One of the extraordinary people that I have had the pleasure to meet along this path is retired Pastor Howard Bess who resides in Palmer, Alaska…   miles from Wasilla.  Pastor Bess was interviewed by the press last year during the presidential campaign. When Sarah Palin was on the Wasilla city council , she organized an all out effort to censor a book written by Pastor Bess titled, “Pastor I Am Gay”.  Her efforts stirred up the hackles of like-minded extremists in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley (Mat-Su) and they were successful in preventing his book from being sold and promoted in local bookstores. As stated in an article in Salon.com from September 2008…

“Inevitably, his [Pastor Bess] work brought him into conflict with Palin and other highly politicized Christian fundamentalists in the valley. “Things got very intense around here in the ’90s — the culture war was very hot here,” Bess said. “The evangelicals were trying to take over the valley. They took over the school board, the community hospital board, even the local electric utility. And Sarah Palin was in the direct center of all these culture battles, along with the churches she belonged to.”

Bess’ first run-in with Palin’s religious forces came when he decided to write his book, “Pastor, I Am Gay.” The book was the result of a theological journey that began in the 1970s when Bess was asked for guidance by a closeted homosexual in his Santa Barbara congregation”…[which became the inspiration for his book].

“She scares me,” said Bess. “She’s Jerry Falwell with a pretty face.

“At this point, people in this country don’t grasp what this person is all about. The key to understanding Sarah Palin is understanding her radical theology.”

Over the past year I have had the pleasure of consulting and speaking with Pastor Bess, who sends newsletters out on a regular basis.  The one I received this morning I think speaks volumes about the compassionate, caring and kind Jesus Christ that is the basis for mainstream Christians…as opposed to this “Warrior Christ” that the evangelical extremists Dominionist cult of re-invented ‘c’hristianity has created. Please watch the following video with an interview of Pastor Bess by Max Blumenthal:

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I don’t mean this to sound like Bible study, but I think it behooves us all to understand the way the Dominionists have such a violent and dramatically different view from mainstream Christians so that we don’t become intolerant of all people of Christian faith.  I would like to share a few observations from Pastor Bess that are worthy of noting from this mornings’ newsletter with you…

THE CHALLENGE OF CULTURAL TRANSLATION

By Howard Bess

The Bible is a collection of ancient writings.  The Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek.  Naively I studied Greek and Hebrew thinking that they would be the keys that would unlock the truest meanings of Christianity’s sacred book.  Greek was my undergraduate minor and the study of Hebrew awaited me in my first year of graduate school.  Along the way I ran into some surprises.

For starters, I was introduced to textual criticism.  I learned that there were hundreds of variant texts, and even the oldest of those manuscripts did not even come close to the time of original writings.  Then I faced the reality that Jesus’ every day language was neither Hebrew nor Greek.  It was Aramaic.  If he spoke a second language, it was a pigeon Greek that had minimal resemblance to either classical Greek or koine (common) Greek.  Trying to trace the words of Jesus with some level of accuracy all the way to modern English translations is a detective story not fully understood by the finest of Bible scholars.

My next big surprise came when I realized that an even more challenging translation task lay ahead of me as a pastor.  It is called cultural translation.  Every Sunday I had the responsibility to speak to my congregation about what the Bible messages mean to people of the late 20th century and the early 21st century.  Flawed as the texts of our modern English Bibles might be, clear messages emerge and demand to be translated into modern life.

Here at the beginning of the 21st century, a vigorous movement is afoot to translate Jesus into modern life.  Jesus from Nazareth is being understood as a community activist, who took on the critical issues of economics, race, politics and religion.  He was a vigorous social reformer.   How are we to translate his messages and concerns into the 21st century?

In 2007 the National Council of Churches of Christ published A Social Creed for the 21st Century.  The document is a thoughtful attempt to translate the messages of Jesus into our own culture.  While I have revised, added and subtracted, I acknowledge the instruction of the NCC document.  Even more I acknowledge the stories, sayings and actions that Jesus left for our guidance and instruction.

Jesus has left us at least five mandates.

First, all men and women without regard to race, age, cultural roots, or sexual orientation, are to have full human rights….civil, political, economic, religious.

Jesus’ acceptance and relationships with women and children were outside of the bounds of social norms.  His relationship with women was considered nothing short of scandalous.  He was charged with eating with thieves and those who drank too much. He befriended Samaritans.  Sexual orientation was not an issue in the day of Jesus, but he made it plain that everyone was welcome at the dinner table of God.

Second, priority attention is to be given to the people who are most vulnerable.  The poor, the hungry, the sick, the naked, the widow, the orphan.  In a modern world universal health care, expansion of the food stamp program, social security for older persons, tax and budget policies that diminish the gap between the rich and the poor, quality education for everyone, and affordable housing, cannot be set aside.

Just as sexual orientation was an unknown issue in Jesus’ day, so also was concern about the unborn.  Awareness has confronted us with reality.  A Jesus ethic in a modern world cannot ignore the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, the unborn child. Third, we all must adopt simpler lifestyles that support and sustain the world in which we live.  We now know that we live in a world of limited resources.  Land, water, and air are all limited resources that are necessary for the survival of the human race.  The world cannot renew itself as fast as we are using its resources.  We must curb our appetites.                                                                                                                               In addition, we are polluting the world’s resources.  Burning fossil fuels has possibly fouled the world’s land, water and air beyond recovery.  We must find different sources of energy.    The rule is simple.  If it’s not clean, we ought not to be using it.   Polluting the world is a sin against the whole human family.  We cannot say we love our neighbor and leave that neighbor with a polluted and inadequate environment.

Fourth, war is an unacceptable way of resolving conflicts between human beings.  Peacemaking is the highest calling of a devout follower of Jesus our Christ from Nazareth.  I cannot even imagine Jesus in an act of violence.  The Christian warrior becomes a tragic oxymoron.

Fifth, we must become people of trust.  We need to be trustworthy, but along with that we must be willing to trust those who appear to be untrustworthy.  Trust produces trust.

I am happy to leave the translating of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into English to those who have mastered the languages.  I cannot escape translating the Jesus message into my every day life.

THE END

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska.  His email address is hdbss@mtaonlline.net.

THE CHALLENGE OF CULTURAL TRANSLATION  By Howard Bess

The Bible is a collection of ancient writings.  The Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, and the New Testament was originally written in Greek.  Naively I studied Greek and Hebrew thinking that they would be the keys that would unlock the truest meanings of Christianity’s sacred book.  Greek was my undergraduate minor and the study of Hebrew awaited me in my first year of graduate school.  Along the way I ran into some surprises.

For starters, I was introduced to textual criticism.  I learned that there were hundreds of variant texts, and even the oldest of those manuscripts did not even come close to the time of original writings.  Then I faced the reality that Jesus’ every day language was neither Hebrew nor Greek.  It was Aramaic.  Trying to trace the words of Jesus with some level of accuracy all the way to modern English translations is a detective story not fully understood by the finest of Bible scholars.

My next big surprise came when I realized that an even more challenging translation task lay ahead of me as a pastor.  It is called cultural translation.

Here at the beginning of the 21st century, a vigorous movement is afoot to translate Jesus into modern life. Jesus from Nazareth is being understood as a community activist, who took on the critical issues of economics, race, politics and religion.  He was a vigorous social reformer. How are we to translate his messages and concerns into the 21st century?

Jesus has left us at least five mandates.

First, all men and women without regard to race, age, cultural roots, or sexual orientation, are to have full human rights….civil, political, economic, religious.

Jesus’ acceptance and relationships with women and children were outside of the bounds of social norms.  His relationship with women was considered nothing short of scandalous.  He was charged with eating with thieves and those who drank too much. He befriended Samaritans.  Sexual orientation was not an issue in the day of Jesus, but he made it plain that everyone was welcome at the dinner table of God.

Second, priority attention is to be given to the people who are most vulnerable.  The poor, the hungry, the sick, the naked, the widow, the orphan.  In a modern world universal health care, expansion of the food stamp program, social security for older persons, tax and budget policies that diminish the gap between the rich and the poor, quality education for everyone, and affordable housing, cannot be set aside.

Third, we all must adopt simpler lifestyles that support and sustain the world in which we live.  We now know that we live in a world of limited resources.  Land, water, and air are all limited resources that are necessary for the survival of the human race.  The world cannot renew itself as fast as we are using its resources.  We must curb our appetites. In addition, we are polluting the world’s resources.  Burning fossil fuels has possibly fouled the world’s land, water and air beyond recovery.  We must find different sources of energy. The rule is simple.  If it’s not clean, we ought not to be using it.   Polluting the world is a sin against the whole human family.  We cannot say we love our neighbor and leave that neighbor with a polluted and inadequate environment.

Fourth, war is an unacceptable way of resolving conflicts between human beings.  Peacemaking is the highest calling of a devout follower of Jesus our Christ from Nazareth. I cannot even imagine Jesus in an act of violence.  The Christian warrior becomes a tragic oxymoron.

Fifth, we must become people of trust.  We need to be trustworthy, but along with that we must be willing to trust those who appear to be untrustworthy.  Trust produces trust.

THE END

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska.  His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

If the common perception of Christianity was as Pastor Bess describes it, as opposed to the now popular version of evangelical born-again, “take dominion over all even if you have to round them up and force it on them ‘c’hristianity” or you will suffer unspeakable punishment at the hands of a warlord Christ…maybe, just maybe we would be able to have intelligent conversation and successful debate on how to care for our needs in this country.

If these sanctimonious self-proclaimed masters of the “Great Commission” believed more in Bess’ Christ, and less in being Phalse Prophets for Profit…we could experience kindness rather than the intolerant hateful ‘c’hristians who call for opponents deaths through curses. Or spit on the memory of dead statesmen like the recent passing of Ted Kennedy in ugly juvenile Facebook messages on Sarah Palin’s site.

I have said it before…and I will repeat it often…these people need to quit arrogantly asking, “What Would Jesus Do?”  I don’t think they want to know the answer…

I had a dear friend over for dinner last night.  Time has done its typical relentless march and before we knew it, a year had passed since we last got together.  In our effort to catch up on what was happening in each others lives, as you might well imagine the topic of my research and writing came up (and stayed up) for a fair portion of the evening.

It started out with Palin and what my opinion is as to why she resigned; then on to the GOP and what does it matter seeing as how they lost by a landslide; then my friend said, “I don’t have time to follow all this, and there aren’t that many of them anyway!”  How disheartening… So where was I going to begin without turning our evening into a lecture series?  It is a tough one.  But I had no choice.

One of the biggest problems for us, and a positive for the extremists, is our disbelief and overwhelm.  They rely on us essentially ignoring the information and activities right in front of us for a variety of reasons; 1)  we really don’t want to hear about it because it is too disturbing; 2)  if we were to pay attention to it – just what are we supposed to DO with this information? 3)  our lives are so busy we don’t have time to pay attention to all this nonsense – and as she said – there aren’t that many of them anyway.

I hear her!  As I sit here writing today, it is perfect outside, 70s, sunny and I can think of a hundred other things I would rather be doing than having to write about these extremists.  And granted, my devotion to informing others about these fanatics requires considerably more time than is necessary for the rest of us to be modestly informed and stay aware.  I am really not expecting everyone to become an activist.  I am hoping that people will at minimum recognize the face of Dominionism when it is right in front of them and not dismiss it.

