Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice

Blood Relations -- posted by The Caffeinated Mystic (Deb)

 

Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Christ only says what He hears the Father saying. If the letters are in red- we’re hearing the words of the Father.

It appears the people interviewed are not Christians- and they are obeying scripture.

Some christian groups here in the West, say there will be no peace until Christ returns- and argue that to speak about peace is at best- naïve. Others go further and respond harshly to any talk of peace that includes showing compassion to Palestinians. As if to say- loving Palestinians is equal to hating Israel.

That’s ‘Bully’ talk.

There is a chorus being sung against peace that is out of harmony with the ‘song’ being sung by Father. His song expresses His desire for forgiveness and reconciliation between 'enemies'.

dis·so·nant   [dis-uh-nuhnt] adjective

1. disagreeing or harsh in sound; discordant.

2. out of harmony; incongruous; at variance.

3. Music . characterized by dissonance.

Politically- the situation in the ME may appear ‘complicated’, but a strong desire for peace and the willingness to build relationships is evident- if we are willing to see.

The people desire peace. What do we desire?

• Do we believe in reconciliation? If not, why not?
• Have we been 'Bullied'?
• Is our first response to 'peace talk'- repulsion? If so, why is that?
• Are we afraid of appearing to be on the 'wrong side'?
• Are we afraid of disappointing God, by loving those whom we've been told we 'should' hate?

We need a new song. Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good"

Occupy Wall Street/Vancouver and Thomas More/Erasmus by Ron Dart

The Occupy Wall Street/Vancouver (and other cities) has garnered much media attention the last few weeks. The main concerns of the ‘Occupy’ movement have a great deal of legitimacy to them, and emerge from obvious injustices and imbalances of wealth and power. Are such issues new, though, and do they have a perennial ring about them? How have those in the past thought about such issues (that is those who saw them as issues rather than denying or justifying the problem)? Is in the street protest and advocacy politics the only and most responsible way to confront such inequities?

Thomas More was Lord Chancellor of England in the early 16^th century, and he was acutely aware of the disparities of wealth and power in his country. More had a tender and exacting conscience, and he did not flinch from asking and acting on the hard questions. More’s missive, Utopia (1516), pulls no punches nor does it flinch from probing to the core the larger justice and peace issues. More would, in many ways, have a great deal of affinity with the Occupy movement. Book I of Utopia is a must read--there is a poignant and not to be forgotten conversation between More and Raphael that is a keeper. The late 15^th and early 16^th centuries in Europe was a period of time in which many States in Europe were turning to the Americas to establish colonies. The empires were very much at work to extend their global reach.

Occupy Vancouver - by Rod Janz

A friend of mine, Jeff Imbach, was recently interviewed at the Occupy Vancouver protest. I have to admit, I am still trying to get my head around the purpose and desired outcome of this protest. Maybe I need to go down and check it out for myself like Jeff did. You will hear in the interview below that Jeff believes that part of the protest’s success has been to simply raise the general consciousness of society to the idea that corporate institutions supported by governments is an unjust situation.

According to The Huffington Post a group from Occupy Wall Street have come up with a list of demands called the 99PercentDeclaration, but even these are controversial at this point, and aren’t supported by all of the various Occupy protests happening around the world.

For the CBC Radio interview with Jeff and others, see “Occupy Vancouver“

 

Stephen Harper, Conservative Evangelicals and Zionism by Ron Dart

Harper has backed Israel with such fervour that veteran scholars and diplomats rank it as the most dramatic shift in the history of postwar Canadian foreign policy.  

-- Marci McDonald, The Armagedddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada p.311

Let me tell you friends, our government believes those who threaten Israel also threaten Canada. We have stood with Israel even when it has not been popular to do so, and we will continue to stand with Israel just as we have said we would.

-- Stephen Harper 

The Fraser Valley has been aptly called the Bible Belt of British Columbia, and Abbotsford has been tagged the buckle of the Bible Belt. Many in the Bible Belt are conservative evangelicals, and there is a tendency amongst such a tribe to be pro-Zionist.  The publication of Marci McDonald’s The Armageddon Factor in the summer of 2010 garnered poignant responses. Boosters and knockers of the tome were aplenty, but the knockers were vocal and eager to slam the book. Marci had done a couple of lengthy interviews with me as part of her research for the book, and her chapter on American-Canadian Zionism was guaranteed to get a heated response. I had read her book once off the press, and I arranged for Marci to give a lecture on The Armageddon Factor at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford in the autumn of 2010.

Janus, Terrorism and Peacemaking by Ron Dart

Janus, Terrorism and Peacemaking

For it was a witty and a truthful rejoinder which was given by a pirate to Alexander the Great. The King asked the fellow, ‘What is your idea, in infesting the sea?’ And the pirate answered with uninhibited insolence, ‘The same as yours, as in infesting the earth! But because I do it with a tiny craft, I’m called a pirate: Because you have a mighty navy, you’re called an emperor’.

St. Augustine City of God (Book IV, Chapter IV)

I

Emperors and Pirates

Janus was, in Roman myth, the god who had two faces, one at the front and the other at the back of his head. Janus looked in both directions, and, being able to do so, could not be taken in by a single perspective. The language of terrorism is very much with us these days, and the political use of the term has certainly intensified since 9-11. Janus can very much be a guide for us in this paper, as we ponder how the language of terrorism is employed, who uses it and to what end. In short, it is essential to gaze in all directions as we dissect the functional use of the language of terrorism.

The apt and insightful passage from St. Augustine in City of God mentioned above can, if heeded, clarify some often ignored realities. Terrorists are usually defined as those that threaten and disrupt the national security of the state. This does beg an important and significant question, though. What have been the decisions made by a state, at domestic and foreign policy levels, that threaten national security? The terrorists, like the pirates, are usually seen as the problem, but the state, like Alexander, is exempt from such questioning and scrutiny. And yet, it is often the state, like Alexander, that has much greater capacity to silence opposition and use greater violence against the pirates-terrorists.  Many states often, in domestic and foreign policy, oppress and terrorize others through the use of death squads and the military, but when those who have been terrorized dare to fight back (with fewer arms and less sophisticated technology), they are branded with the terrorist term. Alexander can inflict massive hardships and brutality on people, but because he is emperor, he cannot be defined as a terrorist. The small scale pirates that oppose the emperor are called the terrorists. This simple yet often ignored point must be held front and centre in our understanding of how ‘terrorism’ is used. The large and vicious sharks are not seen as such, but the smaller fish, when they, in their limited sort of way, attack the sharks, are seen as the enemies of state security.  Let me offer a few illustrations of this point.

Don't worry, Canadian music fans--Big Brother has you covered! by Kevin Miller

Not sure if you Americans are aware, but the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) just banned Dire Straits' song Money for Nothing from Canadian airwaves due to its use of the term faggot.

Never mind that the word is actually spoken by a blue collar character in the song and that its usage was meant tocriticize people who would use such inflammatory terminology in reference to homosexuals. Apparently, the CBSC feels the majority of Canadians are incapable of making this distinction. So they're going by the old adage, "If in doubt, throw it out."

I have no doubt that equally worrisome to the powers that be is the song's chorus, which contains the words "Money for nothing" and "chicks for free." Clearly if Canadian citizens actually started to believe such things, there would be blood in the streets.

Viewed from another angle, it could be that the CBSC feels that Dire Straits' song unfairly characterizes blue collar workers as rampant homophobes. So perhaps in time this will be revealed as nothing more than a publicity stunt orchestrated by the Teamsters.

Next up on the CBSC's hit list: U2's Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own. Apparently, the CBSC has determined that sometimes you CAN make it on your own, and they don't want Canadians to get the wrong idea...

 

 

BBC - The Power of Nightmares

Click HERE for part 2 - The Phantom Victory and HERE for part 3 - The Shadows in the Cave.

Battle Hymn of the Republic by Jack Hook / Anton Bosch

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

**After reading this letter please "forward" it to your family and friends who you think might be interested.  If you are a veteran of the military please respond and let me know when and where you served.**  http://www.babylonthegreatisfalling.net 

Greetings,

Last year a dear Christian friend and fellow Vietnam veteran sent me a message containing an audio-visual rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Listening to the song was inspiring and to be honest, it choked me up a bit.  The words reminded me of the days when Larry and I were young and served this nation as soldiers.  It also reminded me of the days in America when evoking the name of the Lord and King, as was done in this song, was considered a noble thing by those who professed to be Christians.  But was I being inspired by God’s Spirit or by “another” spirit trying to seduce me with desires for a return to the so-called “good ole days” following the victorious close of World War II? 

Aung San Suu Kyi Free -- by Oddny Gumaer

We had been waiting for this day for years.

Prayed for it, talked about it. Now the day was here. Aung San Suu Kyi walked out of her house arrest. It seemed too good to be true. Maybe it is too good to be true.

On Saturday November 13th the Burmese junta released Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from her illegal house arrest. The junta has detained Suu Kyi for 15 of the last 21 years, and continuously since May 30, 2003.

While thousands rejoiced in the streets of Rangoon and millions joined around the world, the military junta continued its offenses in the ethnic areas around the country. For the thousands who were forced to flee from their homes, the day was far from happy.

Martin Luther King Jr. re: Canada

It is a deep personal privilege to address a nationwide Canadian audience. Over and above any kinship of U.S. citizens and Canadians as North Americans, there is a singular historical relationship between American Negroes and Canadians.

Canada is not merely a neighbour to Negroes. Deep in our history of struggle for freedom Canada was the North Star. The Negro slave, denied education, de-humanized, imprisoned on cruel plantations, knew that far to the north a land existed where a fugitive slave, if he survived the horrors of the journey, could find freedom. The legendary underground railroad started in the south and ended in Canada. The freedom road links us together. Our spirituals, now so widely admired around the world, were often codes. We sang of 'heaven' that awaited us, and the slave masters listened in innocence, not realizing that we were not speaking of the hereafter. Heaven was the word for Canada and the Negro sang of the hope that his escape on the underground railroad would carry him there. One of our spirituals, 'Follow the Drinking Gourd', in its disguised lyrics contained directions for escape. The gourd was the big dipper, and the North Star to which its handle pointed gave the celestial map that directed the flight to the Canadian border.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Acknowledgements

The quotation from Martin Luther King Jr is taken from p. 1 ofConscience for Change, published by CBC Learning Systems in 1967 - the printed form of the 1967 Massey Lectures, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

 

American Exceptionalism by Brian Zahnd

American Exceptionalism: The theory that the United States occupies a special place among the nations of the world and possesses a unique destiny in history.

I’ve heard it said, “American Exceptionalism is simply a fact.”

I’m sure it is.

Just like Greek Exceptionalism and Roman Exceptionalism and British Exceptionalism were facts too.

If you’re not exceptional, you’re just another nation. “Exceptionalism” is required of a superpower. It’s what gives cred to the “We’re number one!” chant.

But you’ll have to excuse me if I don’t get too excited about Greco-Roman-British-American Exceptionalism—or any the geopolitical claim to be exceptional.

(There really is a big difference between being truly exceptional and merely the latest in a long line.)

American Exceptionalism. This too shall pass. There’s only one exception.

The Kingdom which endures world without end. The Empire of Christ.

