26 comments

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  neuro_nurse

  8 months ago

  January 2003 I returned to the U.S. after spending a year volunteering in rural Ethiopia. I spent the next several months suffering from re-entry shock.
  
  Consumerism and/or the worship of money is the state religion of the U.S. Words that come to mind are grotesque, obscene, absurd.
  
  It seems to me that many people in this country can’t see through the veil of lies that covers their eyes. Our government, our media, and commercial sector all work together to maintain the lies – “Everything is okay, as long as you do as you’re told.” "Buy what we tell you to buy, believe what we tell you to believe - and never, ever question - it's unpatriotic!"
  
  Do you own a TV? That’s the greatest, most powerful tool for perpetuating the lies. I can’t even listen to commercial radio because I can’t stand being lied to. (shameless plug: http://www.wwoz.org/programs/streams)
  
  The same thing happened to me when I returned to the U.S. in 1979 after living in Tehran for a year.
  
  We’re so steeped in lies we lie to each other without realizing it sometimes.
  
  I can’t wait to get out of this country and go back to Africa, so I won’t have to continuously pull that veil of lies from in front of me.
  
  Pax Christi
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• 

  Flaneuse

  8 months ago

  Actually, most of the contemporary pagans I know show as much, or more, commitment to simple living as any other group. Earth-based religions have always viewed the natural world as sacred, not simply as a provider of "resources". It's a broad generalization, but please be mindful that Christians do not have a monopoly on social and ecological concerns! Anyone can be self-centered and consumerist, regardless of their faith, or lack thereof.
  
  Also, as a fundraiser in the nonprofit sector, my understanding is that philanthropic giving does *not* decrease in hard times. Perhaps people redirect their giving from "vanity philanthropy" to large universities and arts organizations to aid work; I don't know the details, but I've heard several reports that giving stays strong, even increases, in difficult economic times.
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• 

  behindthecurtain

  8 months ago

  Pagan Rituals in Broad Daylight
  by Julie Clawson
  
  Is an apt title. It is plain, because we can't escape the reminders in advertising/pop culture to fuel our inner, empty, furnace with more things.
  
  The cost to our over-extended budgets and the impact on our environment are plain as well.
  
  There is no amount of giving/charity/tithe that can compensate for the reckless disregard (faith and non-faith people) have for reigning in this need for comforting things.
  
  Our appetites, which are never satisfied, leave our lives empty-
  
  empty as the barren lands, here and abroad, that were plundered to get more things.
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• 

  jkc1945

  8 months ago

  When I read a well-written and prophetic piece like this one, a hypothetical question always comes to my mind: if the "government" were to reduce taxes somehow to a minimum required to provide "basic infrastructure' for living (roads, schools, fire protection, police, et al), and return the rest to the citizens' individual control, would we then be willing to step up and, through our much-increased ability to give,within the churches, actually provide for the needs of the poor, disabled, et al? I have to think that there would be adequate wealth in our combined hands to do that, all of a sudden. And i have to believe that we could do it much more efficiently, through the churches.
  
  But we have not done so well at this in the past, as a church One of our 'excuses' of course, has been that "we pay taxes for that." But I personally would much rather do it through the church, if we could bring ourselves to let go of all the sudden, extra wealth, give it away, and actually make it happen. Is the church ready to do what God has always called it to do? The poor are our responsibility, not the government's.
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  CelticChristian

  8 months ago

  The poor are our and our government's responsibility. Isaiah chapter 1 twice calls on the princes (government leaders) to care for the orphan, widow, and oppressed.
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  JeanM

  8 months ago

  JKC,
  
  Funny, I was just having this same discussion with my husband this morning! We didn't come up with an answer, of course, but sadly, I really feel that we as a country would not step up to the plate, given the opportunity you describe. Just on this blog alone I have heard many people say, "It's my money, I earned it, you're not taking it away." Why would they change just because the government stopped taking it away? If it's just the government's taking it that bugs them, you'd think they'd give it all away BEFORE the government could get their mitts on it. Then there is the incessant, subliminal (and not so subliminal) bombardment we face every day of messages telling us that we're not happy and if we would just buy x, or y, or z, we would be. I wish I had a better view of my fellow man than this. Sigh...
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  mecyssne

  8 months ago

  JKC--I sure hope we would be. I sure don't know though. I am a classic small-government conservative, but have appreciated dialogue with my big-government friends in church about this very issue.
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• 

  squeaky

  8 months ago

  I've seen this argument before, and I think it has some merit. However, it also seems to be arguing that the reason people can't afford to give to those in need is that they are paying too many taxes to have money left over to do so.
  
