Trump-Faith
In pondering the mystery of "faith", how about if we start with a question: Who said this?
"A man should regard his lawful possessions not merely as his own but also as common property in the sense that they should accrue to the benefit of not only himself but of others... The right to have a share of earthly goods sufficient for oneself and one's family belongs to everyone... If a person is in extreme necessity, he has the right to take from the riches of others what he himself needs."
Was this quotation said by a) Donald Trump; b) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or c) Che Guevara?
Okay. I cheated! None of the persons I offered for you to choose from are responsible for the quotation: the Second Vatican Council is! Yep, right there in the document The Church in the Modern World! But more: "God intended the earth and all that it contains for the use of every human being and people. Thus, as all men follow justice and unite in charity, created goods should abound for them on a reasonable basis"...
Of course, this echoes the words of the Master: "Blessed are you poor..." and "Woe to you rich..." and "Whatsoever you do to the least among you, you do to me..." And here we are making of "faith" a four letter word in profiting from both war and poverty in a "plunderful" capitalism --- and, in point of fact, it was Christians who elected Donald Trump to the office of President of the United States: a man who has given (and continues to give) abundant evidence of being completely contrary to the Words and Spirit of Jesus (Yeshua the Poet of Nazareth). So "faith" is "doubly" a four letter word: the "faithful" support the war profiteers and elect persons who have zero consideration or compassion for the poor, the middle class, persons from other nations, minorities, women, and to top it all off, the Earth itself: and, thanks be to the Holy One, out on the margins, the "other faithful" are rising up: defending the Earth, defending women, defending democracy, defending children, and defending hope for humanity on this precious blue Planet...
St. John Chrysostom said, "Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead." In other words, justice matters for it is justice that makes life worth living! Integral to "faith" is a passionate pursuit of justice: one cannot claim allegiance to Christ and at the very same time refuse to protect and regenerate the Planet in Justice. One cannot claim allegiance to Christ and at the very same time be racist, be a "white nationalist", or be sexist: Christ is Every Color, Christ is Beyond Borders, and Christ is Every Woman! Remember: "Whatsoever you do to the least among you, you do to me"! Today, we might "feed the hungry" in Soup Kitchens, but more important than our Works of Mercy, are the policies and practices that either increase or steadily eliminate the divide between the rich and the poor... Today, we might "feed the hungry" in treating minorities and women as equal to men and white men of privilege and power, but of even greater importance would be the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution and political and policy guarantee of equal treatment and fair representation to and for everyone...
If "faith" isn't a four letter word to the people and systems of privilege, profit, and power (the Unholy Trinity), then it is useless, as useless as salt that has lost its flavor. If "faith" isn't a radical proposition that directly confronts society, and challenges for personal transformation, then it is, again, completely useless. Faith is the will to live the possibilities inherent in the Gospel, the Torah, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, the Earth Spirit, and the Treasury of Indigenous Wisdom... Faith, in the final analysis, is the "leap of faith" that Love will overcome every doubt, every barrier, and every divide until there is "only" the fullness of the Holy One's Glory and Delight in-filling every part and particle of creation! [A brief note to Fundamentalists of the Christian persuasion: Grow up! Grow into the very likeness of Christ Himself! Become a Living Mercy, a Gentle Welcoming, a Nonviolent Hand, and a Cosmic Compassion... "Identification as Christ" is so much more important (wonderful and delightful) than a "belief in Christ"...]
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. 'And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.' I still believe that we shall overcome." -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech
"A man should regard his lawful possessions not merely as his own but also as common property in the sense that they should accrue to the benefit of not only himself but of others... The right to have a share of earthly goods sufficient for oneself and one's family belongs to everyone... If a person is in extreme necessity, he has the right to take from the riches of others what he himself needs."
Was this quotation said by a) Donald Trump; b) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or c) Che Guevara?
Okay. I cheated! None of the persons I offered for you to choose from are responsible for the quotation: the Second Vatican Council is! Yep, right there in the document The Church in the Modern World! But more: "God intended the earth and all that it contains for the use of every human being and people. Thus, as all men follow justice and unite in charity, created goods should abound for them on a reasonable basis"...
Of course, this echoes the words of the Master: "Blessed are you poor..." and "Woe to you rich..." and "Whatsoever you do to the least among you, you do to me..." And here we are making of "faith" a four letter word in profiting from both war and poverty in a "plunderful" capitalism --- and, in point of fact, it was Christians who elected Donald Trump to the office of President of the United States: a man who has given (and continues to give) abundant evidence of being completely contrary to the Words and Spirit of Jesus (Yeshua the Poet of Nazareth). So "faith" is "doubly" a four letter word: the "faithful" support the war profiteers and elect persons who have zero consideration or compassion for the poor, the middle class, persons from other nations, minorities, women, and to top it all off, the Earth itself: and, thanks be to the Holy One, out on the margins, the "other faithful" are rising up: defending the Earth, defending women, defending democracy, defending children, and defending hope for humanity on this precious blue Planet...
St. John Chrysostom said, "Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead." In other words, justice matters for it is justice that makes life worth living! Integral to "faith" is a passionate pursuit of justice: one cannot claim allegiance to Christ and at the very same time refuse to protect and regenerate the Planet in Justice. One cannot claim allegiance to Christ and at the very same time be racist, be a "white nationalist", or be sexist: Christ is Every Color, Christ is Beyond Borders, and Christ is Every Woman! Remember: "Whatsoever you do to the least among you, you do to me"! Today, we might "feed the hungry" in Soup Kitchens, but more important than our Works of Mercy, are the policies and practices that either increase or steadily eliminate the divide between the rich and the poor... Today, we might "feed the hungry" in treating minorities and women as equal to men and white men of privilege and power, but of even greater importance would be the passage of an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution and political and policy guarantee of equal treatment and fair representation to and for everyone...
If "faith" isn't a four letter word to the people and systems of privilege, profit, and power (the Unholy Trinity), then it is useless, as useless as salt that has lost its flavor. If "faith" isn't a radical proposition that directly confronts society, and challenges for personal transformation, then it is, again, completely useless. Faith is the will to live the possibilities inherent in the Gospel, the Torah, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Dhammapada, the Earth Spirit, and the Treasury of Indigenous Wisdom... Faith, in the final analysis, is the "leap of faith" that Love will overcome every doubt, every barrier, and every divide until there is "only" the fullness of the Holy One's Glory and Delight in-filling every part and particle of creation! [A brief note to Fundamentalists of the Christian persuasion: Grow up! Grow into the very likeness of Christ Himself! Become a Living Mercy, a Gentle Welcoming, a Nonviolent Hand, and a Cosmic Compassion... "Identification as Christ" is so much more important (wonderful and delightful) than a "belief in Christ"...]
"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down other-centered can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. 'And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.' I still believe that we shall overcome." -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech