being honest

One who gives an honest answer
gives a kiss on the lips.

Proverbs 24:26; NRSVue

If there’s something pretty clearly devil-like, it would be deceit. I have often thought that I would never be a good salesperson. I am too honest, and don’t care for what often seems to me to be the psychological ploy that comes with trying to sell a product. It often is a good product, and the company knows that their chances of selling it are higher with such practices. I would rather present it straightforward as is, and let the buyer decide in their own time after they have considered other options. But that would not fly well in the high-sales pressure world in which we live. Imagine a salesperson getting 40% of people to agree to buy on the day of their presentation compared to another getting maybe only 15% or less. The first might get a promotion, and the latter might get pressure and by and by be let go.

In the context, if that means anything for this passage, the proverb might concern honesty in the face of injustice (click above link). It might be much easier to let what is wrong go. We see that today in the political world. Similar to high pressure sales, there is a story being told, oftentimes frankly out and out lies. More often in American political history, statements that don’t tell the entire story, can be misleading, and can stretch the truth past the breaking point. That is common in history. Today bald-faced lies, “alternative facts.” This kind of dishonesty is quite common in various places in the world and in history, and it seems to be more and more the means of persuasion in the present.

The proverb likens honesty to love. If we love someone, or we love people, we’ll want to be honest. We won’t want to hoodwink them into making a decision when they’re not ready to. Neither will we want to control them through flattery or whatever other tactic we might use for our own benefit, not theirs.

To be honest doesn’t mean we tell them everything on our mind, like in the film, “Liar, Liar.” We give them a full, complete answer. Notice too, it’s an answer. We answer their inquiry as best we can, and as a rule keep silent otherwise. Honesty according to this proverb involves looking out for the best interest of others, not for our own selfish gain.

More wisdom in the Book for us, for life.

what is hanging in the balance now?

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust their lives to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good.

1 Peter 4:12-19; NRSVue

Wherever you are as an American on the political spectrum here, you’ll have grave concerns about the past, present and future. We have lived in a privileged existence, and it looks like that is under great stress at this time. One thing most Americans agree on is that democracy itself is at stake here. There is even a so-called Christian disdain against democracy, aligned to some extent with the Christendom of the past, focused on implementing a “Christian” order. That is another subject in itself.

Another matter is just where our priorities should lie as followers of Christ, Christians in that sense. We now live in a different setting in America compared to those who lived at the time of Peter’s writing. Rome was then in charge with no ands, ifs or buts about it. In the rule of Caesar, there was no representation of the people. Now we have that, and as Christians we do well to advocate for what we consider to be good. We still have that freedom at the moment, but the problem now is that everything seems more than less partisan in the limited two-party system here.

What has happened in my lifetime since the 1960s and gaining momentum from the 1980s and 90s up to the present day is a culture war which initially was a reaction to the government telling a Christian institution that it could no longer bar Blacks from its spaces. That was the basis of the founding for the “Moral Majority.” After a few years abortion became the issue which they found united and gave momentum to their cause. The fallout from this race based, abortion, religious freedom platform has been great. There is little to no incentive to work with the other side on issues like abortion, and all kinds of other issues. We’re at a place now where there’s one side spurred on by Christians who want to take over entirely, be the ones in charge, with others in line according to that. So it’s a challenging time since there are a host of Jesus-followers and others who are opposed to that.

What is hanging in the balance now? I think for us as Christ-followers, it’s a time of purging, salvation for us in that sense. What does our faith tell us about the good we ought to be doing? Where do our priorities lie? Is it about our own protection and freedom? Or is it with the values which Jesus taught us: to love our neighbor, to be the neighbor when anyone is in need. To welcome the stranger, the refugee. To advocate for fairness for all. To stand against racial and gender discrimination, particularly right now against the transgender community. To stand against war and the destruction of innocents such as is happening in Gaza, both Israel and Hamas utterly failing in their use of horrific violence.

