Don’t Let the Car Fool You, My Real Treasure is in Heaven: Bushianity Makes a

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http://www.buzzflash.com/whitehurst/05/03/whi05001.html

 

 

March 16, 2005

 

 

 

 

" Don't Let the Car Fool You, My Real Treasure is in Heaven " :

Bushianity Makes a Mockery of Christ

 

by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst

 

 

 

A few days ago I saw a brand new PT Cruiser with a bumper sticker

that, at first glance, didn't make sense: " Don't Let the Car Fool You,

My Real Treasure Is in Heaven " . Several classy-looking Christian

symbols adorned the vehicle, along with the ubiquitous " We Support Our

Troops and President Bush " and " W " window seals.

 

As I stared at this odd assortment, the meaning dawned on me. Unlike

the old bumper sticker that read, " My Other Car is a Mercedes " , this

one wasn't an exercise in self-deprecating humor: It was bragging to

passersby about the driver's money, which isn't too shabby, since a

new PT Cruiser starts at $14,000. Bob Sheer writes about this new

culture of greed, cleverly disguised as " Christian " :

 

" So why gut the bankruptcy law now? Greed, pure and simple. And,

pathetically, this bankers' dream is becoming a reality through the

support of Republicans who have decided, as they often do with social

issues, to selectively pick and choose when to follow the teachings of

the Bible.

 

" A key sponsor of the bill, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa),

actively opposes abortion and same-sex marriage on biblical grounds

yet believes the Good Book's clear definition and condemnation of

usury is irrelevant. The Old Testament, revered by Jews, Muslims and

Christians alike, mandates debt forgiveness after seven years, as was

pointed out earlier this month by an organization of Christian lawyers

in a letter to Grassley. " I can't listen to Christian lawyers, " said

the senator, " because I would be imposing the Bible on a diverse

population. " The Bankruptcy Bill: A Tutorial in Greed, Commondreams,

3/15/05

 

Of course, imposing the Bible on a diverse population is what the

Bushians do best -- but not the whole Bible, as Mr. Sheer notes. Not

only are inconvenient verses in the Old Testament ignored by rightwing

politicians, but most of Jesus' teachings are, as well. For the Bush

administration, Christ's most deplorable teachings are those that

advocate nonviolence, love of one's enemy, social justice, the refusal

to store up riches on earth, praying privately without wearing one's

piety on one's sleeve, and choosing instead to share with the needy

and vulnerable.

 

I do wonder how the strategy meetings must have gone in the months and

years prior to November 2000. The primary question on the minds, if

not the lips, of Bush's more cynical strategic advisors must have

been: How in the world can we get America's huge Christian population

to sign on with a wealthy movement aiming to disconnect Jesus'

non-Republican teachings from Christianity, hollowing out the last

vestiges of charity and justice that remain in America's legal codes,

moral values and social contract?

 

Easy, some bright fellow may have said while sipping his cappuccino --

just look Christian, talk Christian, pray Christian, and nobody will

ever know the difference. When promoting unChristlike policies, be

careful to surround them with a lot of prayer and somber-faced talk

about " values " and " godliness " . Always end with " God bless America " ,

throw in " One nation under God " , and talk a lot about Jesus saving you

from this or that sin. But never quote Jesus if you can help it -- too

liberal.

 

The Difference Between Bushianity and Christianity: " That Poor-People

Stuff "

 

Bushianity is really all about power and wealth -- the divine right of

the haves to get more of each, in order to better supervise the

have-nots. Bushianity is quietly (discretely, always discretely)

hostile to Jesus' teachings, but loudly praises his birth (before he

could teach) and his death (after he could teach). Nothing between

those two events in Jesus' life is of interest to Bushians, who

greatly prefer the fire-breathing biblical writers advocating ruthless

wars, slavery, female submission, the masses' unquestioning obedience

of rulers, and the death penalty for homosexuals and rebellious children.

 

The faith-based Bush administration, disinterested as usual in " that

poor-people stuff " , is working fast and furious on a number of fronts

to put working and financially strapped Americans in their place. Its

hallmark strategy for stealing from the poor to give to the rich is to

overwhelm the public with multiple simultaneous changes, thus

pre-empting time to think about, pray about, or oppose them.

