Barney Wiget's Blog, page 11

Critical Thinking For Christians Redux

5 1/2 years ago I posted a series on Christians and critical thinking. As disturbing as it was then that so many Christians fail to use their noggins well, though I wouldn’t have believed it possible, in my judgment, it’s even worse now!

So, I’ll update my thoughts on the subject and go for it again. Please consider taking 5-minutes to read this first post and each of the others of similar length as they come out.

It’s time for followers of Jesus to lean into better thinking!

Critical Thinking For Christians

Turf Wars: How They Start and Why They Never End (A Metaphor)

“The road of ‘God is on our side, and he shall surely smite our enemies’ is a wide road. A lot of parades have gone down that road. It doesn’t take much courage to travel that road; just fall in step and follow the crowd.” Brian Zahnd

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On a typical midwestern high school campus, a feud raged between rival gangs over race and turf. One day after school one student sucker punched another boy from the other side of the ongoing war. He spun his stunned victim around and proceeded to pummel his prey with jabs and crosses, not giving the other time to raise his hands high enough to block any of the punches that landed on his head and torso. Vicious blows and kicks landed as planned until the attacker walked away leaving his foe laying in a pool of blood on the school quad lawn.

An ambulance arrived and sped the unconscious boy to the nearest hospital Emergency Room where he was treated for a broken nose, three broken ribs, a severe concussion, and a burst spleen. To save his life, the doctors put him in an induced coma and told his family to hope against hope. Many months later he woke up in his hospital bed only to face another year of PT and plastic surgery just to be able to talk in one syllable words and eat through a straw. He would never be able to walk or function normally again.

In the meantime, the boy’s friends and his four big brothers found his attacker and beat and tortured him mercilessly from head to toe, leaving him in a heap at the same spot he’d left his victim. His injuries made the other boy’s look like a skinned knee. Not satisfied, they brought hell down on his friends and family, burning down their houses with innocent women and children inside. They shot and stabbed others on a rampage of vigilante justice. In the end, fifty lay dead and seventy-five sustained life-threatening injuries. An eye for an eye was swapped for a hundred eyes for an eye.

It wasn’t fear that prevented the police department from intervening, but a sense that the original attacker got what he deserved, that vengeance was satisfied and justice (such as it was) had been served.

From then on, the entire community was polarized as the rhetoric swirled around whose guilt was the more egregious. The campus feud between ethnicities morphed into a city-wide war. In the years to come, many more were murdered in cold blood, families were divided, and chaos prevailed on the streets. A few called for peace, but most were fraught with hate and violence. The city was never the same after that.

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“Alas, many in the West still suppose implicitly that violence can be redemptive. The ‘Superman’ myth, or the ‘Captain America’ complex, has been shown to underlie the implicit narratives, of generation after generation of American leaders, generating the belief that the hero must use redemptive violence to restore the town, the country, the world to its proper state. Unless we address this, peace will remain a romantic dream while the world – the world in which you will bring up your families – becomes increasingly dangerous.” NT Wright

Travel Light

“Do not take a purse or bag or sandals…” (Luke 10:4)

Nothing reduces a paternalistic approach to sharing the gospel like being in need ourselves.

The release of the inner man’s potential is often contingent on the breaking of the outer man, which usually occurs through pain and loss. It’s my experience that the preponderance of compassion tends to seep out through the cracks created by hard blows in my life and attaches itself to other damaged people.

Our humanity-wide shared spiritual poverty is the lowest common denominator between us and inducts us all into a hall of shame of sorts. We’re all soul-broken, cracked and leaking. Some of us have to be convinced how poor we are. Loss is the master teacher. Unfortunately, only some of us learn her lessons or pass her tests.

Jesus told his Seventy missionals to go out with nothing but what was on their backs, nothing that they could hold over the people they were there to serve. This was “the best way Jesus knew to move his followers into the arms of God,” says Scott Bessenecker, “and bind them to the needy people who would welcome them.”

[An excerpt from my unfinished commentary on Luke 10. I hope to finish and publish it by Spring!]

“…for they shall see God.”

Those with a pure heart can “see God” because their sight isn’t impaired by trying to focus on more than one thing at the same time. The outlook of cross-eyed Christians is blurred by competing concerns. The only thing worse than spiritual blindness is thinking you can see when you can’t (Revelation 3:18). Viewing God through spiritual cataracts is at best, limiting, and at worst, ruinous.

