Antiquitopia

I just finished reading Elaine Pagels's new book, Revelations:  Visions, Prophecy, & Politics in the Book of Revelation , and thought I would collect some of my thoughts.  There have been many initial reviews that will, most likely, show greater verve and greater detail than what I am going to discuss here; this is more of a series of notes rather than a review, per se.  See Adam Gopnik's review in the New Yorker here . Moreover, three chapters of the book previously appeared as more technical articles, whereas the book is for a more general, non-specialist audience.  What struck me is that the book is really about shifting contexts of visions, particularly John of Patmos's Revelation .  The different chapters of the book provide different political contexts from an imperial telescope to intra-Christian microscopes in overlapping contexts that slowly spiral outward in space and time until one finds oneself far away from the late first century setting (Page...

As all hallow's eve approaches, the NYTimes has an article on the polytheistic background of the highly commercialized holiday (well, aren't all holidays these days?): the autumnal festival of Samhain. Many people probably know that most of our "Christian" holidays rely upon an older calendar of European religious festivals, referred to as "pagan": Certainly, there is nothing new about Paganism per se. From Halloween to May Day to Yuletide, said Prof. Diana L. Eck of Harvard Divinity School, “There’s a way in which all of us, especially in the Christian tradition, follow a religious calendar that is pegged to ancient Pagan festivals.” One might add all of the fertility imagery (rabbits and eggs) in Easter. It was recognized early on by Christian leaders that it would be easier to convert people and keep them in the fold if many of the practices and festivals of the older religions were retained in some form and re-framed in Christian terms--that is why Chr...

Newsweek has a large article (and a series of smaller discussions) on religion in America, particularly discussing whether America is a "post-Christian" society. This comes on the heels of a particular survey of religious identification in which those who self-identify as Christian has gone down 10%, while those who don't identify with any faith has more than doubled: According to the American Religious Identification Survey that got Mohler's attention, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent. The Jewish population is 1.2 percent; the Muslim, 0.6 percent. A separate Pew Forum poll echoed the ARIS finding, reporting that the percentage of people who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith has doubled in recent years, to 16 percent; in terms of voting, this group grew from 5 percent in 1988 to 12 percent in 2008—roughly the same percentage of the electorate as African-Americans. (Seventy...

The NYTimes reports largely positive responses from around the world, as people throughout the globe hope that this change in power will mean a major shift in U.S.-Foreign Relations, particularly toward a more diplomatic (rather than shoot 'em down) approach. Other responses have been a bit more subtle, such as China censoring the parts of Obama's speech in which he referred to Fascism and Communism as ideologies defeated not just by missiles and tanks, but by enduring convictions. They did not just object to being considered a defeated ideology, but lumping Communism with the much-reviled Fascism. At the same time, there is skepticism about the Obama policy toward the middle east--basically with the historical situation that no matter who is in office the U.S. policy never really changes much--these were sentiments expressed in Lebanon and Egypt. Even in such skepticism, however, hope mixes with doubt . Europeans seem more optimistic, excepting Putin, who sees positive sig...

The NYTimes has an interesting article on the battle between Church and State in Spain. Spain famously has been a major Catholic stronghold for the past few centuries or so, but now the Vatican is hoping just to maintain a foothold. January 6, 2009 For Vatican, Spain Is a Key Front in Church-State Battle By RACHEL DONADIO VALLADOLID, Spain — The Macías Picavea primary school hardly looks like the seat of revolution. But this unassuming brick building in a sleepy industrial town has become a battleground in an intensifying war between church and state in Spain. In an unprecedented decision here, a judge ruled in November that the public school must remove the crucifixes from classroom walls, saying they violated the “nonconfessional” nature of the Spanish state. Although the Roman Catholic Church was not named in the suit, it criticized the ruling as an “unjust” attack on a historical and cultural symbol — and a sign of the Spanish state’s increasingly militant secularism. If the judg...

Some people were worried when Obama and McCain appeared at Saddleback Church for their first public meeting on the same stage months ago during the Presidential campaign...it seemed then mostly due to separation of church and state issues. Now people are upset that Warren is offering a prayer at Obama's inauguration...not because of separation of church and state issues (there is ALWAYS a prayer at these events), but because of Warren's positions on abortion and same-sex marriage. While I personally differ with Warren on these issues also, there are a few things to make clear. Warren is NOT like Dobson or other evangelical leaders. He does not incite divisiveness in the way they do, although he's made some rather crude analogies vis-a-vis gay marriage lately. He does try to create coalitions with people who differ with him on many issues: thus he has been effective working on issues of poverty and HIV/AIDS with people who oppose him on other social issues. Although h...

USA Today released that they did a poll to figure out what groups voted for Proposition 8, the proposition to ban gay marriage in California. And guess what they found out? They discovered that the primary determinants were economic status and religious affiliation. REALLY?!? Religious views played a part in people's stance on gay marriage? I think everyone assumed that some religious reasons stood behind the constitutional ban that, therefore, ironically puts an interesting twist on the "wall of separation" between Church and State. I quote: The ban drew its strongest support from both evangelical Christians and voters who didn't attend college, according to results released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. Education, religious tendencies, and economic status seem to be the strongest factors then. Age and race, interestingly, did not play a statistically significant role. But, when breaking down religious affiliation: 85% of evangelica...

