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PDF versionWhen religions stop using hate words, politics will too
by Bill Tammeus on Feb. 09, 2011
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.…and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth.’
In the sad, volatile weeks since the Tucson massacre, nearly every accusation possible has been made about the presence of vitriol in our political discourse and about the sources of its many constituent toxins.
I say “nearly” because so far I’ve heard almost no one from a religious background acknowledge that religion itself -- both in its sacred writ and in the inability of its adherents to restrain their know-it-all pronouncements -- may well be the most egregious sinner when it comes to language that promotes violent dissent.
It’s time that all people of faith stand in the dock and admit guilt on this count -- and then resolve to try to fix things.
The group of men from my church with whom I’ve met weekly for breakfast, Bible study and prayer for three decades has been reading the angry prophet Jeremiah, and the very week of the Tucson shootings we heard these words from chapter 19:
Nice, Lord. Thanks for your help in ratcheting down the rhetoric, in holding back your indignation, in silencing the voice of revenge.
Oh, I know there are other lessons to be drawn from that passage and that it’s unfair to think we can plug today’s news in to any particular scriptural text we happen upon. But the reality is that such language can -- and sometimes does -- become warrant for us to employ intemperate words against those who wrong us by disagreeing with us. The history of religious pronouncements is, in many ways, a vast collection of fire and brimstone, and because such words presume to reflect the mind of God they become inordinately influential.
After all, if the Lord of hosts can pitch a hissy fit, surely we can, too.
Examples abound, but as a Presbyterian let me look first to the theological father of Presbyterians, the Swiss reformer John Calvin -- a brilliant mind who nonetheless was so certain of his own rectitude and of the depravity of the Roman Catholic Church that he declared the pope himself to be the anti-Christ, saying in his Institutes of the Christian Religion: “…we regard the Roman Pontiff as the leader and standard-bearer of that wicked and abominable kingdom.”
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Similarly, in 1543, the founder of the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther, issued a treatise called “On the Jews and Their Lies” -- in which he advocated the burning of synagogues. Jews, he said, should be “forbidden on pain of death to praise God, to give thanks, to pray and to teach publicly among us and in our country.”
This is the language of violence. This is what author James Carroll once labeled “a homiletic massacre.”
More recent faith-based slanders and libels can be paraded out, too, against blacks; women; gays and lesbians; Muslims -- a nearly endless list of targets. The list of religious leaders and their adherents who hurl this furious rubbish would, over the centuries, constitute a who’s-who of religion.
And we wonder why politicians engage in this trash talk. Religion often sets a model for the secular world.
What of religious voices of reason, compassion, hope and love? Yes, of course, they can be heard, too. And must be heard. And will be heard, in the end.
But such soothing voices have a lamentable and bloody history to overcome. Maybe if people of faith stood up and acknowledged this sad history others would listen and, finally, words of hate machine-gunned into an already wounded world could be silenced in favor of words that heal.
[Bill Tammeus, a Presbyterian elder and former award-winning Faith columnist for The Kansas City Star, writes the daily "Faith Matters" blog for The Star’s Web site and a monthly column for The Presbyterian Outlook. His latest book, co-authored with Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn, is They Were Just People: Stories of Rescue in Poland During the Holocaust. E-mail him at wtammeus@kc.rr.com.]
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Thank you, Bill. I have
Thank you, Bill. I have always appreciated your perspectives and concerns. You are absolutely right. I do think that those guiding others toward enlightenment might use more enlightened language (and/or be very careful to explain the cultural and metaphorical nuance of scriptural text)to guide and inspire true goodness. Indeed, I believe it to be their responsibility as purveyors of truth and light. Unfortunately, and at the risk of sounding cynical, judgement/coercion seems to trump goodness and justice - whether that be religious or political.
Religion has a lot of
Religion has a lot of innocent blood to answer for after all it was the religious establishment that crucified Jesus, it was the religious establishment that embarked on the invasion of the Middle East followed by the European charade called "the Crusades" as an answer, the old eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth thing,it was the religious establishment who killed Persian mystics, and it was the religious establishment that embarked on over 400 years of warfare in Europe and it is now the religious establishment who feels perfectly justified in suicide bombings and beheadings! However idelogy does not have clean hands either just look at the Armenian Hollacoust for a start done in the name of nationalism followed by the wholesale slaughter of Jews in Europe, later the genocide in Ukraine, Cambodia, China, Serbia, and on and on. Throw in the slaughter of Native Peoples by the U S government in the name of Manifest Destiny and a century later the slaughter of Native Peoples and anyone else the Latin American(with US backing and assistance) dictators deemed expendable and there is plenty of guilt and responsibility to go around. While you are at it look very closely at those who in believe that "pure science" recognizes "no moral authority" and any one who cares about peace and justice will tremble.
