Biblical basis for liberal politics.This is quite good. Empire vs Jubilee.

[MissMarple]

I put this here because of its direct link with politics. The folks in the religion forum probably know about this already.

Richard Lang asks what might calling the people to a higher purpose working against corruption and injustice look like today. I heard him yesterday on a liberal talk radio program. I don't know who the host was, but he had a very southern accent.

"After seven years the predicted famine came upon the land with a vengeance. Hunger ruled the nations. But in Egypt there was plenty. Nevertheless, Joseph, perhaps seduced by the privileges of Pharaoh’s wealth, power, and philosophy, did not open the grain
silos to share with the people. Instead he forced the people to sell their livestock to Pharaoh in exchange for bread. Then he forced them to sell Pharaoh their land, and finally their bodies until all were enslaved to Pharaoh. All, that is, except the priests, who continued to bless the power of Pharaoh.

The story is a snapshot of Empire, which plunders the commonwealth of the people while protecting the wealth of the elite, with religion going along for the ride. It is a story of hope betrayed.

Jubilee and resistance
But the ancient wisdom also tells a story of hope regained. Alongside the story of Empire, which rises up repeatedly in history, there is also a story of resistance to Empire. The story of resistance emerges from the vision of economic justice known as the Jubilee. The Jubilee is central to the Torah, the Prophets, and the ministry of both Jesus and Paul.

The Jubilee was a blueprint for a just economy. It put a floor under misfortune and misery, preventing generational poverty, even as it put a ceiling on wealth, preventing the emergence of an aristocratic dynasty. It did this through elevating ownership of land, which in those days was wealth, into the hands of God the Creator. Because God owned the land (the wealth), we human beings had no right to seize it for ourselves. It was to be shared for the benefit of all."

....much more. http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1325

[thereismore]

1. Thanks, nt

[xchrom]

2. kick

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Yeah, I heard Rev. Richard Lange on "Ring of Fire" a little while ago.

Well-articulated thesis and well-spoken gentleman.

More people need to read this and consider his ideas, religious or areligious. All one needs is a sense of fairness and a wish for humanity to prosper without victimizing segments thereof.

[AspenRose]

4. That would explain the "southern accent" of the host

Mike Papantonio :loveya:

Running to hear it on my iPod now!

[MissMarple]

5. That's it! I've never listened to the program before.

There isn't much "liberal" radio here, so we have to listen to Boulder's am760 and it fades at night. We were driving back from Denver yesterday in the quite late afternoon and were loosing the signal at times. It must have been from an earlier broadcast. And I'm having problems with the Sirius radio, other stations seem to intrude on the signal. :eyes:

[FreedomAngel82]

14. Also while you're at it

check out "God's Politics" from Jim Wallis and SoJourners (sojo.net). They're another progressive Christian group and also Christian Alliance at http://www.christianalliance.org

[Stevepol]

6. Here's a liberal and Biblical manifesto for you -- Isa 32:1-8 (KJV)

The Old Testament, especially the prophets, is full of passages showing concern for those left out by society, the have-nots, the poor, the orphans, the stranger, etc. Righteousness is nearly always tied to "right thinking" in society, that is, providing for the poor, the needy, etc. In this passage, which is also probably considered one of the prophecies of Christ's coming reign, a time when "hypocrisy" especially regarding the poor will be seen for what it is and "liberal things" will preserve and protect the poor. My comments are in parentheses.

(1) "Behold a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. (This is probably seen by theologians as a reference to Christ's coming reign. I'm not a theologian and haven't looked it up.)
(2) And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
(3) And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken.
(4) The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
(5) The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. (Sounds like Bush's double-speak to me, where up is down, peace is war, etc.)
(6) For the vile person will speak villany and his heart will work iniquity, to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. (Who does this sound like? The hypocrisy is tied to economic need and those who practice it are those that ignore that need.)
(7) The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. (This is pretty clear it seems to me and it's contrasted in the next verse with those who DON'T destroy the poor and the needy with their lying words.)
(8) BUT THE LIBERAL DEVISETH LIBERAL THINGS, AND BY LIBERAL THINGS SHALL HE STAND."

I rest my case.

[1932]

7. If you're interested in this, check out the Jim Wallis podcast w/ Edwards

family at http://blog.oneamericacommittee.com/article.pl?sid=05/12/23/1519244§ion=bookclub&mode=nested&tid=1&threshold=0

[Maestro]

8. Nice read of hope

I was raised in a Trinity United Methodist Church. Cool.

[Fiendish Thingy]

9. KnR n/t

[rockymountaindem]

10. "Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart."

Deuteronomy, Chapter 15, Verses 7-11:

"7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."

[MissMarple]

11. Thanks! Rev. Lang deserves no less. Here's a little gem about Tennessee.

It's from down page in the article. I had no idea something like the Highlander Folk School existed...still seems to.

"In the 1930s Myles Horton and others created the Highlander Folk School to train people of faith to organize labor in the coal mines and textile factories of the south. In the 1950s, they switched their priority to civil rights, training amongst others Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Clarence Jordan (who trained Millard Fuller of Habitat for Humanity), the Freedom Riders, and so on. Highlander, a little jewel in the Appalachian region of Tennessee, was a seed-factory that nurtured and sustained the civil rights movement, and it’s still around today working on local issues. Imagine our faith communities as little Highlanders."

[grasswire]

12. another kick....great stuff

Thanks for posting. This piece has now been sent to mailing lists of ministers.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. Whenever anyone tries to slam me for being liberal

I tell them I'm a liberal for my beliefs as a Christian. Helping the poor, elderly, enivornment, having peaceful solutions instead of the Old Testament way. My faith in God and Michael Moore helped me to become a liberal even though I know now I've always been a liberal even when I was younger and wanted to be in the republican party.