The UmBlog

Today's gospel reading in the lectionary got me thinking about this problem I used to have with the Bible. Mark 12:28 One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”  29-31 Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”  32-33 The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!” 34 When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “Y...

In the early 1600's religious separatists fled their country from fear of persecution. The location was known to other explorers, but an epidemic had left the native population decimated and weak. The immigrants considered the epidemic and the stores of food left behind as God's blessing. However, they suffered terribly adjusting to the new world, nearly half of them died. The indigenous people had mercy on them and helped those remaining. Other immigrants came and joined the struggling outpost. They made treaties with the people who owned the land and cared for it for hundreds of generations. Then they violated those treaties, over and over and over. Not one treaty was kept. Natives were captured and sold into slavery in the sub-tropics where they died. Since they were no good as agricultural slaves, african slaves were imported. The natives were continually pushed out of their land, even the ones who converted to the immigrant religion. Natives were promised an entire ter...

On Thursday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders endorsed this interpretation of Trump’s remarks, saying that “I don’t think the term the president used was strong enough...it took an animal to stab a man 100 times and decapitate him and cut his heart out,” referring to a particularly gruesome murder committed by MS-13 gang members. - Vox We once kept runner ducks in our backyard. I woke one morning to let the ducks out of their overnight shelter and found the plywood and cinder blocks shoved aside. The ducks had been killed but not eaten. It was possible a fox, a fisher cat, or a bobcat. It's as if the ducks were killed for fun by the predator. What the predator did not do was arrange a display of the victimized ducks. Unlike MS-13, their hearts were not cut out. Unlike some Mexican cartels, the victims were not hung on an overpass as a warning to others. Animals are not intelligent enough to "send a message" to rivals or snitches.Animals do not keep body parts o...

The title is so ambitious, how could I say no to Mr. Fleischer's offer to read his book in exchange for a review? After reading it, I have to say I wish it was available to me four years ago after I read Paul Copan's book, Is God a Moral Monster? (2011) Fleischer refers to Copan's book and follows some of his arguments. In both cases, some of these arguments leave frustrated and unsatisfying. Copan's response to the calls by God to commit war crimes is to note contemporary ancient near eastern (ANE) hyperbole. He also points out the Bible's own writers have enemy lists which include tribes which earlier histories claim of total annihilation of without any attempt at cover-up. In other words, Copan says, the command was inflated, the fulfillment was inflated, and the result was minimal, but none of this was problematic to ANE readers, so why should it be to modern readers? As a conservative evangelical, I found Copan's thesis hopeful, but also threatening t...

Ironic, no? The "evangel" is a English transliteration of the greek word for "good news." Evangelicals have brought good news to the world, but like much religion, can't do it without bad news as well. Evangelicals often teach bad news because they confuse their distinctive high view of the Bible, as the revealed word of God, with Jesus, the most complete revelation of God. But here's the good news, evangelicals, you do not have to defend the atrocity-endorsing parts of the Bible. I'm reading a manuscript now with an approach to Biblical theology called progressive revelation. It contends God couldn't force on the Israelites the ethics of Jesus because they couldn't handle the truth. via GIPHY The argument is then used to explain how much better the Israelite laws were than their contemporary societies, e.g. Yes, God did allow the Israeli soldiers to make wives of captured enemy virgins , but he forced them to recognize the women's huma...

World War 2 was started by agressive nations motivated in part by racial supremacy. Hitler told Germans and Austrians that they were the superior race of Aryans. He also used the European Jewish population as a scapegoat for all the ills they had brought on themselves when they lost WW1. The Japanese also considered themselves a superior race and saw a distinction between themselves and all other Asian people in China, Korea, and the Pacific islands. In Japan, anyone not Japanese was sub-human. In central Germany, anyone not "Aryan" was sub-human as well. The United States sent to the slaughter nearly 300,000 Americans to defeat these racist ideologies. Ironically, the United States had its own racist ideologies to defeat within. Eighty years prior to WW2, over 200,000 Americans died in conflict over this very issue in the Civil War. Before and after that war, the US used genocidal means to eradicate it's own aboriginal population. A footnote in American history Hitle...

Disgustingly, some Christian pastors publicly celebrated the massacre at the Orlando gay nightclub in their sermons, on Youtube, and on their blogs. I will not provide links. Other conservative evangelical pastors were actually shaken enough to reconsider their approach to the Bible and the LGBTQ community. The disgusting pastors love this verse. (Image from here .) So their understanding of god is good with  the slaughter of gay people and their friends who were not gay, because their god is totally offended with these versions of his creation. Even though their holy book says their god made humanity in his image, they think verses like these contradict other verses that say their god's creation of humanity was "very good." There is another verse in Leviticus that says God considers men having gay sex an abomination. Hence the follow up death penalty. The previous verse only said these guys needed to be kicked out of their community but two chapters later god doubles d...

