Forty years ago a movie ridiculing the absurdity of nuclear war and mutually assured destruction hit the big screen. Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb starred Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Slim Pickens, and it took great pleasure in illustrating the foolishness of the Cold War policies of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. and the inevitable destruction that would result if they weren't changed. Today the Cold War has ended, but after a brief respite from nuclear saber-rattling in the late 1980s and the entire 1990s, the threat of nuclear war is again on the horizon. Three new countries are acknowledged nuclear powers--India, Pakistan, and North Korea--and Iran may soon join them. Under the Bush II administration, the U.S. is pouring money into plans to build "small" nuclear weapons that can be deployed on the battlefield without triggering a full-scale nuclear war (they hope). At the same time, the administration decries the attempts of Iran and others to acquire nuclear weapons, claiming that the world will be less safe with more nuclear powers. If that's true--and I think it is--then it follows that the world will be more safe with fewer nuclear powers, and most safe with none. This logic escapes the warmongers in the White House and Pentagon, who continue to insist on more money for research into weapons systems, including battlefield nukes. The prophet Jeremiah describes a scene of God's judgment on Judah, and the description is eerily like the devastation caused by nuclear war. A hot wind blows over the land, the earth is waste and void, the sky is dark, the mountains shake, people and birds are nowhere to be seen, the fruitful land lies in ruins, and the cities are destroyed. Although I don't think this prophecy literally predicts a nuclear disaster, it is sobering to note that language that in the prophet's time would have been viewed as exaggerated rhetoric now has the distinct possibility of literally coming to pass. What is the reason for God's judgment on the people? Verse 22 provides the answer: "My people . . . are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good." This problem persists today on a much greater scale. Science has provided insights into the mysteries of the universe and unlocked the power of the atom, but it has also given us the power to destroy ourselves and our planet. It takes great knowledge to understand subatomic particle physics; it takes great foolishness to create weapons that use the power of the atom to destroy those who use them. Similarly, it takes great knowledge to breed crops that are resistant to disease and drought; it is evil to pay farmers not to grow food when people elsewhere in the world are dying of starvation. It takes great knowledge to engineer cars and giant factories; it shows a tremendous lack of moral leadership to refuse to fund research into technologies that will reduce harmful emissions from those cars and factories. Like the people of Jeremiah's time, all too often we are skilled in doing evil, but do not know how to do good. The difference is that today, the consequences of our evil are much greater.
This week in Russia Chechen terrorists took over an elementary school and held many people hostage for several days. Russian troops eventually stormed the school, killing most of the terrorists, but more than 350 hostages were killed as well, including many, many children, primarily by the hostage-takers. People around the world reacted with shock and horror at this vile act, and many asked what kind of religion could sanction such despicable behavior. Although the terrorists were Muslim fundamentalists, the answer to the question is that no religion could sanction such deeds, and no religion did. Fundamentalist Muslims who perpetrate such crimes are no more following the teachings of their religion than are fundamentalist Christians who advocate violence against the government or fundamentalist Jews who push for the destruction of the Palestinian people. In short, such fundamentalists are not really Muslims, Christians, or Jews, because they deny the basic tenet of all three religions, the belief in God. Of course, all these religious hatemongers would claim to believe in God, but their actions belie their words. Today's reading from the Psalms says, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" The psalmist isn't saying that fools don't believe in the existence of God; rather, he is saying that fools don't believe that God will hold them to account for their actions. And what are the sins that the psalm specifically mentions? Ravishing God's people, the poor and righteous. Many religious zealots who engage in terrorism have legitimate complaints. Russian policies have often brutalized Chechens over the years, governments have often neglected the needs of the rural poor, and Palestinian terrorists have inflicted untold misery on innocent Israelis. Nevertheless, disdaining human life is impossible without an equivalent disdain for God. Unlike the situation in ancient Israel, there are many true atheists in the world today, people who actually deny the existence of God. However, it is not atheists who threaten their neighbors. When's the last time you heard of atheist terrorists trying to impose their beliefs on others through violence? (Not since the fall of Communism and radically atheist states like Albania, at least.) No, it takes someone who claims to believe in God to deny God in the greatest degree. It is easy to see the egregious sins of religious zealots, but how readily do we recognize the lesser sins of our neighbors, or even ourselves? We are all in danger of denying God when we let our selfish personal concerns interfere with our divine obligation to love our neighbors.
For another discussion of this passage, click here.