  I have no doubt that this is probably the case for some households. But I would also argue that for most people, it isn't so much a question of high tax rates as it is a question of spending priorities amongst individuals and families that keep us from giving more. Most of us would easily be able to afford to help those in need more if we, for example, went without that new computer, or that extra TV, or that boat, or new car, or new clothes when we have plenty of clothes that are in great condition, or the new addition to an already huge home, etc. For most people, it isn't the need for lower taxes to free up money, but the realization that we don't need so much stuff that would free up more money.
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• 

  kevin47

  8 months ago

  Lots of use of the royal we here. I don't generally see people at my church engaged in the activity Julie describes. I don't think they see it in me either, though they are certainly free to bring it up to me if they do.
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  behindthecurtain

  8 months ago

  "engaged in the activity" - You make it sound like a vice. It is. (covetousness).
  
  Or -did you mean "engaged in the activity" of "motivate (ing) us to lend a caring hand to others who are hurting." ?
  
  "...they are certainly free to bring it up to me if they do."
  
  You've been brought up. (no carpet, just-bare, scratched floors)
  
  I'd venture to say if one (not royal "we", but one's personal application may vary) does not see any reflection of one's self in the piece then one might conclude:
  
  1. They, we, or one have reached a state of complete selflessness (read extreme sanctification) regarding obedience and the shunning of covetousness
  
  or
  
  2. They, we, one thinks all those verses about the "heart is deceitful, among all things and desperately wicked" applies to the socialists who want to deprive us of our property
  
  or
  
  3. You just might be a closet socialist
  
  If only we had more like your church.
  
  You raise the spirit of humility to new heights.
  
  Did someone hit a little too close to home?
  
  If what you claim you and your church are doing has God's complete blessing-
  
  don't be so haughty about it.
  
  BTC
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• 

  pastorc

  8 months ago

  Thank you for sharing your views Flaneuse, I share them. I was offended by the flippant use of the religious label "Pagan" in this piece. To use the word to mean "anti-Christian" or "all things un-Christian" is just simply inaccurate. I'm a Christian, in fact I'm a pastor, but I can't read this and not say anything. I would go farther than Flaneuse and say that in many ways pagans are in fact much more inclined to be earth-friendly and social justice-oriented than most Christians I know. You could even say that they lead the way. This mis-characterization of another world religion is the same thing that many Christians complain about when Christianity is labeled and misrepresented as judgmental, ultra-conservative, and hypocritical. If we don't want people mis-characterizing us...we shouldn't do the same.
  
  That being said, I think the point of the article is right on and is a good message...its just a shame how it was presented.
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  Palosaari

  8 months ago

  "Pagan" was first used by us, Christians, to refer to those who weren't Christian. It referred to them as civilians, and us as soldiers, not, as might be the case today, with the implication that we were therefore to attack them, but rather that we were soldiers of God to use all means to protect and help the civilians. (Soldiers, obviously, whose enemies were only the spirits and principalities.) A pagan, in the way we used when we first invented the word, is simply a category, someone who isn't following Christ, and thus not the equivalent of "heathen" as the Muslims might use it- Muslims would be pagans too. It is no judgment of morality to say someone is a pagan; like you say, many pagans are more just than some Christians. It is a category. And of late, some modern groups advocating polytheism have appropriated it; but it does not deny it's historical theological meaning within Christianity.
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  sigride

  8 months ago

  There are lots of pagans in my community -- seriously -- it's a religion where I live. They're polytheistic and tend to like Wiccan practices and Celtic stuff.
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  squeaky

  8 months ago

  On a similar thread last year, someone posted a link to a short video called "The Story of Stuff." It was very good. I encourage everyone to check it out.
  
  http://www.storyofstuff.com/
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  stacykitty

  8 months ago

  As I read this I find myself wondering about a certain portion of those of faith. They seem so focused on banning this and that, imparting laws and restrictions. Yet they also seem to leave out what it would seem to me Jesus walked the earth for, grace and healing. Instead of pouring money into ads and measures for such things as banning gay marriage, why isn't money poured into ads for helping those in need? Especially in these hard economic times. We don't have to go far to find a struggling individual or family. Imagine if all of the money used to run the anti-gay marriage amendment ads was given to those in need? Would that not do more to support the message of those of faith? I find myself pondering and wondering this more and more each day. I am hopefull that we will see some change in this generation.
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  Palosaari

  8 months ago

  Without seeing the show, and just based only on what you said here, I wonder if the "pagan ritual" under the streets refers to us- as we were so often called atheists at the time, and considered to engage in aberrant practices, and had to hide our ceremonies and meetings in secret, often underground.
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• 

  brianb

  8 months ago

  Julie,
  
  According to you if I buy too much stuff I am engaging in worshiping things. If I go to Walmart to save money and be a good steward with what God has given me and leave more money to give to others, I am supporting cheap labor and oppressing people. If I stop buying at all, I will support cheap labor even more.
  
