I do not pretend to be a biblical scholar. I do, however, have a degree in English and German, so I know a thing or two about words and their meanings. I also know when words have been misunderstood because folks react to them in a manner inappropriate to the context in which they were presented. In addition, I can recognize when words have been deliberately misused or misrepresented in order to lead folks into misunderstanding and thereby to gain control over those so misled.
The world over, the chief practitioners of that dark art fall into two groups: politicians and preachers, who, by the very nature of their positions of leadership, must persuade others to accept what they say and as a result take whatever course of action they are told is the "correct" one.
Make no mistake. I am in no way suggesting that all politicians and all religious leaders rely on this method to spread their messages. That would be a lie. But to deny that some leaders deliberately mislead would constitute a greater, and much more dangerous lie.
Average citizens regularly question whether a politician is misleading them. In fact, the default American attitude toward politicians historically seems to have been one of mistrust. That is not the case with religious leaders.
For charlatans seeking words to misuse or misrepresent in order to manipulate and control others, the Bible is a treasure trove. And, when large numbers of people have been taught to believe that the Bible is literally the word of God, average believers are at a decided disadvantage. To them, questioning those who claim authority to preach the literal word of God is the same as questioning God Himself. Circular arguments work that way (see definition below); thus they are a favorite tool of those who aggrandize themselves while posturing as humble servants of The Almighty.
In America today, the opportunity for political charlatans to thrive and prosper has never been better. It has come as the result steady erosion of the line between politician and preacher. The Republican Party has traditionally been the haven for faith-based political initiatives, but as the Tea Party has usurped leadership of the GOP from its more-moderate majority, a new breed of preacher-politicians has arisen, and they have added religious approbation to the corrupt politician's standard bag of dirty tricks.
I believe this new tool has turned reason inside out and underlies our nation's currently debilitating trend to political polarization. I wish to examine, as a student of language, a well-known biblical passage and suggest that a sizable number of Americans have been deliberately misled into believing that hate is love, that intolerance is justice, and that failure to condemn their enemies means they risk eternal damnation, and all because Jesus said,
The world over, the chief practitioners of that dark art fall into two groups: politicians and preachers, who, by the very nature of their positions of leadership, must persuade others to accept what they say and as a result take whatever course of action they are told is the "correct" one.
Make no mistake. I am in no way suggesting that all politicians and all religious leaders rely on this method to spread their messages. That would be a lie. But to deny that some leaders deliberately mislead would constitute a greater, and much more dangerous lie.
Average citizens regularly question whether a politician is misleading them. In fact, the default American attitude toward politicians historically seems to have been one of mistrust. That is not the case with religious leaders.
For charlatans seeking words to misuse or misrepresent in order to manipulate and control others, the Bible is a treasure trove. And, when large numbers of people have been taught to believe that the Bible is literally the word of God, average believers are at a decided disadvantage. To them, questioning those who claim authority to preach the literal word of God is the same as questioning God Himself. Circular arguments work that way (see definition below); thus they are a favorite tool of those who aggrandize themselves while posturing as humble servants of The Almighty.
In America today, the opportunity for political charlatans to thrive and prosper has never been better. It has come as the result steady erosion of the line between politician and preacher. The Republican Party has traditionally been the haven for faith-based political initiatives, but as the Tea Party has usurped leadership of the GOP from its more-moderate majority, a new breed of preacher-politicians has arisen, and they have added religious approbation to the corrupt politician's standard bag of dirty tricks.
I believe this new tool has turned reason inside out and underlies our nation's currently debilitating trend to political polarization. I wish to examine, as a student of language, a well-known biblical passage and suggest that a sizable number of Americans have been deliberately misled into believing that hate is love, that intolerance is justice, and that failure to condemn their enemies means they risk eternal damnation, and all because Jesus said,
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 8:3-4
What exactly does it mean to "become as little children"? I would argue that it means to be childlike in one's faith, that is faithfully "having good qualities associated with a child" (full definition below). The list of those qualities includes being
innocent, artless, guileless, unworldly, unsophisticated, naive, ingenuous, trusting, unaffected, unsuspicious, unwary, credulous,gullible without airs, uninhibited, natural, spontaneous.
In other words, Jesus admonished his followers to approach life like a child with all of a child's innocence, curiosity and candor.
Nowhere in the Gospel of Matthew do I see where Jesus said that people of faith are to become childish - that is "silly and immature" (see definition below) throwing tantrums when they do not get their way and denying the fruits of their God-given curiosity and intelligence. Nor do I see where Jesus said that His followers must beat others down because the literal word of God has told them to do so out of love and concern for the eternal souls of their fellow citizens.
