I’ve been wondering lately, where are the prophets?Are there any real prophets cut from the same cloth of an Elijah who confounded the evil King Ahab or a John the Baptist who called out the sins of Herod?Are there any among the fundamentally conservative or the progressively liberal wings of Christianity who are willing to break political ranks and speak truth to power?
Solutions to complex issues like war, poverty, healthcare and environmental deterioration will require greater vision than what is currently possessed by those in power and those seeking to replace them.Our nation stands in great need of the truly prophetic.
The populace of American Christianity is generally polarized along the same fault lines as the two political parties who seek to gain the blessing and endorsement of the faithful.Tepid partisan clergy ranging from conservative to liberal on the theological spectrum has generally displaced the prophetic mantle in the public forums of our time.
Much of the upper tier conservative clerics still offer their carte blanche blessings to a political party and president whose values and policies have grossly distorted the Christian image to the rest of the world.The progressive wing of Christianity offers a similar endorsement of the entire platform of the other party.Where is the prophet like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who fearlessly advocated against war and for social justice in the face of both Republican and Democratic leaders and the Church?
I have a question for those recognized as prophets by the theological left and right.Are there points on the platform of your chosen political party that falls short of mercy and justice?If so, then please show some genuine prophetic authenticity and offer divine public correction to these issues.You could help change the errant course we travel as a nation.Our national leaders on the left and right apparently possess no map and have lost their compass.They desperately need prophetic help in the realms of vision and accountability.They do not need your blanket endorsements.
Many conservative and liberal clerics alike have become nothing more than pathetic lap dogs for the two political parties and the special interests they represent.Citizens entering voting booths must make their choices based on their individual conscience, but how can true prophets publicly endorse a single political party when both are corrupt?
Shouldn’t the prophetic office serve as a watchdog of the Church and the State?Prophets point out injustice and speak uncomfortable truth to those in authority regardless of their political party or church affiliation.Their function in society is not bound solely by the parameters of religion.Their authority to rebuke and bring correction historically extends into every social dimension where justice is lacking and mercy is needed.
Where is there a clear prophetic voice rising from the American societal landscape today?Where is the group or individual who dares to expose the injustice committed in our name by our government regardless of who is in power?Why do the preachers of the left and right only rebuke those leaders of the opposite party and never their own?Where is the prophet who is bold enough to confront the harlotry of the Church as she runs recklessly into the seductive arms of corrupt and conscienceless political suitors?
It is a terrible and costly compromise when preachers and prophets offer their endorsement of any party or candidate who is not willing to work legislatively for mercy and justice on every front.It is an even greater compromise when they dare not speak needed confrontational truth to those whom they have endorsed.The fear of losing their privileged place at the trough with the other lobbyists tragically enforces their silence.
Much study and editorializing has been done regarding the influence of fundamental Christianity in the outcome of the 2002 and 2004 elections.Although conservative Christian voters seemed pivotal in the elections, their actual impact in public policy was minimal. Four years of total Republican control of the White House and Congress delivered little that represents the values and concerns of the conservative Christians who endorsed them.Two Supreme Court appointments are the only real solace for the believers who supported this president and his subservient Congress.
Much work is being done among progressive Christians to counter that electoral influence.The 2006 elections show the pendulum of political control is swinging away from Republicans and continues to favor the Democrats in 2008.Will moderate and more liberal Church leaders be willing to speak truth to power when they are the ones being allowed through the turnstiles of the White House and the Congress?
The current influence of the polarized Church is apparently no greater than any other minor special interest group finding identity and nominal representation in the political parties of today.It will always be so as long as the church world allows itself to be exploited and fragmented by the strategists of the two political parties.
A united Church could actually become a powerful purveyor of good in the realm of public policy. This could happen if the conservative and the progressive wings decided to coalesce around a broader spectrum of justice related issues.They could collectively influence both parties to design public policy more reflective of judicious mercy.Is such a thing possible?
God help us.Where are the prophets?
Gary Vance is an evangelical pastor/writer living in rural Tennessee. He is the author of "Wasn't Jesus a Liberal?" and other published essays.
Yet all is not lost. There is hope...in the 9-11 truth movement.
Have you read 9-11 and American Empire, edited by DR. Kevin Barrett? There are many prophetic voices in this collection of essays. From Dr. David Ray Griffin of the Christian faith to Rabbi Michael Lerner in the Jewish faith, to Dr. Barrett himself representing the Muslim faith.
I have gotten kicked out of more churches than most have stepped into, because of this issue, but these brave men and others like them recognize that the "truth will set us free."
Indeed it is the only thing that ever has...
by
sherry clark (21 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 62 comments)
on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 2:25:20 PM
There are many among us who speak prophetically as Jeremiah or Isaiah.
But, of course, no one listened to them, either.
The meaning of the words has been lost. I can't remember the exact quote from Yeats, "the worst are full of passionate intensity.." while the best are humbly soft-spoken, or something like that.
