In his broadsheet posted for all to read, Lee Camp pins to the board penetrating criticisms of what the politicization of the church – into partisanship – has done to the church and its witness. All this in his manifesto, Scandalous Witness.
Four, yea five, observations today.
First, we must eschew speaking of Christian values as a form of congenial public discourse and avoid decorating our politics with congenial Bible verses.
The Bible is itself a potential weapon of mass destruction, prone to use, abuse, and misuse. The idolatrous and blasphemous use of the Bible in contemporary politics is immensely destructive to Christianity. Hiding behind “the Bible says it:’ those who employ simplistic citations from the Bible in public discourse are often wrong and disingenuous. The notion of Christian values often works in a sinilar fashion: a loss of the overarching Christian narrative leads to a corruption of Christian witness.
Second, empires fall. We need to resurrect images like Babylon. Not of the opposing party and its leaders, which progressives are doing minute by minute in the media and which the Republicans did every day of President Obama’s presidency, but we must learn to see a Babylon with moral depth and discernment.
Historical observation makes plain that all empires fall. Moreover, throughout the biblical text there runs an anti-imperialist strand, pushing against the hubris and conceit of pharaoh, Babylon, Herod, and Rome. All their conceit finally fails them, and the systems of power of which they are both agents and pawns also fall, because no lord or authority or imperial might will stand against the triumph of the reign of God, in which all authority is handed over to the God and Creator of all things.
And to make such an observation is not a mere instance of Schadenfreude, an adolescent celebration at the misfortune of others. To take seriously the manner in which empires fall allows would-be Christians to configure the correct target for their labors: that the brilliance of our young need not be sacrificed to the strife of partisanship or to the military-industrial-congressional complex or to the dominance of global capitalism. To make such historical observations provides a more fruitful, nimble, and constructive ground from which to contribute to the good of the world.
Third, our hostilities toward one another deserves to be seen for what it is.
If this is true, then the hostile and belligerent partisanship among American Christians might be compared to a fistfight over table manners on the sinking Titanic.
Fourth, realism needs a downgrade to the Christian vision.
Political realism insists that we must take things as they are and not as we may wish them to be and then work with those “facts on the ground.” Such realism typically insists that competing interests of power must be balanced with other competing interests of power. In the history of Christian ethics, some Christian form of political realism has often insisted, therefore, that the nonviolence of Jesus is unrealistic if we are to make a difference or be relevant in the world.
We must both accept and reject the claims of the political realists. In fact, the Bible does exhibit a remarkable political realism and asserts that the powers that be have a significant sociopolitical role. And yet the New Testament simultaneously asserts that the church is called to a higher standard in its politic, namely, the way of Christ.
But this dualism does not mean that the church has nothing say or that the church has nothing to contribute to the powers that be
And fifth, our faith is political to the core.
We will no longer say “Christianity is not political.” When we say “Christianity is not political” we are only demonstrating that we are disciples of modern liberalism instead of disciples of Jesus. It is liberalism that has construed the world this way: (a) religion is a privately held set of beliefs pertaining to God or the afterlife or some such, and religion must be protected as an individual right so long as religion stays out of the realm of the public. (b) Christianity is a religion. Therefore, Christianity is a private matter and is not, must not be, political.
But if religion is defined as liberalism would have it, then Christianity cannot possibly be a religion. The primary task of the Christian community is not to be a so-called religious gathering concerned with souls floating off into the afterlife, nor is it to be a sort of spiritualized yoga class helping individuals find existential peace with themselves. The primary task of the church is to embody and bear witness to the end of history, an all-compassing reality that has already broken into the world. The primary task of the church is to be an alternative politic. Jesus was clearly a political figure, calling his followers to a particular politic. His politic was a public claim and a public matter.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