Phillip Blond's Red Toryism: A Canadian Vision Revived and Revised

Editorial Note: Red Toryism is a Canadian political tradition that has been revived (with some alterations) in the UK by the Radical Orthodox scion, Philip Blond. To get a sense of the similarities and differences between Canadian Red Toryism and its recent British counterpart, compare Ron Dart's article on the [Canadian] Red Tory tradition with the following variety of attempts to define Blond's current revised vision:

The Red Tory sounds like Margaret Thatcher in a Che Guevara beret, just as the distributist sounds, to someone unfamiliar with the term, like a redistributionist, or a communitarian might be confused with a collectivist. (It would not hurt the third-way Chesterbellocians to update their nomenclature.)

Zach Dundas describes Red Tories this way:

The Red Tories argue that modern free-market capitalism poses as potent a threat to individual liberty and communities as Big Government. Red Tories lump big-box stores, industrial agriculture, and high-finance shenanigans together with heavy-handed bureaucracy and high taxes: all, in their view, undermine the rock-ribbed Conservative values of local autonomy, strong community, diverse traditions, and decentralized power. The Red Tories view themselves as defenders of grassroots community against both the free market and the State.

The Red Tory Tradition by Ron Dart

The language of Red Toryism became popular in the mid-1960s when Gad Howoritz suggested that George Grant was a Red Tory. The publication and immediate success of Grant’s, Lament for a Nation: The Defeat of Canadian Nationalism (1965), made it abundantly clear that there were historic forms of conservatism in Canada that could not be equated with American republicanism. Horowitz, in his classic article, ‘Tories, Socialists and the Demise of Canada’(1965), argued that there was a ‘Tory touch’ in the Canadian political tradition that leaned more towards the commonweal and socialism than did the free enterprise system of Blue Toryism. It was this ‘Tory touch’ that was more ‘Red’ than ‘Blue’ in orientation that distinguished the Canadian from the American notions of conservatism.

Political Ressourcement: Anabaptist Inaccuracies, Radical Orthodoxy, Red Toryism and George Grant by Ron Dart

"George Grant was Canada’s most significant public philosopher."             

Graeme Nicholson, Athens and Jerusalem:  George Grant’s Theology, Philosophy, and Politics  (p. 323)

1

The Constantinian Fall Myth  

There is a rather inaccurate and shallow read of Christian history that unfolds in this manner. Once upon a time there was the pure New Testament church that was faithful and true to the radical commitment to Jesus Christ. This period of time was short, and the fire did not burn bright and with much light for long. The 1^st century soon gave way to the post-apostolic era, and in the 2^nd-3^rd centuries, the intensity and spirit of the martyrs gave way to assimilation, many compromises and a thinning out of the faith journey.

The most serious distortion and compromise of the church took place when Constantine came to power in the early decades of the 4^th century, and Eusebius’ oration and adoring speech to Constantine made it clear that the church had now become a lapdog and dancing bear of imperial politics. The age of true prophets and genuine martyrs was over. It was just a matter of time before Theodosius and Charlemagne took control of the church and reduced it to a vassal of political power.

The Church as an Alternative Society by Brian Zahnd

Charisma Magazine asked me to write an op-ed addressing this question: Can Christians save the mess that is today’s American political scene? Better yet, should we? I was asked to represent the position that the church is an alternative society and our role of prophetic voice is better served when we remain transcendent to political partisanship. I was given a thousand words. Of course I explained that the relationship of the church to the state is one of the most complex issues we have faced in our two thousand year history and it would take at least a thousand pages to adequately address this topic. Nevertheless, I took a shot at it. Here are my 999 words on the subject:

The Church as an Alternative Society
By Brian Zahnd

Canada's Caesar -- by Brad Jersak

 

Canada's Caesar is Tolerance

Context:

Some of our contributors have written (and preached) on the way that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount confronts Imperial aspects of American culture (nationalism, patriotism, militarism).

These ideals are imbedded so deeply in the Christian culture south of the border that a faithful exposition of Christ's sermon can incite the ire of congregants who live and breathe the red, white and blue of democracy and capitalism as if that was the Kingdom Christ died for.

I joked with these ministers,

Maybe it's because we Canadians are always dabbling in 'socialism', but this Sermon on the Mount stuff actually doesn't get us in real trouble up here. Is that because we didn't join the cigar embargo on Cuba?

 One of these witty fellows replied poignantly,

Brad, maybe you have stumbled upon the Canada Caesars yet. I am sure they are there. When you begin to undermine them, then surely somebody will be bothered. Or maybe you Canadians are just too easy going. Well, easy going in life, but not hockey!

Which got me thinking...

Canada's Caesar is Tolerance

Which means convictions can be dangerous.

We are very tolerant of everyone but totally intolerant of the intolerant.

Which is to say, of Evangelicals ...

who are often seen and experienced as intolerant,

who mistakenly believe they must take a stand against the evils of tolerance.

And our most powerful means of punishing the intolerant is contempt.

Hadji Murad: A Tale for our Time by Ron Dart

War and Peace (1869) is the Mount Everest of all novels, and Anna Karenina (1877) and Resurrection (1899) stand tall and stately within the towering Himalayan peaks of world literature. It is 100 years this year since Lev Tolstoy died (1910-2010), and many is the event that is being put on to celebrate the life of this literary genius and prophetic visionary. Tolstoy is very much a man for all seasons, and the perennial themes he grappled with in his novels, short stories, plays and parables are as relevant today as they were when written and published.  