So all of that and more are important to us as Christ-followers. We won’t be uniform exactly in how we think and approach such matters. But there are certain things that forever should mark us. We don’t advocate force of any kind. We rather appeal by words, and mainly by works, by what we do. We are willing to stand with those who are considered the dredge of society, in the way, a nuisance or even danger which needs to be pushed to the side, cancelled, even eliminated. We stand for the humanity of all. We look for solutions to problems, not imagining there will be perfection in such in this life but pushing toward that ideal.

With that, what do people see in us? Democrats? Republicans? MAGA followers? Patriotic Americans? You fill in the blank. Rather, shouldn’t they be seeing people who are not known as any such, but rather as Christians in the sense of which Peter talks about above? Followers of Jesus, as Jesus taught and lived in the four gospel accounts? Yes, that. That alone is our identity from which we live. There’s no doubt that we all have our opinions on political matters of this world. But we are in allegiance to one Lord, Jesus. Our following of him means that all peoples are embraced as those whom God loves. We continue on in that way, expecting difficulty, maybe even suffering. But the only way we’re to live in this life as followers of Jesus.

the peace of Christ: what kind of peace is it?

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way.”

John 14:25-31; NRSVue

Conflict is a part of life. Unfortunately for humans it seems like it’s inevitable not only in say, family squabbles, but in out and out war along with armed conflicts. There really seems to be no end to it.

Enter Christ. I almost hesitate to use that title or name because of its closeness to Christian and then Christendom. Christendom’s history has been marked with armed conflict and wars. They evidently believed in the Pax Romana, or “peace through strength,” that is through military might and power. What else would humanity know? But is that what Jesus meant by peace? What did Jesus bring?

To understand that, you would need to read the entire chapter, Jesus saying that he is the way, the truth and the life, along with the rest of the four gospel accounts. You would need to start there. And then you would need to read Acts and all the follows through Revelation. A faithful read of that would be hard pressed to see anything other than the way of the cross, the cross ultimately the means by which peace is made.

I can’t help but think that the idea of peace for too many, even Christians is at the end of a gun. They have peace in significant part because they have a gun ready to take care of any intruder or threat which might come their way. Or the inner peace they have might come from any number of other things like a large bank account and portfolio, a safe neighborhood, and so on. But the peace of Christ is something else.

Jesus taught his disciples that he would be with them by the Holy Spirit, that they need not fear, that they are not to let their hearts be troubled even in the shadow of the cross and afterward. That he would give them his peace. It’s a peace which is only in the way of the cross, not the peace the world gives through the sword and whatever else.

The peace of the cross in Christ and the gospel is meant to bring peace through peacemaking and peacemakers. Never through force, but by the cross, which breaks down barriers between humanity and God, and the conflicts and enmity in humanity itself. That is the peace we’re given in Jesus meant not only for us, but ultimately for the world.

the fight we’re in (and not in)

I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you but bold toward you when I am away!— I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards. Indeed, we live as humans but do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

This is the beginning of one of my favorite parts of Scripture, 2 Corinthians 10-13. Some scholars have seen it almost as an addition or like a separate book from what precedes it. 2 Corinthians is one of my favorite books or letters of Scripture. I like what other scholars argue, that 10-13 actually goes well with the rest.

It’s really hard to transport a passage written in a different time with frankly a different ethic among Christians. Back then it would easily mean something quite different than what it seems to mean in too many quarters today. Just go to media and look at the pictures and rhetoric. Violence, violence, violence, and I’m not only referring to the destructive words, but at least symbols of action. “God and guns” are often paired together. Because of that, when we go to Paul, it’s hard to imagine that he’s much different. But in reality, he was entirely different, his gospel and teaching with the other letters of the New Testament, rooted in the life and teaching of Jesus as set forth in the four gospel accounts.

Even so, Paul’s words here do seem quite heavy handed. It was a different culture, the gospel breaking through but not yet changing a patriarchal culture, a difficult task any place and time. Just the same it was NOT cultic mind control, nor was it control of any kind. There’s a voluntariness beginning in the commitment of baptism which is basic to faith in and the following of Jesus, certainly such in community so that there’s an accountability each one to the other, the leaders having special responsibility in that.

