A Religious Protest Largely From the Left

[Thom Little]

When hundreds of religious activists try to get arrested today to protest cutting programs for the poor, prominent conservatives such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell will not be among them.

That is a great relief to Republican leaders, who have dismissed the burgeoning protests as the work of liberals. But it raises the question: Why in recent years have conservative Christians asserted their influence on efforts to relieve Third World debt, AIDS in Africa, strife in Sudan and international sex trafficking -- but remained on the sidelines while liberal Christians protest domestic spending cuts? Conservative Christian groups such as Focus on the Family say it is a matter of priorities, and their priorities are abortion, same-sex marriage and seating judges who will back their position against those practices.

"It's not a question of the poor not being important or that meeting their needs is not important," said Paul Hetrick, a spokesman for Focus on the Family, Dobson's influential, Colorado-based Christian organization. "But whether or not a baby is killed in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, that is less important than help for the poor? We would respectfully disagree with that."

Jim Wallis, editor of the liberal Christian journal Sojourners and an organizer of today's protest, was not buying it. Such conservative religious leaders "have agreed to support cutting food stamps for poor people if Republicans support them on judicial nominees," he said. "They are trading the lives of poor people for their agenda. They're being, and this is the worst insult, unbiblical."




http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301764.html

[rucky]

1. Jim Wallis and Sojourners are doing some amazing things.

www.sojo.org

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Why do they think it necessary to prioritize?

God hears ALL prayers, all at once, not one at a time!

[JudyM]

22. Also why should they have to prioritize when they're flush with funding?

Our tax dollars at work, indirectly.

[bluestateguy]

3. Cutting these programs means more abortions

When an unwanted pregnancy occurs, a woman whose food stamps have run out, can't get Medicaid benefits, can't go to college and can't heat her home will be more likely to abort her pregnancy because she cannot afford motherhood.

[ninkasi]

17. Exactly...

If a woman is already poor, especially if she already has kids, she might opt for an abortion because she is considering the children she already has. If she sees them go to school hungry, if she can't properly clothe and nurture them, abortion might seem to be the only solution. If she works at a minimum wage job, assuming she's lucky enough to work at all, she knows she'll lose the job if she has to take time off for childbirth and recovery.

It's all fine for Falwell, and Dobson, and the other rich hypocrites to talk about saving innocent lives, but where is their concern when the innocent go hungry and cold? To put more value on the unborn is wrong. Republicans have apparently had no conscience when it comes to gutting social safety nets, as long as they can give huge, obscene tax cuts to the already mega wealthy.

Their priorities are so screwed up it's beyond belief. I applaud the liberal Christians, the liberal Jewish groups, and all other good hearted people who care about the weaker, the elderly, and the poor. I don't know much about Islam, but although many are conservative, I always had the impression that the Muslim religion places a high value on charity. When it comes right down to it, Falwell and the others are saying that it's more important to prevent gay marriage than to feed the hungry, and that's a sin right there.

[XemaSab]

19. Giving alms

is one of the 5 pillars of Islam.

[ninkasi]

21. Thanks for the information

I have always understood, from what I've learned, that extending hospitality, and taking care of the less fortunate was one of the most important beliefs in Islam. The habit in this country of abandoning the poor and elderly, and children, must be one of the things that make Muslims think of us as such a corrupt country, but that's only my own opinion. I have no facts to base this on.

[Aristus]

23. An alms-giving of 2.5% of one's income is mandatory in Islam.

That may not seem to stack up against the 10% tithe of the Christian Church, but on the other hand, ALL of that 2.5% goes to the poor. A 10% tithe to a church may go to a lot of things that have nothing to do with helping the poor.

[secretmouse]

27. Abortion Can't be banned!

...but it sure as hell can go back underground, just as it was before the enlightenment of Roe-v-Wade gave women a safe choice.

Used to be if a woman had to abort a pregnancy, she either had to travel out of the country, or risk her life in some back alley abortion kitchen where she had to contend with unlicensed, unskilled abortionists, filthy conditions and no backup in case of an emergency.

