The Lie And The Summons
Democracies die when electorates swallow a lie. Today's Lie, like a triangle, has three sides. The first side of The Lie is based on ignorance. It is the belief that the level of peace, public services and civil order (with all their ups and downs) which most western democracies have enjoyed since World War Two can be taken for granted. It can't. The possibility that we will lose one, two or all of these blessings looms large as things unravel.
The second side of The Lie is that by voting for Me First and My Country First, without a care for the well-being of others, we will increase our own well-being. We won't. We will decrease it. By projecting back to some fictional Golden Age of our own 'pure' race we deceive ourselves. The truth is, that, for example in Britain's Victorian era of Charles Dickens there were two nations: the landed gentry and the poor, many of whom lacked schools, decent homes or health care. The advances since then have been hard fought for by people with consciences, many of them Christians.
The third side of The Lie is perpetrated by heretical Christians who mistakenly call themselves Bible Christians. Electors voted Hitler in. He managed to impose his racist agenda of invading nations and killing Jews and gays in part because the established church in Germany propagated the view that faith is merely personal and must be separated from public affairs.
This is now an issue in USA. Jerry Falwell, President of USA’s largest Christian University said:
'Jesus said love our neighbors as ourselves but never told Caesar how to run Rome-he never said Roman soldiers should turn the other cheek in battle or that Caesar should allow all the barbarians to be Roman citizens or that Caesar should tax the rich to help poor. That’s our job.' Another famous evangelical leader has justified his President's wrong-doings by saying that God used a leader like the Emperor Cyrus even though he was not a believer.
Jesus' words about Caesar made the point that believers should pay taxes. Why did Jesus urge us to pray 'Our (not my) Father ... your Kingdom come on earth...'?
Without the values of honesty, fairness and mercy societies will tear themselves apart. Why is the ultimate vision of God's purpose likened (in the Book of Revelation) to a city where all citizens bring their treasures? God is the Ground of Being, the Omega (destination) of the cosmos, not a personal possession of pietists.
These are some reasons why The Community of Aidan and Hilda in every country summons us 'to work with people of goodwill in places of authority and influence so that our lands may be led by God'. May many more people heed the summons.
Ray