There is little doubt that one of the finest short stories that Tolstoy wrote in his latter years was Hadji Murad (viewable online). Hadji Murad was written between 1896-1904, and published after Tolstoy had died in 1912. The tale told is probing, evocative and apt. We often hear in the news about the clash between the Russian state and the Muslim Chechens and Grozny. The Chechens are viewed as the terrorists and the Russians the law abiding citizens. The contemporary clash between Russia and the Chechens has a much longer history, of course, and Hadji Murad tells part of that older tale. The young Tolstoy was in the Russian army in the 1850s when the Russian state and military had launched a campaign to colonize, dominate and control the Muslim Chechens. Needless to say, such an aggressive stance by the Russians created much opposition and resistance by the Chechens. The conflict led to the deaths of many lives, and one of the leading Muslim liberation fighters was Hadji Murad. It would have been natural for Tolstoy, as a Russian, to view Murad as a terrorist. But, did he? Murad led many attacks on the Russians, won many a campaign and was a living myth and legend to the Russians. He was the Osama Bin Laden of the time. The Russians hunted him down like a fox, and any true and patriotic Russian was expected to see Murad as a Muslim terrorist in the same way the West views the Taliban or Al-Qaeda.Tolstoy was never, though, an uncritical or patriotic Russian.

Cambodia Transfigured -- by Bob Ekblad

Last week I spent three unforgettable days with my family in Cambodia.  There we saw signs of Jesus’ Kingdom shining in a land still under the shadow of death.  I now find myself thinking daily what it would look like for the light of Christ to shine even stronger there and here-- so people can really see it.

        Gracie and I were invited by Servants of Asia’s Urban Poor—a team of people from New Zealand, the Philippines, Australia, Japan and Canada called to live and minister in slum communities in Phnom Penh.  The first day I led a short retreat for the staff and Gracie and I prayed for each of them. We visited some of the families in their homes amidst the squalor of the slum communities where they are seeking to live humbly among the poorest of the poor, bringing Jesus’ light.

Ron Dart and the Red Tory Alternative -- by Brad Jersak

Those who follow Clarion with any regularity will note some common themes among many of our regular contributors. These include a concern for the link between spirituality and justice, a Christo-centric ethic promoting nonviolent social action, a critique of any empire's tendencies towards foreign and domestic oppression, and a healthy suspicion of Christian schemes to bring in the Kingdom of God by grasping for political power. These subjects permeate Clarion essays by Eric Janzen, Wayne Northey, Bob Ekblad, Brian Zahnd, Archbishop Lazar Puhalo and of course, Ron Dart. 

Even the faithful subscriber may infer from the anti-empire, peacemaking rhetoric that our cadre of writers are all left-leaning anarchists, disciples of Noam Chomsky, or Anabaptists in the tradition of Yoder, involved politically only as far as prophetic protest and advocacy work. For some time, this was my [mis]understanding of Ron S. Dart, our political science and religious studies expert from the University of the Fraser Valley. Herein, I will share my observations re: Prof. Dart's unique and poignant perspective.

Christian Obsession with Political Power -- Brian Zahnd

Excerpt from a letter to Clancy Martin (Nietzschean scholar):

Christian obsession with political power drives me crazy! It is so damaging to the Christian message. The notion that Christians should "change the world" is little more than a quest for dominance (Will to Power?). In any case I'm absolutely convinced that what fuels the deep passion of the Religious Right is what Nietzsche called ressentiment. The Religious Right feeds on a narrative of perceived injury and lost entitlement leading them to blame, vilify and seek to in some way retaliate against those they imagine to be responsible for the loss in late modernity of a mythical past that was "Christian America." This is ressentiment. 

"Your moralism is killing you" by Brian Zahnd

  I'll never forget the time I was sitting at the Starbucks in downtown Estes Park, Colorado with my friend Brad Jersak and his relating to me how Archbishop Lazar Puhalo of the Orthodox Church of Canada had replied upon being asked, "What message would you have for the evangelical church?" The Archbishop's reply was this:

"Your moralism is killing you."

Wow! That hit me like a ton of bricks. And the line has stuck with me ever since. "Your moralism is killing you." Sometimes it takes the perspective of an outsider to get to the heart of the matter. Orthodoxy has its own issues to contend with, but as far as I'm concerned Archbishop Lazar's diagnosis of the chief malady within evangelicalism is right on target. Our moralism is killing us. But Jesus wants to save us!
Here is another quote from Archbishop Lazar which expounds upon the topic.

"If our faith is primarily a mantra to drive away punishment, our faith isn’t really a faith, it is a fear. We feign faith in order to keep from being punished. When we do that it usually manifests itself as a kind of harsh and brutal moralism. Because in this system it is psychologically comforting to see ourselves as better than other people. Thus trying to hype up our ego leads us to a kind of moralism where we have to denigrate others in order to make ourselves feel better." -Archbishop Lazar

Alright, that's all I wanted to share with you, but if you are interested in more of this conversation you can view theSymposium on Deep Structural Fear with my friends Brad Jersak, Ron Dart and Archbishop Lazar. It will be well worth your time.
Grace and Peace,
BZ
Symposium on Deep Structural Fear from Orthodox Canada on Vimeo.

Ten Flags by Blind Man at the Gate

Ten Flags

by Blind Man at the Gate

(This poem is mostly true)

 

Today I saw ten flags in ten minutes

Of the stars and stripes variety

Three were flown from churches

With marquees that said things like

“Celebrate Freedom”

Five were flown in front of banks

The biggest one waved proudly above a

Perkins Restaurant

(Omelettes starting at $6.99)

The highest one flew atop a

Wal-Mart

Of the Supercenter variety

(Open 24 hrs)

Ain’t this America

With liberty and justice and omelettes

And low mortgage refinancing for all

Freedom is what it’s called

Freedom is what it’s about

Freedom is what we’re fighting for

Just remember buckaroo

Freedom isn’t free

It starts at $6.99

With 7.39% APR financing

(Rates adjust annually thereafter)

O say!