(Excerpted from my book: What on Earth? Considering the Social Implications of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.)

Should Christians Pledge Allegiance to the Flag?

I’ve been corresponding with a good friend on the topic of whether or not a Christian would be in the right to oppose pledging allegiance to the American flag. We have a mutual friend who has expressed his opposition to the pledge, and the friend with whom I’m corresponding disagrees with such a stand. Here are some of the things I shared with him on the topic.

Dear “David,”

When they think of what it means to “pledge allegiance” to our country and its flag, some think of those millions of American “Christians” who put country before God. If not assigning one over the other, the mantra “God and Country” feels like placing them as equals in class.

The conflation of the status of God and country is called “Christian Nationalism.” Surprisingly, some people even like to call themselves Christian Nationalists. Though it’s not a monolithic club, in many cases the ideology of Christian Nationalism includes such things as their view of how America began and how they interpret so-called separation of “church and state.” Their voice is quite loud these days and has made a huge impact on the thinking of a lot of Americans.

For most people, taking the Pledge of Allegiance is simply a promise to be good citizens of the United States. And they do their best to be just that. Their version of good citizenship aligns with a biblical worldview of love and service to neighbors (near and afar). But one poll showed that only 13% of white evangelicals value their religious beliefs more than their nationality! To state the obvious, that leaves 87% who think more highly of their country of origin than their relationship with the God who put them here to begin with.

What’s worse, many of these people view the call to citizenship to include a possible violent overthrow of the current government. We saw this in technicolor on January 6 with people who were willing to overturn a presidential election by whatever means necessary!

Surely, one could pledge allegiance to the flag and country based on their personal understanding of what it means to them without aligning themselves with those who think more nationalistically. While it might wound the conscience of one and not another, some might refuse to take the pledge as it feels to them like it identifies them with those who put country before God (if God factors in at all). In such case, it boils down to personal conviction, like the issue in Corinth of eating meat offered to idols.

All that said, some people recoil at “allegiance” to a country or its flag as it feels like aligning with those moments in our recent history like January 6 where banners put an American flag next to a picture of Jesus or the signs that said: “Jesus is my Savior-Trump is my President” or “Jesus Saves, Trump Leads.” My personal favorite (Not!) is: “God has chosen him and is protecting him!” Of course, the worst scene that day was the noose they hung on gallows for Vice President Mike Pence. That’s the worst of Christian Nationalism.

I think a person can love their country and its flag without pledging allegiance to it. On the other hand, those elected to office or those in the military may need to take the pledge as ones whose task it is to defend the nation and its people. I would think it would actually be mandatory, since, if they were to join the “other team” it would be considered traitorous, not to mention the danger it would pose to our country.

Whether this clarifies or muddies the issue for you, “David,” I appreciate the opportunity to make me think through it a bit. And I’d be happy to hear more of your thoughts on the issue if you’re inclined. Any pushback would be appreciated.

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And I say the same to you, my readers. If you have some thoughts on the matter, one way or another, I’d be happy to hear them.

For a Deeper Dive here are a couple of previous posts of mine:

Patriots, Christian Nationalists, and Good Citizens

Is America Divinely Favored?

Book Recommendations from 2023

Thought I’d share my favorite books from this last year. I didn’t take the time to put them in the order of my preference or give the theme and particular value of each. But feel free to ask me about any of these. Of course, you can also go to Amazon for summaries and reviews. Speaking of reviews, if you’ve read any of my three books, I’d soooo appreciate you writing a review on Amazon and your social media account. If you haven’t read them, check them out on Amazon under my name: Barney Wiget.

American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays the Gospel and Threatens the Church by Andrew WhiteheadChosen? Reading the Bible Amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Walter BrueggemanAncient Echoes: Refusing the Fear-Filled, Greed-Driven Toxicity of the Far Right by Walter BrueggemanGod’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America by Larry EskridgeLove in a Time of Hate: The story of Magda and André Trocmé and the village that said no to the Nazis by Hanna SchottJesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du MezThou Shalt Not Be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging in Politics by Eugene ChoFight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace Throughout Holy Week by Jason PorterfieldLessons of the Welsh Revival by G. Campbell MorganThe Welsh Revival By Eyewitnesses by William SteadThe Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right by Lisa Sharon HarperThe Most Revealing Book of the Bible (on Revelation) by Vernard EllerEmbracing the New Samaria: Opening Our Eyes to Our Multiethnic Future by Alejandro MandesLosing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America by Russell MooreJesus and the Nonviolent Revolution by André TrocméRefuge Reimagined: Biblical Kinship by Mark GlanvilleThe Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of our Neighbors by Katlyn SchiessJesus Through the Eyes of Women: How the First Female Disciples Know and Love the Lord by Rebecca McLaughlin

Happy reading in 2024!