I have seen references to this posting for a few days now and I finally got around to reading it. You can see the full post by David Ker at Lingamish . It is scathing, and it is right on the money for the most part. Here is a sample of his righteous ranting: The dust has settled and the earnest sister who believed that Mike Huckabee would score a divine victory on Tuesday has now switched her sights to the book of Revelation and Obama’s landslide as definitive evidence of the beginnings of the Great Tribulation. On our trip out to Wyoming I listened to the program on Crosstalk Radio where they allowed callers to tell who they were going to vote for and why. Almost every single one said, “I’m voting for McCain because I’m a Christian.” Well guess what, folks, I voted for Obama because I’m a Republican and a Christian. The most hilarious caller was a rabbi from New York who really let loose with one of the funniest fuselages of rhetorical afflatus that I’ve ever heard including the cry,...

Churches and religious organizations from all points of view often endorse one candidate or party over another. My earlier post on Catholics and Dems versus Reps makes illustrates this point within a particular tradition. But what does this say about the variegated philosophies of what separation between church and state actually means? Are they completely separate spheres, one caring for the soul and the other for the body, as the Lockean perspective suggests? Or, are things more complicated than that? Indeed, the Lockean perspective applies only if one thinks of religion as a completely private thing, but anyone who studies religion realizes this ultimately derives from a particular perspective of Christian Protestant belief, whereas other Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Daoists, Taoists, etc., may disagree, saying that their "religion" encompasses an entire way of life, both private and public. Whether we find evangelical groups supp...

In the NY Times today there is an article of the internal divisions among Catholics regarding political parties. Which party, Democrat or Republican, best represents the full panoply of teachings of the Catholic Church? The debate comes down to respect for human life. Conservative Catholics, most prominently Catholic bishops, have focused on the issue of abortion, equating abortion with homicide, saying that "liberals" who say they are for social justice are ironically endorsing homicide. In Scranton, Pa., every Catholic attending Mass this weekend will hear a special homily about next month’s election: Bishop Joseph Martino has ordered every priest in the diocese to read a letter warning that voting for a supporter of abortion rights amounts to endorsing “homicide.” This, of course, leaves only Republican candidates eligible for voting according to these conservative bishops. I am largely annoyed by politicking from the pulpit. But all sides actually do it. The other si...

I just watched this clip posted by James McGrath at Exploring Our Matrix , but I thought it raised some really important issues, and, therefore, should be reposted by any readers I may have that he does not (although he attracts far more readers than I do). I might take issue with the unexamined overuse of the term "fundamentalist," although I was happy for the note that you can find Pentecostals throughout the spectrum of social and political issues--they are not just "fundamentalists" and the religious right. What clip failed to note, however, is that the Assemblies of God, which as a whole is quite conservative (although you will find more left-leaning folk at least among the laity here and there) is (or at least it used to be) the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. It is a somewhat decentralized denomination (technically it is called a "cooperative fellowship"), but its decentralization creates a degree of flexibility that, in fact, works t...

From the associated press: Southern Baptists lead get-out-the-vote prayer By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer 50 minutes ago Southern Baptists are organizing a nationwide prayer campaign to accompany their values-voter registration drive, seeking spiritual renewal for families and churches, and God's favor for public officials who are guided by the Bible. The 40/40 Prayer Vigil for Spiritual Revival and National Renewal will run from Sept. 24 through Nov. 2, two days before the general election. The daily prayers include requests for God's guidance in voting, for the election of more "godly Christians," for God to "help churches find ways to help Christians get to the polls" and for public officials to be protected "from the attacks of Satan." The effort is a companion program to the iVoteValues registration campaign, which began in 2004 and is jointly led this year by South...

Today, Aug. 16, 2008, will be the first meeting of McCain and Obama on the same stage at Rick Warren's megachurch, Saddleback. They have not been on the same stage together since before the primary season began. Last I knew, the issues slated to be discussed were Rick Warren's pet issues of poverty, AIDS, and the environment. That the first major political discussion is being held at a church rather than in the (secular) public arena is a concern for many, who see the "wall of separation" between church and state beginning to crumble (if it ever really held very firm to begin with). Both candidates are clearly seeking the much coveted evangelical vote. See background from NYT here . And I posted on this a while back here . UPDATE: See some early results of the event here .

The NYTimes has an article on a potential ecclesiastical rift between the Ukraine and Russia. The Ukraine and Russia have not been on the best of terms lately...to say the least. The Ukrainian President, Viktor Yushchenko, claims to have been poisoned by pro-Russian opponents. The Ukrainians also are seeking to eject Russia's navy from their seaport in the Black Sea, and join NATO, Russia's Cold War rivals. Russia, in turn, has threatened to cut off natural gas deliveries, which the Ukraine needs. But now there is a new thing under contention: the Church. President Yushchenko now seeks to separate the Ukrainians from the Russian Orthodox Church. One should not be surprised at this, since many Church splits in history take place along political lines that take into consideration economic, social, and cultural factors--like the Protestant Reformation, for example. What is more, Orthodoxy since its inception (let's say with the Council of Nicea in the Fourth Century CE)...

