Dr. Teresa Whitehurst
March 16, 2005
"Don’t Let the Car Fool You, My Real Treasure is in Heaven": Bushianity Makes a Mockery of Christ
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.
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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.