Humanitarian relief examined through prism of prayer and the Madman

Jesus offers food, followed by a sermon

"We need to pray for those people and hope other people pray for them as well," the woman spoke of her work at the church, as her friends smiled and nodded, congratulating one another for living in a warm climate and offering their verbal sympathies to those affected by a cold snap and who might be at risk from it.  "We offer prayers weekly for people in need, especially when there is a disaster and they need God's attention."  But how often is prayer used as an excuse to do nothing or to engender belief in a reality where people are looking for concrete help?

After the earthquake in Haiti that killed hundreds of people, fostered disease and left thousands homeless, many people traveled there to offer help.  Some agencies collected money, however there were concerns about the lack of transparency as preliminary accounting offered questions about where some of the money went, when there was insufficient evidence it was used to help people physically.  At the same time church members and ministers flocked to Haiti as well, offering their prayers and faith-based intervention.

One of these people who went to Haiti following the earthquake disaster was Franklin Graham, heir to his father Billy Graham's business of Baptist ministry.  He traveled to Haiti to underline the spiritual message he said he had brought to others after disasters, that God understands your pain.

According to the Christian Post, Graham spoke at a soccer stadium in Haiti and said this, "We pray for you. We pray that God will cover you with His mercy. We know how difficult it is for you as you remember."

Before Christmas Graham had been to Haiti with Sarah Palin, bringing shoe boxes of Christmas gifts.

While conservative talk show hosts say of folks who talk about negative speech in the wake of the Arizona shooting and school shootings that they are simply looking for political opportunity, what of politicians and preachers who arrive saving souls when it's water and food that they need?

Graham went on to say to the people of Haiti following the disaster that created extensive problems that continue to plague the country, "Cholera has come into your country and infected your people. Many have died and many are sick. But sin has affected not only you but the entire human race. The entire human race has been infected and is under the death sentence," explained Graham.

"But if you are willing to receive Christ today by faith, God will forgive you and cleanse you of your sins," he continued. "Will you trust Him today?"

The parallels are scarcely missed in this message, as people went forward after Graham's message, as people all over the world followed Franklin Graham's father, Billy.

But inside the message, equating cholera with sin might suggest to folks cholera visited the people because they were filled with sin. It is a common message that arrives again and again in the wake of human tragedies. It is what Graham said after Hurricane Katrina as well.

This is what USA Today wrote following Franklin Graham's pronouncements after Hurricane Katrina, beginning with the quote from the preacher himself in a speech Graham gave in Virginia: "This is one wicked city, OK? It's known for Mardi Gras, for Satan worship. It's known for sex perversion. It's known for every type of drugs and alcohol and the orgies and all of these things that go on down there in New Orleans. Reverend Graham continued, "There's been a black spiritual cloud over New Orleans for years. They believe God is going to use that storm to bring revival. "

The imagery of sin in the wake of the storm wasn't lost on the people who heard. Right or wrong, the gift of salvation has value for many, but it's hard for the message to stick when it's food and water they need. While Graham and his crew helped after the storm, going into New Orleans to help rebuild churches and give food and shelter to many, the initial remarks set off a firestorm, because the words of salvation came first.

This reporter heard fundamental Christians say just weeks after Hurricane Katrina, as the survivors struggled in the town of Natchitoches before they moved on to other places or back to New Orleans, "They should just get over it and move on with their lives. They should just trust in God as their hope." It was trust and love the victims needed for sure; it was shelter and food, however, these folks needed the most.

Buses arrived at the shelter in Natchitoches during the early days after the storm, taking people to local churches, predominantly white, with white men guarding the doors to prevent any
suggestion of violence, as they watched television screens of New Orleans. People got food, in regular forays, and Bibles and prayer all the time. In fact, they got it before and after the food.

When a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina had passed and people went on with their lives, there was virtually no one taken from the shelter who sat in those churches who continued to worship in them weeks later. For the message of prayer and food put together, with sin didn't stick. The food was enough of a prayer.

