Jubilee Economics
27 Feb 2009 1 Comment
in Biblical Ethics, Christianity in Context, Global Issues, Human Rights, Politics, Social Justice Tags: 2001 Bush tax cuts, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Democrats, Deuteronomy, Economics, health care, Jubilee, poor, President Obama, Republicans, Stimulus Plan, universal health care
To finish out the month of February, I think it apropos to post concerning that which has been taking up most of the news media coverage in the States this month: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or more commonly referred to as the 2009 economic stimulus plan. As reports come in of the U.S. economy reaching lows that it hasn’t seen in more than 26 years (that’s before I was born) and with a new announcement today that the economy shrank by 6.2% in Q4 of 2008, which surpasses the 5.4% estimate, more than ever people world over are watching what Washington is doing.
With the ARRA toting a $787 Billion USD price tag, Republicans are griping about its gargantuousness and pointing to the surmounting national deficit. I only have one question: Where was that concern- that ‘fiscal conservativeness’ when we had ‘cowboy expenditures’ under the Bush administration? Some reports show that Bush spent 11.5 Trillion USD during his two terms. In fact, in 2001 the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy in themselves totaled 1.35 Trillion dollars (It is my understanding that this total includes the second cuts in 2003), which expire in 2011. Many claim that they have done next to nothing in aiding a stifling economy. The ‘trickle down’ methodology has been revealed as mythology. And had McCain been elected, we would have been headed for more of the same (see this article describing the differences of philosophies between President Obama and his former contender McCain concerning taxation). With that put into perspective, President Obama’s stimulus plan is considerably smaller than Bush’s tax cuts. An article from Think Progressive, goes to greater lengths to ‘put it into perspective’ for us, detailing the economic differences between then and now. It’s also interesting to note that in 2001, 28 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats voted for its passage, and in 2009, 0 House Republicans and 3 Senate Republicans backed the President’s stimulus bill. I smell partisanship. . .
However, when one asks a Republican governor for his or her opinion, one finds that the partisan dissonance stays in Washington. Those that are in the trenches of the economic turmoil, have quite a different opinion on the use of tax dollars. One finds two faces of the grappling and restructuring GOP: Congressional, one that is trying to return to a more fiscally conservative, neo-orthodox, anti-spending platform to try to rebuild its party base after a devastating election year and a formidable outlook in 2010; and Governing, another one that is not wanting to play the politics game, supporting the stimulus plan, and wanting to start saving jobs and for their respected states. “It’s funny how the question of stimulus isn’t actually as partisan in real life,” remarked Tom Ryberg, a fellow blogger and concerned citizen.
So Where is the Money Going?
Above, it can be seen the supposed break-down of the ARRA. This can be accessed at www.recovery.gov. I must admit, that I haven’t read the 1000+ page act, nor do I have intentions to, as I am preparing for studies of another sort- although you can here. Some things that it entails excite me. Things like, rail train for transportation (have you ever been to a country that uses train for transportation- one word: amazing.), investment in infrastructure like roads, bridges and airports (paraphrasing President Obama, “if you think we don’t have an infrastructure problem, fly into Shanghai), hydro and solar power, the replacement of governmental fleets with hybrids, the digitizing of medical records, education etc.
In regard to the concerns the congressional Republicans are now expressing, cracking down on the national deficit should be a priority and not dismissed. Just this past week President Obama announced that he has plans of cutting the national deficit significantly by 2013. This will come about through a number of factors. Two worthy of mentioning now are the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq in 2010, and the expiriation of the Bush tax cuts in 2011. I, for one am concerned with the increasing amount of our debt that is now being owned by countries such as China, Japan, and oil-producing states. Our nation is addicted to debt- on both an individual and national level. The only time in American history in which there was no national debt was in 1835. A paradigmatic shift in the way the U.S. approaches national debt has been long overdue. As of February 25, 2009 the total national debt was 10.837 Trillion USD, or 65.5% of GDP- $37,851 per capita. Though, we have seen worse times, for example after WWII in 1946 the national deficit rose to and peaked at 122% of our GDP, President Obama states, “We can’t generate sustained growth without getting our deficits under control.” For more pertaining to this lurking problem and the bleak future that awaits us lest we do enact a paradigm shift see the documentary that was released last year: I.O.U.S.A. the Movie.
