The mother of all errors
“… for in the heavenly mysteries, opinion humanly conceived, even if it does not always give birth to a great heap of errors, is nevertheless the mother of error.” (Calvin, “Institutes,” 1.5.13) All theology is human construction. God doesn’t drop this stuff out of the sky. How do we make sense of what we believe? I’ve been pondering the word “charam” of late. An O.T. term, it can be translated: “to ban, devote, exterminate, annihilate, destroy utterly.” After marching around the walls seven times and creating a tremendous racket by blowing horns and yelling, the Book says: “And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted (charam) to the LORD for destruction” (Jos 6:17a ESV). I believe this Book, but how am I to understand this story? Theology to the rescue! Theologians help us to understand the reasons for war, genocide, slavery, and much else that troubles humanity. Oppression related to ethnicity, gender, social strata, politics, beliefs, behavior, ancestry can all be explained by creative theology. Most of us don’t have time for this. We just want a little bit of happiness and don’t really mean anyone harm. We don’t have the energy to figure this out so we uncritically accept what the authorities tell us, whether we get it at home, church, synagogue, mosque, university, or nowadays more often the tv. Why bother thinking when someone else has already thought for you? Does God call us to exterminate? That seems extreme to our Western sensibilities, but we blandly accept, even require, just war. It’s just war and there’s money to be made! Only make sure it doesn’t happen on our soil. At the end of the day, we all suffer from human opinion. The human mind might be the most violent and destructive weapon there is. Those who choose the way of the sword become slaves to it. This is simple theology, human opinion trying to make sense out of the Book. Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (Mat 26:52 ESV) What are the options? I propose trading charam for a cup. John finishes his retelling of the ear cutting incident not with a philosophical reason but a practice to be lived into. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11 ESV)
Walls are in again
“Military intervention to maintain the global status quo will become a constant feature of international relations, whether this is justified in terms of fighting drugs, fighting terrorism, containing “rogue states,” opposing “Islamic fundamentalism,” or containing China”– . Walden Bello. I recently watched “Encounter Point,” a movie about a novel solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and seeing the Wall brought back memories. I was in Berlin in 1990 as that Wall was being dismantled. The human scars of the previous 30 years ran deep. I wan in South Africa several years later just after Apartheid finally ran out of steam. An enduring memory is the little Walls that suburbanites constructed around their houses for protection. Here in the U.S. some people, typically from the wealthier stratum, erect beautiful stone Walls around their mansions to keep prying eyes away. What stands out in my memory is that the ones in South Africa all were decorated with broken glass embedded in the mortar along the Wall tops. A quote from Encounter Point: “We are a military with a state, not a state with a military.” Indeed, the military knows how to build really good Walls. When people are unable to talk and resort to violence, it seems reasonable to put up a Wall for protection. Unfortunately, what really gets protected is the opportunity and breeding grounds for further violence. Germany came to its senses and tore their monster down. The U.S. seems to have missed the lesson. House Resolution 6061 (H.R. 6061), “Secure Fence Act of 2006“, was introduced on Sep 13, 2006, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on September 14, 2006, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2006. Partial funding for a 700 mile Wall separating the U.S. and Mexico became available at that time. Some would like to extend the Wall the full 2000 miles and then do another 4000 miler to keep the Canadians out too. Just Vision, the organization responsible for Encounter Point, is of the mind that Walls are not the answer. I wholeheartedly agree. See the movie. You might find it in your local library. Or buy the dvd. Invite some Muslim, Jewish, and Christian friends over to watch it together.