Well said Bishop Andrew.
Well said Bishop Andrew. From long experience (83 years in the RCC, and still going strong) I tend to question the words of bishops; however I go along at least 100% with your historical and non-doctrinal observations. Ever since our local RC bishops’ conference chose to favor “the only probable” HUMAN RIGHT TO LIFE (cf. modern Bio-ethics) of a developing human zygote with just 2 moments of existence AGAINST “the certain” HUMAN RIGHT TO LIFE of a mother with 4 children and a husband to care for, then the “truth of the bishops” and my “common human sense” meet at loggerheads. In the same line, when the bishopes choose to DENY HUMAN RIGHTS to a human person, “the Image of God”, and according to Vatican II, “the highest value in creation”, simply because she or he has a God-given sexual orientation different from the one they “supposedly” have received from God, my ears pop up and I wonder – “¿OH?
Perhaps that’s why “in my humble opinion” that slob Prophet Jesus of Nazareth never intended any religion since he himself was hounded by religion and politics from birth even until after his religious-political assassination by the religion of his family in cahoots with the politics of his nation (cf. the Gospel according to Mathew). Historically, ever since the “she and he ‘homo sapiens’ ” began walking around in Africa, both politics and religion have been used to have power over people.
The pity of it all is that the religion that sprang up well after the death and resurrection of Jesus but “in his name” seems to have become “satisfied with the shell and forgotten about the peanut”. Seems to me that the “PEANUT” of the MESSAGE of Jesus is the Kingdom of his “Abbá Father, Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth...” that is, the governance of his Father here on earth – “that other possible society” or “that other possible world” perhaps today even “that other possible Christianity” : “Whatever you do to the least of my sisters and brothers you do unto me” (Matthew, chapters 5 and 25).
The “SHELL” of the MESSAGE of Jesus is “behave yourselves and reach ‘salvation“ but it seems to me that with only this shell we will hardly even be able to reach the salvation of our Mother Earth, our planet, our “Pacha Mama” that in the plan of “Abbá Father” will hopefully still be the playground of our grandchildren.
Justiniano de Managua
Thank you Bill, for this
Thank you Bill, for this great commentary.
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Organized religion of every stripe has an unsavory history of promoting "us versus them" and, in our human dualistic thinking, the "them" = "evil" and the "us" = "good". The final flourish is often pointing a cold finger toward a passage of Scripture or a text of religious tradition as a 'proof text'.
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In the context of the culture wars it is strange that our speculation about the morality of others is always negative if it happens to not fall exactly within the narrow confines of our own particular religious brand. Even stranger that there is some over-riding need to force a particular religious belief on others by any possible means — as if somehow the Holy Spirit needs our help to straighten out another human in accord with our standards. In the Middle Ages the RCC was rather fond of literally burning folks at the stake to "save" their souls. Today it is a figurative 'burning' but no less painful.
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Blaise Pascal said that “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction”. The corollary is: “When religion and politics ride in the same cart the whirlwind follows” (Irulan: Children of Dune). And so we have a lot of toxic rhetoric and no one listening.
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Bill, as we work to address
Bill, as we work to address our own language of violence, don't forget the actual violence against Christians in Muslim and Hindu parts of the world. Mom taught us, "Sticks and stones will break our bones, but names will never hurt us." See the article about the 1 legged man in Afghanistan facing death for converting to Christianity.
I'm sorry, but how does
I'm sorry, but how does focusing on someone else's sins help me to be a better Christian? There's too many people using, "look what those muslims do" as an excuse for the cruelty in their own lives.
Thanks dennis. I have
Thanks dennis. I have questioned in previous posts what the behavior of someone else has to do with how we Christian behave. Clearly, we are called to follow in the footsteps of Christ our Lord, yet I hear and read from so many Christians justification for following in the footsteps of our enemies instead!
There are even Catholic
There are even Catholic Magazines like Catholic Insight Magazine, that target gay people and label them as not worthy of public office. Nothing is done because they have the support of the hierarchy of the Church. When Edward Kennedy died he was vilified, and also anyone who was at his funeral or spoke well of him. Yes, indeed, religion is a great offender when it comes to the vitriol in the language, and violence.
