Jesus Was a Commie

As I opened my lovely gmail account, which has effectively taunted, beaten up, and thrown hotmail into the nearest dumpster, an email caught my eye. One of a number of forwards that I receive throughout a regular emailing week, I opened it immediately, wondering at the somewhat provocative title: Fwd: Fw: Just received this.......The photos beg we comply.

No photos were included in the forward. What was present, however, evoked a definite response in me. Read on:

"Prayer chain for our Military...please don't break it

"Please send this on after a short prayer. Prayer for our soldiers..please don't break it

"Prayer'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'

"Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

"There is nothing attached.... .. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you, please....
"Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, US Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, Prayer is the very best one "

This is the exact forward, complete with its grammatical and punctuation errors, which made my skin crawl ever so slightly. Yet more irksome than the errors in writing was the error in the message.

I have grown up as an American, raised with pride in my own country and culture. I was also raised in the American Christian church, which has in many ways adopted U.S. nationalism. For a demonstration of this, one need look no further than the number of pastors who preach politics from the pulpit. Separating a poor, nomadic, minority, first-century man from wealthy, secure, white, dominant American Christianity has apparently become too difficult a task for some pastors. Too many churches court the seductive power of national politics, which is shameful, because to equate any political party with being Christian violates the very principles upon which this religion was founded. It also undoubtedly calls to mind the horrid times in church history when it bedded politics and set into motion a period of immeasurable human slaughter.

Yet this is an aside from the forward, sort of. What struck me so strongly about the attitude of this request for prayer for a certain group was the conspicuous lack of certain other groups. Where's the request to pray for the people in the countries where these men are stationed? Where's the request to pray for the struggles that we bring on these people, this invasion of their homes? The prayers for their children? The prayers for the people building bombs to destroy us? The prayers for those shooting back at us?

Why only for our troops?

I have a tentative answer to this question. It is because, in our American Christian minds, we view America as the purveyor of freedom and equality. Not only that, but it is a sort of missions; soon, we will see the rise of the Christian church in the middle east. And thus we can feel good about our occupation.

I get angry and physically ill when I consider this. Not only does it compromise thousands of human lives, mostly Iraqi, but it also completely misrepresents Christianity. Jesus was not an American. He was not Republican, nor was he part of a democracy. Instead, he made people like that really angry. He said weird things and hung out with outcasts.

The church accepts the Bible, calling it "God-breathed." So why do we ignore stuff like this?

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

This message seems long-forgotten in a culture whose motto appears "America=Christian=God's favorites."