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The Cognitive Dissident

A blog by Ronald P. Thompson, Ph.D.

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Chrisiantity

How the Rise of Donald Trump will Benefit the American Christianity

So large parts of the leaders of the evangelical community has embraced Donald Trump whose entire life epitomizes the pursuit of wealth and personal vainglory at the expense of anyone who gets in his way. Even without any discussion of how he treats women or specific minority groups, it is fair to say his value system stands diametrically opposed to that of Jesus. However, at the debate this week he endeared himself to the political Christian right by promising to overturn Roe v. Wade and thus pave the way for the banning of all abortion in at least some states.  No matter that the opposition to abortion was conceived in the Vatican and has only the most tenuous relation to any Christian scripture and none at all to the teachings of Jesus. I see this is an outright surrender by the evangelical right of any real connection to the religion they claim to follow. They are now simply fighting a rearguard action to preserve any political clout when the very nomination of Trump indicates their influence is on the wane.

As presented by Jesus and as practiced by the early church, the Christian religion was focused on helping the oppressed find meaning in their lives despite living under a political system that did not care one wit for their well-being.    Neither Jesus nor the writers of the New Testament ever once suggested or even hinted at the idea that Christians should expect the government or the society at large to live by the morality that they espoused for themselves.   Quite the contrary was true. The early church assumed they would always be the small minority subject to the whims of the larger world and their way of living was what set them apart from the general society in which they lived. Continue reading “How the Rise of Donald Trump will Benefit the American Christianity” →

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The Eternal Message of Adam & Eve

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The book of Genesis presents the early monotheist’s vision of nature of humanity and of life.  Like monotheism itself, it is a huge step from the elaborate conceptions of reality and nature of older religions, to one stripped down to the basics.  Compare the creation story in Genesis to other ancient traditions. There is no war of the gods, no birthing of a god race, no complicated story line; just one simple and elegant idea. Everything was created from nothing by a power that was beyond comprehension to humans.   Sadly this beautiful and honest simplicity is completely missed by conservative Christians today.

The story goes on to present Adam and Eve as the protohumans. They are the embodiment of the human condition as it was for many thousands of years prior to the first written records. I would suggest, this story is an important allegory that can give us insight that the basic challenges of life are intrinsic to the human condition, not some modern invention of technology, modern society or capitalism.

Consider this, the story of Adam and Eve show that the binary of male and female is not a modern construct; rather it is a biological construct that predates human civilization. This does not say we must be constrained by that construct any more than we must be constrained to travel no faster than we can run, but it does say the argument that the male-female binary is some form of modern oppression is a false claim.  We humans now have the power to move from our evolutionary roots. In many ways, that freedom is a good thing; but, we should never buy into the lie that those evolutionary roots are some sort of evil conspiracy by a nefarious group of people. Continue reading “The Eternal Message of Adam & Eve” →

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Exodus: The Story of a Brutal God

 

With the spectacle of religious violence on the rise, particularly by Islamists; I think it is time to take a hard look at the monotheistic vision of God from its inception. Not from the time of Mohammad, though his followers were spectacularly violent, but further back to the effective birth of the monotheistic religion that is the basis for Islam, Christianity and Judaism.  I think we need to look at the story of Moses and his general Joshua.  Actually, we need to look at the vision of God that is presented in the story of the Exodus and the conquest of the land of Israel and the actions of those two key figures.

I know most people in the US know the story, but the question is have you ever really thought about what it says beyond the feel good story of an oppressed people being freed?

Consider this.  The story opens in the empire of Egypt, ruled by a god-king, Pharaoh Ramses the Great.  In this world, everyone, rich and poor, are essentially owned by the Pharaoh.  In the story God tells Moses that his people should be released from bondage and leave Egypt. Significantly, not all people should be freed from slavery and oppression, but only a select group.  This clearly indicates that the God of Moses did not believe in universal human rights, but only in rights for his chosen people.  Thus the concept of justice by race and/or group affiliation is given divine sanction.  Continue reading “Exodus: The Story of a Brutal God” →

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Blessed are These

A few Sunday thoughts wearing my “Rev. Thomson” hat.  

We live in a day when it seems to be a virtue to stir up anger and resentment at the least form of mistreatment.  We live in a world where “do unto others before they do unto you” has become the new golden rule.  The quiet suffering through life’s hardships has been replaced by loud complaints at the unfairness of life.

I have news for you. Life is unfair and will always be so. We only gain happiness as we strive to set the example of fairness and justice, not when we complain that others don’t show those qualities to us.  Jesus lived in a world that was violent and oppressive in ways we cannot even begin to imagine.  We recoil at the actions of Islamic extremists in the Middle-East and Africa, yet such actions would not have drawn a yawn in the world occupied by ancient Rome.   It was to people in that world Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount which begins like this.

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Continue reading “Blessed are These” →

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