 

The ultimate goal is to replace traditional American " we're all in

this together " culture with the Bushian " You're On Your Own-ership

Society " . In this nightmare world, the working people are thrashed

with measure after measure aimed at taking what once was theirs. The

rationale underlying this " society " (a huge cluster of individuals

with no obligations to one another) is as follows:

 

" If you want to be a good Christian you have to be a good

Republican, and to be a good Republican you have to be a pure

capitalist -- no " safety net " garbage, please. Don't get involved in

other peoples' misery. Take care of Number One. You don't owe them

anything. Don't share with others, except in little dribs and drabs

called " faith-based " -- sharing is for girly-men, makes lazy people

lazier, and sets a bad precedent that your Ownership neighbors will

resent. Oh, and don't look to us for help if misfortune strikes; you

brought it on yourself.

 

The Bushians have been incredibly successful in their efforts to

strike Jesus' teachings from the record and from the hearts of Bush

supporters. They decry any attempt to remove four words, " one nation

under God " , out of the pledge, while working to purge Christ's values

from something that's a matter of life and death for many vulnerable

Americans: the national budget. Bob Sheer sheds light on the sorrow

that lies ahead:

 

" Sadly, when it comes to serving the prerogatives of banks, you

can forget about those family values that folks such as Grassley

prattle on about. The bill he wrote placed mothers and their children

behind credit card companies in the line for a bankrupt ex-husband's

paycheck, for example, which is positively Dickensian. Expected to

sail through the House and onto the president's desk in the next few

weeks, the bill turns the federal government into a guardian angel of

an industry gone mad, placing no significant restriction on soaring

interest rates and proliferating fees.

 

" One extremely modest amendment that was rejected by the Senate

would have blocked creditors from recovering debts from military

personnel if the loans had annual rates higher than 36%. Also killed

were sensible amendments designed to protect those ruined by a medical

emergency, identity theft, dependent-caregiver expenses or loss of

income due to being called to full-time military duty through the

National Guard or the Reserve. "

 

Jesus Didn't Plead

 

The Bush budget is indeed immoral, and as Sheer points out, it's

unpatriotic too! Progressive Christians are terribly upset and worried

about what lies ahead, and are trying to get this administration,

falsely advertised as " Christian " , to change course. I agree

wholeheartedly with the objectives of the " Christian Left " -- but

something is missing. We are tilting at windmills because we don't

really see what we're up against.

 

" U.S. church activists rallied on Capitol Hill on Monday to

protest the proposed 2006 federal budget, which they contend provides

too little funding for children and the poor. " It's quite troubling, "

said Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches

USA, speaking of the Bush administration's budget request. " There's

not enough money for public education, health care and children. "

 

" …The Bush administration's $2.5 trillion budget request for

fiscal 2006 gives a 5 percent increase to the Pentagon and a 7 percent

increase to the Department of Homeland Security, while cutting 11.5

percent from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 4.5

percent from community development programs and $45 billion from the

Medicaid health program for the poor.

 

" It was the second time in less than a week than a coalition of

church groups gathered in Washington to plead their case. " Church

Coalition Takes Aim at US Budget Plan, Reuters, 3/14/05

 

Yes, the Bush budget is troubling, and will harm American citizens,

particularly the young, the old and the sick, from sea to shining sea.

But I'm afraid that the good churches can plead for an eternity and

see nothing more than a condescending nod from the White House. Sorry

to be a pessimist, but the truth of the matter is that we can't expect

Bushians to listen to Christians. That's because, in spite of their

joint use of the label " Christian " , these religions are quite different.

 

You can't fight what you don't understand. Until we admit that

Bushianity is the mirror opposite of Christianity, we'll keep

" pleading " . Such entreaties may make us feel better but they'll fall

on deaf ears. Christians, if we hope to be actually help the poor, the

weak and the suffering, must stop making the soothing but dangerously

mistaken assumption that " we're all Christians, after all " , following

the same teachings and worshipping the same God. We are not. It's time

we woke up and smelled the coffee, as Ann Landers used to say.

 

When Jesus saw the corruption of the temple by " the money changers " --

actually a highly political use of religion with monetary rewards for

the " haves " -- he didn't plead. He didn't expect the hypocritical

religious and political leaders of his day to have ears to hear, and

focused his energies instead on calling sincere religious people to

turn away from their greedy leaders and back to God. It's time we did

the same.

 

* * *

 

Dr. Teresa Whitehurst is a clinical psychologist, author of Jesus on

Parenting: 10 Essential Principles That Will Transform Your Family

(2004) and coauthor of The Nonviolent Christian Parent (2004). She

offers parenting workshops, holds discussion groups on Nonviolent

Christianity, and writes the column, " Democracy, Faith and Values:

Because You Shouldn't Have to Choose Just One " as seen on her website.

 

 

 

 

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