A story from ancient Egypt tells of a Christian priest who expelled one of his parishioners from the church because of his sins. A holy man named Bessarion got up and left with him, saying, "I, too, am a sinner." The world is full of sinners whom God loves and wants to restore to full fellowship with God and with other people. Too often in our self-righteousness we tend to think of ourselves as morally superior to our neighbors. When institutionalized, this trend leads to such ludicrous policies as prohibiting people who have been divorced from holding ministry positions in the church. In contrast to this self-righteous demagoguery, today's reading from 1 Timothy offers the example of the apostle Paul, who displays the proper attitude toward dealing with other sinners. He understood that his leadership role in the church was the result of divine mercy, undeserved and unexpected. "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the foremost." Christians are called to have a prophetic voice in the world, to speak out against sin and injustice in others, but unless we see ourselves in need of grace as much as those whom we critique, our words will be empty of the pathos that accompanies true understanding. It is one thing to criticize another person for committing injustice; it is another to realize that, but for the grace of God, we would likely be committing the same injustice ourselves. It is necessary to rail against corporate greed, for example, but at the same time we must understand the greed that too often rears its ugly head in our own lives. It is imperative that we stand against war and hatred, but we must also acknowledge the stirrings of ill-will, prejudice, and nationalism that are deep-seated within us. We are products of our society, and we cannot help but ingest its faults along with its strengths. A number of years ago, I ran across a group of people in a particular church who claimed that they could go for days or weeks without committing sin. Apparently they didn't recognize their own pride! More troubling to me are Christian leaders who proclaim their judgments on others without the least hint that they understand their own shortcomings, without a shred of humility in the face of the possibility that their evaluation of others might be mistaken. We are not called to be meek and mild but to speak out with clarity and conviction. As we do, though, let us silently mouth the words of Abba Bessarion: "I, too, am a sinner."
A few years ago a rich, predominantly white, downtown church in a large city decided to uproot itself and follow the majority of its members to the suburbs, like many churches before it had done. After building a beautiful new facility on the outskirts of town, it tried to figure out what to do with its downtown facility, which, though many years old, was still in good condition. It thought about selling its buildings to a church that wanted to be based downtown, but all of the congregations in the area either already had facilities or were too poor to afford the asking price. Next, the church considered selling the space to ministry centers of various sorts, but again, the groups who were already working the area or who wanted to start a new work there had insufficient funds. The last I heard, the buildings were languishing and the church was looking for a commercial buyer. Several years earlier another rich, predominantly white, inner-city church in a different city decided to move to the suburbs, leaving behind three large buildings. This church quickly found an ethnic congregation in the area that needed additional space, and the two churches negotiated a price that was good for both. In the end, the selling church ended up donating a large portion of the already low sale price to the purchasing church. The result was that the ethnic church had outstanding facilities and plenty of room to grow. Since they didn't come close to filling the three buildings, they invited various community ministries to join them in their new facilities, and now in addition to worship and Bible study, the buildings are used every week for child care, clothing distribution, a community police office, and more. When Jesus told the stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin, he began each story by asking his disciples, "Which one of you, if you lost a sheep or a coin, wouldn't search diligently until you found it?" The poor among whom Jesus primarily ministered could certainly relate to his story; they would all look high and low until they found the missing item, because it was precious to them. I wonder whether those of us living in the affluent West would expend such energy. If we lose our wallets, we're more concerned about the hassle of replacing our lost driver's license that worried about our lost cash (lost credit cards are worrisome, however!). More and more things in our lives are meant to be used once, or for a short period of time, then thrown away, giving a whole new meaning to the term "disposable income." In addition to such inexpensive items as paper plates and paper towels, we now have disposable contact lenses, disposable razors, and, for all intents and purposes, disposable VCR and DVD players (have you tried getting one fixed lately?). We have so much that we don't understand the value of things, and that attitude often carries over into our valuation of people. We see the homeless as a civic embarrassment, trying to hide them when a big sporting event comes to town (after all, the sporting event generates more revenue). Drug addiction is a criminal problem to be solved by building more jails, at least when the drug is crack, as opposed to prescription painkillers or alcohol. We complain that women on welfare shouldn't be allowed to have more children because of the tremendous strain it puts on the federal budget. When we treat the poor and the outcast in these ways, we act contrary to the teachings of Christ, who said that God values even sparrows--how much more human beings? The church should be the refuge for the poor, the homeless, and the drug addict. If a church is located in an area in which few opportunities arise to minister to such people, they can partner with inner-city churches, many of whom have very limited resources, and offer both financial and personnel assistance. There are many who are lost in the world today, but they are often veiled in garb that is repulsive to many of the people in our churches. What are we doing to reach them?