Glenn Beck's Antichrist Theology/A Better Way to Talk

I heard Glenn Beck's talk radio show a couple of weeks ago; when a woman called in to suggest that because President Obama appears to be raising the tax rate to around the same as what it was under President Clinton, is exercising some accountability mechanisms with banks and car manufacturers, and has approached the nations of the world with humility, that he is a prime candidate for the Antichrist.  Such absurd and offensive speculation has been around for nearly two thousand years; and, of course, there is a 100% failure record among those who would predict the time of the end of the world, along with the identity of the person who, dispensationalists allege, will lead us there. The general principle - that those who make eschatological guesses tend to be socially bigoted and give the appearance of suffering from religious neurosis - combines with the specific example - that some people are so outraged by Obama's election that they need to find a theological justification for their anger, and produces some of the most debased public conversation I've ever heard.  Glenn Beck's response to this woman appeared to endorse her religious terror, with mysterious allusions to people he says he has met and talked to and heard things from that he isn't ready to tell us about yet.

The sum: I don't know what Glenn Beck actually believes about the Book of Revelation (for what it's worth, I happen to think it's an amazing book of metaphorical prose offering comfort to people being persecuted and naming the metaphysical core of the universe: that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it, rather than a dimestore almanac of future events), but he's certainly happy not to challenge his listeners when they suggest that President Obama is in league with Satan.  I know many of us feel like we say this every day: but we need a better conversation in this country.

In ‘Doctor Zhivago’, Boris Pasternak is at pains to develop the notion that human freedom is found in facing reality.  This is not a new idea, of course; we need only remember ‘the truth will set you free’ to be aware that it didn’t originate with Russian novelists…But Pasternak adapts an old Chinese proverb, and announces his prophecy – in his case, of resistance to the death-dealing ways of Stalinist Russia, but really it could stand for anywhere, anytime, by stating that the beginning of wisdom is ‘to call everything by its right name’.  He means that life is a journey through confusion to clarity.  That wisdom, and healing, and growing up derive from seeing things as they really are.

This does not mean of course that we understand all things – that would make us into God.  No, it just means that a key function of being human is the power - and responsibility - to discern – to distinguish between this thing and that, and that thing and this.  The psychologist Carl Jung knew this – he could tell the difference between organized religion and what we call God.  Desmond Tutu knows this – he can tell the difference between a religion of the superficial intellect and the spirit that gives rise to human revolution.  The Irish mystic John O’Donohue knew this – he understood the difference between the frightened functionaries of fundamentalism, and the vast riches of the mystic tradition to which they think they hold the keys. Our task is to learn the difference between form and content.  Our task is to learn the difference between what we believe, and how we believe it.  Our task is to call everything by its right name.  Our task is discernment.

Every day we are given the opportunity to find beauty in the face of other human beings.  I come from a religious tradition that sometimes left its members unable to encounter other people without seeing them as missionary targets.  We failed in discernment.  Of course, those who harbour anti-religious sentiment are also often incapable of having a conversation with believers in which they treat their opinions with respect.  They fail in discernment too.  Yet if human beings really are made in the image of God; or even if we are better understood in other ways, then perhaps we might find it in ourselves also to learn that every encounter between you and me, or me and anyone, or you and anyone should be an opportunity for God, or whatever you want to name the ground of all being, to speak to both of us.

A Miracle, a Rupture

Now that I'm back from the wedding, the mind is a little frazzled at the prospect of everything that needs to get done over the next few days.  Getting back into a routine this week; meanwhile, here's a 'Thought for the Day' I wrote recently for BBC Radio.  It may not be the most elegant or profound thought, but it's helping me stay afloat in the zone of happiness that the temporary community brought together by the last week has provided. When I was four years old, it was the time of the Jimmy Carter administration, the end of disco, Patty Hearst gets out, Ayatollah Khomeni gets in, Israel and Egypt make nice, the Pope goes to Poland, Saddam takes over, China starts the one child policy, Mr Ed the talking horse goes to paddock heaven. Like I said, I’m four years old, so I don’t know any of this. Well, I might know that I’m four, but as for Patty and Saddam and the Pope and Mr Ed, I’m in the dark. I’m in Belfast, and not without precedent in the annals of childhood, am playing with my toy trucks. Life seems simple. All I have to do was play, eat, and sleep. And in September there’s this thing called ‘the big school’, for which sacrifice I’ll receive the monumental reward of a canvas lunch bag screen-printed with a picture of C3-PO and R2-D2.