Rick Warren, the pastor of the gigantic Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA., has individually invited both John McCain and Barack Obama to meet at a forum at his megachurch before the Democratic and Republican conventions. Since the campaigns began, McCain and Obama have never been on the same stage together, but now they have a chance to court evangelical voters. Rick Warren is best known for his book, The Purpose Driven Life , which was a NYTimes best seller and a book of wide appeal well beyond the evangelical sub-culture. In this forum they will be discussing Rick Warren's primary foci: AIDS, poverty, and the environment. I've noted a heightened interest in these social areas among Evangelicals before, areas which in the past have been primarily associated on the Democratic platform. So, Rick Warren has done what no one else has: brought the two candidates together to discuss side-by-side their views on these crucial global issues. This, by the way, comes on the he...

On the cover of the latest New Yorker magazine, there is a sketch of Barack Obama dressed in a turban and Muslim garb, giving a fist pump to his wife, who is holding an AK-47. They are in the Oval Office, with an American Flag burning in the fireplace, and a portrait of Osama bin Laden on the wall. The New Yorker claims that this is just satire, and it is part of its article on the politics of fear, meant to mock the portrait that Obama's right-wing critics have painted of him. But Obama isn't laughing. For others, it seems, the satire just falls into the right-wing critics hands, playing into their imagery (or the New Yorker is not implicated in what they critique). The problem is a matter of consistency. If one wants to do this type of satire, one should consistently do it; otherwise, it can be misinterpreted, as this particular cover was. For example, I think that Stephen Colbert, who engages in this type of satire very consistently, could more easily get away with it...

My quote of the day for July 4th will come from Francois-Marie Arouet, known to most of us by his most popular pseudonym, Voltaire. By the way, he had 174 pseudonyms. Why would an 18th-century Frenchman be an appropriate quote of the day for the Fourth, you may ask? July 4th in the U.S. is a day of extraordinary expressions of patriotism mixed with a lot of explosives (fireworks--invented by the Chinese). This, moreover, is often mixed with religious sentiments. "God bless America" is only the most quotidian of these. Often these are mixed with hyper-religiosity, and, at times, religion and patriotism mix so inextricably that in some quarters showing lagging patriotism apparently indicates religious doubt or backsliding. How dare one say that the "founding fathers" were not dedicated Christians of the same ilk of evangelical Christianity today? So, the mixture of patriotism and religion follows a wide range of sentiment from almost innocuous to ridiculous. Y...

As the general election begins in earnest, Obama appears to be moving to the center...or further... I am almost convinced that due to courting swing voters, the parties will eventually trade sides on a lot of issues... So, in a recent AP article , Obama says that he had been "tagged" as being on the left, but these positions that he is now revealing to the public have been long-held. What are these positions? They have to do with guns (n.b. the recent Supreme Court decision on the 2nd Amendment), government surveillance, and capital punishment. If he was "tagged" as a liberal before and he is trying to move to the center, you can just guess what he is saying about these issues. Evidently, he's also taken to quoting Reagan. These are all "centrist" positions...or, perhaps, conservative, but what will help him with Evangelicals is that he is saying that he supports faith-based initiatives, taking a page out of G. W. Bush's playbook. Forgive me...

The NYTimes , once again, has an article on Barack Obama seeking Evangelical votes that during the last two elections went to Bush--according to this article's estimation, they made up about 25% of Bush's support. Obama is relying upon the shifting ground of Evangelical positions on issues such as the environment, poverty, AIDS, and genocide. See my previous posting on Evangelicals for Obama from May 11, and my general posting on Religion, especially Evangelicals, and the Democratic Party , from last summer. How will he do this? The Article says: "Between now and November, the Obama forces are planning as many as 1,000 house parties and dozens of Christian rock concerts, gatherings of religious leaders, campus visits and telephone conference calls to bring together voters of all ages motivated by their faith to engage in politics. It is the most intensive effort yet by a Democratic candidate to reach out to self-identified evangelical or born-again Christians and to try to...

Although I typically do not consider myself particularly political, I have noticed that a good number of my postings tend to be about politics, particularly politics and religion. I have posted a few times on Evangelical voters, Catholic voters, and the different candidates, partly because they seem to be getting the most press. But NYT has an article today on Muslim voters and Barack Obama, particularly Obama's apparent distancing himself from Islam and Muslim voters. According to the article, many Muslim voters were originally enthusiastic about Obama as a candidate. And when Keith Ellison, the country's first Muslim congressman, volunteered to help out in Iowa last year, particularly to speak at a Mosque in Cedar Rapids, which has a sizable and older Muslim population, Obama's aides asked him not to do so because it might stir up controversy, quoting, "We have a tightly wrapped message," suggesting that a Muslim politician speaking at a mosque on Obama's...