For example, this friend of mine has a main business partner that she works along side everyday that is a born-again, evangelical extremists and attends services faithfully at a local dominionist church.  She avoids conversations with him but doesn’t recognize that he is exactly the type of ‘c’hristian that belongs to these indoctrinated congregations.

I explained to her that he is the embodiment of what I am talking about.  I have met and spent time with her business partner so I am not making a generalized statement based on stereo-types.

She was raised catholic and remembers a conversation not long ago where he had never heard of “lent” and chalked it up to “oh, those Catholics”.  I pointed out that this is typical.  Often times these born-agains have a myopic view of the Bible as taught to them from repeated specific versus – over and over again – without understanding context, NOR having any other concept of how their beliefs fit into a world view of Christianity or (god forbid) other religious ideologies!

It is a faith of rhetoric and rote memorization.  That is an equation for dangerous blind followers and total immersion.  What does this produce?  People like her partner who can’t defend his beliefs other than pointing to the (revised Zondervan Publishing version, NIV) Bible and saying “it’s all in there”, yet lacking the knowledge of what that really even means.  In a word?  Brainwashing!

Their own movement places the numbers at approximately 30-35% of the population and growing.  They go on to proudly claim that the leadership in their movement – who are the only ones truly in “the know” – consist of about 3-5% of THAT population, but they aim to emulate the “jihadists” and grow that to 10% where they will cause a “tipping point” and create a Christian State.  Okey-dokey!

Which brought me to the next point in our conversation last night, which is that many in the congregations aren’t even aware of the fine points of the End Times/Apocalyptic agenda pursued by the leadership/salesmen…yet they are equally as responsible in their contributions and complicity.  The Sheeples…

The population of the United States currently stands at 304 million people.  So when we do the math – they claim a following of any where between 91 – 106 million.  Our numbers are far more conservative and have placed their Sheeple numbers between 50 – 80 million.  Either way, this is a substantial number of people who subscribe to this “faith”!

“There aren’t that many of them” will echo in my head for the rest of the afternoon while I mow my lawn and wonder what can I do differently?  What can WE do differently?  It is not enough to reach one person at a time…

I gave her a signed copy of “TheoPalinism – The Face of Failed Extremism” as she was leaving…and she readily accepted and looks forward to reading it.  It does carry an introductory message to this craziness and I wish I could afford to mail it out randomly and get it in as many hands as possible…but with that idea off the table I am open to others!  I am ALL ears my friends…please share your thoughts.

Our individual right to vote is a duty in this election!  We must be diligent in our collective efforts as democrats, republicans and independents to send a clear message to the Fundamentalist Religious Right Extremist Evangelical Charismatics – or FRREECs – that their agenda is not ours.

As Americans we must insist on our freedom OF religions, as well as our freedom FROM religions.  It is one of the privileges that we have been given in this country that sets us apart.  And now, with the infiltration of the Republican Party by the FRREECs over the past 30 years, the push to turn our democracy into a theocracy has achieved traction with Sarah Palin as their “Poster Girl”.

I was called to action to write a book about the TheoPalinists shortly after the announcement that she was chosen by John McCain to run as his vice president in their bid for the White House.  I describe in “TheoPalinism – The Face of Failed Extremism”, how these fanatics have sent a chill down my spine for years, but with this pick for a running mate I was staring at the new face of extremism!  They have finally weasled their way to the spotlight tucked behind the cloak of legitimacy of the old school republicans.  

Even though they will go down in defeat in a matter of days, the very fact that they have elevated one of “their own” to the highest national ticket should scare us sober!  And we have the power to convey our message to the FRREECs with a resounding “Thanks! But NO thanks!” by getting out and voting, no matter what inconvenience you may encounter.  

Every state has a different system, and some are definitely more user-friendly than others, but we cannot  -for any reason – allow ourselves to become complacent!  It is crucial that the FRREECs are not only defeated, but sent packing with our unmistakable message of rejection of their ideologies.