Does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave

O’er

Churches and Banks and Perkins and Wal-Mart?

Freedom^© made in America^®

Freedom of religion and commerce and omelette

Freedom to buy cheap apparel made in China

I’m proud to be an American

Where at least I know I’m free

Ev’ry heart beats true

‘Neath the Red, White and Blue

Support our troops

Buy American. Save Jobs.

Financing options available

Today I saw ten flags in ten minutes

Allen Ginsberg and George Grant: Howl and Lament for a Nation - Excerpt from Ron Dart's 'Spiders and Bees'

Introduction: It's 55 years this year (1955-2010) since Ginsberg's Howl was published, and 45 years (1965-2010) since Grant's Lament was published. This article on Ginsberg's Howl and Grant's Lament appears in print in Ron Dart's Spiders and Bees. In it, Dart brings to the forefront how two different 'jeremiads' are handled.

 It is fifty years this autumn since the Beat Movement was launched at Six Gallery in San Francisco (October 13, 1955). Some of the American Beats from the East Coast (Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg) and the West Coast (Kenneth Rexroth, Gary Snyder, Philip Whalen, Lawrence Ferlinghetti) met and read together at this gathering. John Suiter rightly says, ‘The Six Gallery reading has sometimes been called the first synthesis of the East and West Coast factions of the Beat Generation’ (p.148).

"Pardon Me?!" by Wayne Northey

“Pardon Me?!”   

      On Good Friday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper telephoned Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to overhaul Canada’s pardon legislation.  He declared “there are some crimes that should never be pardoned.”  On Good Friday!  The Prime Minister, a Christian believer, called Toews the day Christians worldwide celebrate the pardon Jesus’ death offered all humanity including the thief on the cross. 

      Vic Toews, also a believer, now proposes changing the term “pardon” to the blander “record suspension.” Forgiveness, said Toews, “is not the business of government.”   One editorial expressed, “That seems mean-spirited.”  Perhaps a tad unmerciful?  Contradictory even of The Lord’s Prayer that reads?: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12).”, with Jesus’ commentary: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (verses 14 & 15).”

Clarion Journalist in Thailand: May 20, 2010

I don’t have internet right now, but I’m writing this at 19:11 local time.

             Violence erupted in Bangkok today after several days of increasing tension. It seemed like everything would be alright a week or so ago when the government offered November elections that the Red Shirts tentatively agreed to. Then, the Red Shirts declared the road map was unacceptable and continued their protests. A few days ago shots were fired and things started heating up again. Half of the 10000 protesters left the site in the centre of the city and Red Shirt leaders called for immediate peace talks with the government. The government refused and today moved in with the military, including tanks.

            Last I heard there are a dozen or so dead today, and five foreigners killed in the last three days. However, that was several hours ago. Red Shirt leaders surrendered and called off the protests but the protesters haven’t stopped. The military says its “operations in Bangkok” have ended, but I’ve also heard that they have orders to fire at anyone causing “unrest,” which includes looting and I don’t know what else.

Deuteronomy, Jewish Prophets and the Sermon on the Mount by Ron Dart

Evangelicals have been reading the Sermon on the Mount for centuries with little evident intention of taking the text seriously.

Clark Pinnock, Revolution (1971)

I have taught courses on political philosophy for many years. I tend to highlight both the Jewish and Greek sources of the Western political tradition rather than beginning with Plato and Aristotle and moving fastforward. The course, then, moves onward, after the Greeks and Jewish traditions, to the Roman tradition and into the Christian political tradition of the Patristic Latin West and Greek East. It is rare in a class in political philosophy that Deuteronomy and the Jewish prophetic tradition are taught. This speaks volumes about the secular and liberal prejudices of modernity. But, in the teaching of Deuteronomy, a variety of tensions emerge, and some of the more substantive tensions seem quite irresolvable.  What are these tensions, and why are they a problem? 

Thoughts on a Christian Nation by Derek Vreeland

I am happy to be a part of a Christian nation. It has become my sense of identity, my place to belong. I didn’t choose to be a part of the nation, I was born into it. It was not my choice, but I am grateful that this Christian nation is my home. I pray for this nation to reflect the image of its Architect. I pray that this nation will demonstrate faith, hope, and love to the world. I pray that this nation will transform culture. 

And by the way, the Christian nation of which I speak is the Church. 

Today is the “National Day of Prayer” and I am joining people of various faiths in praying for our civic nation. As a follower of Christ, I am asked to pray for those in authority, to pray for those with delegated authority. I will stand today and do so, but my prayer may be different than other Christians. I will be praying: God, let your kingdom come, let you will be done on earth and it is in heaven. Sadly, I assume others will be praying: God, our nation has forsaken you, help us to return to you, so that you can bless us again. 

Simone Weil's Statement of Human Obligation (1943)

Draft for a Statement of Human Obligation

Profession of Faith

There is a reality outside the world, that is to say, outside space and time, outside man's mental universe, outside any sphere whatsoever that is accessible to human faculties.

Corresponding to this reality, at the centre of the human heart, is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased by any object in this world.

Another terrestrial manifestation of this reality lies in the absurd and insoluble contradictions which are always the terminus of human thought when it moves exclusively in this world.

Just as the reality of this world is the sole foundation of facts, so that other reality is the sole foundation of good.

That reality is the unique source of all the good that can exist in this world: that is to say, all beauty, all truth, all justice, all legitimacy, all order, and all human behaviour that is mindful of obligations.

"At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased by any object in this world."

Those minds whose attention and love are turned towards that reality are the sole intermediary through which good can descend from there and come among men.

Although it is beyond the reach of any human faculties, man has the power of turning his attention and love towards it.