“Love Your Enemies” Suggestion or Command?

The enemy-love message is not exactly what you’d call “attractional.” Sadly, it’s easier to gather a crowd with the message about a God who blesses our battles and hates our enemies as much as we do. Fear, anger, and hate are more popular than love and more natural to our darker selves. Unrestricted love is neither popular nor natural. It might fit nicely on a billboard or in a country song, but when it comes to actually practicing the kind of love Jesus commands, we’d much rather love in the abstract.

“The first step toward love is a common sharing of a sense of mutual worth and value,” wrote Howard Thurman. “This cannot be discovered in a vacuum or in a series of artificial or hypothetical relationships. It has to be in a real situation, natural, free.”

(An excerpt from my book: WHAT ON EARTH? Considering the Social Implications of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount)

Judging Donald Trump

(A mere 5 to 6-minute read)

Allow me to clarify my regular criticism of Donald Trump and those who can’t get enough of him since he announced his run for president in 2015. It occurred to me that those who think my consistent critique of his moral degeneracy and emotional incompetency makes me guilty of “judging” a fellow human being. “Judge not lest you be judged,” has been quoted to me many times by those who object to my critique. Let me clarify my position and motive so you can judge if I’m being judgmental.

Beginning with the Bible, Jesus warned us to “Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment,” implying that we are capable of righteously drawing certain conclusions about someone based on the circumstantial evidence of their behavior.

Just a breath or two after he tells us not to judge, he warns us to discern the disparity between a sheep in his own skin and a sheepskin with a wolf in it! He goes on to tell us to discern the qualitative difference between a true prophet and a false one, between a sheep and a goat, and between a mere believer and a true behaver. To correct is one thing, to condemn, another.  

In terms of political implications, if the Church, as Martin Luther King claimed, is the conscience of the state then we cannot permit our culture to tumble over the falls without a warning. We are tasked to point our communities toward a more perfect union, and hold our leaders accountable to the task of working for liberty and justice for all. If we fail to recapture our prophetic voice, we will forfeit our moral authority and doom the Church to triviality.

When Donald Trump was a private citizen, I seldom if ever mentioned his name in conversation. Of course, I knew then what I know now, that he is narcissistically sociopathic, guilty of adultery, graft, and gross injustice against those who stand in his path on the way to accumulate more money, fame, and power. But since he didn’t occupy an office with national, even international consequences, I never felt the need to point out his depraved, if not entirely absent conscience. But once he descended down his golden escalator announcing his run for the highest office in the land, and every other land on the planet, I felt it was time to shine a light on his political incompetence and moral ineligibility for the job.

Granted, every sin that’s sinned harms the sinner and those sinned against. And Donald Trump has certainly sinned against God and a multitude of people. But, with any number of other calamities in the world I never had the desire to point out his dearth of morality, that is until he threw his hat in the ring for the Oval Office.

Spiritual leaders (pastors, prophets, teachers, apostles, and evangelists – Ephesians 4:11) have a responsibility to “reprove, rebuke, exhort” those they serve when needed. And, of course one doesn’t have to be a shepherd to “restore” fellow sheep “caught in a sin.” (Galatians 6:1) We’re all responsible to bring an errant brother or sister back from wandering off the path, to turn them from “the error of their way,” and thus “saving them from death and covering over a multitude of sins,” (James 5:19-20). But what I do when warning my tiny audience from the danger of Donald Trump is something quite different than rebuking a fellow believer.

It’s not Joe-Citizen-Trump, but public-servant-Trump that makes him fair game to warn my fellow voters (especially those with whom I allegedly share a faith in Jesus Christ). As a lover of Jesus and a patriotic American, I criticize Trump in order to prompt my small audience to better thinking and to tender their vote for almost anyone instead of him for president. I don’t believe it’s “judging” to point out that he is a dangerous option to lead our great country. In my opinion, he’s a menace to the American experiment and an embarrassment to the U.S. on the international stage.

