Connor Coyne

So I wrote the following letter as a response to Glenn Beck’s recent call for Christians to renounce any church, congregation, or parish that calls for “social justice” or “economic justice” because they are code words for “nazism” and “communism.”

First, let’s be honest; Glenn Beck is a straw man. His arguments are patently absurd, and he’s only dangerous because of his significant reach and influence. He is not representative of most religious Americans or even of most conservative religious Americans. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t waste my time writing someone so entirely devoid of reason and consistently unwilling to listen.

In this case, however, I felt it important to respond not only because the equation of progressive liberalism with regimes espousing eugenics, political purges, and genocide to be offensive and horrid… I felt that it was even more important to respond because there’s a deep and wrenching miscalibration in the way religious conservatives interpret and apply the Bible today. This may be unintentional, and in some cases it may not be conscious, but in effect it is ultimately self-serving. We don’t want to be made to give; we want to keep, and maybe to give of our own initiative. But how many of us do this? Not many. And many many others hunger and thirst as a result. This problem is the ethical struggle of a progressive and liberal Christianity. One of the most enduring themes of history is that the wealthy are always loathe to part with their wealth, but the enduring theme of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, is that wisdom and salvation almost always require such relinquishment.

So the letter I wrote below has been building up inside me for a long time, and it is a bit lengthy and quote heavy. The argument is very simple and direct. It is robust because its source material is robust. Unlike most Biblical arguments which might seem alien to our modernized, mechanized world, or which are based on a singular scriptural passage of difficult interpretation, the passages on poverty and social justice are numerous, and the problems today are similar to what they were millennia ago. I have never heard an argument adequate to counter what I’m claiming here:

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Dear Mr. Beck,

Hi! I’m a Christian and I’m involved in social justice. In fact, giving aid to the poor is one of the least ambiguous points of the Bible. It comes up over and over, in book after book, and unlike passages referring to homosexuality or the social role of women, the message is easily interpreted from Genesis to Revelations. When you say that Christians should leave their churches if the churches espouse “social justice” as a code word for “communism” or “nazism,” you’re effectively asking Christians to renounce their Christianity.

A few quotes to support my point here.

Is social justice addressed in the Pentateuch? Check.

Deut. 15:11: The needy will never be lacking in the land; that is why I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy kinsman in your country.

(There are many other statements like this…)

Historical Books? Check.

1 Sam. 2:8: He raises the needy from the dust; / from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, / To seat them with nobles / and make a glorious throne their heritage.

(There are many other statements like this…)

Wisdom Books? Check.

Ps. 82:3-4: Defend the lowly and fatherless; render justice to the afflicted and needy. Rescue the lowly and poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Pro. 22:22: Injure not the poor because they are poor, nor crush the needy at the gate; for the Lord will defend their cause, and will plunder the lives of those who plunder them.

(There are many other statements like this…)

Is social justice addressed by the Prophets? Boy, is it ever!

Is 10:2: Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees, Depriving the needy of judgment and robbing my people’s poor of their rights, Making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey!

Jer 5:26-28: For there are among my people criminals; like fowlers they set traps but it is men they catch. Their houses are as full of treachery as a bird-cage is of birds; Therefore they grow powerful and rich, fat and sleek. They go their wicked way; justice they do not defend By advancing the claims of the fatherless or judging the cause of the poor.

Ez 16:49: The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they afflict the poor and the needy, and oppress the resident alien without justice.

(There are many, many, many other statements like this…)

And then there’s this SOCIALIST gem from the Acts of the Apostles:

Acts 4:32: The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.

Letters of Paul? Check!

Gal 2:10: Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do.

(There are other statements like this…)

Other New Testament letter? Yup!

James 2:5-6: Listen, my beloved brothers. Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? But you dishonored the poor person.

(There are other statements like this…)

And what about the gospels? What does Jesus say about helping the poor?

Luke 18:18-24: An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’” And he replied, “All of these I have observed from my youth.” When Jesus heard this he said to him, “There is still one thing left for you: sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when he heard this he became sad, for he was very rich.