Once again, the Have's and Have More's won't be affected by this..they'll fly off to some private clinic as they always have...it will be the poor who will once again bear the brunt..makes my blood boil!

[China_cat]

4. Don't they ever look at the numbers

that show that since their 'compassionate conservative' has been in office abortions have actually INCREASED?

[pearl]

5. How about we help them out today

I'm going to storm Republican phones with the quote from
Isiah they plan to be saying when their arrested. Kind of
Ad Hoc activism of our own.
Keep it kicked.

[Toots]

14. I don't think they read Isaiah

:shrug:

[CBHagman]

18. Don't forget the book of James.

In case you need a New Testament quote, here's a passage in James that will cover it:

James 2:

"If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."


Some of the people quoted in the article appear to believe private charity only should cover these things, but you can bet your bottom dollar that the people quoted drive on government-funded roads, have relatives receiving Medicare benefits, keep their money in federally insured bank accounts, and so on. Their insistence that people who are poor be supported by the disposable income of those who think to give really smacks of outmoded ideas about the undeserving poor and all that.

And the one who really kills me is that horrible Janice Crouse, who seems to think private charity handled everything in the case of Hurricane Katrina. :eyes: Where WAS she?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121301764.html

"And Janice Crouse, a senior fellow at the Christian group Concerned Women for America, said religious conservatives 'know that the government is not really capable of love.'

"'You look to the government for justice, and you look to the church and individuals for mercy. I think Hurricane Katrina is a good example of that. FEMA just failed, and the church and the Salvation Army and corporations stepped in and met the need,' she said."

I don't know what church Crouse attends, but mine might give out clothes, bag lunches, Christmas presents, etc., to the poor and homeless. They do not have rescue helicopters or cadavar-locating dogs.

[xchrom]

6. the real news here is that there is a religous left

and they still manage to filter it through dobson and crew.

musn't let the religous left get in the news without the fundies.

[newswolf56]

7. What the mainstream media is deliberately concealing here...

is that Fundamentalist Christians believe poverty is punishment for sin and, conversely, that great wealth is proof one is among "the select" -- the men god has chosen to rule human society. Wealth thus equals proof of holiness: the more wealth, the more holy. Thus too the poor (and especially the disabled, whose affliction is regarded as even harsher divine punishment than mere poverty) are abandoned until their degradation leaves them no choice but to "get right with god" -- that is, submit to fundamentalist tyranny.

Not even the most ethical corporate media -- within its limitations The Post is probably the best newspaper in the United States -- dares report this fact because of the vast corporate wealth that's underwriting the methodical transformation of the U.S. into a theocracy.

Why theocracy? Because from the perspective of the board room, there is no social order better suited for the methodical reduction of the workforce to indentured servitude, nor (with its associated taboos and death squads) more equipped to guarantee the people remain enslaved forever. Which is nothing new: it is no accident that in nearly all the great revolutions of the past 200 years, the clergy and their churches were among the revolutionaries' first targets.

[Demeter]

9. Historically, Great Wealth Has Been the Prime Indicator of Sin

Abuse of power, outright theft, and slavery are the basis for the appearance of vast unearned wealth in a short period of time (this excludes JK Rowling and Bill Gates, although he's pushed the line at times). So the Fundamentalists are arguing from faulty premises, as usual.

[LizW]

10. Excellent point

The idea that helping the poor is a good thing seems obvious. However, the extreme religious right under Dobson and Falwell have methodically created a meme that the poor are poor by choice and that helping them actually hurts them and subverts the will of God.

[izzie]

13. I think you have got it. If your rich you must be good !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As Bush's teacher said Bush said 'your lazy if your poor'. This type of Christianity fits in with the ones in power right now. It does not seem to be JC type but then who am I to say. They may have re-done JC words. You sure can not say that the Age of Reason has reached the Red States yet. And it looks to me like Bush rode this crazy belief right to the top. Who is to say he has no brains?

[FlaGranny]

15. They've got their wealth confused -

they believe wealth means money. It actually means wealth of spirit.

[Rich Hunt]

16. yeah, well...

They need to face facts that 'the game' is rigged so that those who are born into this 'curse' can never move out, no matter how they try.

[tonyahky]

26. The religious right and the corporate elites are destroying America

I fully expect to see riots like the ones they had over in France recently over here, except it will be the poor who do it here because they are being abused at every turn. When little kids start starving to death because their parents can't afford food for them, then people are going to start getting really p.o'd. The neocon know this--why do you think they are pro-torture, and why do most of them support spying on American citizens?

[kineneb]

28. Ah, the influence of John Calvin

predestination, temporal wealth as a sign of God's favor, etc. Yeah, the Calvinists are a really fun bunch. No music in church, no dancing, shouldn't laugh...
:sarcasm:

"We are of the Elect, and it doesn't matter that we are cruel here, we know we are going to Heaven." Uck.

[Hekate]

8. God bless the Rev Jim Wallis and Sojourners

Yes, there is a "religious left," and yes, there are "religious liberals."

The news media keeps filtering everything through the noisy religious wingnuts, dumbing every issue down to "he said, she said" instead of actually examining the issues.

I suggest contacting broadcast media every time you catch them in this -- viewer-comment lines, e-mail, snail mail -- just keep letting them know there is more to Christianity (and religion in general) in the US than Focus on the Family and Jerry Falwell.

I like our local station's viewer-comment voicemail line because I can give immediate feedback. (One of our anchors used to irk me no end by referring to Planned Parenthood as an "abortion clinic" so over time I left numerous polite messages pointing out the vast number of other services they provide, including fertility counseling, and she's pretty much stopped calling PP that. I was a little sharper when she interviewed a right-to-lifer and said, "So what you are really trying to do is stop the killing of little babies?" I left a message asking her to remember her responsibility to at least try to pretend to be objective.)

Nationally, it's just so important for us all to keep at the media on their reporting on religion.

Hekate

[fasttense]

11. Thank you God for corporate America.

My husband went to a X-mas lunch given by a large corporation (here is an interesting sideline: the corporation didn't pay for the lunch the local small restaurant actually donated it to the workers.) They had a very Christian blessing before they began to eat. The local preacher said after praising Jesus, "Thank you God for corporate America." My husband was furious.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. I agree with Jim Wallis

If one reads the words of Jesus (and isn't he the Christ that Christians are to follow?), one finds not the ten commandments but two-to love the Lord and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus set great store by helping the poor--but the fundie leaders have apparently forgotten that.

[Wind Dancer]

20. Jim Wallis has been an outspoken advocate for the poor.

Dobson and his ilk aren't the least bit interested in addressing poverty or helping the needy. They believe the poor are unworthy due to lack of work or discipline.

George Lakoff has researched this extensively and compares two types of family structure, the strict father model to the nurturing parent model. It explains how the Repubs have been able to unite so many different groups of people by promoting this belief.

More on this:

The Strict Father Model. A traditional nuclear family with the father having primary responsibility for the well-being of the household. The mother has day-to-day responsibility for the care of the house and details of raising the children. But the father has primary responsibility for setting overall family policy, and the mother's job is to be supportive of the father and to help carry out the father's views on what should be done. Ideally, she respects his views and supports them.

Life is seen as fundamentally difficult and the world as fundamentally dangerous. Evil is conceptualized as a force in the world, and it is the father's job to support his family and protect it from evils -- both external and internal. External evils incLude enemies, hardships, and temptations. Internal evils come in the form of uncontrolled desires and are as threatening as external ones. The father embodies the values needed to make one's way in the world and to support a family: he is morally strong, self-disciplined, frugal, temperate, and restrained. He sets an example by holding himself to high standards. He insists on his moral authority, commands obedience, and when he doesn't get it, metes out retribution as fairly and justly as he knows how. It is his job to protect and support his family, and he believes that safety comes out of strength.

In addition to support and protection, the father's primary duty is tell his children what is right and wrong, punish them when they do wrong, and to bring them up to be self-disciplined and self-reliant. Through self-denial, the children can build strength against internal evils. In this way, he teaches his children to be self-disciplined, industrious, polite, trustworthy, and respectful of authority.

The strict father provides nurturance and expresses his devotion to his family by supporting and protecting them, but just as importantly by setting and enforcing strict moral bounds and by inculcating self-discipline and self-reliance through hard work and self-denial. This builds character. For the strict father, strictness is a form of nurturance and love -- tough love.

The strict father is restrained in showing affection and emotion overtly, and prefers the appearance of strength and calm. He gives to charity as an expression of compassion for those less fortunate than he and as an expression of gratitude for his own good fortune.

Once his children are grown -- once they have become self-disciplined and self-reliant -- they are on their own and must succeed or fail by themselves; he does not meddle in their lives, just as he doesn't want any external authority meddling in his life.

verses

The family-based morality that structures liberal thought is diametrically opposed to Strict Father morality. It centers around the Nurturant Parent model of the family.

The Nurturant Parent Model. The family is of either one or two parents. Two are generally preferable, but not always possible.

The primal experience behind this model is one of being cared for and cared about, having one's desires for loving interactions met, living as happily as possible, and deriving meaning from one's community and from caring for and about others.

People are realized in and through their "secure attachments": through their positive relationships to others, through their contribution to their community, and through the ways in which they develop their potential and find joy in life. Work is a means toward these ends, and it is through work that these forms of meaning are realized. All of this requires strength and self-discipline, which are fostered by the constant support of, and attachment to, those who love and care about you.

Protection is a form of caring, and protection from external dangers takes up a significant part of the nurturant parent's attention. The world is filled with evils that can harm a child, and it is the nurturant parent's duty to be ward them off. Crime and drugs are, of course, significant, but so are less obvious dangers: cigarettes, cars without seat belts, dangerous toys, inflammable clothing, pollution, asbestos, lead paint, pesticides in food, diseases, unscrupulous businessmen, and so on. Protection of innocent and helpless children from such evils is a major part of a nurturant parent's job.

Children are taught self-discipline in the service of nurturance: to take care of themselves, to deal with existing hardships, to be responsible to others, and to realize their potential. Children are also taught self-nurturance: the intrinsic value of emotional connection with others, of health, of education, of art, of communion with the natural world, and of being able to take care of oneself. In addition to learning the discipline required for responsibility and self-nurturance, it is important that children have a childhood, that they learn to develop their imaginations, and that they just plain have fun.

Through empathizing and interacting positively with their children, parents develop close bonds with children and teach them empathy and responsibility towards others and toward society. Nurturant parents view the family as a community in which children have commitments and responsibilities that grow out of empathy for others. The obedience of children comes out of love and respect for parents, not out of fear of punishment. When children do wrong, nurturant parents choose restitution over retribution whenever possible as a form of justice. Retribution is reserved for those who harm their children.

The pursuit of self-interest is shaped by these values: anything inconsistent with these values is not in one's self-interest. Pursuing self-interest, so understood, is a means for fulfilling the values of the model.

http://www.wwcd.org/issues/Lakoff.html

[Brooklyn Michael]

24. Screwing the poor < stopping gays from marrying

"But whether or not a baby is killed in the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy, that is less important than help for the poor? We would respectfully disagree with that."

So.....stopping two people who love each other from having their union legally recognized is....what? More important than helping a poor family eat, stay warm, and y'know...SURVIVE???

I'm starting to think "Focus on the Family" is just a smoke n' mirrors request...."Focus on "family" issues so you don't see all the truly evil shit we're up to."

[Faygo Kid]

25. "Government" is a system by which we live together.

Of all entities, it should reflect shared values. Guess we don't share values like "Blessed are the poor." I have waited for this, and applaud these Christians. They are not Christians of the left, they are Christians, period. And I will let Dr. Dobson and his ilk sort out their own corrupt values, and judge not, lest we be judged (the buttwipes - oops).