One of the crazier responses to Glen Beck has been to insist that social justice is a pervasive biblical theme. This is crazy because there are lots of other pervasive biblical themes that we ignore and it is a darn good thing we do.
And one of those themes we ignore—the Bible's pervasive call for genocide—not only exists alongside the call for social justice, it is often closely linked to it. The same prophets who chastise us for not taking better care of the widow and the orphan will turn around and either chastise the king for not mercilessly slaughtering every single woman and child of some defeated tribe or (in King David's case) praise him for having done so.
One of the crucial facts that we must grasp if we want to apply the Bible's moral teachings to our lives is that almost all these teachings are aimed at an in-group and are meant only to apply to how members of the in-group treat other members of the in-group. The same books that forbid putting the bite on your brother (that is forbid Israelites to charge other Israelites interest) will also condemn any Israelite man who marries a non-Israelite. And they do so for the same reason.
The crucial point to grasp about the Israelite people who later became the Jewish people is that they never in their entire existence had a homeland that was exclusively theirs. There appear to be moments when they become the dominant group in the kingdom but they are always surrounded by other peoples. Much of the time they are surrounded and dominated by other peoples, people who hold religious views that have considerable overlap with their own but differ in details that some Israelites/Jews think are crucial. Others are not so exclusive.
Then these same people are taken away to live in exile. Following that they become part of the Hellenistic world. Hellenism was the most cosmopolitan culture in the history of the world up until that point. Even mighty Rome with all her military might could not prevail against Hellenism.
This people, then, was in constant danger of assimilation. There was the risk of the harsh and sudden assimilation that follows military defeat and there was the risk of assimilation by degrees that comes from living under the influence of the more cosmopolitan cultures of Egypt and Hellenism.
It is against this background that we must understand the economic teachings of the Bible. We are not to charge our brother interest so that he may continue to live beside us. That is, if you start treating your fellow tribe members in this impersonal economic way, the bonds that keep you together will dissolve and the whole tribe will be lost. That likewise is why you should give one coat away if you have two. John The Baptist does not propose that Jews should give their coats to non-Jews.
But, you might say, Jesus is different. Yes he is different, although sometimes grudgingly* at least according to the Bible account. But that makes my point, doesn't it? For if Jesus is different then whatever we mean by social justice it isn't all that pervasive anymore. And Jesus preaches a much more individualistic morality than the rest of Bible. He also preaches a much more individualistic morality than Jim Wallis.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a good place to start. It is anti-in-group. And then there is the parable of the Talents. And Talents mean money. Lots of money actually.
No, as I've said before, I don't think anyone should run out the door the second they hear or read the terms "social justice" or "economic justice" from their church, but any time you see those words get out your bullshit detector, pardon me, I mean "start practicing the hermeneutics of suspicion" because you can bet that most times these soft terms are masking hard political goals you don't want to be associated with.
I'd put it more softly than Beck does but it is unquestionably true that far too many Christians continue to support churches and church organizations that are working to undermine the things they value. Quite frankly, they should take a hard look at what their church is doing and make it clear that they will withhold their money or leave if it the things they do not like are not changed.
And don't let some ideologically motivated guy like Jim Wallis guilt you into continuing to support things you don't believe in. There are lots of options for Christians today, feel free to shop around.
* "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs ..."
No comments:
Post a Comment