Paul was about persuasion, clearly evident in his letters and in Acts. He used good sense (see Philemon), but he was not into psychological manipulation of others. He spoke the truth unvarnished and plainly, both in weakness and in love. It was the Spirit which made the difference through the message spoken and lived out of Christ crucified.

Instead, what we’re seeing today and for some decades now, and probably off and mostly on in history is Christians engaging in the methods and machinations of the world. Political power and control, what ends up amounting to political idolatry. What is baffling is how the Christians who talk the most about demonic possession and discerning that are the ones who are among those most caught up in what is quite the opposite of Paul. They and others follow a long line of sad examples dating back to the time of Constantine. But the church fathers who preceded that drawing from Jesus and the rest of the New Testament are quite the opposite.

Prayer. Scripture, the Word, the heart of that: the gospel. Community in Jesus, of learners, doubters, and followers together in the love of Christ which is never coercive. A grace which gives us space and enables and helps us to choose what is good, to love all others in the way of Christ. That was what Paul and those with him, the apostolic band were all about. Yes, humble participation in politics for the good of everyone especially on the local level, along with state and national, etc., surely included.

It’s necessary to say what they weren’t about. It definitely wasn’t physical coercion, following certain “super” charismatic leaders which we see Paul in confrontation with in 2 Corinthians 10-13. It’s not about some heavy handed top-down authority imposed on everyone. It’s not about thinking anyone human is so wonderful or great. All stuff Paul was encountering. No, none of that. And we could add more of what it is and isn’t.

That’s what we as Christ-followers in community and individually have to hone in on, give ourselves to. Realizing that there will be real world consequences in doing so, meaning we’ll have to walk carefully in wisdom. Our goal and passion, to be centered in Christ, to see that Christ-life growing and maturing among ourselves, and from that in good works of love often in collaboration with others in the world.

the church and state aligned never knows best

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom belonged to this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

John 18:36; NRSVue

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Acts 5:29; NRSVue

Christendom has a long, sorry history of the church and the state aligned, imposing its will on all citizens and everyone in its border. With that has come persecution to those who did not submit to its moral code. It is almost inevitable that any serious following of Christ will conflict with state authorities.

The United States might pride itself in some degree of separation between church and state, but the obvious, inescapable original sin of slavery has a tragic record of many churches either complicit or an overwhelming number of them in full support of such over decades and generations. And now it’s considered wrong to acknowledge injustice in systemic ways.

There is a significant push to abolish any idea of separation of church and state in practice, so that the church can impose its will on everyone, which means the state is actually what is in control.

What does that mean? Pure and simple, that Christians will be bound to obedience to some authority other than Christ. You can’t say Christ and any state. Obedience for the Christian is supposed to be to Christ alone, period. The idea and practice of civil disobedience comes from that thought. Christians submit to punishment for not submitting to the state when such submission is contrary to their submission to Christ.

No, the church and state together will always do more harm than whatever supposed or real good is done. Even the thought of such is harmful, actually idolatrous, and a nullification of the gospel.

on MLK Day, sensitivity to the plight of others

And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Luke 3:10-14; NRSVue

There’s no doubt that the entire system is wrong and needs to be changed. That was true in John the Baptizer’s and Jesus’s day and is no less true today. In the midst of that, what do we do? Yes, we advocate for needed change, here in the US, “liberty and justice for all.” We listen to the stories and struggles of the others: the people of color, the marginalized, those who face threats and rejection. And we stand with all such, for a better world, a just nation no less.

There’s little use of trying to change people’s minds on issues related to this. To say that public education in inner cities is underfunded and that there’s a lack of equality across racial lines is considered “woke.” Unfortunately nowadays in the US, everything is turned into a culture war issue. Those on the Christian side oppose a national effort to redress the harms and imbalance that our history has wrought on blacks and stand in favor of further marginalizing the marginalized, indeed canceling them out altogether in the name of godliness, even in the name of Christ.

