oxymoron: "patriot pastors"

from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, by Rev. Rich Gamble:

Give Me That Oldtime Oppression

As a Christian, I claim a particular historical perspective, namely that handed down by the Bible. The Bible stands as the most anti-imperial tome in human history. It is the story of a people at odds with empire from its inception. The Bible gives us a look at empire from the perspective of the victims. The Jewish people experienced slavery, slaughter, exile and occupation at the hands of various empires.

In his critique of economic practices that allowed the rich to get richer while the poor starved, Jesus was undermining the very foundation of the exploitative Roman economic system. In his opposition [of] the puppet government of the Temple, Jesus was denouncing Roman political repression. In his denial of the use of violence, Jesus was de-legitimizing the most important tool of imperial repression.

Jesus was legally crucified for his actions (a demonstration of that famed Roman rule of law). Christians, along with the Jews, remember that it was Rome that laid waste to Judea (Roman political enfranchisement), slaughtered thousands, took thousands more as slaves, destroyed the Temple (a taste of Roman religious tolerance), and basically shattered the Jewish nation so thoroughly that it took it more than 18 centuries to reconstitute itself.

It was the Roman Empire that on several occasions tortured and killed people in the most brutal way, merely for professing their Christian faith. And after Christianity became the official religion of the empire, it was Rome that began the repression of Jews and other non-Christian faiths.

Want to hear something scary? A growing number of pastors are embracing the idea of empire as a way of claiming power, validating their bruised egos, and spreading a corrupt gospel that is ashamed of Jesus and denies the heart of his message, the stuff about compassion for the poor and loving one's enemies. You can see what this corrupted perversion of faith looks like at the Ohio Restoration Project. I had lunch with these folks today. It was not a pleasant experience. Speakers regularly substituted Jesus and America for each other as if they have the same meaning: both, we were told, are an important source of hope for the world, both have been given the task of spreading freedom, both are blessed to be a blessing, both are under attack by liberals, atheists, Communism (yes, communism!), and anyone else who would challenge this "America the Savior" delusion. It was sad. It was sick. It was so counter to anything I have learned in church that at times I simply couldn't believe my ears. As a choir sang several hymns, patriotic images of soldiers playing with children and of aircraft carriers, fighters and stealth bombers flashed on the screens behind them. I kept thinking about Jesus on the cross, and how these (mostly) men probably would have cheered his execution just as surely as they cheer the silencing of any who disagrees with them today. I may write more later, I'm still processing the horror.

The worst part is, they are planning and scheming and working to "take back" (read: take over) the United States, from top down, to re-create it in their image - which is clearly an image of power, might, dominance, oppression, subjugation, exploitation, hatred, and fear. What can we do to stand against them? Because this much is clear: we must stand up, speak out, and reclaim the gospel, reclaim our faith, and reclaim Jesus Christ who came not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved.