Why is that such a bad thing?

So, another burr in my saddle lately has been this amazing tactic by the Republican party at the end of the campaign to label Obama a socialist. You remember, Joe the Plumber, spread the wealth, all that jazz? What was so bothersome to me about it was that this was said with the venom of labeling someone a godless pagan child sacrificer. The Republicans wanted to claim their place as the mouthpiece of God- as the standard bearers of the Christian Gospel- the protectors of all that is right and good and holy and that can't include Socialism. The reason it can't include Socialism is a two-fold error in my opinion.
First, all socialism is immediately and forever associated with godless socialism, or communism- most especially socialism as it was/is found in the USSR, China and despite the presence of some amazing and beautiful cathedrals, France. These countries had experiments with socialism that turned into communism and either forbid religion or make it out to be a social ill. Marx did say religion was the opiate of the masses, but the totalitarian governments of Mao and Stalin were the ones who made it criminal. I am horrified at the way these countries have treated people because of their faith. (And yet, most Christians in America must not have too much trouble with how their brethren in China are treated as long as we can continue to get cheap Chinese goods for a low price at Wal-mart et al. ) In some ways it has been a way to define ourselves against those countries- The US is democratic, Christian and believes in individual property. The others are socialist/communist with dictators and politburos and everything is owned communally. So, since our historical and world knowledge tends to be limited, we equate all socialist activities with the godless communist type. A definite misunderstanding of the basic definition of socialism.
Secondly, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of Christianity. Yep. you read that right. The party of the religious right is wrong in this regard. Now, its only wrong if you take a fairly literal reading of the scriptures. Literal. Not ambiguous. Take the scriptures at face value. Like this one:
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 2:32 (followed by the object lesson of Ananias and Sapphira who were struck dead because they failed to fully participate in communal living).
or how about this one:
"the land must not be sold permanently because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants" Leviticus 25:23 in God's instructions to the Israelites about their promised land.
How about from Mark 10:
"One thing you lack' he said 'Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Jesus' instructions to the rich man, who couldn't do it.
or "therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" Galatians 6:10
and lastly
"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." 1 Tim 6:17-18

Over and over again, I read the scriptures and find the instruction to be about letting go of belongings, money and stuff and instead to take care of others, to focus on God, to worship by having a lifestyle of sacrifice and sharing- not accumulating as much stuff as possible and guarding it by not having it taxed or 'spread' around to those who need it more than me. I find that God constantly reminds us that it's not our stuff in the first place, it's his- and we are given blessings so that we can then be his agents of blessing for others. It's my interpretation of course, but I can't help but think that those who claim to be both righteous Christians and completely anti-socialist haven't been reading their scriptures the same way I have. I'm not ready to change my party affiliation to socialist, nor do I think the US needs to become a socialist country. But like my previous post on inconsistency- don't say you're representing God's worldview and then speak something that is fairly antithetical to scripture- since when is protectionist greed the way of God? I am thankful we live in a country that allows me the right to say this- and someone else the right to completely disagree. But in the end, I think that to advocate 'spreading the wealth' from those who have too much to those in need- well to me that sounds like a really Christian thing to say, socialist or not.

Advent Conspiracy

Spend less. Give more. I'm going to try hard to do this very thing.

Rhetorically speaking....

I had this strange memory pop up today. When I was a youth minister in Winston Salem, our rector of 31 years retired. He was a great pastor, a pretty hard line traditionalist and ran a tight staff that he demanded a reasonable amount from. He managed vestries and building projects and diocesan policies pretty well considering. But he was a bad preacher. Not horrible, certainly not heretical or anything- just sort of short and folksy tidbits about the gospel and life. After an 18 month interim, we installed a new rector- a young fellow, bold, bright, and a fabulous preacher and writer- he had a real gift for wordcraft. But he was a horrible pastor and a mediocre administrator. He spent a good deal of money on what most considered frivolous items, and didn't respond to people's honest concerns- somewhat aloof and elite. He lasted 18 months and then we were again in the search process.
This has always been a great illustration to me of how people, and especially institutions respond to what is wrong by replacing it with the opposite. It made me quite depressed to think that maybe this election was simply about replacing a folksy, poorly spoken 'decider' with a well spoken but out of touch elitist. But then I revisited one of the earliest speeches that Obama made- and regardless of what happens, I am convinced that this will go down as one of the top speeches in history- and I was reminded that what has been missing for so long is someone to lead- not administrate- someone to lay out a vision and capture our imaginations and get us working together and to remember all that is good and possible in the US- not to hunker us down in a fear bunker and limits our hope to simply surviving the current crisis. There is power in words, and if I have to endure political rhetoric, at least this is the type I'd rather listen to.