They might say that helping others should depend on the church and voluntary good deeds. One of the questions, very much related to this entire subject is simple: Will such address the problem of a living wage and healthcare? I don’t know how people can deny that either is a right for people, but there are serious Christians who take ethics seriously who consider healthcare a privilege, not a human right, and who espouse a largely unregulated free market with too often low wages, and an unrealistic healthcare option. And you can’t entirely blame the businesses. “We the people” are not stepping up to make sure that everyone has enough to live and flourish.

The US military industrial complex against which President Dwight Eisenhower warned against has been in full sway, a large chunk of the US economy, many of our tax dollars going to that, and now US tax dollars going to the killing of Gazan children and women, civilians in the Israeli bombardment in the wake of the terror of Hamas. Two wrongs don’t make a right. The US, for what good it has done is complicit and implicated in too much that has proved wrong. Look no further in our recent history than Afghanistan and Iraq. God bless all the good wishes in that, and some good in the freedom and wellbeing of women in Afghanistan, happened for a while. And may all of those who wanting to do good sacrificed so much, be blessed.

A nation’s values are reflected in its budget. And Christians more than any other group in the US support war and the buildup of the military. And at what expense? What are we doing? What are we known for, as a result? I ask anymore not what is Christian because I don’t want to hear the answer on that, but what is human. Indeed the way of Christ is to be human, to love our neighbor as ourselves in love for God. To reject all that stands in the way and violates such love.

We can’t be dependent on systems to take care of all the injustice while we go on in our lives of overabundance. So many on the “liberal, progressive” side advocate for justice for the poor and speak against racism, but when push comes to shove, are no better than their political opponents. All too often they are advocates for what is just as long as they don’t have to make the necessary sacrifices. Yes, we do need better systems, but such systems depend on the good will of people. We all have to pull together in this. Words are cheap including all my words here; actions are what matter. And Christians, I would prefer to say those who profess to be followers of Christ ought to be among those who lead the way in this.

So yes, we need to do what we can, just as John the Baptizer said, and that is vitally important. But we also long for and welcome in a reign even now present, the reign of God in which no one is left behind, when righteousness and peace kiss each other (Psalm 85:10). Where Jesus is.

what Jesus really cares about (contra Christians?)

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 25:31-46; NRSVue

I find it fascinating how Christians regulate Scripture so that a lot of it doesn’t apply directly to us today. Some say that anything before the resurrection does not apply to us but is under the law and meant for Jews. The book of James is readily put into that category along with the Sermon on the Mount not to mention the above passage. Or really? Even for such, surely this becomes a challenge. After all, Jesus seems to be talking about the final judgment when he divides people or nations like sheep and goats, the one into life and the other into condemnation.

I don’t really enjoy picking on Christians and I know I fall short as well in both understanding and in practice of what I might understand. That said, we still have to take Scripture and the words of our Lord seriously. Much has been made of “pro-life” over the past decades. And yet what is consistently pro-life? The Christians who advocate for that are the same ones who believe their view should be forced on others, whatever their views on abortion, immigration, capital punishment, prison, police, racism, history of wrongdoing, systemic injustice, the military, the military industrial complex, war (evangelical Christians have been polled as more pro-war than any other segment of American society), the proliferation of guns, healthcare (in their view a privilege, not something to be given to all, not a human right), affordable housing, a living wage (which to many of them is opposed to capitalism, the deregulated, unfettered free market), affordable higher education, medical care for pregnant women whose health along with the health of the fetus is at risk, protection for all who are marginalized like the LGBTQ+ community, etc. There seems to be nothing more important to these Christians than their religious freedom which they imagine to be at perilous risk, ironically pressure points brought to bear because of their own actions. And the idea that they force their views by law on all the rest of us. Their gospel evidently is not the power of salvation for all who believe. It certainly is not as big as the gospel of the Bible.

