The dearth of judges

There's an amazing though little read book of the Old Testament called Judges. Believed to have been written around 1000 B.C., some 400 years after most of the events it describes, it is a book of extremes. Want to read about gang rape, mass murder, human mutilation, betrayal, theft, stark paganism, sexual abduction, superhuman strength, and warrior exploits that pit tribe against tribe and leave tens of thousands of dead and often innocent bodies on the plains of Canaan? Well, go no further than the 21 chapters of Judges.

And yet, more than the tabloid exploits, it is a book, written perhaps by the prophet Samuel or perhaps anonymously, that presents the sheer ignorance of mankind in graphic detail. And it is mankind that's screwing up here, not humankind, because the women and children are just pawns waiting for the macho males to get over it. For example, it is hard to imagine a new generation following the divine leadership of Moses and Joshua, and being given free land and prosperity by God and his earthly commanders in chief, that within one generation has chucked all pretense of following the laws of Yahweh and instead is, to a man, just out for himself. The Book of Judges' constant refrain is: "In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." It proves to be a formula for disaster.

And what have we learned in the 3,000 years since Judges was written? Are we any smarter? Do we somehow avoid the foibles and pitfalls that all those temporary leaders of Israel fell prey to? Have we evolved past all that crap?

Obviously not. It is surreal to read Judges and realize that the sins and mistakes of that day are still with us on this day, 3 millennia later. And it is just plain sad to realize that we don't seem to ever learn, even with the aid of history. We still fall prey to naysayers and demagogues, we still get conned and duped, we still take what we want and flip the bird at our objectors, and we still, as they did then, justify our actions and thus assure ourselves of entry into the pearly gates of all that Heaven can allow. For those who might think that modern sins eclipse those of the biblical days, just read Judges. How stupid we still are!

Who are our enemies? Is it Hollywood and the West Coast? Is it the media of the East Coast? Is it all those university professors who are professed or closet atheists? Is it politicians of every stripe and creed? Is it the lukewarm pastors who stopped preaching the gospel years ago so as not to offend? Is it the red hot evangelists who wouldn't know God's word if it bit them on their collective asses? Is it every ''towelhead" and every "wetback" out there that's out to separate us from our homes and our homeland and our loved ones? Is it every right wing wacko preaching red white and blue, and every left wing capitulator seeking the path of least resistance?

Of course. All of those are sometimes our enemies. But the problem is, sometimes they're our friends as well. And the real problem is that our biggest enemy is usually ourselves. And as the misguided Israelites found out, for that you need God. Because governing ourselves just as we see fit is not a long-term solution, and never has been.

What do you think?

Micah the Moderator

The perennially uneven playing field

January 26, 2008

There was a story circulating in my email yesterday about unequal disciplinary action toward first an actor on Grey's Anatomy last year,and second, toward an anchorlady on ESPN more recently. The gist of the story was that the actor was fired for an anti-gay remark he made during rehearsal, while the anchorlady was given a one-month suspension for publicly uttering a phrase that included "F---Jesus!" The sender of the email (supposedly The American Family Association, headquartered in Tupelo, MS--although you sometimes can't tell who sends something and how edited it is when you receive it) argued this amounted to unequal punishment, since ESPN is owned by ABC and the parent company should have used the same level of discipline for both offenses.

Now IF my version of the story is completely accurate, then I would have to agree, although most of us would want to know more details than what was provided. How could anyone argue that an anti-gay remark uttered in relative privacy was more serious than a public utterance of perhaps the most blasphemous remark possible, one that would offend literally tens of millions of believers? The two occurrences are simply not of the same severity, and yet both are harmful. Obviously, any remark that engenders hostility to gays must be disciplined, as is such a remark to the Christian community. I would argue that, if anything, the "F___ Jesus" remark is much more damaging, as it was reportedly a public statement and is so incredibly obscene and blasphemous.

Regardless, however, if this lapse in equal punishment actually occurred, it demonstrates one of the plights of today's Christianity--that anything, any offense or slur or punishment, can be discretely swept under the rug, if only it is aimed at what one might term "those stupid, bible-thumping hicks with their ignorant beliefs in this fantasy about an obscure carpenter being the Son of God, born of a virgin, if you can believe that crap, and then being raised from the dead. Give me a break!"

Of course, I do believe all that supposed nonsense, down to the last biblical detail. But so many people want to mock my beliefs. What do you believe?

Micah the Moderator

My inaugural response

This is the inaugural//initial message I am sending regarding this blog site. I am concerned and downright worried about the incessant attacks against Christianity in the media and in the world at large. Since freedom of speech is a cherished American belief, I hope to use this blog in a open but compassionate way, to dispense what few wisdoms I have uncovered. Feel free to post whatever responses you wish, but be forewarned that I do tend to return fire.

Sincerely,

Micah the Moderator