What I don’t know is that my life is about to change forever. In December, I will go to the cinema for the first time. I will discover that the human imagination is capable of transporting people into the most amazing places. Places where love is true, where good triumphs over evil, where sometimes even the nerds get the girl. I’ll spend the next thirty years absorbing light dancing on a silver screen, being inspired, challenged, encouraged, and, sure, sometimes disappointed, by the movies. I’ll struggle to keep my own imagination alive, because the world in which we live so often seems to want to destroy it. The pace of life, the pressures of work, the delicate balancing act of being human frequently crowd out space for letting the imagination breathe.

The French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote that all the problems of the world stem from our inability to sit still and think for ten minutes. The movies, or, actually, any art form allow us the space to do just that. I think we all know, somewhere deep inside, that Pascal was right. That if we are to be fully human, if we are to be at peace with ourselves and our neighbours, we need to nurture the imagination. We may feel that there just isn’t enough time, that we can’t afford art. And that’s understandable given the pressures many of us are under. But, think back to a time when you were moved by a work of art, maybe back to the time when you were as innocent and peaceable as a four year old; and ask yourself now: can I afford not to sit still, with a movie, or a book, or a piece of music, and think for ten minutes?

Advice

I find newspaper problem pages irresistible; and so when I came late to Cary Tennis of salon.com I felt like Alfred Molina in 'Chocolat' being locked into the shop window.  The difference between Cary Tennis and the agony aunts/uncles I'm used to is twofold - he offers genuinely interesting advice, and he knows how to write.  Try this one to start with:"Love is not a get-out-of-reality-free card. It does not suspend gravity or the rule of law. It can be a bit of an intoxicant, but it should be taken with food. So I would say: Think about it all you want; concoct elaborate schemes to your heart's content. It will remain essentially mysterious and beyond your control."

He talks about other things too - violence, relational conflict, politics, art, sex, kindness, salvation.  But I'm getting married tomorrow, and wanted to say something about that.  Cary Tennis is right: Love does not suspend gravity, but it is a rule of nature in itself.  We can't live without it.  And so I guess all I want to say today is that I'm grateful to be alive, to participate in what John O'Donohue called 'the fathomless mystery of a day', this day, every day.  The interruption of my life by the appearance of the woman with whom I hope to spend the rest of it was unexpected; and it has taught me something that I suspect may be the most important lesson I'll ever learn:

Love needs to be shouted from the rooftops and declared with greater passion and commitment than we usually reserve for news headlines and gossip.   There is almost limitless possibility in every moment; and even the darkest struggle shall eventually pass.

You may think I'm speaking from a space of heightened emotion, or relativising reality because I'm living slightly outside it this weekend; perhaps you're right.  Or perhaps what we believe about love in our best moments and deepest aspirations happens to be true.  Either way, I hope you have a beautiful day.

OK, enough of that.  I've a wedding to get to.  See you next week.

Harrison Ford, Michael Winner, Peter Coyote: Three Perspectives on Money

Michael Winner: Just a Working Class Bloke

A BBC news anchor revealed her salary on air last week, the next twist in the expenses scandal that may be about to bring down the British government.  The newspaper that broke the story has asked various figures in public life whether or not they would be willing for the public to know what they earn; and, probably because he's a good sport willing to talk about anything to the media at any time, Michael Winner, director of 'Death Wish' responded:

"A trained gorilla can read an autocue and look at a camera. [Carrie Gracie's £92,000 salary] doesn't represent any discernable value – unlike box office takings in a theatre, for example. It's only what these people say they are worth.

Of course, I do commercials and things, and the difference is they can see how many insurance policies have sold, or how many cups of coffee are selling. Whereas newsreaders are just part of the furniture.

With most television programmes, there's a gauge. You can tell what kind of audience they attract because the public are interested in watching. But not with the news. People are always going to watch the news.

As a movie director, I earned a great deal. As for my income now, well, it varies year by year. Am I prepared to put a figure on it? That's a no."

