Nice-Jewish-boy thoughts on the battle for the soul of American Christianity
Published
by
JVL
JVL Introduction
Some thoughtful reflections article on the contradictory role of religion in political movements, from Rootless Cosmopolitan columnist Tony Karon.
He writes that : “Just as racist oppression in America has always claimed divine sanction, so has resistance to that oppression also carried a strong and visible sense of bearing Christian witness…
“It’s a complex and challenging terrain, as we know, but a vital one to which we should all be paying far more attention.”
This article was originally published by Rootless Cosmopolitan on Thu 21 Jan 2021. Read the original here.
Nice-Jewish-boy thoughts on the battle for the soul of American Christianity
South Africa’s apartheid regime championed “Christian Nationalism”, like today’s US right. But a Christian liberation theology helped bring down apartheid. Could it help democratize America, too?
Loading article text…
Sadly, we’ve seen, exactly, the same situation, much, closer to home, culminating in, what are euphemistically called, ‘The Troubles’, to soften the narrative. Started with ‘Fire and Brimstone’ sermons in rain and windswept car parks, on Saturday afternoons and ended…well, we all know how it ended.
It’s no coincidence, there are close ties between US Evangelicals, and DUP affiliated spokesmen and women. In turn, those same US Evangelicals have close ties to Israeli reactionaries.
It’s difficult to tell which organisation holds sway, in this alliance.
Tony Karon has made an interesting journey, moving from Marxist certainties to embrace the social teaching of Christ, based on his experience in South Africa and his awareness of developments in North and South America. He might have mentioned the UK where such teaching has inspired so many important developments from the Peasant’s revolt of 1381, through the Levellers and the Quakers who came out of the 1640s Civil War, the campaign against the slave trade (starting with the Quakers) and both the Liberal and Labour traditions. Regrettably people who call themselves Christians have misused the religion for strange and reactionary things for which Christ never advocated.
Does anyone else mention the Christian-Marxist Dialogue of the 1960s – I think the Marxists tended to be ageing Jewish Communists. It eventually faded away – perhaps it was before its time!