I think it’s safe to oversimplify inorder to state that Republicans feel safer with the money in the hands of the wealthy (often times their campaign contributors) to do with what they deem fit- a continuance of the ‘trickle down’ effect; and Democrats would rather see some form of government administration and distribution of tax dollars, investment in government programs, and- although its become taboo to say- when necessary, redistribution. That’s what excites me most about our President and the 111th Congress. Look at item #4 in the above chart: “Protecting the Vulnerable.”
…the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. ~ Hubert Humphrey, 38th Vice President of the United States
A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its most vulnerable members. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
For all those born-again Christians, wealth distribution is a biblical concept. Try reading Deuteronomy 15:1-18 for starters. It’s amazing how the Bible holds up the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the immigrants. Perhaps, biblical teachings were not just used to form lofty theological concepts of the metaphysical, but were also used to inform one’s politics and social ethics, forming concepts for the physical. Helping the poor was paramount to the faith of ancient Israel and should be no different today for those of us that share in the Judeo-Christian heritage. We need a healthy dose of Jubilee economics. As I see it, a $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor is a step closer to a just society.
Recently, the President made public a good first step to enact such an economy of Jubilee. His health care plan, which consists of a $636 Billion USD ‘down payment’ over a 10-year period, will lead us closer to universal health care than we have ever been. Right now, the U.S. is ranked 37th in health care by the World Health Organization. Many say the political milieu is much different than 15 years ago when universal health care was proposed by the last democratic President, and with many of the previous members of opposition now on board, it could become a reality. The time has come when not only the murderers and rapists of this country should be guaranteed health care, but also those in the dawn of their life, for those in its twilight, and for those that are in its shadows.
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. ~ Deuteronomy 15:11
-MLW
1849-1860 ~ The Adventures of a Ruthless Business Tycoon and a Gray-eyed Man of Destiny
25 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in U.S.-Latin American Relations Tags: Central America, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Costa Rica, La Paz, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, U.S.-Latin American Relations, William Walker
This is entry #2 in a series of entries that can be found in the category U.S.-Latin American Relations.
U.S. millionaire billionaire (in today’s dollar) and business tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt’s legacy is construed on the back of ferries, ships, 
and railroads. The Vanderbilt houses that would succeed him would give rise to America’s gilded age. But every legacy is tainted by inconspicuous incidents in history, one only has to look hard enough. Despite his families net worth of nearly 165 Billion USD and having one of the country’s tier-one research universities named for him, not everything that transpired in his life was to be smiled upon by history.
Shortly after the Mexican-American War, many were seeking some form of advancement West. This was exacerbated by the 1849 ‘Gold Rush.’ Everyone had ‘gold fever’. Vanderbilt seizing the times, took it upon himself to create a shorter passage for ships en route to the Californian pot of gold: through Nicaragua. He did so offering passage to the 49ers at half price of those passing through the Isthmus of Panama and in addition cut approximately 1000 km off of the trip, it was an easy choice over Panama and passing under Tierra de Fuego. Yes, this was a cheaper fare, but in the end came at a much greater price for others.
All the while, a Manifest Destiny-driven Tennessean by the name of William Walker was preparing a private militia of Kentucky and Tennessean men. His intentions were to conquer the Latin American states and create an English-speaking rule and allow slavery to once again flourish, as the federal government was doing so at an unpleasant rate.
In 1853 he embarked on his first expedition to Mexico, in which he captured La Paz, the capital city of the state Baja California. He renamed the capital the Republic of Lower California and cordially declared himself the President. He then moved on to Ensenada and had wishes of conquering the state of Sonora, although it was never realized.
During this time a civil war was underway in Nicaragua which involved the U.S. Navy destroying the town of San Juan del Norte. This set into motion the events that would lead William Walker in 1855, sponsored by bankers Morgan & Garrison (at the time associates of Vanderbilt), to invade. Morgan & Garrison, having their own interests, sought to support Walker in seizing Vanderbilt’s operations in Nicaragua. But Walker had far more than that in view. He wanted to set-up an English-speaking, slave-holding republic that would serve as a base to invite North American immigrants and be the epicenter of operations to conquer all of Central America.
After several battles, in 1856 Walker appointed himself President of Nicaragua and reinstituted slavery, which had been abolished by Nicaraguans three decades prior to his invasion, and declared English the official language. He ruled for two years, during which he continued to build up a military of North Americans, having sights of conquering Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Also, at the behest of his financial supporters, while in Nicaragua he seized control of Vanderbilt’s operations. To which Vanderbilt spouted:
“Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won’t sue you, for the law is too slow. I’ll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.”