John Cleese vs. Extremism

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom (pt. 7) by Eric H. Janzen

Chapter Seven

The Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom

The community of Christ is a prophetic community.  The prophetic message of the community is Jesus.  The prophetic message of the community is the Gospel of his kingdom.  The community of Christ is to be the prophetic voice in the desert of the world declaring the truth and hope of the Gospel, declaring the culture of the kingdom and revealing that culture to the world.  This is our prophetic role.  The prophetic is to be a sign of something.  In the previous chapter I spoke of this sign as being a mirror reflecting God’s glory (who he is and what he is like) to the world and being an arrow pointing to Jesus.  This is one way of describing the Church’s identity, its means of being relevant in today’s world.  Our kingdom culture is thus a prophetic culture.  When the community of Christ lives a style of life that is marked by the cultural values of the kingdom it embodies the prophetic message of that culture and the Gospel.  By demonstrating the cultural values of the kingdom in the way that we live we prophetically declare the reality of the kingdom to the world.  In holding true to loving God with all your being and loving your neighbor as yourself we find the pinnacle of prophetic action.  This shows us that love is the foundation of true prophecy and not judgment as some believe.  In Revelation 19:10 we read that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  It is the message of Jesus to humanity, his testimony, that is the Church’s prophetic message.  The Gospel is the message of Jesus and the Church must hold to that message as its core, its prophetic declaration even if it is a difficult one.

Ron Dart's Spiders and Bees - Foreword by William Christian

Ron Dart's Spiders and Bees - Foreword by William Christian

Foreword to George Grant: Spiders and Bees by Ron Dart


The image of Ron Dart that stands out most strongly in my mind is a tall, lanky, dark-haired man on a snow-covered peak in the pristine wilderness of the interior of British Columbia. There is, in him, some-thing of Rousseau’s solitary wanderer. Although he’s innately social and seems to have friends of all sorts and conditions everywhere in the country, I think that he’s probably most truly himself when he’s alone with his thoughts. Because thoughts he has aplenty. He has published over twenty books. He produced one of the most innovative and imaginative literary magazines in the country. And although he ponders deeply on the wisdom of the past, that doesn’t prevent him from spreading his ideas by blogging in the present. He’s both a Renaissance man and a web 2.0 man at the same time.

To see the entire article, click here.

To build up arms - by Brian Zahnd

To build up arms
(And such arms!)
Bombs that unleash hell
The fire of Gehenna
On faceless enemies
From a safe distance
At the push of button
Cutting edge technology
To kill a million at time
Cain's club to the hundredth power
And to want their existence at all
Worse, to revere these monstrous inventions
Yea, to love them as guarantors of "Freedom"
To reject the welfare state
And embrace the warfare state
To choose the rage of Achilles
Over the peace of Immanuel
To worship Mars and the horrid drums of war
While claiming to be a follower of the Lamb
Is almost more than I can stand
I belong to a different faith
Than the religion of "shock and awe"
Because I do not love
The "nuclear option"
Nor the trumpets of Mars
Nor the rage of Achilles
And I will not accept that these "practical men"
Know what's best
For they do not
They know how to kill and destroy
And call it by benign code names
But you can't call it Christianity!
I guess I was just to stubborn
To ever be governed
By enforced insanity
And this passion for the Big Bombs
Well, it's...
Not my faith
Not my hope
Not my love

Editorial: Fasting from Blown Metaphors by Brad Jersak

I write this as a reflection on Eric Janzen’s “Prophetic Culture of the Kingdom” (part 4).

In pondering your well-thought, well-stated articles on the Kingdom of God, part 4 gave me pause to consider your admittedly biblical use of military and imperial metaphors.

I 

Military Metaphors

Re: military metaphors, you describe Christians as living ‘upon a spiritual battleground where a very real battle is underway.’ You continue,

The kingdom of heaven opposes the kingdom of darkness and opposes the powers of this world that do not worship Jesus as their lord, their savior, or their king...  We are the presence of the kingdom wherever we gather and we are to express that presence on the battleground.

All of this is familiar territory to Biblicists who read about spiritual battles, armies, and weapons in New Testament passages like Eph.6, 2 Tim. 2, Rev. 19, etc. And of course, you acknowledge that while this battle is ‘real,’ it is also ‘spiritual.’ The weapons of our warfare are not the literal weapons of the world (swords, scuds, and lawsuits); they are metaphors for the Christian practices of love (as you explained), forgiveness (Rom. 12), and prayer (2 Cor. 10). In other words, the military metaphors are not merely spiritual counterparts to the physical realities. They also function ironically. Christ did not simply talk about overpowering evil forces by means of more lethal, spiritual ammo. He calls his followers to disavow violence, harm, hatred, and force altogether. Our new weapons are upside down kingdom traits like meekness, mercy, and mourning. An entirely new set of actions is called for: turning the other cheek to the enemy that strikes you; blessing the enemy that curses you; praying for the enemy that abuses you. These aren’t just spiritual symbols … it’s irony, virtually sarcasm if we’re talking about ‘armor.’ The disciples eventually got that.

Am I Missing Something by Joe Beach

'Christian' Militia in the News

This morning, I read about the arrest in Michigan of eight "patriotic Christians" who had plotted to bomb a funeral service of a policeman. On the same day, I received another email about the "pray for Obama" bumper sticker - this time from my sister (who's really a very committed Christian, intelligent, etc. A wonderful person). So I wrote down these thoughts:

Most of us, by now, have heard of the bumper sticker going around which reads: "Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8”. It’s may be a trivial example of how ugly some of us Christians have become in recent years – but it’s also a horrific example. The full passage, which is supposed to elicit satisfying chuckles from us when we look it up, reads “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow." As my friend likes to say, “yeah, funny… but not in a HA-HA way.”

