November 26, 2004
Parading Jesus
Here's a test for my fellow liberal and progressive bloggers to see how well we really "know the enemy." How many of the people in this painting can you identify? You'll probably have no problem recognizing the all too familiar key political players - Bush, the members of his Cabinet, his family, the many Republican pundits, et al. No doubt you'll easily spot Ann Coulter, arguably the most recognizable of all the rabidly far Right talking heads. And yet, how many on the Left recognize the other cast of dubious characters? I submit if we don't know the Christian fundamentalist leadership -- how they think and operate, the influence they wield in the government and over the minds of Americans, and their impact on world affairs (namely U.S. policies toward Israel and the Middle East), then we're missing the bigger picture in this psycho-spiritual-political-thought war. What has gone largely unnoticed by the Left until the election results made the divisions between Red and Blue states abundantly clear, is that there is a deep, and I mean DEEP, symbiosis between religion and politics in this country, and we ignore this at our peril.
Last night, as I was analyzing this amazing painting, it occured to me that the genius of it is that by placing all the "heads" of the "Church," government, and the media on one canvas, the artist reveals their interconnectedness, thereby giving us a more complete picture, both literally and figuratively, of what we're really up against. Most prominently placed in the foreground are the T.V. evangelists -- Paul and Jan Crouch of TBN (Jan is the one with the pink hair), Rexella and Jack Van Impe, Pat Robertson of the 700 Club, Jerry Falwell (founder of The Moral Majority, transformed as of Nov. 2004 into the Faith and Values Coalition), Hal Lindsey (author of the influential 70s best-seller, "The Late Great Planet Earth"), and a host of other predominently Southern Babtist evangelicals who have been indoctrinating "Red State" Americans on radio and television for the past three to four decades. Use the magnifier for a closer look, and here is a list of the cast of characters if you have trouble guessing who they are. It's quite a crowd. I'm amazed that the artist managed to pack them all in.
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And speaking of crowds, the decidedly anti-Christian, militaristic-nationalism of parading Jesus en masse, reminds me of something Jesus clearly warned against, as quoted in this scripture:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:30-20
Bloggers who have touched on the subject of Christian fundamentalism:
"What we're seeing," writes Andrew Sullivan, "is a huge fundamentalist Christian revival in this country, a religious movement that is now explicitly political as well."
Andy Happy of Town And Planet - I keep hearing that us liberals lost because of our lack of morals. What about WAR? Isn't that a moral issue? Isn't that a sin? Doesn't Jesus say to turn the other cheek and love thy enemy and all that? Do people really think that by bombing Fallujah into the Stone Age that we are accomplishing anything more than creating a generation of martyrs that will live their whole lives hating America?
Dave Marco of Shining Light In Dark Corners - The Rapture and Apocalypse: Decidedly Not Christ-like, I’ve been wondering how they got all this from the same Bible. Even more, how did gentle Jesus inspire this fanaticism? I certainly didn’t read any such craziness in the New or Old Testament. Yet, some serious minded pious person interpreted what I read in a very different way. Somehow, the Prince of Peace has been turned into the worst serial killer ever. I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it.
From Black Sundae - Where exactly is the Christianity or Islam in either of these two debased ideologies? Apart from a handful of symbols and catch phrases (along with pastiches, like “The Rapture,” that baldly pretend to be authentic principles), there’s nothing of Jesus or Mohammed, or the long discussions of how we should then live that followed them.
From Alien Intelligencer - The Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Christian Coalition are graver threats to our nation than Osama ever dreamed.
DU discussion.
Articles:
From Bill Moyers' speech Journalism Under Fire - How do we explain the possibility that a close election in November could turn on several million good and decent citizens who believe in the Rapture Index? That’s what I said -- the Rapture Index;...These true believers subscribe to a fantastical theology concocted in the l9th century by a couple of immigrant preachers who took disparate passages from the Bible and wove them into a narrative millions of people believe to be literally true...One estimate puts these people at about 15 percent of the electorate. Most are likely to vote Republican; they are part of the core of George W. Bush’s base support.
From Mike Moore - Is Bush The Antichrist? Using the name of Christ yet being the enemy of Christ, the Antichrist is a threat to every civilization and every person. Could George Bush be the Antichrist? His Antichrist-like actions make one wonder.
Book About the Rapture:
Left Behind, a popular book series among Christian fundamentalists about Jesus Christ destroying the earth in the War of Armaggedon, taking all believing Christians with him to heaven in the "Rapture," and leaving all unbelievers behind.
Posted by Diana at November 26, 2004 04:23 AM