THEOCRACY
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In writing these back pages
I start with hardly a clue about my direction.
A word comes to mind and I create a title and begin writing...
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Although I hadn't realized it, the word
“theocracy” has been implanted in my brain numerous times during the summer.
As I read my reviews of all those books read out on my sailboat, the theme
keeps appearing. I’ll list some of the books. The only one with “Theocracy”
in the title was Kevin Phillips “American Theocracy – The Perils
and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century.”
Theocracy is defined as “a state, polity, or group of people that claims a
deity as its ruler.” (Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Desk Dictionary)
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“God bless America.” “In God we trust.”
“One nation under God.” “A Christian nation.”
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I subscribe to “Christian Century” as
a source of information about what's going on in religious thought. That
magazine started early in the 20th century in a time when Christians believed
they could spread Christianity throughout the world. Missionaries abounded.
Imagine a world full of Christians. A world theocracy. It was a bit of an
over-reach. Other people seemed quite satisfied with their own religions.
It turned out that the “Christian Century” was one of new awareness of religious
diversity in the world, with major inroads by Buddhists, Muslims and others
in America.
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Well, onward in my reading reports.
Madeline Albright’s “The Mighty and the Almighty”
proposes that our nation cannot understand other nations without considering
religious beliefs. The post-9/11 rhetoric tended to put Christian against
Muslim. Language of the crusades was revived. Americans found that there
were Muslims that took religion seriously. Some very seriously. They would
fight rather than allow American “Christian” values to infiltrate their
own. We didn't understand that what the Arab world didn't like about America
was not our freedom but our values. We were (and are) naïve about the
religions of others and sometimes overly confident that we are a “Christian”
nation.
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I buy few books, but after attending
a lecture in Corvallis last spring I bought David James Duncan’s
”God Laughs and Plays ─ Churchless Sermons in Response to the Preachments
of the Christian Right.” The book will probably offend fundamentalist
Christians and those on the right that are satisfied with the theocratic
aspects of the current administration. It will be a bit of inspiration, however,
to those who share Duncan’s belief that fundamentalism in any form, in any
religion, in any nation is dangerous. Religious certainty blinds people to
a religion of love.
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The subject rises once again in Tim
Flannery’s “The Eternal Frontier ─ An ecological history of North
America and its People.” He limits his survey to the last 65 million years
in 365 pages. Even so he finds space to note a time on the North American
continent when theocracy was actually attempted by the Puritan founders. Some
were religious fanatics whose practices have been duplicated both previously
and since. “Talibansim” was practiced in an attempt to rule by religious mandate.
The Salem witch trials really happened. “You could be strung up for idolatry,
blasphemy, adultery, perjury, cursing a parent, third offenses of burglary
and highway robbery, or for being a rebellious son (p. 274) Is this
the Christianity of our founders that the religious right wishes to restore?
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Just before returning to Oregon I attended
the annual Turner Lectureship in Yakima. The lecturer was renowned University
of Washington professor and administrator, Hubert Locke. (He has
also been on the Board of Directors at seminaries in Claremont and Berkeley,
including a stint as interim President at Pacific School of Religion). His
series of lectures were title “America and the Theocratic Vision ─ Why
America is not a Christian nation and pray God never will be.” He carefully
traced America's early experiment as a Christian theocracy, showing how it
just didn't work and how the creators of the constitution intentionally separated
church and state.
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This sent me back to a book I've trusted
for years, Vernon Parrington’s “Main Currents in American Thought.”
It's a resource worth owning if you research American history, literature
and biographies. Again, “theocracy,” with reports of its roots and idealism.
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Well, that's more “theocracy” than I
want to know. Maybe you too. It's pretty scary when all surveys indicate
that Americans think our nation to be godly, religious and essentially Christian.
It is scary to see people in some parts of our country wishing to impose
their personal interpretation of Christian values on the rest of us. There
are increased efforts to further embed religion within the political system.
The earliest battles against Puritan theocracy are being re-fought. As we
can see most clearly, theocratic governments in the Middle East are dangerous
to all of us. When our own nation moves in the direction of theocracy we
are in the same camp.
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So, how much “god” can a government
tolerate? And how certain can we be that God blesses America, ahead of all
nations, as so many Americans seem to believe? And how hard are we willing
to fight for freedom from religion as for freedom of religion? And finally,
if we were a “Christian” nation, which kind of Christians would you want
in charge?
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I guess I'm at the
bottom of the page. It's good to be back in touch.
─ Art Morgan, October 20, 2006
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