Christians who believe in literality haven't read or thought about it. Gospel means accepted, not derived, truth. Thinking is actually rejected. Admonishments to "get thee wisdom" or to "seek understanding" are lost on these lost sheep of Jesus. The minority of every religion sqeaks loudest, and gets the grease. Self-proclaimed arbiters of holiness reject the humble, compassionate of every religious group. The meaning of "Religion" itself has been lost. It means: gathering together. Those who speak as modern Jeremiahs stand alone. Scorned, ignored, often poor but foresighted, they have no crystal cathedrals, silk suits, or limos. They know the futility of asking for money. Money is not what these modern-day Isaiahs seek. Neither did Jesus or Buddha or Lao-Tse and so on. And everybody who sees money as their road to security dismisses those who lack it. So, yes, the foresight of humanity is intact. But no one ever listens until it's too late and their money won't save them. The same ethics that the prophets endorsed still hold, and our laws enshrine those qualities that ensure the most vulnerable among us are protected to bear children, to grow into tomorrow's mothers. But laws are ignored, just like prophets.
US Code, War Crimes Act
US Code, Title 18: the Geneva Conventions, common article 147
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US Code, Title 18, Part 1, chapter 118, paragraph 2441
p. 2441. WAR CRIMES
(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.
(b) Circumstances.— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act).
(c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—
(1)defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;
Geneva Convention section 4 Common Article 147.
Grave breaches to which the preceding Article relates shall be those involving any of the following acts, if committed against persons or property protected by the present Convention: wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments, wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power, or wilfully depriving a protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed in the present Convention, taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.
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Our government... teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.
Justice Louis D. Brandeis
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So, there are many secular and spiritual prophets among the people,
It is true that many Christians are speaking up and out. To be heard, however, is unbelievably difficult -- if it were not for the Internet and sites such as OpEdNews and other equally effective sites, all would be lost. One of the great difficulties is that when one mentions religion, the rabid dog responses start to come in about how awful religion is, was, etc., etc. But is the lack of it any better?
There are many middle of the road or progressive Christians who view the radical fundamentalist so-called Christian right as a pernicious perversion and pollution of the teachings of Jesus. Imagine having the main-stream media print that!!
I would be more than happy to have a platform to expound my prophetic voice -- any ideas as to how I might accomplish that at nearly 80 years of age?
by
Shirley Bianchi (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 75 comments)
on Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 6:43:50 PM
WAWA Blog September 2, 2007: Prophets on Apartheid: Part 1
WAWA Blog September 1, 2007: My favorite secular Jewish prophet wrote...
WAWA Blog August 30, 2007: Sentinels, Hurricane Kat and Iraq
A few other prophets I have written about are Rev. Naim Ateek, Anglican in Jerusalem and a 1948 refugee who founded SABEEL; meaning THE WAY, liberation theology movement that promotes nonviolence against the 40 yr. occupation of Palestine.
And the 21st century Jeremiah; Mordecahi Vanunu
Vanunu’s historic freedom of speech trial began on January 25, 2006, masterfully obfuscated by the Palestinian elections on the same day, and only three reporters attended. The testimonies against him were the interviews he gave in 2004, but the media has been missing in action.
The ancient prophets were always ignored in their lifetime, and I once wrote an Op-ed that stated that Vanunu was also a prophet. When he read the piece, he emailed me and in bold letters wrote: “DON’T CALL ME THAT!”
I won’t to his face, but in the spirit of freedom of speech, I cannot help myself. Prophets do NOT predict the future-as much as they point out impending doom. Vanunu pointed the way to the weapons of mass destruction program underground in the Negev desert, and they have yet to receive an International Inspection.
The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah also spent much of his life under house arrest in Jerusalem, for being a truth teller. We know more about the personal life and struggles of Jeremiah than any other Hebrew prophet. Jeremiah, which translates as “The Lord throws”-as in hurling, had few friends and is considered primarily a prophet of doom.
Jeremiah was intensely introspective, self-critical and timid by nature but honest and open about his feelings towards God. Jeremiah never married and began prophesying in Judah from 604-586, a time of “storm and stress when the doom of entire nations-including Judah itself-was being sealed... [For Judah was only a] pawn in the power plays of imperial giants… [Jeremiah was] once the king’s friend and confident, but the prophet soon entered a dreary round of persecution and imprisonment, alternating with only brief periods of freedom, and lived under virtual house arrest.
Jeremiah was also labeled a traitor by many for speaking truth to power, “I cannot keep silent…Disaster follows disaster; the land lies in ruins…My people are fools; they do not know me.”-Jeremiah 4:19, 20
WAWA:
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Eileen Fleming (127 articles, 36 quicklinks, 249 diaries, 553 comments)
on Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 8:10:19 AM
I think there have been prophetic voices in progressive causes. I have been so disappointed by the Democrats for so long that I registered Green. Do they require a prophetic witness? Around the issue of abortion most definitely, but other than that I don't really have any complaints. So I will raise my voice for the idealism that prophets seek, regardless of what expedient party politics dictates. There is no need to always vote for the lesser of two evils and to continue divisive polarity within the nation. Prophets can and should call for the ideal that has yet to emerge. In that respect, yes prophets seem to be sorely lacking.
Still, not every liberal clergy is lock-step with the Democrats. Perhaps we really need some faith that the liberal/progressive agenda may once again find support. In the mean time I will welcome any voice that calls for care for the least among us and an end to our warring madness. And yes, those voices are out there and some of us are listening.
by
Ian Lynch (13 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 8 comments)
on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at 11:05:57 PM
