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Opinion
Thursday, April 19, 2001
For comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Perspective Religious right doesn't reflect Christ's ministry
don't necessarily think Jesus was a
necessary by their own work Democrat, but I'm tired of people presuming all Christians are Republicans, and all Republicans are Christians. More specifically I'm bothered by those equating Christianity with the stereotype of the heartless corporate conservative.
Sure, both sides of the social-political spectrum toss around the religion issue. Some conservatives seem to assume that all of their positions are Bible-based. Some liberals think all Christians are power-hungry, money-motivated, intolerant, judgmental, even hateful or racist. I find both steps steeped in ignorance.
As a Christian and a Democrat, most of my political beliefs spring from my faith. The Bible exalts helping the underprivileged and attacks the love of money as the root of all evil. Jesus spoke of being prudent with money and about giving up possessions and putting others before yourself.
Jesus would have made a very bad capitalist. Jesus came from a
David Grummon
columnist
option@kanasan.com
working class family of carpenters, and his disciples were mostly fishermen — not the rich, powerful or influential people of the day. He associated with society's outcasts, ate with tax collectors, forgave adulteresses and healed lepers. He crossed gender and racial barriers by befriending a Samaritan woman.
The dominant theme of his ministry was to love one another.
Jesus was all about kicking the status quo in the tail. He said the meek would inherit the earth, not those most efficiently competing in the global marketplace. He advocated recognizing the value of every human, even those most despised by society. He turned Old Testament conventions (such as "an eye for an eye") on their heads (forgive one another, turn the other cheek). Even so, the Old Testament emphasizes socioeconomic justice as well, such as helping orphans and widows, and being a good steward of the earth.
Christians believe Christ was both completely human and completely divine, the complete revelation of the nature of God. Christian doctrine teaches that nobody is good enough, that everyone falls sometime. But as the only perfect and sinless man who walked the earth, Jesus loved us all so much that while we were still sinning — hurting ourselves and others — Jesus took the punishment we deserved: death.
Although denominations vary on the specifics of doctrine, the most basic tenet of Christianity is that the key to salvation is admitting to our sins and believing that Christ died for us.
So why doesn't this sound like the Christians we see on TV? Why are there racists and gay-bashers claiming to do the will of God? Why is there a stereotype of Christians being judgmental, hateful and power-hungry? Why does this peace-love-and-forgiveness philosophy really not sound like the new "Christian" White House?
There is an enormous diversity of people claiming to be Christian, and sometimes reasonable minds disagree. Sometimes the media focus on misbehaving Christians. Some Christians have a good sense of right and wrong but stumble in how they convey that to others. We often forget that Christians are humans who fall down too.
Some people, such as the rabily anti-gay Fred Phelps or members of the Ku Klux Klan, find a few verses of the Bible and twist them to justify their hatred. Many, I fear, have missed the point of Christ's life and ministry and are entrenched in a mindset that's hard to alter.
Others, I believe, market themselves as Christians to gain support for political views that have nothing to do with the faith. If Christ were alive today, would he be in the Senate fighting to allow wealthy corporations to ransack the planet for the sake of short-term financial gain, or working to cut services to the poor to give tax cuts to the rich? Probably not.
To be fair, there are traditionally Democratic issues that I can't really imagine Jesus fighting for either. But I think Jesus would not have been in politics at all.
He was not about changing the world through political power,but rather changing human hearts through love,transforming our values and our relationships with others and with God.
Grummon is a Beloit second-year law student.
John Trever/TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
Kansan report card
Pass:
Student Union Activities. Thanks to SUA, consumer advocate and Green Party guru Ralph Nader spoke Monday night about the commercialization of America. But like every other speaker, he pocketed a hefty fee: $18,000, to be exact. Green, indeed.
- Chancellor Hemeway, KU's top administrator agrees to use money from the University's contract with Coca-Cola to finance more scholarships for minorities. Suddenly, we don't feel so guilty for buying Mr. Pibb.
Facilities Operations. Spring is in the air, and it's on the campus grounds, too. These KU beauticians have done masterful work at making the University lovely. We have a suggestion, however, to make Wescoe Hall look pretty: dynamite.
Fail:
Students who don't vote. Turnout for Student Senate elections was better this year at 17.3 percent, but more than 20,000 students didn't cast ballots in a close election. We'd take the time to defend student apathy — ah, but we don't feel like it.
Overaggressive coalition supporters. A party-goer at the VOICE coalition party manhandled a KUJH cameraman, and someone sprayed pro-Delta Force graffiti on the front of the Wheel. The champagne was flowing that night; so was the stupid juice.
**Projector thieves.** Someone yanked four of the popular teaching aids from Wescoe Hall. We have to wonder what the thief would do with them — a really weird hookah, perhaps?
Perspective
Stand Up for Life week is a time to be thankful
With all the commotion surrounding us, we rarely stop for a minute and be thankful for our chance to live.
With every breath we take and every beat of our heart, we continue to survive.
In that spirit. Stand Up for Life Week can be a special time to contemplate and celebrate life.
What better a time to celebrate life than in the springtime? Nature is rejoicing as it blossoms. The earth laughs in flowers. It naturally renews the culture of life that surrounds us.
Likewise, we can rejoice that we are alive and moving somewhere today.
But sadly, there exist many injustices in this world that deny human beings the fundamental right to life.