When it gets right down to it, what did Jesus say? As Christ-followers we go with that, and we judge all else in that light.

the gospel is indeed political, but not like we’re seeing today

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11; NRSVue

I’m meddling again. I’m not the one to write a post on this. And to really do this justice, you would need to write at least a long article, which I don’t do on this blog, or really, a book. And we would want someone really qualified in both study and wisdom to do such. They’re out there actually, people like Walter Brueggemann, women and men, both. But I will try my hand at this, a shorthand attempt.

The Enlightenment brought with it not only the birth of a nation unlike any before, the United States, determined to break the shackles of authority in the brand-new quest at the time for freedom from all such to pursue fully what the Renaissance breakthrough had begun. Only this time no church would tell the state what they had to do. My ancestors on my mother’s side had a stake in this, because for all the real faults in the founding and what followed in this nation just like any other nation, the Anabaptists with Mennonites and others were escaping a heavy-handed state church in the old country in which refusing baptism at birth was considered heretical which then was punishable by death. On my father’s side, one of our direct ancestors was a soldier in the Continental Army of the Thirteen Colonies, later the United States.

Menno Simons and others who were Anabaptist had a view of church and state which one might say you could find in suggestive form when reading the latter part of Romans 12 with the first part of Romans 13 together. Vengeance was to be left in the hands of God so that Christ-followers were to love and do good to their enemies, God using the state as long as the state kept in its ordained place, God’s people even giving due respect and paying taxes to such. But there’s clearly a distinctive present here. The church was not to be subsumed into the state, nor the state into the church, as if the two were one. Christ-followers have one ultimate Lord to whom they answer and give allegiance to. And any other lords and authorities are under this one Lord. But never in a way in which Christ’s reign is considered to be manifest or part of what they do. It is only in terms of them answering to Christ.

The gospel in no small part due to Enlightenment thinking has become a privatized, individual matter. The reality in Christ is that there are to be Christ colonies spread throughout the world as churches, who live under God’s reign of grace in Christ, not only in individual terms, but also together and out from that in their influence as “the light of the world.” Our culture and the way of thinking has shackled us all, and we need to get away from that to see that what any nation pretends to be, only Christ in God’s reign and “kindom” (referring to kinship) actually is. Politics basically has to do with how people live together. To imagine the United States to be a Christian nation or to try to make it into such is a complete misunderstanding of Jesus’s coming and teaching and God’s promise in Jesus, not to mention a misreading and misunderstanding of the founding fathers. One hundred percent wrong. And yet we have a so-called apostolic movement more or less spearheading this with a wide swath of Christians more or less cheering this on.

The announcement to the lowly shepherds was that the Messiah had arrived in a lowly birth with the titles which belonged to Caesar. To bring a kingdom or reign never of this world, but indeed for this world, yes now. With the later promise that he would return and that all the earth would be under that reign. Until then, Christ is present in the church, and whatever Christ is doing elsewhere in the world is never in the way or manner of any nation-state or empire, but only in God’s will of the more than complete, bursting love to challenge and break all worldly bounds and norms, part of God’s heart and hand of judgment and salvation active in the world now.

the devil’s playground

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”

Luke 4:5-8; NRSVue

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lord Acton

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

It is a rare politician indeed who has never at least been tempted to think in terms of his or her own supposed best interest and grandeur and glory, yes power. At their best and what they’re supposed to be are “public servants,” for the good of the people. And I think we’ve seen real good come from such. But what I might call the politics of this world is in a danger zone or probably more accurate, is a danger zone. And what it becomes at least as often as not, and probably more often than not is the devil’s playground.

The devil tempted or tested Jesus along this line, one of the three temptations during Jesus’s testing in the wilderness. Jesus as we see above passes that test in flying colors calling for the worship and service of God alone. And maybe that’s getting to the heart of the problem. Ultimate power resides in God, and power given is given to humans to be in harmony with that power, the power for good. Humankind made in God’s image are supposed to be stewards of God’s creation, specifically the earth. And the two great commands are love of God with all of one’s being and doing, and love of neighbor as one loves themselves.