More than that, when those who identify as “Christian” (whether as elected officials or as private citizens), voice and vote their support for him, believe me when I say that the sceptic is left to wonder why on earth anyone would join such a gullible tribe as ours. Author Anne Rice said: “I quit being Christian… It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group.” I can’t say how many people I’ve encountered who, based on the number of so-called “evangelicals” who support Trump, wonder if Christians are either stupid or have their heads so deeply buried in the proverbial sand that we have nothing good to offer.

We’ve had self-proclaimed prophets predicting his win in 2020, hyper far right Republicans who identify as Christians, and brazen radio and podcast talk show hosts that claim faith, not to mention January 6 insurrectionists carrying “Jesus is my Savior-Trump is my President” signs. Other signs on that day: “Jesus Saves, Trump Leads” and “Thank God for Trump,” and “God has chosen him and is protecting him.” If this isn’t a clear violation of the third Commandment, where we’re told not to take (or carry) God’s name in vain, I don’t know what is!

On that infamous day, Christian Nationalism ripped off its mask and revealed its essence as a potentially violent movement whose face looks nothing like the Jesus I read about in the New Testament and fell in love with over 50 years ago. Which Jesus do we want to model our lives after and show to the world? Donald Trump and his travelling freak show have left an indelible stain on the integrity of Christ and his Church. I fear that it will take decades to remove.

I love America and the Church too much to fail to critique and warn us all of the danger of this man for political office. If you consider that in violation of the prohibition to judge a fellow human being, so be it. But for me “to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God.” (Martin Luther)

[Go Deeper on what judging is and isn’t. See this: https://www.gotquestions.org/do-not-judge.html%5D

Dis-illusioned

I’ve been disillusioned about a bunch of things (and people) over the years. That is, I had an illusion, in some cases even a delusion about something or someone that eventually proved to be illusory, fake, a sham. Spam as meat comes to mind. Professional wrestling also. Products that claim to rid me of baggy skin or to induce new hair follicles. All lies! Leaving me without hope in the world full of illusions.

Now let me get down to the biggest illusion of them all, the illusion that Donald Trump will make America great again! For those of you who, after all we’ve seen and heard since 2015 are still supporting and defending him in his run for another term, in my opinion need to be “disillusioned.”

You probably know that lots of words that begin with “dis.” Discourage, disappoint, discredit, disagree, disapprove… But when put in front of “illusion” means to be disappointed in someone or something that you discover to be less good than you thought. In other words, it means to be freed of an “illusion,” which to my mind is what Trumpism is––an illusion. A big time illusion.

By the way, of course, you know what an “illusionist” is––a conjurer or magician who creates illusions by sleight of hand. By such definition, this must be what Donald Trump is, as there are millions of otherwise intelligent (even Christian) human beings who still carry his water even though he spills it every time he makes a speech or writes on Truth Social or wherever he spews his hate and lies these days.

Getting back to this concept of “illusion,” it has to do with a false appearance or deceptive impression of reality. I can’t unhear Trump’s famous line: “What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening.” It goes quite well with Kellyanne Conway’s defense of Trump’s first lie in office about the size of the crowd at his inauguration speech. She claimed there are such things as “alternative facts.” Best I can tell, such facts must exist in an alternate universe, but not in the one I inhabit. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion,” said Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “but not his own facts.”

Wrapping this up, the idea that Donald Trump is good for America and a viable candidate for leader of the free world is as false and deceptive an impression of reality as there is. And Americans, Christian Americans in particular, must admit this before it’s too late. They need, in my opinion, to be “dis-illusioned.”  And if you’re in that number, I can and do recommend the Great Disillusioner and His best-selling-largely-unopened Book.

Salespersons or Tour Guides?

A change of paradigm might serve to improve the effectiveness of our witness. Instead of Gospel salespersons we might better think of ourselves as spiritual “Tour Guides.” It’s not like we’re selling anything and trying to profit from it, anyway. Right?

Our job is to share what we’ve found and tell people where they can find it––for free! My favorite tour guides are the ones who introduce me to fascinating places and invite me into their fascination. They’ve seen the site and given their spiel hundreds of times, yet the allure of it hasn’t waned and their joy in sharing it remains infectious. Worth every penny of the cost of the tour is the guide that is still enamored with his or her subject matter.

[An Excerpt from Reaching Rahab: Joining God In His Quest For Friends]