Tread lightly on the things of earth

This Washington Post opinion piece by Fritz Ritsch, Of God, and Man, in the Oval Office [relinked, WaPo article no longer available] superbly captures the theological state of affairs motivating the current U.S. presidency. Striking excerpts, italics mine:

Contrary to popular opinion, the religion that [Bush’s religious supporters espouse] is Triumphalism, not Christianity. Theirs is a zealous form of nationalism, baptized with Christian language. The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was martyred by the Nazis, foresaw the rise of a similar view in his country, which he labeled “joyous secularism.” Joyous secularists, said Bonhoeffer, are Christians who view the role of government as helping God to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. He viewed this as human arrogance and a denial of God’s sovereignty …

The president confidently … asserts a worldview that most Christian denominations reject outright as heresy: the myth of redemptive violence, which posits a war between good and evil, with God on the side of good and Satan on the side of evil and the battle lines pretty clearly drawn. …

In contrast, the Judeo-Christian worldview is that of redemption. Redemption starts from the assumption that all of humanity is flawed and must approach God with humility. No good person is totally good, and no evil person is irredeemable. God’s purpose is to redeem all people. Good and evil, while critical, become secondary to redemption. …

Despite our secularism, the United States has rarely been so publicly and politically “Christian” as it is today. Or perhaps it is because of our secularism. We can no longer tell good theology from bad. …

With the political emergence of joyous secularism, the churches are challenged to preach an alternative message: grace, hope and redemption — the truth of Biblical faith. This is both our pastoral and our political responsibility.

Thank you, thank you, Pastor Ritsch. You write what my heart knows but my mind finds difficult to articulate.

2003-03-04 update: Dr. Ritsch made this point that Biblical faith is about redemptive grace, not the falsehood of redemptive violence, even in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in his Sept. 16, 2001 sermon:

[The 9/11 terrorists consider themselves] in the war of good versus evil, and [that] they are on the side of good.

This is always the key message of Fundamentalism. Christian Fundamentalists believe the same thing: this is a war of good against evil, and we’re good.

It is not the message of the Bible. It is not the message of the Christian story.

Our message, instead, is the story of redemption.

Announcing this prophetic insight to persons who do not yet see it can be very difficult, and requires much courage. But announcing it, speaking it forth, is absolutely necessary. I feel it as a fire in my bones. Bravo.

Later … See also Auntie Propaganda.