The anguish of some students over recent articles in the Insurgent portraying Jesus in an unflattering way is a natural first response when something precious is attacked: Fight back! But as a person who struggles daily to imitate Jesus myself, I’d like to invite my fellow Christians a little reflection.
Why were the writers and cartoonists of the Insurgent so “hateful,” nasty and offensive in their treatment of Jesus? I suspect it is because the most vocal, visible and powerful of his followers have abandoned His attitudes and principles.
Our very publicly Christian president has been and is waging a war based on lies and arrogance. Our Congress – led by some very public Christians with names like Hastert, DeLay, Santorum, Frist and Brownback- have, at the president’s urging, repeatedly passed legislation favoring the haves and injuring the have-nots.
Our environment is imperiled because of poor stewardship directly stemming from evangelical Christianend-times theology.
Capitalism is declared to be a God-ordained economic system, with private property the ultimate good. Justice for Palestinians is held hostage to the theology of Christian Zionists.
An unholy alliance of Big Oil, Big Finance and Big Christianity has captured the political party that controls both the Congress and the Oval Office. Greed and corruption are rife and avenues fordissent are closed.
I imagine the writers of the Insurgent articles are people, like many of us, who feel powerless in the face of the Public Christianity of George Bush and the like and simply wanted to strike back. Can’t say as I blame them. Much of the Christianity we see today has been co-opted by the Empire (in Jesus’ day it was called “Rome”).
It is unfortunate that the Insurgent’s wrath couldn’t have been laid on the backs of the followers rather than the Master. Perhaps we who believe in the deep teachings of Jesus need to ask ourselves: Why haven’t we spoken out against the widespread distortion of religion that passes for Public Christianity today and is odious to so many? But that’s another conversation.
Doug Norseth is a geology student at the University.