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From Occupy Boston (October 3, 2011)
Back during the health insurance reform debates, Jane coined the term “veal pen” to describe those groups or individuals who were so interested in having access that they put aside their beliefs and concerns, rather than speak honestly to The Powers That Be. Progressive leaders of these groups get pressured and bought off by TPTB and their members get sold out.
This week, a friend forwarded me a CNN piece that shows the Veal Pen mentality hard at work in a place near and dear to me: the church. What’s particularly troubling is the selectivity of the Veal Pen mentality around matters of economics and greed:
[Bishop Harry Jackson] once described same-sex marriage as a satanic plot to destroy the family, called on Republicans to get “political Viagra” and said African-Americans needed to abandon what he called the Gospel of Victimization.
Jackson is not shy about stirring up controversy, but he stops short when it comes to preaching about greed. . .
“I’ve got to watch it,” said Jackson, pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland. “I could get into some big teaching on greed, but the reality is that a lot of that teaching may wind up creating anti-economic-growth and anti-capitalism concepts (in people’s minds). … I always talk about personal responsibility so we don’t get into the blame game.”
When you see a preacher who has no problem getting into the blame game when it come to marriage equality, but quakes at addressing greed, you’re looking at a Veal Pen Preacher.
John Blake, the reporter who wrote the CNN piece, isn’t terribly helpful. No, strike that: he’s downright misleading when he says “Preaching what Jesus would say about the Great Recession, though, is tricky. The Bible doesn’t record any instance where someone asked Jesus about the morality of a subprime loan or the best way to reduce the deficit.”
Blake seems to have bought what the Heritage Foundation’s visiting scholar Jay Richards is peddling. Richards may have a PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary, but with statements like this, Princeton may want their diploma back:
“Denouncing a presumed gap between rich and poor is, more often than not, a symptom of economic confusion, not prophetic wisdom,” he said. “It can also mask envy, and is usually invoked just before someone calls for the state to coercively confiscate the wealth of some and give to others.”
A “presumed” gap? That right there tells you a lot about Richards. I hear lots of people debating whether the gap is too large or just fine, but I don’t hear anyone saying it doesn’t exist.
Blake and Richards both could do well to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, for there is plenty there to suggest rather clearly what Jesus thinks of the gap between rich and poor, of loading up on possessions while ignoring the poor and needy, and of seeing the needy and passing them by without helping.
For instance, in Luke 14, while Jesus was at dinner with some of TPTB, he showed himself to be a less-than-subtle dinner guest:
12 [Jesus] said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
I’m sure that was just envy talking, right Jay?
Or check out Luke 18, where Jesus had a conversation with a rich ruler, which did not end well for the latter:
18 A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 19Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20You know the commandments: “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.” ’ 21He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’ 22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 23But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’
There goes Jesus with that “economic confusion” again, trying to mask it in prophetic wisdom, right Jay?
While the economy shivers and shakes, while the 99ers run out of unemployment insurance, while schools and other local and state governments slash their staff and their services, while people put off seeking medical care just to keep food on the table, while those with a job fear getting laid off and those without a job despair of finding one, while the Occupy Wall Street movement grows both in NYC and around the country, one story of Jesus keeps coming to mind.
Matthew 18:23 ‘. . . the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; 25and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. 26So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” 27And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow-slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, “Pay what you owe.” 29Then his fellow-slave fell down and pleaded with him, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” 30But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow-slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. 32Then his lord summoned him and said to him, “You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33Should you not have had mercy on your fellow-slave, as I had mercy on you?” 34And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he should pay his entire debt. 35So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.’
10,000 talents is a huge, astronomical sum, equivalent to about 90 billion denarii. So here’s a story from Jesus about a slave who gets a huge bailout from the king to help with his own financial problems, but then this slave turns around and squeezes the much poorer slave who owes him a pittance, refusing to show any of the same kind of mercy he had just received.
Hmmm . . . why do the Too Big To Fail banks come to mind?
That’s just class warfare, right Jay?
Against Veal Pen Preachers who fear the reaction of their congregation and duplicitous conservatives who want to hide their idolization of Teh Market, the rather clear words of Jesus speak volumes.
I understand the reticence of preachers to address greed and the current economic situation in church, but these preachers do no one any favors by ignoring reality — not themselves, not their parishioners, and certainly not the larger society. Greed is NOT good, and the preacher who avoids saying so might as well turn in his or her Bible. After all, it’s not being used, so why carry it around?
It’s not class warfare to say that those with resources need to look out for those who lack them; it’s economic justice. And that’s an ever-flowing stream we all could use right now, whatever our personal religious beliefs may be.
