the point was to disavow the mindset of doing whatever was necessary to accomplish a goal - there are social and moral implications, and religious ones to boot
in an article posted on 'patheos' one member of the united methodist church, a commissioned deacon, spoke strongly against what they saw as bullying on the part of the ' progressive ' faction within the denomination, expressing deep concern at the rhetoric and methods it used to express its dissatisfaction with the long-standing opposition to inclusion of the LGBT community ..
not that they opposed lgbt - the deacon has lgbt friends, and apparently an lgbt child, and stated that they would disavow their vows within the UMC when that child decided to marry, so as not to act in a fashion that undermined the rules of the church
the purpose and focus of the article was this person's disagreement with the methods used by the dissenters, not so much with what they were attempting to do ..
in brief, they said this, ' Frankly, my issue with either group is not over their agenda; it has never been. It is over their short-sighted, toddler-esque, antics that derail pragmatic and sustained change (said it, meant it) that make me come unglued. '
by the way, the writer brought the supporters of the democrat bernie sanders into the fray, liking the activities they were witnessing in the denomination to those of the politician's supporters, as follows:
" I AM TIRED OF ALL YOU PROGRESSIVE BULLIES. Berners, Bernistas, Methodists with an Agenda, all of you.
For months on end, anyone who would listen has been subjected to your self-righteous parochial ideas about politics, economics, the church and the College Football Playoff. We have endured your endless protests, your slogans, your slogans WITH protests, and your fundamental unwillingness to engage in anything other than a total scorched earth campaign. "
and a chord sang within me once again ..
you can find the article here
..
make no mistake, i am as unpoitical a person as you will find in the western hemisphere
my life as a whole has been marked by an apolitical stance
as a christian i have all along taken the position that the kingdom i serve is not an Earthly one, and the king i serve is less interested in the politics of the moment than in my service to the people around me as part of His Body, the church
unswervingly my position
as poignantly declared in this recent message from someone i respect here
that was precisely my take on it
however
while i do not support any political party, i recently discovered that there is a current political figure who takes to heart the people, the wellbeing of the masses, and cares for those in need
additionally, this person seems not to play the political game, but calls-out those who abuse politics for their own personal benefit and wealth at the expense of the common citizen, resulting in a massive widening of the gap between the rich and the poor ..
as such, their stated intention is to right some of the abuse that has been part of this country's ' modus operandi ' for quite some time
so that when someone like this takes a stand against public abuse and for the abused, i, as a follower of Jesus, find myself compelled to support this person ..
after all, they are, in effect, proclaiming to subscribe to some of the very principles my Master cared for
one example is a right-now newscast on a local channel investigating the massive overload of mentally unstable people who end up in jail for extended periods, rather than being treated for their mental illness in a mental hospital - they are criminalized instead of treated, because of the lack of staffed institutions
..
but the politics isn't the point of this post
my concern is with the deacon's lean towards pragmatism over outright revolt against the oppressive system
..
while that may sound a bit radical, it reflects my naive outlook on abuse, on the privileged powerful few's disregard for humanity in pursuit of their own purse
and methinks i'm in good company
Jesus was patently and potently unpragmatic ..
while Jesus was not one to speak-out against the imperial powers, his methods and messages strongly aligned with the down-and-out, the underclassed ..
he ' religiously ' opposed the religious leadership for their misrepresentation of the god they claimed to represent in defense of the common people and their needs ..
and he himself met many of those needs by undoing the powers of darkness, standing against sickness and demonic oppression, feeding the hungry, loving the cast-out, sharing meals with the despised and rejected, allowing a scorned prostitute to anoint his feet with her repentant tears
this Man is the man i follow
it is he that inspires my life
it seems to me only reasonable for me to support someone who looks to head in a similar direction from a political point of view, even though this politician does not lay any claim to chtistianity
..
the writer's claim that progressing along the path in a decent, orderly manner, observing the rules of their denomination, is in fact in direct opposition to Jesus' take and is, as such, faulty
Jesus' strongest words by far were not directed toward those in political office, but those in religious office
..
when it comes to playing by the rules to gain a particular goal vs. taking the bull by the horns and proclaiming justice and right-eousness in the face of evil, i take Jesus' position
and where i see ( as i said, for the first time ever ) a politician headed in that direction, a direction that looks to overthrow the wicked status quo on behalf of the oppressed, i will go there with that politician, for inasmuch as that person does it for the least of these, they do it for Jesus
hence my disregard for pragmatism, and my desire to see change, massive change in favour of the beatendown, the margined, the poor, the sick, the very lgbt, the alien immigrant, the refugee, the muslim, the blacks and the mexicans, the jew, the mentally ill ..
for there is no distinction with God
ALL have sinned
and God causes the rain to fall and the sun to shine on the just and on the unjust alike, indiscriminately
who am i then to discriminate
mine is to bow to that view of life in this world and to pursue peace and justice for all, as much as i am able
where i see it, i support it
politics or not
dreamer or not
so help me God
mine is to support Kingdom ethics whenever i have the opportunity, and everyperson is worthy ..
such that
blessed be those whose spirits have been beaten-down
blessed are they who lament
and those that have a gentle spirit
those that are starving for justice
the merciful
the innocent
the persecuted
.. says Jesus
again he says " be perfect, even as your heavenly father is perfect "
where is pragmatism
..
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