The Ebola outbreak in Africa brings the response of the Christian world, again focusing on sin but also the need to protect others from the disease in ways that mean strict quarantines that would allow no one back into a country without a 21-day quarantine if they arrive from an area that has been impacted by the disease and even if they have had no direct contact with an individual who has Ebola. This, according to social and physical scientists say, will only serve to reduce the number of volunteers who arrive to help the people of West Africa, now struggling to contain the disease with limited resources.  But it is direct, physical help of food, clean water and medical supplies that might make a difference:

In the Madman by Khalil Gibran, a Christian himself, is this parable that Christians might ponder in the wake of disastrous events:

"Once there lived a man who had a valley-full of needles. And one day the mother of Jesus came to him and said: 'Friend, my son's garment is torn and I must needs mend it before he goeth to the temple. Wouldst thou not give me a needle?'

And he gave her not a needle, but he gave her a learned discourse on Giving and Taking to carry to her son before he should go to the temple"

As weather disasters and disease outbreaks occur, those affected look to others for help.  Is it prayer they need most or a lecture on sin or on giving and taking, or clean water, food, and safety so that their attention may be on the words that surround deeds that make a difference, as Jesus did with the Sermon on the Mount.

Should America be 'restored' or 'rebuilt?'

[caption id="attachment_17546" align="alignleft" width="800"] Franklin Graham sits with his father, Billy Graham[/caption]

Carol Forsloff — "I pray that all Christians and God-fearing Americans will put aside labels and vote for principles–God’s principles–that for many years have resulted in His blessing upon our nation." With that statement Franklin Graham put aside any notions of separation of church and state to endorse Mitt Romney for President, reflecting the moral biases of evangelicals in the political process.

Prior to the Presidential election of 2012, Graham said, "President Clinton said that President Obama “has a plan to rebuild America from the ground up.” But God-fearing Americans have no desire to see America rebuilt–but rather restored. To “rebuild it” would be to create a new nation without God or perhaps under many gods. This was never the intent of those who shed their blood for the freedom to worship as “one nation under God.”

This notion of restoring America has been the watchword of the Republican party since Ronald Reagan's Presidency, according to Mark Silk, who is Professor of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College and director of the Greenberg Center. It is the banner upheld during public debates and the reason for some of debates on moral values, as fundamental religious belief hearkens to the good old days of the founding fathers as the way things still should be.

"One nation under God" and "In God We Trust", however, were not the phrases used by the founding fathers, specifically those who wrote the Constitution. Instead the focus was on making sure people had certain freedoms to worship without interference and also to recognize that government and religion were not intertwined in all respects, as the separation of church and state was underlined by Thomas Jefferson as important.

These references to God came later, as many of the founding father were humanists or Deists as opposed to fundamental Christians, as many believe. President Eisenhower initiated the prayer breakfast in the 1950's and Congress added the words "In God We Trust" on all paper money during that same decade. "One nation under God" came in 1956, replacing "E Pluribus Unum." Adding "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance was part of this same era, as the writer, Edward Bellamy, had no reference to God in his original composition.

So as Franklin Graham made assertions about the moral consequences of electing Mitt Romney over Barack Obama, using the notion of restoring the nation to its original God-fearing ways, those same ways, at the time of independence, also included women and blacks unable to vote, folks working long hours with little concern for health and safety, and the separation of whites from blacks in every area of community life. Many of these same problems remained during the 1950's when God's name was inserted into political speeches and recitations.

The notion of restoration, referencing the founders intent, seems not be as Graham has discussed; but it does maintain an attitude that maintaining the past beliefs and direction is to be favored over rebuilding a nation in economic distress.