  So do I buy lavioushly so that the workers that made the product can make more money (Isn't that the T word? Trickle down economics???). Or do I frugally buy and oppress all those poor hard working laborers?
  
  Im so confused! I'm just going to take my wife out for a steak dinner, to see fireproof and go shopping!
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• 

  squeaky

  8 months ago

  brianb--
  
  Up above I posted a link to a short video called "the story of stuff"
  
  http://www.storyofstuff.com/
  
  We may not be aware of how our buying habits affect others in other parts of the world, but they do.
  
  One suggestion is simply to buy local. Buying local whenever possible saves energy because the goods don't have to be transported long distances, plus you are helping your own local economy, which I would think is a good thing. And when it comes to food, buying locally almost always results in buying better, fresher food.
  
  Take that steak dinner, for example--how much better might the steak taste if it was freshly custom cut by your local butcher?
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  Tony_D

  8 months ago

  I have a great deal of sympathy with neuro_nurse (compounded probably by all my British post-imperialist guilt) but isn't our place as Christians in the front line, bearing witness where God has set us and doing our best (a) to see straight ourslves and (b) to pull "that veil of lies" back for our neighbours?
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  neuro_nurse

  8 months ago

  Good point,
  
  I tend not to go easy on myself - with a few exceptions, I'm my own worst critic (too many years in Catholic school).
  
  Living behind the veil of lies is comfortable, and people really don’t want to hear that the things they believe aren’t true. I watch as people’s eyes glaze over and then they quickly change the subject when I tell them something that is contrary to their beliefs.
  
  Sometimes I think that all I can do is walk the walk. Even if someone doesn’t understand why I want to work in Africa, I figure that I’ve at least planted a seed in her/his mind, but it’s not up to me to water the seed.
  
  Micah 6:8 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you”
  
  Peace!
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• 

  Tony_D

  8 months ago

  And, I should have added, most importantly doing our best, by God's grace, to walk the walk as well as talk the talk, viz. to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8)
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  nuclearferret

  8 months ago

  Apparently you're under the impression that low-income people do not read your column/blog.
  
  Think about these realities: many of the poor do shop at Wal-Mart (and for many, doing that is luxury when they typically buy the items they need daily at "dollar" stores). They owe no apologies to anyone who has their job making those goods. For others, saving those dollars by shopping at a Wal-Mart allows for paying for church school tuition, or fulfilling their donation commitment to their church. People are not buying luxury items, typically at Wal-Mart (although I hear the chain aspires to market more high end items).
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  mscynthia

  8 months ago

  I don't think of WalMart as being the most effective social entrepreneurs in the world. Mohammad Unis once talked about creating businesses that made life better for people with out concern for whether they made a profit. He wanted to start more of these even if they did not make a profit, because they would improve the quality of life on the planet.
  
  There has to be better ways of including everyone in the economy with out exploiting them and then just as you suggest provide others who are economically challenged with affordable goods and services. It is a complicated economic and ecological puzzle and will require our most creative efforts.
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  jurisnaturalist

  8 months ago

  A real pagan ritual: voting.
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  kjabernathy

  8 months ago

  My partner is Pagan (Wiccan) and I am a Christian. Often she reads Sojourners before I do! While I understand the historical designation of Pagan--it's a different one today and a term that encompasses a number of polytheistic groups. To equate it with "consumerism" is very far from the truth. I've attended "Pagan Rituals" and they are certainly not involved in worshiping the idols of American wealth.
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  mscynthia

  8 months ago

  As a volunteer at an urban non-profit that serves children at risk and special needs children I wonder what the future of our programs will be in the future.
  
  Will people choose to give more because they know the need is greater now than before. Or will people be holding back because of their anxiety about the future? What kind of choices to you plan to make with your habits of giving?
  
  I'd also like to know who has plans to do more volunteering in the coming year.
  
  The children I am thinking of can benefit from some mentoring and opportunities for cultural enrichment.
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