The Matrix of Liberalism: A Seven Act Drama - by Ron Dart

“Liberalism was, in origin, criticism of the old established order. Today, it is the voice of the establishment.”
--George Grant

“The end is in the beginning.”
--Plato

“I have found from many observations that sometimes our liberal is incapable of granting anyone else his own convictions and immediately answers his opponent with abuse or something worse.”
--Dostoyevsky

“The saint needed by each culture is the one who contradicts it the most.”
--G.K. Chesterton

1.
The Matrix of Liberalism

     All of us, whether we are consciously aware of it or not, think from a core of philosophic principles. It is from these seed thoughts, principles or ideas, that the fruit of various and varied ethical positions are taken. We live in a period of time in which many ethical positions are embraced, contested and questioned in our culture wars. Many is the hot button issue that, when articulated and argued in the public places, creates many a reaction. Ethical tribes and clans (and chieftains aplenty) have emerged to beat the drums for ethical positions on the political right, sensible centre and political left.

"The Christian Platonism of Simone Weil" and "Exiles from Nowhere" - Reviews by Brad Jersak

Book Reviews by Brad Jersak 

    E. Jane Doering and Eric O. Springsted, The Christian Platonism of Simone Weil (Notre Dame: UND Press, 2004.

     Alan Mendelson, Exiles from Nowhere: The Jews and the Canadian Elite (Montreal: Robin Brass Studio, 2008). 

In reviewing these two scholarly gems, I read them from a particular perspective. I am at the fledgling stage of George P. Grant research, with a special interest in enucleating the animating core of his life as a contemplative theologian and Canadian ‘prophet.’ One cannot hope to understand Grant’s work as a philosopher, political scientist and activist apart from the context of his Weilian Christian Platonism, for in his spiritual journey out of the dark cave of modernity (think Plato), Simone Weil was truly his ‘Diotima.’[1] Further, Grant’s emergence as one of Canada’s preeminent thinkers must be understood in light of his progressivist liberal pedigree. From that point of view, a book of essays on Weil’s Christian Platonism and a history that situates him among Canada’s intellectual elite are must-reads.

The Multiple Morphing Faces of Freedom by Brad Jersak

  "THE USES OF FREEDOM--A WORD AND OUR WORLD" 

As I was reading an old essay (1956) by the Canadian philosopher-prophet George Grant on the varied uses of the word freedom in his day, I saw that it was due for a post-9-11 transposition. His unique contribution was in seeing that the modern North American sense of freedom as "the ability to do and get whatever I want" was rooted in surprising ground. He argued that while faith in this type of freedom is often sourced to (1) industrialism, (2) world-centered philosophy, and (3) the resultant crude hedonism, this is to miss the central point of our origins. Grant noted that before America's break with England, before the westward movement, before industrialization, before the rise of American secular humanism, Puritan Protestants arrived on our shores and set forces in motion that would inevitably spawn a pervasive secular, liberal society in a few short steps. 

Confession of a Radical by Brian Zahnd

Recently I was speaking with a pastor whose political views I would describe as “God and Country zealotry.” In the course of our conversation, which had taken its typical political turn, he said, “We must defend Freedom, Democracy and Capitalism in the name of Christ.” 

That is quite a claim. But is it true? Must Rousseau freedom, Jeffersonian democracy and Laissez-faire capitalism be defended in the name of Christ? Let’s think about it for a moment. 

Freedom. It’s the promise of every empire. It's what Rome and all the rest promise. And it's always what we go to war for. Freedom. Political Freedom. Economic Freedom. Individual Freedom. “The land of the free and the home of the brave.” The vocabulary of patriotic fervor. As if there were no Freedom until Jeffersonian democracy arrived on the scene. So what was Jesus talking about? Jesus and Paul seemed to have a thing or two to say about Liberty and Freedom, but they never breathed a word about political democracy or economic capitalism. Have we been seduced by the blandishments of empire? America may be a kinder, gentler Babylon, maybe the kindest, gentlest Babylon there's ever been (though native Americans and African slaves may beg to differ, not to mention the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Be that as it may, America is still a Babylon. And as such it has nothing to do with the kingdom of Christ…other than to be a rival.  

With God on Our Side (with Kevin Miller and Ron Dart)

Reconciled to What? by Brad Jersak

Reconciled to What? Personal and Public Reconciliation in Canadian Aboriginal Context
by Brad Jersak with thanks to the Honourable Iona Campagnola

Recently, I was honoured to attend a gathering hosted by the Lytton First Nation, entitled ‘Bright New Day’ Workshop. The facilitators of the event were John McCandless and Chief Robert Joseph. Approximately sixty registrants attended, half of whom came from a variety of Aboriginal communities and organizations, while the other half represented a wide range of governments and businesses that have a stake in building relationships with the First Nations communities. It seemed symbolic that the modern facilities selected for the event were unfinished but that could enjoy meeting in one large circle within a tent with a grass field as the floor. Significant too was the fact that we were situated on the grounds of what had once been St. George's Residential School, with all the loaded history that its memory carries. To have a conference on reconciliation among such people in such a place was a profound experience that I will not forget. Before I go on, I want to thank the Lytton First Nation for welcoming me to the traditional territories of the N’Laka’Pamux Peoples. You treated me with great hospitality and respect.

Bob Ekblad's 'A New Christian Manifesto' - Review by Brad Jersak

Bob Ekblad, A New Christian Manifesto: Pledging Allegiance to the Kingdom of God, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008.

Review by Brad Jersak

After my first encounters with the theo-praxis of Bob Ekblad, recounted so vividly in his previous work, Reading the Bible with the Damned, I could only wait impatiently for the arrival of his New Christian Manifesto. I was not disappointed.