 

 

The risks of faith-based politics to religious ideals

[caption id="attachment_14291" align="alignleft" width="242"] Thomas Jefferson, 1786[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - Recently Franklin Graham was interviewed on the topic of religion and politics.  He underlined the importance of faith, specifically Christianity, and when asked if Obama is Christian, answered he believed the President is but that Obama has given Muslims “a pass.”  How does that compare with the American view historically and how has it impacted social and political relationships?

In an MSNBC interview Graham spelled out his concerns that President Obama has been ignoring the persecution of Christians in Muslim countries.   Newsmax reports detailed the contents of the interview.

“Under Islamic law, under Shariah law, Islam sees him as a son of Islam, because his father was a Muslim, his grandfather was a Muslim, his great-grandfather was a Muslim,” Graham said.  He went on to explain, “So under Islamic law, the Muslim world sees President Obama as a Muslim, as a son of Islam. That's just the way it works. That's the way they see him.”

When asked if Graham believes Obama is “categorically not a Muslim,” Graham said,

I can't say categorically because Islam has gotten a free a pass under Obama.

Since the inception of American independence, religion and politics have been uncomfortable sleeping companions, especially during thorny times.    For Thomas Jefferson,  one of the founders of American democracy and a scholar on many subjects, religion was a serious matter, intimately related to individual freedom and belief.  He often spoke of religion and its importance in human experience; and although he didn’t claim to be regimentally involved in any one religious group, he did recognize the concept of God, creation, and man’s need to reach for the infinite.  But he too found the insertion of religion into political debate something that created consternation, controversy and division.  He also believed strongly in the right to question religious belief.

The scholar and statesman, Jefferson, was a man of the Enlightenment, recommending by letter to his nephew Peter Carr in 1787: Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.

Yet it is the fear expressed by politicians and their supporters that is aroused in many political debates about religion.

Religion has been part of the discussion referencing freedom as much as almost any other topic throughout U.S. history.  It remains part of the political debate in the 21^st century.  It has, however, changed to a sectarian argument, and the issue of who is best, has the right set of beliefs and attitudes, is a major part of the dissension.

Jefferson recognized the fact that Christianity was not alone in its place in man’s array of religious beliefs.  His notion was to protect that individual freedom of belief, especially important given the fact so much persecution had occurred in the countries from which many people had fled.  It was also a part of the religious persecution that occurred in the colonies, to include the burning of “witches,” or those who seemed to hold what were considered heretical views by the majority.  For that reason, the protection of religion became critical in the creation of the Constitution.   Still the debate about that protection continues to be part of the political arguments raised throughout history.  Jefferson’s own views have also been argued, with one side taking the stance that Jefferson was specifically protecting Christianity as the principal religion of America while others believe he had a broader view.  In fact scholars tell us that Jefferson’s philosophy was not specifically Christian and that there is nothing in the Declaration specific to Christianity.

Jefferson’s writings to John Adams, his nemesis at times and later his friend,  reflect his specific view of how distorted the ideas can be of those who describe themselves as followers of Christ and most confidently maintain their specific beliefs referencing Jesus, especially with reference to politics.

“The truth is that the greatest enemies to the doctrines of Jesus are those calling themselves the expositors of them, who have perverted them for the structure of a system of fancy absolutely incomprehensible, and without any foundation in his genuine words. And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors."

In the 1960’s, change came not just in technology and the development of advancements in science, medicine, and every domain of human life.  Religion, rather than dying as some predicted and others maintain created aberrations, was vibrant and important in America.  A bigger tent unfolded, however, allowing people to question traditional beliefs and to begin to explore new ways of worshipping that one God so many people believe central to faith itself.   That questioning in some ways reflected Jefferson’s admonition to his nephew, and in that sense became an echo of the value of religious freedom expressed by one of the great founders of the United States.  The 1960’s, according to historians,  represented the birth of new seekers.  But along with it came the renewal of Evangelism and the beginnings of the Religious Right.  Those divisions between those new seekers and the more traditional Christian groups remain today as part of the fabric of politics and faith.