I remember Harrison Ford giving an interview to the effect that he considered himself an emplyee within a service profession, and deserved to be compensated proportionate to the amount he made for his bosses.  If his presence in a movie meant a difference of a few hundred million dollars then Ford wanted an appropriate cut.  He has a point, but so did Peter Coyote in his suggestion last year that well-paid stars should forgo a portion of their income:

"You cannot grow roses without mulch. While stars represent the beautiful blooms of the industry, the soil of the industry, the medium of growth supplied by all those who surround you, is being starved for nourishment. Eventually, this lack of payback to the medium supporting all the growth will kill, if not the plant itself, at least its quality and vitality. Our industry is not secure while the majority of its players are not. To change the situation requires consciousness, solidarity, and power. We have the consciousness and solidarity. We appeal to you for help with the power."

I rather like Peter Coyote.

Please Stand in Solidarity Against Gun Violence: A Note from Friends in Philadelphia

Earlier this year in Philadelphia, I was privileged to participate in a gathering opposing violence and imagining creative strategies for faith-based peace activism.  Dozens of the participants took park in a non-violent witness against gun violence, specifically the lax protocols on weapon sales, and some were arrested.  The trial is next week; if you're in the Philadelphia area, please consider attending to show your solidarity with the defendants; if you're not nearby, there are several other options suggested below, alongside the proposed code of conduct for gun sales.

Gun violence goes on trial!

Be there

On Tuesday, May 26

twelve people of faith will face trial

for an act of conscience witnessing against the plague of violence

in our streets and our communities

fueled by the availability of illegal weapons.

In January 2009, 12 people were arrested while participating in nonviolent direct action to pressure Colosimo’s Gun Center to sign a Code of Conduct for Responsible Gun Dealers.  Following several weeks of discussion between the gun shop owner and a delegation of local religious leaders, these 12 individuals went to the store to once again ask the owner to sign the code.  They remained there waiting for his agreement, and were arrested.

They were charged with a variety of crimes, including misdemeanor trespass, misdemeanor disorderly conduct, blocking a sidewalk and criminal conspiracy. They spent between 12 and 27 hours in jail before being released.  The defendants include community advocates from Camden and Philadelphia, ordained Christian clergy from 3 denominations and a Jewish rabbi.

Please stand with us to send a dramatic signal on behalf of the young people that suffer most from this epidemic of violence.  They’ve lost friends and siblings, they’ve lost hope.  We need to show that we are willing to risk, to sacrifice, to struggle for ourselves, for them and with them.

“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

For more information, please contact

info@HeedingGodsCall.org

267-519-5302

www.HeedingGodsCall.org

REPONSIBLE FIREARMS RETAILER PARTNERSHIP:

A 10-POINT VOLUNTARY CODE

The 10 points of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership are:

Videotaping the Point of Sale for All Firearms Transactions. Participating retailers will videotape the point-of-sale of all firearms transactions and maintain videos for 6 months to deter illegal purchases and monitor employees.

Computerized Crime Gun Trace Log and Alert System. Mayors Against Illegal Guns will develop a computerized system that participating retailers will implement over time to log crime gun traces relating to the retailer.  Once the program is in place, if a customer who has a prior trace at that retailer attempts to purchase a firearm, the sale will be electronically flagged.  The retailer would have discretion to proceed with the sale or stop the sale.

Purchaser Declaration. For sales flagged by the trace alert system, participating retailers will ask purchasers to fill out a declaration indicating that they meet the legal requirement to purchase the firearm.

Deterring Fake IDs. Participating retailers will only accept valid federal- or state-issued picture IDs as primary identification.  Retailers will utilize additional ID checking mechanisms.

Consistent Visible Signage. Participating retailers will post signage created by the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership to alert customers of their legal responsibilities at the point-of-sale.

Employee Background Checks. Participating retailers will conduct criminal background checks for all employees selling or handling firearms.

Employee Responsibility Training. Participating retailers will participate in an employee responsibility training program focused on deterring illegal purchasers.  The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership will create an online training system based on Wal-Mart’s training program.

Inventory Checking. Participating retailers will conduct daily and quarterly audits.  Guidelines will be based on Wal-Mart’s existing audit procedures.

No Sales Without Background Check Results.  Participating retailers would prohibit sales based on “default proceeds,” which are permitted by law when background check has not returned a result within 3 days.

Securing Firearms. Participating retailers will maintain firearms kept in customer accessible areas in locked cases or locked racks.

Participating retailers will phase in the provisions of Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership over time.