________
photo h/t: Massachusetts Cop Block
33 Comments
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Thanks, Peterr. I think that Jesus was very clear about the rich and the poor. The Beatitudes are not hard to understand.
“When you see a preacher who has no problem getting into the blame game when it come to marriage equality, but quakes at addressing greed, you’re looking at a Veal Pen Preacher.”
Or a Catholic, particularly a suburban Catholic, priest –on Sundays when he’s not speaking about abortion, of course.
It’s always awed me how the sin of greed left the Church precisely when it began building suburban parishes with prep schools disguised as a parochial schools.
The church has always had a back-and-forth relationship with greed. The poverty of Francis of Assisi made many 13th century bishops and popes very nervous.
It’s time that we started talking about capitalism and the free market as pagan religions. The people who worship them are members of a cult.
Peter, the questions about the relationships between politics, government and religion continue to Pull Me Back In.
Sometimes I want to pull away, and yet…here I am.
I was raised as a Methodist, and you know that I have participated as a musician, and lay speaker, but I’m not attending or participating at this time. There are some Methodists who are quite liberal activists, but the judicial board, or whatever they call themselves, are still not on board with acknowledging, lifting up the Gay people. People. What are ya gonna do?
You mean like this?
I always thought it was pretty clear that Jesus was what we would consider a socialist. So I always wonder how the tea party types, like my parents who are strong believers, can reconcile this.
Well, I guess it depends on what they Believe.
True believers? Critically Thinking believers? Post Naivete Believers.
There’s all kinds, you know.
“Denouncing a presumed gap between rich and poor is, more often than not, a symptom of economic confusion, not prophetic wisdom …”
The OWS demonstrators have broad based support without a doubt.
Next we must refine the tools and techniques to match the form of government and economy that is being targeted for repair.
There are many types of government:
(Who Are The Job Creators?). When our government slipped away from us, so did the economy, and so did the tools we are accustomed to using to fix a problem.
An example of a bad tool or tactic is to ask for better voting machines in an Autocracy.
If we are a plutonomy now, we need to know who the plutocrats are, by name and location.
If they rule, but congress and the president do not, the voting different people into or out of those offices will not work as a fix.
Any ideas for proper tools with which to fix a plutonomy, where the plutocrats are deliberately “not hiring”?
Here’s one possible tool – taking your checking accounts and other financial services out of a big commercial bank and putting it into either a small community bank or a local credit union.
There’s also a lot of compartmentalization going on in the Tea Party around money and faith. Faith/Jesus is for Sunday morning, and is all about inner personal stuff like not sleeping with your neighbor’s wife, not breaking into your neighbor’s house, and not killing your neighbor in his sleep. Money is for the rest of the week, and one ought to gather as much of it as one can.
As long as you keep those two things in separate compartments, you never *have* to reconcile them.
Unfortunately most teahadists can’t even spell reconcile let alone grasp the concept, especially when they have been duped into believing that socialism is Soviet Communism.
Heh, heh, PeterR. Although I am mind, body, spirit, I’m still one compartment. I know, I be weird.
Thank you for your posts. They’re always about something that means a lot to me.
Very true. Growing up in a small town, everyone knew everything and I was constantly amazed, even as a teenager, about the folks sitting in church on Sunday all pious and knowing what they were doing the other 6 days. Hypocrites R Us.
So if I carried a poster of JC with “Class Warrior” in big letters plus those quotes as evidence, to a local T party event I might not come home alive, but it would be fun. Maybe I better take it to my local #Occupy…. Or maybe the nearest megachurch
Amen to this article …
It’s a feature of at least the modern day christian church, not a bug.
Everyone gets off scott free to heaven if ya just believe and who’s to say you actually have to pay attention to whatever Jesus may or may not have done more than one time a year or at best an hour a week when a bumper sticker will do?
How about war? Notice how the church has gotten all up in our faces about that? Nah, neither have I.
The church is a pressure valve to pray away the discontent and let your children and other innocents be rendered by Caesar.
Where is the evidence that this is a christian nation as so many like to say?
Where is the evidence that the christian church hasn’t willfully devolved into utter hypocrisy?
I commend you trying to shame them, but it’s gone well past that having any effect. After all there’s just another church around the corner where they think you might be more happy and if not, split away. That’s one thing churches are really good at, splitting and propagating.
There should be protests in front of churches too and no, I am not kidding.
Just like there are a few good churches left so too are there a few good Dems, but that doesn’t make it all better. Corrupt, rotten, ungodly, unless you are more into the wally world sort of low price deity.
Excellent sign :)
Anybody live near “Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland.”? They need some bible schooling over there.
great article as usual, peterr. the headline brought to mind JC and the money changers in the temple — that seems to be pretty explicit about greedy banksters.
karen
About reconciling understanding, how is it that lefty Christians don’t understand that god created people with both conservative and liberal minds, as well as those that are kind of a mess of both. For the brain science on that read Lakoff. Conservatives don’t have to tolerate hippy Jesus, because lucky for them they have a choice.
Maybe god has a seriously dark sense of humor?
When Jesus comes back, so they say, it won’t be as a hippy but just like an American soldier.
So, I wonder, if our narratives are confused? I know mine are, still working through all these things in my head until the day I die, at least I suspect anyway.
When I read this I think “veal pen” deserves much wider usage, but when I think on using the term, I’m distracted from the intended usage more to the imagery of baby cows being penned. Maybe it’s too powerful, idk. ;)
Well we know these kind of people pick and choose which parts of the Bible apply to them and which parts only apply to others. Take Leviticus for example: How many denunciations of gays have taken place around a mouthful of pork on the Sabbath? Do they think they’re going to roast in Hell for eating crab legs and oysters? Nope but they insist that millions of others automatically are for committing the crime of being born different. You know what it was that Jesus actually never said anything about? Homosexuality. One of the reasons I’m atheist now is that kind of hypocrisy that absolutely saturates theistic belief systems.
Those fighting for the Spanish Republic, 1936-39, had the right solution.
Watch the film, “Libertarias”.
But Peterr. You live in a country where the dominant form of Christianity is Calvinism. Why would it surprise you when folks preach that God loves the rich, there is really nothing wrong with usury, and that the poor are probably evil because it is a sin to be poor? These people have always believed that if you are uptight about sex, you were moral—no matter what you do with the rest of your life. Lots of Puritans were involved with the slave trade, after all.
The role of John Calvin was discussed recently over at the real economics blog. You may find it interesting. It argues that Calvinism was not only the dominant form of USA Protestantism, but clearly defined the right wing of the Reformation.
Possibly one reason many christians go berserk about the gay is that JC’s lifestyle raises the question, no wife, no children, no girlfriends, hung out with only guys. Not surprizing his biographers and followers would fail to mention the gay even if he had commented himself. Dunno how much phobia there was at large back in that day.
Christ the Forecloser?
Well, don’t blame Jesus for his followers. He wouldn’t have had to bother to show up in the first place if they weren’t sinners. He didn’t speak of gays but he did throw the money changers out of the temple. We’ve just seen the corruption of all institutions in the last 30 years or so. It’s not surprising we’ve seen so little integrity in organized religion.
Where are the leaders? They don’t seem to be anywhere.
Really, forest? Christianity without the Christ? What kind of religion is that? What happened to “there is no way to the Father but through me?”
But hey, I’m an atheist. All of religion seems weird to me, but a conservative explicitly repudiating Jesus’s teachings because they don’t like them seems considerably over the line. JMO.
Seriously, lose the “Can you say”. That might have been clever 40 years ago.
In Calvin’s Geneva an eleven year old boy was executed for disobeying his parents. Real heavy duty Dick Cheney types, Calvinists.
The whole following of that trouble maker Yeshua ben Youssef (aka Jesus of Nazareth) is oddly defined by refusing to follow his simplest orders.
On the matter of prayer, for example, he could not have been clearer: Get into your bathroom, outhouse, broom cupboard, or any where else you can be sure of not being observed, and say as follows: Our father, which art in heaven… and so forth.
How do we identify Christians? They are the folk who every Sunday get into their best clothes and around eleven AM get to a very public assembly building to meet.
Above all, said Yeshua, do not do like the Pharisees, who love praying in public, even on street corners; they have their reward (already), i.e., there is no future benefit to come.
What can one say? Hope you know what you are doing, because I can not see it. Makes one very sympathetic to the secularists, however, aka atheists, even without a nudge from Buddhism, which has no god and no prayer.
I can appreciate your being taken aback.
Did you see that gawdawful film, Talladega Nights? I really wanted to like it, but if ya see the preview then you’ve seen practically the whole film without a single funny scene deleted.
Even if you haven’t, this clip is pretty funny and relevant to my point. :)
The Christ that comes back in revelations is supposed to be the asskickin’ take no prisoners type.
There’s a different Jesus for everyone. Basically all the hippy stuff was fine in 1AD but times change, am I right? Even Jesus had to grow up and that is what revelations is about.
Thank you, Peter. Reporter John Blake is decidedly misleading in a trite MSM-ish way. His comment about Jesus and subprime mortgages trivializes an important issue that lies at the heart of today’s chronic American economic woes. It obscures what ought to be obvious, that a Mediterranean peasant village Jew, revered by his followers as God and who preached the golden rule, would find the current American version of “economic justice” (a concept elites work to avoid at all cost) to be an invidious and dangerous contradiction in terms.