Tim Lang
guest columnist
option@kansan.com
In America, we fail to grant equally this essential, inalienable right to about 1.4 million persons a year. During the prenatal stage of development, some of these humans are slaughtered and discarded into trash cans without any say in the matter.
Babies depend on us to nurture them and to give them a chance to develop into fruitful adults. By allowing mothers to cheat the unborn child of its rights while still in the womb, we are recklessly stealing our children from the inside.
It is ethically imperative to guarantee this right to life if we are to prosper in a culture of life. If we stand up for life, we can honestly say that pro-choice is a lie — babies never choose to die.
The human at the prenatal stage of life is a part of us as a human race. If it wasn't, then where would we be if there were no prenatal stages to life? We would fail to develop.
How will we prosper in love if our undignified government allows us to kill our next generation during its first stage of life? If we humans have only one responsibility, it is to ensure the right to life.
Since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in *Roe v. Wade*, this issue has become so serious that we cannot afford to remain quiet. When it comes to truly capturing the essence of abortion, Pope John Paul II nailed it on the head when he called it "the most unjust execution."
Yet we are failing
Fortunately, we now have a president who truly stands up for life on the abortion issue. George W. Bush said "the culture of life is a welcoming culture, never excluding, never dividing, never despairing and always affirming life in all its seasons."
And we called slavery bad. Thank goodness Abraham Lincoln had the guts to stand up for what is right when he did.
During this week of celebration, I encourage you to savor every aspect of life. Feel fortunate that you can wake up every morning. Be grateful for the love of your parents and friends. Appreciate the happiness you feel when life seems to be going the right way, and embrace the sadness when it doesn't.
And most importantly, be thankful for the choice our mothers made when they bore us, giving us life.
With every heartbeat, we are reminded of this culture of life described by Bush.
Lang is a Topeka junior in religious studies and psychology.
Editorial
Hate message has no place at University
An anti-gay message left on a residence hall door should inspire us to end bigotry.
Every day, University of Kansas students interact and communicate with each other. Whether it's by talking with a new acquaintance, speaking up in a class discussion or sending an e-mail forward to friends, these interactions reflect our individual identities.
Unfortunately, sometimes communication can be cruel, hurtful and completely unwarranted.
On April 10, four students living in Lewis Hall awake to find a Fred-Phelps-worthy hateful message scrawled on their door with a marker. The message read "AIDS kills faes dead."
As most bigos do, the writer left the message anonymously. If the writer felt confident enough to leave such an opinionated statement, then he or she is a coward for closing the door on peoples' chances to respond. Police later arrested a KU student, Craig Avery, in connection with the anti-gay graffity.
How do the everyday interactions that we all experience relate to this cowardice? Each time we communicate, an individual's beliefs and values shine through. But each person also has the power to stop hateful messages from spreading. That power starts with our own beliefs and attitudes.
The next time you hear a joke or get an e-mail that attempts to foster hate, think about why it repulsed you. Then, don't allow it to continue by passing it on or just keeping quiet.
Instead, be loud. Tell the message's writer that you can't subscribe to the negative values that message attempts to keep alive.
In a way, the hate and ignorance of a few can serve as a learning tool. We can examine what little purpose hate has in our society and resolve to set an example by fostering love instead of cruelty.
Each person has the freedom to say what he or she wants, even if it is profoundly mean-spirited. But especially at an institution of higher learning, we should dissect these messages to see what they really are — ignorant rants — and work to cure this plague of hate.
Katherine Marchin for the editorial board
Now! Post your own message and view others in the online Free for All, or join message board discussions on a variety of topics, from men's basketball to the Lawrence arts and entertainment scene.
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Free for All callers have 20 seconds to speak about any topic they wish. The Kansan reserves the right to edit submissions, and not all of them will be published. Slanderous statements will not be printed. For more comments, go to www.kansan.com.
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I think the Free for All should be a bit more positive.
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Everything you write about Ben Walker is slanderous.
I'd just like to say that I am one of the 20,000 students who did not vote in the Student Senate elections because I really don't care. So if you guys could stop printing stuff about Student Senate elections, I would be really grateful and so would 20,000 other students. Thanks.
The message KU is sending when KU underpays GTAs and lecturers and only gives them bad quality, overpriced health care is that KU wants the next generation of professors to be bitter, poorer, part-time teachers with rotten teeth and bad shoes.
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Ben Walker's keeping that baseball because it's his personal property. If I move into your dorm room after you, does that mean I get to keep all your shoes?
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I have a dream that, one day, students will be judged by content of character, not by area of study.
In lieu of Pride Week, I would like to pay homage to all the alternative lifestyle companions who have not been respected and have been the result of really petty people and situations.
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Does anyone else agree with me that Ben Walker and Eric Chenowith could be great friends?
Hey, I was doing a little grocery shopping at the Community Mercantile yesterday, and I just wanted to say how right on it was to have the mayor of Lawrence as my cashier.
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Question authority.
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I'd just like to say thank you to all the people that called the housing department to complain about it being too hot because the air conditioning wasn't on. Now it's below 60 degrees in our apartment. Thanks a lot.
I can't believe all the people with religion and Christianity comments in the Free for All and paper. You people still believe in God? This is the 21st century Seriously, I didn't think they still made your model.
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All absolute statements are wrong — dead wrong.
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