Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent
Yesterday, I was reading an essay in which the author noted that the three "givens" in any human society were: politics, economics and religion. His thesis was that these foundational aspects of civilization (as we know/understand it) converged during the Axial Age -- somewhere around 1000 BCE. The author argued that even though societies today may look and behave in a myriad of ways, depending upon their particular histories and contexts, the general organizing effect of politics, economics and religion remains a constant.
I spent a fair amount of time considering the writer's essay. But I wasn't concerned so much with trying to figure out if I agreed with his premise or not. I was captured by the awareness that in this little corner of the Episcopal Church we spend so little time talking intentionally and explicitly about any of those broad themes as a parish community.
Today is "Primary Day" in Wisconsin. "Politics" as we usually think of it -- yard signs, telephone calls, radio and television ads. For the past week, we have been flooded with a deluge of carefully scripted advertisements as the presidential hopefuls work to "get their message out to the voters". And what is a key component of their message? Economic policies and promises.
Over the course of the campaign, each one of the candidates has had to contend with "The God Question" in some form or another. Their particular religious beliefs/practices have been scrutinized by the media. Each candidate has worked to appear "religious enough" to appeal to a broad swath of voters, but not so overly religious as to offend that same demographic.
Politics, economics and religion.
I believe Jesus had plenty to say about those three things. Why are we so silent about them in church? Why am I?
Yesterday, I was reading an essay in which the author noted that the three "givens" in any human society were: politics, economics and religion. His thesis was that these foundational aspects of civilization (as we know/understand it) converged during the Axial Age -- somewhere around 1000 BCE. The author argued that even though societies today may look and behave in a myriad of ways, depending upon their particular histories and contexts, the general organizing effect of politics, economics and religion remains a constant.
I spent a fair amount of time considering the writer's essay. But I wasn't concerned so much with trying to figure out if I agreed with his premise or not. I was captured by the awareness that in this little corner of the Episcopal Church we spend so little time talking intentionally and explicitly about any of those broad themes as a parish community.
Today is "Primary Day" in Wisconsin. "Politics" as we usually think of it -- yard signs, telephone calls, radio and television ads. For the past week, we have been flooded with a deluge of carefully scripted advertisements as the presidential hopefuls work to "get their message out to the voters". And what is a key component of their message? Economic policies and promises.
Over the course of the campaign, each one of the candidates has had to contend with "The God Question" in some form or another. Their particular religious beliefs/practices have been scrutinized by the media. Each candidate has worked to appear "religious enough" to appeal to a broad swath of voters, but not so overly religious as to offend that same demographic.
Politics, economics and religion.
I believe Jesus had plenty to say about those three things. Why are we so silent about them in church? Why am I?
posted by FrGaryB | 6:32 AM
1 Comments:
Here's an interesting experiment to replicate at your leisure: Google the phrase (for example) "Christian economics." One of the top results returned had a section on "Capitalism and the Bible." Did I get an encapsulation of Anglo-Catholic British socialism or the Social Gospel? No, actually. I got this: "The Bible provides the moral foundation of free market voluntarism. The moral issue is personal responsibility. The Bible places this squarely on the shoulders of the individual decision-maker."
And who was that fool running around centuries before St. Adam Smith with all the "Blessed are the poor" and "The last shall be first and the first last" nonsense?
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