As the Guardian reports , Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Berlin after German MPs approved a motion describing the massacre of Armenians by Ottoman forces a century ago as genocide – a decision that the Turkish president said would “seriously affect” relations between the two countries.  Those whose families were traumatized by Turkey's actions are grateful for the acknowledgment of their suffering. Turkey's offense over this acknowledgment is so notorious there are even several wiki articles about it. Here is one . Armenian embassy members hold posters reading ‘Recognition now – thank you’ during the meeting in Berlin. Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP It's not like Germany doesn't know anything about committing and apologizing for genocide. Atrocities are not unknown in the United States either. I have 87 posts here on the treatment of native Americans by the white government. The ongoing treatment of African Americans is no longer as bad as slavery b...

It is a frequent assertion that "the ends do not justify the means." In our current American political climate, the ends promised by means of straight talk without political correctness will not differ from those means to achieve them. The scare quotes around "political correctness" in our national discourse prevent us from recognizing that it means consideration. To speak politically correct to speak with consideration of those affected by that speech. To conflate all Mexican migrants as rapists and murderers is to not consider the majority of Mexican migrant farm laborers who work for less than our minimum wage for more than eight hours a day to provide us with most of our national produce. To shout down "Black lives matter" is to ignore the absurdly high proportion of police brutality directed to minorities and the devastation that brings to those families. As Malcolm X crudely and said at an inconsiderate time, "the chickens have come home to roos...

I live in a country that accepts a greater than 50% collateral damage from drone strikes. In other words, most drone bombings kill humans, young, old, women, and children, who are guilty of proximity. Less than half of the drone bombings "successfully" kill their intended targets. This painting is by Alexey Pismenny of the slaughter of the holy innocents , a liturgical feast day, yesterday, in the church calendar. The day before yesterday, the murderer of an innocent black boy playing with a toy gun, was not indicted for his crime, just like Herod. We live in a militarized culture that tolerates, no, expects collateral damage, the slaughter of innocents, in order to enforce Pax Americana. "Mistakes were made." If it had happened to an innocent white child, most Americans would expect a different outcome. Our highest court gives our peace officers wide berth to make mistakes in the pursuit of self-defense. Just like our military has an extremely high tolerance...

Religious books from the ancient Near East can be dangerous in the hands of some people. Have you heard of the Hutaree? They were an apocalyptic group in the US that planned on starting a terrorist war in order to facilitate God's return and imposition of justice in the world. In the most diabolical scenario, the Hutaree would murder an unsuspecting police officer to lure others from around the state and country to the fallen officer's funeral. Then these ... warriors would spring into action, attacking the funeral procession with improvised explosive devices. After the surprise attack, Hutaree militia members would retreat to "rally points." From these locations, "the Hutaree would wage war against the government and be prepared to defend in depth with trip-wired and command detonated anti-personnel improvised explosive devices, ambushes, and prepared fighting positions", the indictment alleges. The Guardian, 2010 . Who was their spiritual guide in all t...

A country was attacked this past week by terroriests who killed over a hundred citizens enjoying their life in a free country. These terrorists are from a war torn nation fighting for it's own freedom. People are fleeing that war torn country because they don't want to choose between terrorists or a totalitarian demagogue. People are fleeing by the tens of thousands to a land of the red, white and blue. They share the skin color, the background, and the religion of the terrorists, but they hate the terrorists. What did the attacked country do? It fought back against the terrorist bases and announced they will still take in 30,000 refugees from the land of the terrorists. France's national motto is "Liberty, equality, and fraternity." France is living up to their national aspiration. One of my country's national mottos is "land of the free, home of the brave." However, political candidates believe out country should increase it's internal s...

The point of terrorism is to instill fear out of proportion to the capability of the terrorist organization. Terrorist acts are also recruiting tool for finding more recruits/cannon fodder for the terrorists.Violent counter-terrorism can also assist recruitment and propaganda. Even precision weapons like American drones with laser guided munitions have up to a 90% "collateral damage" rate . Punishing the families of the terrorists alongside their terrorist family members is wicked, hence the euphemism, "collateral damage." Terrorism can also be countered economically and with counter-propaganda. Economically, funders of terrorists should be sanctioned. It is not that difficult except for the complication of international relations and embarrassment of public figures. On the propaganda front, ideologically, Islam is battling for its soul. Over a thousand Muslim clerics have joined together to condemn ISIS. But Christians can also combat this ideologically, by a...

When Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan he tried to enlighten his listeners on the principle that we are all children of God. All of us are each other's neighbors. He wants all of us to love our neighbors. In the kingdom of Jesus, there is no us and them, just us. Even enemies are us. Jesus tells us to bless our enemies, like we would our friends. Our neighbors are those in need. Who is not in need? Jesus teaches that when we help those in need, we are worshipping him. "Whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done to me," and it's corollary, "Whatever you have not done to the least of these, you have not done to me." Matthew 25. Who are the privileged in the society I am a part of? Me. I am a white, educated male. Who suffers under the privilege of white males in my society? Women. African Americans. Minorities...racial and sexual. These two topics in particular are huge this week in America. 1- A young white man sat in on a Bible ...

Deuteronomy is a rich source for these topics. It is such a schizophrenic book. There are progressive ideas right next to crazy, crazy stuff. I'm not sure there is any coherence to these verses and chapters, sort of like Proverbs or James, but a collection of rules for the community. Recently I read chapter 22. Half way into this chapter I read this crazy stuff on women. Deut. 22:13 Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and then rejects her, 14 accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations with her I discovered she was not a virgin!” This is a situation where a guy acts like a Neanderthal. Who knows if he entered the marriage as a virgin? Who cares if she wants to reject him? Not Moses. But he has a solution for her problem. Her parents can whip out her wedding night bedding to show off her blood. Like an animal without a voice. Then the Neanderthal has to pay a fine to his fathe...

I took vacation days before the Thanksgiving break to enjoy an entire week of vacation. Enjoyment for me includes reading big and difficult books. This week I read the final installment of Rick Atkinson's World War 2 trilogy, The Guns at Last Light . In light of this week's riots in Ferguson, Missouri after the grand jury conclusion, this observation of Atkinson's struck me. Liberated prisoners from German work/prison/extermination camps were asked to "'Keep disclipline ...Let your behavior be a credit to your national honor.'" Instead, starvation, revenge, indiscipline, and chaos often created what Allied officers called a "liberation complex." SHAEF had presumed refugees "would be tractable, grateful, and powerless after their domination from two to five years as the objects of German slave policies." As an Army assessment concluded, "They were none of these things...newly liberated persons looted, robbed, murdered, and in so...

Dear Johnboy The extremist Islamic partisan group ISIS, has made headlines for their wholesale slaughter of infidels, defined by them as anyone who does not share their strain of religion. The headline above those headlines is their treatment of captive women and children who are enslaved either for labor or for sex. Here is a first person account in the Washington Post of a 14 year old Yazidi girl  who was captured, enslaved, and rescued. Here is a video and story in the Daily Mail of ISIS fighters discussing the purchase of captured girls and their prices. Here is a CNN story with  ISIS's theological justification for the treatment of captured women. Nauseating, isn't it? As you know from your history reading, ISIS's behavior is not unique to conquering armies. Unfortunately, their behavior is biblical. But then, not everything biblical is Christian . Here is the biblical case for the capture and enslavement of human beings. When Israel is not attacking citie...

If the US did not ally with Stalin (killed 20 million), then the two mass murderers might have destroyed each other. Instead, Eastern Europe went from one totalitarian regime, the Nazis, to another, the USSR for another 40 years. If the US did not ally with China, then the mass murdering regime of Mao (killed 30 million) may never have come to fruition. Mao killed more Chinese than the Japanese ever did. If the US did not feel the need to seek vengeance on Osama Bin Laden after September 11, 2001, when 3,000 died, then 21,000 Afghan civilians would not have died . If the US did not go after Saddam Hussein and his phantom weapons of mass destruction, then 133,000 Iraqi civilians would not have been killed as a result of our invasion. Additionally,  6,500 American service members and an equal number of military contractors would not have been killed either. The US would not have borrowed, nor lost economic investment and opportunity over the past 13 years to tune of $4 trill...

During my Haiti trip I brought my Kindle and read in transit and in down time. After finishing Tom Sawyer, I read a book I bought on sale at Amazon, Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament Go d by Paul Copan, a Christian philospher and apologist who teaches in Florida. He uses the criticisms of the Bible by the Four Horsemen of New Atheism as the topics for his chapters. I found the book helpful but uneven. Some things were really good, but not everything. I have many highlights which I will be interacting with in this book response. The following assertion is an example of the "not-so good" because it is reductionist. The Theme of the Pentateuch: Abraham’s Faith and Moses’s Unbelief Biblical scholars have pointed out that the theme of faith holds the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy) together at its seams. The two major players are Abraham and Moses. Abraham is the positive example of faith, while Moses is the negative example. Abraham had faith withou...