Thanks, Bill, for saying
Thanks, Bill, for saying this. The worst offenders seem to be the most conservative religious leaders -- the fundamentalist Protestants and the Catholic bishops, in particular. I'm only a lowly laywoman, but even I can see how un-Christlike this is. Jesus didn't do that! Unfortunately, I don't think any please on our part will have any impact on these people, so sure are they of their own righteousness.
Thank you, Bill, not only for
Thank you, Bill, not only for this column, but for all the others. You have been a great addition to the NCR family. As someone who was adopted by a Reform Jewish family when I was 2 weeks old, raised as an Episcopalian from aged 12, and became a Roman Catholic in my sixties, it probably won't surprise you that I have always participated in and supported ecumenical and interfaith activities. Protestants, Catholics, and Jews are part of my family. Over many years, I have never met a person who contributed to ecumenical activities who used hate filled or vitriolic language. We are all children of the same God.
Regardless of your
Regardless of your etymological preference....
The etymology of the word "religion" has been debated for centuries. The English word clearly derives from the Latin religio, "reverence (for the gods)" or "conscientiousness". The origins of religio, however, are obscure. Proposed etymological interpretations include:
From RELEGO:
* Re-reading–from Latin re (again) + lego (in the sense of "read"), referring to the repetition of scripture.
* Treating carefully–from Latin re (again) + lego (in the sense of "choose"–this was the interpretation of Cicero) "go over again" or "consider carefully".
From RELIGARE:
* Re-connection to the divine–from Latin re (again) + ligare (to connect, as in English ligament). This interpretation was made prominent by St. Augustine, following the interpretation of Lactantius.
* To bind or return to bondage–an alternate interpretation of the "reconnection" etymology emphasizing a sense of servitude to God, this may have originated with Augustine. However, the interpretation, while popular with critics of religion, is often considered imprecise and possibly offensive to followers.
From RES + LEGERE
* Concerning a gathering — from Latin res (ablative re, with regard to) + legere (to gather), since organized religion revolves around a gathering of people.
...the planet's increasingly DIS-ORGANIZED RELIGIONS have BAPTIZED, BLESSED, CANONIZED and CONSECRATED centuries of "us vs. them" verbal abuse masquerading as political rhetoric not to mention physical bloodshed around the world. And that doesn't even include the IN-HOUSE fighting poised to pop from Auckland to Zimbabwe during Advent, 2011!!
Memo to English-speaking Roman Catholics:
Happy LITURGY WARS!
http://vox-nova.com/2009/09/23/what-if-they-gave-a-liturgy-war-and-nobod...
http://www.rpinet.com/ml/3509wt.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlixnwMVa-U
Memo to Saturday Night Live:
Anxiously awaiting THE CHURCH LADY'S parody on these silly Catholics and their language wars. Hmm...what a great idea for a movie script!
Thanks Bill for giving us all
Thanks Bill for giving us all pause on this topic that is often neglected.
Adolescents often tell me that their reluctance to be a part of any "organized religion" is due to the fact that religion has caused many of our wars, and because much violence and oppression is done in the name of religion. The intolerance toward the other that occupies so much of our religious discourse needs to be addressed by spiritual religious leaders of all religions worldwide.
Very good original article.
Very good original article. The "language of hate" and general intolerance has encouraged me to remove my family from organised religon. A god that I would worship would not be happy with anyone who encouraged violence and hate.
I like that Bill first shines
I like that Bill first shines a light on the "hate speech" that is rampant in scripture. I think it's high time that Bill, and a handpicked group of similarly politically correct persons, go through the Bible and excise, or re-write all the words, phrases, or ways of thinking that do not conform to the 21st Centry "progressive" agenda. It's about time we righted the wrongs of Abraham, King David, Jesus, St Paul, and even God the Father!
I am not a politically
I am not a politically correct person if for no other reason than when carried to the extremes it often is it is just plain silly! Nor do I beleive that the Scripture should be re-written to "accomodate" cultural trends. I for one do not beleive for example that we should change the baptismal formula becuase I do not feel that we have the authority nor should have to change the words of Jesus. However and it is a large however we should make it clear the context in which Scriptures were written and to whom they were addressed. For example when the Acts talk of "fear of the Jews" I see no reason that it cannot read as an alternative text "the fear of religious establishment" after all the Apostles were in fact Jews! Ultimately we have to take Sacred Writ warts and all along with the Treasure for it to make sense out of often senselessness.
