We left off in the previous blog challenging Rick Santorum's contention that President Barack Obama "supports a phony theology, not based on the Bible."
But as I showed, if one goes to actual sources of revelation in scripture, one arrives at a moot dead end, because nearly every major theological question has both 'yes' and 'no' answers, hence no self consistent theology really exists! In a way this isn't too surprising, since as Biblical scholar John Dominic -Crossan has observed ('The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant', p. 422) that Yeshua's
"strategy, implicitly for himself and explicitly for his followers, was the combination of free healing and common eating, a religious and economic egalitarianism that negated alike and at once the hierarchical and patronal normalcies of Jewish religion and Roman power"
In other words, "economic egalitarianism" was at the heart of this great Rabbi's message, as well as the implicit subtext, 'do no harm to others'. Yehsua then, was an "Augustan Hippie" to use Crossan's apt description, who dunned the outward forms of theology as well as morality in favor of an intrinsic adherence to self-knowledge, truth and shared resources. Hence, his emphasis on "common eating" wherein even a small repaste would be divided equally between all those present.
The original Socialism!
Even more importantly (Crossan, ibid.):
"And lest he himself be interpreted as simply the new broker of a new God, he moved on constantly, settling down neither at Nazareth or Capernaum. He was neither broker nor mediator but, somewhat paradoxically, the announcer that neither should exist between humanity and divinity or between humanity and itself. Miracle and parable, healing and eating were calculated to force individuals into unmediated physical and spiritual contact with God and unmediated physical and spiritual contact with one another.
He announced, in other words, the borderless kingdom of God."
In other words, Yeshua boldly repudiated mediators! No priest, bishop, cardinal or pope (the bulwarks of Santorum's Catholic hierarchy) were to impede or obstruct the direct channels from humans to the divine or vice versa. THIS was the REAL theology taught, and that the immanent divine was as close to the follower as the beautiful rose, the starlit sky overhead, or the great mountains in the distance. In other words, spiritual contact extended directly to the world of nature which ....after all....was a reflection of the divine nature. (Hence, Yeshua's references to the sparrows of the air and "lilies of the field" etc. )
Again, unmediated contact was the rule, as opposed to priests and their associates impeding such contact. In this sense, one can therefore see it is Santorum who upholds the false theology or the phony one. Indeed, if Yeshua were alive today one could almost hear him say: "Be gone from me, thou whited sepulchre! Thou Pharisee!"
In Crossan's final conclusion, Jesus was a "peasant Jewish Cynic". (As Crossan points out, p. 421, a 'Cynic' embodied "a life-style and mindset in opposition to the cultural heart of Mediterranean civilization, a way of looking and dressing, of eating and living and relating, that announced its contempt for honor and shame, for patronage and clientage. ....Hippies in a world of Augustan yuppies.")
Little wonder then that Jesus' habits would infuriate not only Jewish orthodoxy but the Roman government. Leading ultimately to their ultimate attacks for what they'd have perceived as "subversion" of the Empire. Not surprisingly, those same orthodoxy upholders - like Santorum today - view Obama in an analogous way for their perception that he- Obama - is not adhering to an orthodoxy they regard as supreme.
But in fact, Obama is closer to the truth than any of those, whether Cardinals like Timothy Dolan, or their lap dogs such as Rick Santorum.
For example, just as Yeshua's economic egalitarianism was reflected in his practice of common healing and common eating, Obama's economic egalitarianism has been reflected in his Patient and Affordable Care Act which enables every American in every walk of life to obtain the health care he or she needs. In addition, his call for the wealthiest to assume greater tax burdens discloses his awareness of how an insidious inequality is destroying our Republic from within - by causing people to trust each other less and less. Yeshua would be proud!
Lastly, Santorum claimed that "radical environmentalists share Obama's world view that elevates the Earth above man and says we can't use those resources because we're going to harm the Earth"
Which is bare bollocks! Indeed, this passage -quote of Santorum's shows he possesses such a stupendous ignorance that he has no business even thinking about being President.
Further, NO "radical environmenalist" asserts or claims the "Earth is above man" but rather the Earth is the sole finite habitation that can provide for human life....but only if there is proper, judicious stewardship of its resources. If we squander those resources now, owing to an immediate greed, there will be nothing left for future generations...including drinkable water.
In other words, the Earth's resources are the basis for supporting human life! Destroy that basis, that limited abode ...and you take out human life with it. In effect, our lives as humans are inextricably bound to the resources on this little orb. Divest "Spaceship Earth" of its finite supplies, or overpopulate that "ship" so that the supplies are inadequate, and all perish!
This is not a novel concept but an ancient one predicated on judicious stewardship. This concept is called Oikonomia, from the Greek meaning "preservation of the household". The central notion is that all strands of the World Web of Life are equally important. No strand is primary or pre-eminent to exclusion of all others. If the human strand is designated superior, in order to justify the extermination or consumption of all other strands, then the whole life web collapses with humans along with it.
Oikonomia regards the Earth as a finite, unitary whole. That is, while limited in terms of resources, it is nonetheless interconnected, e.g. sea water evaporates to form clouds, which later transit land to deposit rain, etc. Interlocked with this concept of 'unitary finitude' is a related one: the Earth is here solely for humankind's temporary use, not wholesale exhaustion (including irreversible pollution) of resources.
Further, the ethic of the shared household implies resources are accessible to all inhabitants equally - including those not yet born! This demands judicious harvesting, husbanding and distribution of resources. The objective is long term: to ensure that future generations can use them also.
The view above is opposed to the imperative of short term gain: the 'profit-over-all else' ethic. In the long term perspective it is unthinkable that global resources, including timberlands, atmosphere and oceans, be exclusively earmarked for development and formation of capital. Such a mindset is inherently selfish since it exalts its own well-being to absolute status. At the same time, future generations are condemned to destitution and deprivation. It is flawed because it elevates one strand or 'strand segment' over the whole web of life. The imperative of Oikonomia is to engage a familial dynamic. This brings the strands back into balance with each other.
In this context, it is Santorum's theology which is both odious and pathological. It would dismiss the well being of billions in order to hyper-populate one religion, using the ruse of "prohibiting artificial birth control". In this way, the Catholics think they can win in their blatantly demographic "contest for world conquest" (i.e. outdo the others by sheer numbers) but fail to see they will take everything and everyone down with them. Pyrrhic victory, anyone?
This is why Obama's birth control mandate must be allowed to go through because it recognizes the greater good that redounds to the benefit of us all. Santorum and his sanctimonious apologists, including Catholic Bishops, cannot be allowed to have the final say...whether over women's bodies...or the welfare of not yet born humans. Humans who will curse us to their dying day if we end up leaving them only a barren, hellish husk of a world with nothing to eat.....or even drink.
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