Reading notes

Mark, you are so on the money here:

As Barack Obama reminded us, “In the Blue States we worship an awesome God.” But sometimes it’s hard to figure out what sort of deity or demon the political leaders of the Red States bow down to.

That’s for damn sure.

Take, for example Jeb Bush’s comment about Hurricane Charley.

“This is God’s way of telling us that he’s almighty and we’re mortal.”

To which I can only say, “Huh?”

Theological language is always a little bit tricky, which is what gives the via negativa its attraction: it’s always safer to say what the Nameless is not. But even by theological standards, Jeb’s comment is hard to parse. Does he really worship a Moloch who kills a bunch of people every once in a while just to show Who’s Boss? …

Update: A good friend I saw today — a Christian preacher — commented: “Whatever God Jeb Bush worships, he doesn’t worship the One of whom the Bible says “God was not in the whirlwind.”

Mark gets me thinking what I find most tragic about Bush-style theology: it has so little to do with orthodox Christian theology yet we let it metastasize in our churches without much fight, as if we had no truth-borne immunity at all. A little wily “God language” caused many church folk who should know better to accept what these guys say outright, not testing it against the whole of scripture or church history. Maybe it’s too scary to cross-check this way — I felt kicked in the gut when I finally recognized the ghastly discrepancy — but I think “too scary” will turn out not to be a sufficient excuse.

On the upside, repentance — turn, turn, turn — is always within reach. We’re unlikely to escape the consequences of our collective actions, though. 4+ years of lying, killing, and plundering, discrediting ourselves and the Name of the Lord, are not easily restored. Making amends will keep us busy for years.

Thanks, Mark.

[via Jeanne]