." Jesus didn't fight against Rome or against his enemies. When he was being arrested, Jesus disarmed Peter and healed the soldier's ear. If ever there was a time for violence against authorities, it was at that time. But when Jesus disarms Peter, he is disarming all christians. We are to lead a non-violent life. Being Christian means we act like little Christs. And Christ didn't have a flame thrower.
So here's where people might get even more upset with me. Another issue that has been upsetting me lately is the issue of gay marriage. Last week voters chose to change the California constitution to ban gay marriages. This breaks my heart. The bible never talks about Jesus taking away the rights of sinners. And if God is love, and I know He is, then how are we loving gay people by taking away their rights? Won't christians reach more gay people by treating them equally and with love rather than creating laws that make them hate the church? What about divorce? Maybe we should make divorce illegal for christians. It's clearly a sin in the bible, right? So why is the divorce rate among evangelical christians higher than the rest of the population of the United States? Evangelicals are getting divorced and gays want to get married and "christians" are saying that gays are destroying the families of america. Wake up America.
OK, back to Jesus for President. This book filled me with hope and new creative ideas for the life Jesus wanted us to live. New ideas on saving energy like hooking up a stationary bike to the washing machine and letting it run off the power gathered by the bicycle as I excercise. Ultimately, this book filled me with the hope that giving is more contagious than hoarding, love converts hatred, light overcomes darkness, and there are loving solutions to all problems. I'm very hopeful for my outreaches and the effects we will have as we fight extreme poverty in the slums of India and in the remote villages of Ethiopia and Nepal. I leave Saturday for Budapest, Hungary and I will also be traveling around the town of Győr in Hungary. I'll try to post more photos next time. Love you all! If you hate my opinions and even if you don't, pray for me.