Yet that is the message the self-righteous preacher-politicians send whenever they blame every problem facing America on the those in their well-rehearsed litany of the sinful "others" who are leading us all to Hell. They turn the biblical message of love into a message of hate, and they preach that becoming as little children means that their followers must embrace ignorance and eschew learning, especially that based on scientific evidence.
And what of the meaning of humbling oneself as a child? Again, the definition is clear. To humble means to lower oneself in dignity and importance. (see definition below) If those are indeed the word of God, does the admonition not apply to the preachers (and preacher-politicians) as well as to their followers? I see no such humbling in the actions of our current crop of "leaders" who lust after wealth and power at the expense of those they have misled into blind obedience to a doctrine of willful ignorance and hatred they say comes from God.
As a student of language, if I had to determine the winner of the debate between what The Gospel of Matthew says and what America's right-wing, preacher-politicians say it means, I'd have to say the score was...
Nowhere in the Gospel of Matthew do I see where Jesus said that people of faith are to become childish - that is "silly and immature" (see definition below) throwing tantrums when they do not get their way and denying the fruits of their God-given curiosity and intelligence. Nor do I see where Jesus said that His followers must beat others down because the literal word of God has told them to do so out of love and concern for the eternal souls of their fellow citizens.
Yet that is the message the self-righteous preacher-politicians send whenever they blame every problem facing America on the those in their well-rehearsed litany of the sinful "others" who are leading us all to Hell. They turn the biblical message of love into a message of hate, and they preach that becoming as little children means that their followers must embrace ignorance and eschew learning, especially that based on scientific evidence.
And what of the meaning of humbling oneself as a child? Again, the definition is clear. To humble means to lower oneself in dignity and importance. (see definition below) If those are indeed the word of God, does the admonition not apply to the preachers (and preacher-politicians) as well as to their followers? I see no such humbling in the actions of our current crop of "leaders" who lust after wealth and power at the expense of those they have misled into blind obedience to a doctrine of willful ignorance and hatred they say comes from God.
As a student of language, if I had to determine the winner of the debate between what The Gospel of Matthew says and what America's right-wing, preacher-politicians say it means, I'd have to say the score was...
Matthew 18 - Religious Right 0
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childlike |ˈ ch īldˌlīk |
adjective
(of an adult) having good qualities associated with a child : she speaks with a childlike directness.
1 his grandmother looked almost childlike: youthful, young, young-looking, girlish, boyish.
2 geniuses tend to be rather childlike: innocent, artless, guileless, unworldly, unsophisticated, naive, ingenuous, trusting, unsuspicious, unwary, credulous, gullible; unaffected, without airs, uninhibited, natural, spontaneous; informal wet behind the ears.
childish |ˈ ch īldi sh |
adjective
adjective
of, like, or appropriate to a child : childish enthusiasm.
• silly and immature : a childish outburst.
DERIVATIVES
childishly adverb
childishness noun
1 childish behavior: immature, babyish, infantile, juvenile, puerile; silly, inane,jejune, foolish, irresponsible. ANTONYMS mature.
2 a round childish face: childlike, youthful, young, young-looking, girlish,boyish, baby. ANTONYMS adult.
2 a round childish face: childlike, youthful, young, young-looking, girlish,boyish, baby. ANTONYMS adult.
verb [ trans. ]lower (someone) in dignity or importance : I knew he had humbled himself to ask for my help.
• (usu. be humbled) decisively defeat (another team or competitor,typically one that was previously thought to be superior) : humbled by his political opponents.
circular argument
"The circular argument uses its own conclusion as one of its stated or unstated premises. Instead of offering proof, it simply asserts the conclusion in another form, thereby inviting the listener to accept it as settled when, in fact, it has not been settled. Because the premise is no different from and therefore as questionable as its conclusion, a circular argument violates the criterion of acceptability."
(T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning. Wadsworth, 2001)
circular argument
"The circular argument uses its own conclusion as one of its stated or unstated premises. Instead of offering proof, it simply asserts the conclusion in another form, thereby inviting the listener to accept it as settled when, in fact, it has not been settled. Because the premise is no different from and therefore as questionable as its conclusion, a circular argument violates the criterion of acceptability."
(T. Edward Damer, Attacking Faulty Reasoning. Wadsworth, 2001)
- At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
- And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
- And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
- Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
- And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
- But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
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