Matt 7:12: Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

Matt 25:44-45: Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

Now, as I understand it, Mr. Beck, you yourself are a Christian, or claim to be. If so, you may want to read the Bible (and I think the Book of Mormon would also support the points I’m making here). Sometimes things really are straightforward. My parish is helping people in Nicaragua and Afghanistan because… they’re hungry.

If you don’t get this, you either don’t understand Christianity, or you don’t care about it.

Sincerely,

Connor Coyne

Things are way different here from how they were when you were around.

Then again, maybe not so much.

According to Wikitravel:

The Basilica of the Annunciation is built above the sunken grotto which according to the Roman Catholic faith was the home of the Virgin Mary and the place where she received the Annunciation (the announcement of the imminent birth of Jesus). The large and impressive modern-day church is built above the remains of churches dating back to Crusader and Byzantine times, still visible on the lower level. The church boasts dozens of pictures donated by Christian communities around the world. The Largest Church in the Middle East and one of Christianity’s Holiest shrines, its imposing dome dominates the Nazareth skyline and is an ideal landmark and starting point for visiting Other churches. It marks the spot where the Archangel Gabriel Informed the Virgin Mary that God had chosen her to bear his son; there is also a tradition that Mary lived in a house on this site. The complex of the modern Basilica is built on two levels. The lower one,Making the traditional Roman Catholic site of the Annunciation, contains ancient remains of churches from the Byzantiane and Crusader eras. During archaeological excavations, relics were found dating back to the Canaanite settlement of Nazareth, Though the most interesting find was of a typical Nazarene house, hewn out of the rock, from the Roman Period. The upper level, built between 1959 and 1969 on the site of an 18th-century church, is in strikingly modern architectural style. With its stained- glass windows highlighted against bare stone.A garden and courtyard connect the Basilica to St. Joseph’s Church and Workshop. Admission to the Basilica is free.

“It marks the spot where the Archangel Gabriel Informed the Virgin Mary that God had chosen her to bear his son” reminds me of one of the most famous episodes in the life of Muhammad, where the Angel Gabriel transported him to Jerusalem before escorting the prophet to heaven. This event is celebrated by the Dome of the Rock.

Borrowed from Pastor Dan.

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God’s blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will…

Bless us with tears – for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger – at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort – at the easy, simplistic “answers” we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience – and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be “fixed” anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility – open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance – replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity – remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand – that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

I’m going to write about this at length, but not today.
This is truly an issue where I believe both major party lines are seriously flawed, although Democrats have made more headway recently then Republicans.

The Democrats often decry the practice of abortion while refusing to legislate on the subject. Since these declarations are often offered without a solution proposed, they amount to platitudes, though there are signs of improvement. Some Democrats (the Presidential ticket among them) are encouraging reductions in the number of abortions through social levers. Some may say that this is an ineffective compromise; from the standpoint that life is sacred prebirth, it is certainly a compromise. However it is not ineffective; the nations with the lowest abortion rates have, in fact, legalized abortion in the context of a health care system that provides medical and financial assistance to new mothers.

The Republican Party takes a stand on the legality of the subject, but it is a sanctimonious, self-righteous stand that offers nothing, not even crumbs, to those they would bar from abortion. This is borne out, as the role of poverty is often the decisive factor in whether or not to have an abortion, while Republicans tend to slash welfare programs that respond to these problems, regardless of the program’s effectiveness, and even while other spending proliferates under their watch. This is worse than a platitude; it is a sort of open-book hypocrisy. If conservatives really value the lives of the unborn, they’ll be willing to make real sacrifices in other policy positions to advance this issue: universal health care, provisions for the poor and disenfranchised, and comprehensive sex education to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.

From the point of view of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, abortion is a non-negotiable issue. That is fine, and is in agreement with the Catechism:

Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion.
This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable.
Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law… (2771)

What can and must remain negotiable is the way in which this issue is addressed. Solutions which pass the buck, which demand compliance on the part of others without asking us to scrutinize our own lives and obligations are the easy way out, and have more to do with keeping our own conscience clean according to some minimum standard than leading a true life of faith. But solutions which spread out the sacrifice, where we “do unto others” and take on a portion of the burden as a sign of our commitment are not only more effective; they speak for themselves as a more genuine living out of God’s vision. For “if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing,” (1 Corinthians 13:3).