That's a good idea EFFEGEEOH.
That's a good idea EFFEGEEOH. The indicative worldview of some Bible passages dovetale with those of Taliban today.
Now that is a promising future to go back to.
Get the violent stuff off the books so future nut jobs can't legitimate their favorite atrocity by quoting the word of god.
Good point. Christ told us
Good point. Christ told us not to use the cursing Psalms or similar sayings. The worse is PS 137:9, "Happy will he be who seizes your babies and smashes them against a rock." That is sure not pro-life. One should always compare the message of the Gospel to any other saying in the Bible before acting or taking the passage to heart.
Sarcasm is fine, but still,
Sarcasm is fine, but still, the "Hate Speech" is there in the Bible. What do we do with it? Sarcasm doesn't answer that question, and it is not just 21st century "progressive agenda" that sees a need to deal with this biblical violence. It is simple human-heartedness, and the deep spiritual intuition that this biblical violence is not from God.
So what do you suggest,
So what do you suggest, Lifelong?
We might begin with the
We might begin with the understanding that the Bible was not written or dictated to select writers by God. The Bible is a recollection of humankinds growing and often fearful experience of God. Remember the Bible's origins began as oral tradition. Humans are inspired not necessarily the Bible but by the living God rests in our hearts.
See also: http://whenreligionfails.blogspot.com/
No, let such passages stand,
No, let such passages stand, for the purpose of showing our children what awful behaviours people used to apply to the Deity.
Bill - great read. And sounds
Bill - great read. And sounds much like John Dear SJ's book review yesterday, Feb. 8, in NCR online. He reviewed a book that speaks to this very question - how is it that people who claim to speak "for God" do so with violence. May we all be peacemakers. Good column.
AMEN. That is what Christ
AMEN. That is what Christ told us in the Sermon on the Mount.
Here's just a few HATE SPEECH
Here's just a few HATE SPEECH numbers today:
http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/psa.asp?play=tvspots&video=TV_Cashiers_30
There will be no peace among
There will be no peace among Nations
until there is peace among
Religions.
How arrogant of any one religion to think it has sole possession of Truth
or possession of All the Truth!
Check out Rene Girard, Gil
Check out Rene Girard, Gil Bailie, for a thoughful and radically challenging anthropological look at religion and the primitive sacred.
This hate really exploded in
This hate really exploded in America when JPII and Falwell took over the Repub party, put St. Reagan and St. Milton Friedman into the WH, made it into what it has been ever since then. And so, to this day we see EXACTLY what it is, a thing of evil and hate, vitriol, viciousness, vehemence and all of them are totally riven with hypocrisy!!! By their fruit/deeds shall we know them!!
It isn't over and they are not done thrashing and trashing us. When Sarah Palin, Jeb Bush and/or Newt Gingrich get elected preznut (most likely Jeb Bush or whomever the pope and the Koch Bros want)this entire deadly and very costly disastrous mess will continue, ad nauseam.
How do we know that?? Because that's what Repubs do. Economists report that every time the Repubs have gotten control(prez and both houses of congress) of our gov't in the last 100yrs,they cause another economic mess. With the help of the Scalia/papal/GOP SCOTUS they are preparing to cause another economic and likely war mess(Weigel, Jeb Bush, Armitage, Bennett, Vin Weber and their Reagan Neocons) thanks to the SCOTUS ruling: Citizens United v. The Federal Elections Board.
Lest we forget, the German ancestry of the Koch Bros and B16. The Koch Bros are known to have lamps shades made of the skins of Jewish Holocaust victims!!!
Those are the people who run America and the GOP and the Religious Right. And I'm supposed to vote for these people, because why, they share our values. Not ever, NEVER!!!
And yet, this is the kind of thing we are told.
This article by Tammeus is very apropos of what has gone on in our nation since the days of JPII, Falwell, Reagan and Friedman. It isn't really all about god(their god gets a small g) gays, guns and abortion. It is really about EXTREME GREEEED and extreme lust for political power. My guess is that it is also very much about the end of Peak/Easy Oi, the soon global food problem and the upcoming global climate warming that the GOP and their Religious Right just seem to deny, just as they denied Galileo!!
Their hate is what killed two students, gay students, that attended the Catholic high school I once attended, back in the late 50s.
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