In this work, Ekblad demonstrates his acumen as a master bridge-builder and integrator. Specifically, he bridges the best of world-class biblical theology and front line pastoral practice. He integrates the social prophetic world of liberation theology with the charismatic prophetic world of the modern renewal movement. Text meets testimony, mind meets heart and authentic prayer finds its way into the world of the poor, the immigrant, the gangster and the prisoner. In short, Bob brings the good news of the Kingdom of God, preaching a decentering word to the powers (a la Brueggemann), and inviting those on the margins to the banqueting table of God.

Theological Affinities in the Writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- by Susannah Heschel

Reprinted from:  Black Zion: African-American Religious Encounters with Judaism, ed. Yvonne Chireau and Nathaniel Deutsch (New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming)

    The photograph of Abraham Joshua Heschel walking arm in arm with Martin Luther King, Jr., in the front row of marchers at Selma has become an icon of American Jewish life, and of Black-Jewish relations. Reprinted in Jewish textbooks, synagogue bulletins, and in studies of ecumenical relations, the picture has come to symbolize the great moment of symbiosis of the two communities, Black and Jewish, which today seems shattered. When Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Henry Gates, or Cornel West speak of the relationship between Blacks and Jews as it might be, and as they wish it would become, they invoke the moments when Rabbi Heschel and Dr. King marched arm in arm at Selma, prayed together in protest at Arlington National Cemetery, and stood side by side in the pulpit of Riverside Church.

Hakani -- Buried Alive: A Survivor's Story

David Cunningham and Kevin Miller have released their documentary about the infanticide of indigenous children  in Brazil and the hope of a girl who overcame it. You can now watch or download the entire film at www.hakani.org. The movie serves to promote initiatives that protect the children but is facing opposition from elements of the Brazilian government who would like to shut it down.

Peter Dale Scott: The meeting of poetry, prose and politics -- by Ron Dart

Peter Dale Scott comes from a worthy Canadian line and lineage.  His grandfather, Frederick Scott, was a contemporary of Stephen Leacock, an important Canadian poet, an Anglican priest and padre to many soldiers and at the forefront of the Winnipeg strike in 1919. Frederick Scott embodied, in thought, word and deed, a vision of responsible citizenship, but he was very English. Peter’s father, Frank Scott, was one of the best known Canadian poets, constitutional lawyers and founder of the League for Social Reconstruction (LSR) and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). The LSR-CCF were the forerunners of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Frank Scott was a student of Stephen Leacock. As the English empire waned and the American empire waxed, Frank opposed the English colonial way of his father, but he tended to genuflect, in a subtle way, to the New Romans to the south.  Peter’s mother, Marian Dale, was an accomplished Canadian painter. The Politics of the Imagination: A Life of F.R. Scott (1987), by Sandra Djwa, recounts, as an authorized biography, the life of Frank and Marian Scott.

A More Perfect Union: Obama's Speech - March 18, 2008

Stephen Leacock and George Grant: Faith and Politics by Ron Dart

Stephen Leacock was perhaps the greatest English Canadian intellectual of his generation.
Damien-Claude Belanger

George Grant was Canada's most significant public philosopher.
Graeme Nicholson

Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) and George Grant (1918-1988) were men of deep religious faith and passionate about politics. Both men were firmly rooted and grounded in the Anglican tradition, were committed to the classical Canadian conservative political vision and were prominent professors at public universities and in public life. These men did not retreat into private institutions to protect a fragile faith that could not stand up to the challenges of serious and substantive intellectual thought.

Phone Call: Burma Worse than Reported

A sister living in Yangon called a few hours ago with breaking news. BBC world reported that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse!

For instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) was raided early this morning.

A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up, then banged and crushed each one's head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non-resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.

Why Columbia U. Got It Wrong by Jim Hall

This past Monday (Sept. 24) Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University in New York. I happened to be watching CNN when it was happening live and heard the introduction by the President of Columbia. As the headlines in Tuesday's papers indicated, it was a scathing rebuke, which I found astonishingly blunt. It was simply incredible to watch. The TV news shows have not done justice to the full extent of his remarks, but in characteristic form, have chosen to zoom in on the most pointed quotes.

Charles Taylor and the Hegelian Eden Tree: Canadian Compradorisim by Ron Dart

The fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. Genesis 3:6 Canada

may produce more original work on Hegel than any other nation.   
David MacGregor, Literary Review of Canada (February 1994)

 

The fact that the well known Canadian philosopher, Charles Taylor, won the enviable Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries About Spiritual Realities in 2007 has been noted and noticed by many. There are few that have won this prestigious award, and fewer Canadians have taken the trophy home.Taylor did so, and did so in a way that has made many a Canadian proud of their native born boy. But, philosophy is about asking critical questions, and critical questions keep us from slipping into
hagiography. Why did Taylor win the Templeton Prize, what questions need to be asked of Taylor, what intellectual agenda does he serve and are there other Canadians of equal worth and merit that might have won the Templeton Prize but did not?

Holy Books: Is Religion the Problem? by David Goa

The philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), in his last essays when he was close to 100 years old, said that what will save us is a conversation between religions and that it will focus on transcendence, on the ineffable. That is the only way of peace. Being part of a tradition we are both circumscribed and open at the same time. Religious tradition brings finitude and the eternal together. Tradition is reiterative. It is not repeated, but the very event again, and again, the inaction again. 

The organizers of “Building World Peace: The Role of Religions and Human Rights” have suggested that the theme “Holy Books: Is Religion the Problem?” “serves to highlight the differences between sacred religious texts and the political practice of their teaching. Since September 11^th, 2001, especially, there has been great debate about the role of religious texts in acts of social and political violence. In order to preserve respect for the diverse religions, cultures, races, and ethnicities throughout the world, we ought to focus on the message of peace shared by a majority of peoples.”