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Writing about what I have been reading and encountering in the media. |
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WELCOME TO MY BLOG! I comment on things I am reading, thinking about, encountering in media, and spiritual issues. I hope you will find something interesting. PS. I love feedback... |
| I am reading The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism by Katherine Stewart. This is a difficult read because it describes distortions of American Constitutional guarantees and of Christianity that make both unrecognizable. As I am not finished with the book, this is not a book review. It is a response to a particular statement on page 94 attributed to Gloria Alvarez, a Libertarian, when speaking to a gathering of Hispanic Christians she hoped to recruit to her point of view: “Have you ever asked yourself why the US is a country with much more freedom, much less corruption, and is much more prosperous than any of our countries in Latin America?” Alvarez asks in a rapid-fire tone. “The answer lies in the American belief in having limited government. Why? Because a more limited government, the less corrupt it is. And the more limited the government, the more you will have individual freedom and personal responsibility. And given those things, along with hard work and talent, you can accomplish your life’s goals.” This is a libertarian message. According to the author, Katherine Stewart, the religious nationalists are happy to combine with the libertarians, even if they are atheists, because of the growing power of the libertarians. The author sees the religious nationalists as attempting to draw people away from humanism to get them to stop voting for Democrats. As I understand the author’s point, people who call themselves Christian are willing to abandon core values of Christianity to build political power. Jesus taught that we are to love our neighbors and if they ask for your coat, you are to give them more than your coat. This is also a humanistic ideal: if a person’s basic needs are met, they will be more productive and contribute more to the society. This speaker makes no mention of the Gospel, because, according to the author, Alvarez describes herself as atheist. I know of no evidence that smaller government reduces corruption. With fewer people, fewer people will be corrupt, but there will also be fewer people to stop the corruption. I can understand Ms. Alvarez, a Cuban immigrant, seeing other countries in the Americas as being more corrupt than the USA. She left Cuba because she was disenchanted with Cuba, and she came to the USA with the idea that things would be better here and she describes the USA as better. However, she describes current USA government as if it is dominated by libertarian thinking. I worry that this sort of argument is heard as representing Christianity when it actually represents a political/economic perspective that has nothing to do with Christianity. The leaders in this “movement” seem very nationalistic. It appears to me that people who do not value Christianity are using Christian resources to attain non-Christian ends. They see a large population that they ask to support their nationalistic perspective. According to this author, the church is encouraging this because they want resources from the state that they can’t access unless they follow state regulations. To get the resources, they need to motivate the church to oppose separation of church and state. I like separation of church from state as it protects the church from the state, and it allows diversity of religious perspectives. Christian nationalism does just the opposite. |
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