What does all of this mean for us today? I think it most certainly suggests that we should be aware and wary of politicians who seem to be power grabbing and enmeshed in having authority over others. That is why I think at least in the culture, albeit multi-culture in which we live, democracy is best. There should be limited power given to elected officials in more ways than one. And we have to watch out for those who want to rally the masses to their own vision, be it fascist or any other kind of totalitarian, authoritarian view. We have seen clearly and not that long ago how a minority of people can be passionately swept into such, and the inevitable disaster which follows.

Especially as an Anabaptist Christian, while I want to find good in any nation and government, I am wary. The United States where I live is supposed to be a representative government for all the people. I find many aspects of it both good and considering the history, troubling. I bow the knee to only one Lord, Jesus. But I also think we should use our earthly citizenship for good, for the good of people and the earth. But not to be taken in as if our identity is wrapped in a nation or some political party or mere human being. Never. Our identity if we’re followers of Christ is only in Christ and in God’s reign in him. All else is subject to that. Remember what is lurking and too often behind the scenes.

reality is reality (whether religion, science, or anything else)

Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.

Psalm 111:2; NRSVue

Truth has always been contested with the echo of Pilate’s words to Jesus: “What is truth?” And today even facts such as what happened and who said what are regularly contested with “alternative facts.” There has never been a greater needed for thorough and objective journalism minus the opinion of the journalist. Of course, everyone has a bias in how news is told, but everyone should try to present a full and fair picture and ask questions on every side to hold everyone accountable, not much different from a jury of law to determine as is the case here, what’s beyond reasonable doubt.

Whether you’re talking about the faith of Christianity, “mainstream science,” history, or anything else, what is real is real completely apart from one’s opinion on it. It doesn’t really matter what you or I think about anything. What we think might become “our truth” by which we conduct our lives, not unlike Pilate of old. But that doesn’t mean it approximates truth or the truth or reality that much if at all. I may think science has it wrong on any number of things, and as I heard someone recently say, one could make a thorough argument that the moon is made of green cheese and surely convince some. But that doesn’t mean it’s made of green cheese. One can deny the existence of God, but even if you can’t prove philosophically that God does or does not exist, reality is reality. We in the faith find compelling reasons in our experience and in other ways that God does exist.

Conspiracies abound today, and while the United States has always seemed prone to have a good number of people who accept such, it seems more and more endemic, especially among some religious folks. Involved in this is a way of misunderstanding Scripture which brings with it an apocalyptic mindset, often with the refrain something like, “The signs of Jesus’s return are more present than ever.” It seems to me that for too many, conspiracies are the way of understanding most everything. And I suspect that propensity will never end. It’s not like no conspiracy ever existed, and sometimes there is some truth within a false narrative, but what happens is that the cry of “fire, fire” or “wolf, wolf” when there is no fire or wolf present can actually set us up for disaster on the occasions when there really is something unfolding before our eyes that we need to see. Such is actually happening today in a silently complicit or active Evangelically supported push against liberal democracy toward a Christian nationalism enacted by force. People need to become aware of that actual conspiracy so as to stand against it in a democratic, nonviolent way.

Reality includes not only facts but also understanding. What might be behind such thoughts or beliefs? Does that make them suspect? For example, Hitler championed the idea that the pure German “race” was Aryan and superior to all others, and that Jews should be exterminated. He alleged that such was based on facts. For any human being or group, that ought to be seen through for what it was and is, a blatant lie and not reality, but a nightmare. But even Christians in that day, including some Mennonites in Germany including German Mennonite pastors lined up with Hitler and even served as leaders in the military unit of Nazi Germany. That did come to a crashing, devastating end. But we see something of that same mindset rearing its head in many places including the United States.

Reality is reality. God is God. God is in control in the sense that God is indeed sovereign over the nations and over all things. God will judge and is judging. We often say, “Oh, how long Lord?” Too much doesn’t make sense to us. But whether we can grasp it or not, there is something for us to hold on to. Reality ultimately grounded in God through Christ. And humanity held accountable for all that is done on earth. We can bank on that.