This event led to an ugly skirmish between the business tycoon and the Tennessean filibuster. Vanderbilt lobbied the renouncing of the United States’ recognition and support of William Walker and his regime, and went so far as to raise a militia of his own in Costa Rica. Walker tried to garner as much backing from slave-owning southerners as he could, to continue extending the empire, but was halted as Vanderbilt convinced Washington that his own interests were in the best interest of the country (that is the United States). Battles soon turned between Walker and his men and Vanderbilt’s Costa Rican army.
In 1857, Walker surrendered to the U.S. Navy and was repatriated back to the States, only to resume his expeditions founded in an unquenchable thirst for Manifest Destiny. In 1860, on his way to Trujillo, Honduras to wage war, Walker finally met his end. He was captured and executed by firing squad under the orders of the Honduran government.
To southerners he was regarded as General Walker or “the gray-eyed man of destiny,” as they saw in him and in his expeditions the furthering of their exploitative interests of slavery in the tropics; while northerners regarded him with disdain as simply a pirate. The accounts of William Walker show the great divide and dissonance of interests between the North and South, leading up to our own civil war. But it also shows how others have paid the price for our greed and ideals. Though many in the States know little of Walker, his surname is scorned in many countries to our south. Costa Rica even has a national holiday in honor of his defeat.
Vanderbilt went on to become one of the wealthiest persons in U.S. history, like others, capitalizing on the resources of those that lived south of the U.S. border, while assisting those in search of gold dust.
What do I care about law? Ain’t I got the power?! -Cornelius Vanderbilt
In the entries to come I will be writing about the annexation of Puerto Rico, the taking of Guantanamo Bay, the Mexican Revolution, the taking of Veracruz, and America as Empire. As well, I’ll write about a banana man by the name of Samuel Zemurray and his notorious fruit company- let’s just say there was more than bananas being peeled in his story.
-MLW
From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey
24 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in Biblical Ethics, Christianity in Context, Church - Theologizing, Devotional Thoughts & Bible Studies, Walter Brueggemann Tags: Biblical Economics, Faith, God and money, Recession, Sojourners, Walter Brueggemann
I started this blog amidst economic turmoil. My fourth post drawing upon work from Terence E. Fretheim, was directed towards biblical economics, focusing on mana from heaven and dependence on Yahweh as opposed to building up storehouses. Since then, the global economy has been engulfed in an economic downward spiral; some countries’ foundations severely shaken, others are plummeting into a hellish free fall. And like the mana that melted, storehouses world over are in flames.
Today, I was notified that yet another company for which I offer my services as an English teacher has decided to not continue with the classes come March. And in the news, the Dow hit a 12-year low, some corporations stocks are trading at 1940 levels, and American Express is actually paying customers $300 to pay off their debts and cancel their cards! Some economists project the Mexican peso to reach 15 (some are saying 16!) to the USD next month, and average around 14.5 for the year, before settling back around the 12-13 range in 2010. It is brutal. 15,000 jobs are being lost per day in the States, unemployment is, as of Jan. 2009, at 7.6%. Still, that piece of data pales in comparison to Spain’s Jan. 2009 report of a 13.9% unemployment rate. Figures are bombarding us and continue to lead us to believe that we live in a land of scarcity. “I have to get what’s mine!”
Walter Brueggemann would direct us to not be so quick to believe so. His theology is 
steeped in the idea of abundance. Earlier this month he wrote an article for Sojourner’s, “From Anxiety and Greed to Milk and Honey,” a Christian magazine and website that caters to faith, politics, and culture. In it he draws differences between economics in which we are familiar with and an economics of another sort. He writes:
Whereas autonomous economics begins with a premise of scarcity, biblical faith is grounded in the generosity of God who wills and provides abundance.
Brueggemann calls us to recognize that “the current crisis among us is a moment ripe for an exodus departure from a system of anxious acquisitiveness that is rooted in autonomy.”
I am again providing the link for the article here for ease of access. I highly recommend it and encourage you to read it. If you have any comments on it feel free to post them here.
Also, an audio clip of Walter Brueggemann in conversation with Sojourner’s editor about the culture of autonomy as the root of the current economic crisis may be accessed here.
Quote of the Day #2
23 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in Church - Theologizing, Quotes of the Day, Walter Brueggemann Tags: Deconstruction, Postmodern interpretation, Walter Brueggemann
The Bible functions as the place where we come to be deconstructed, shown the impossibility of the finality of our truth claims. . .
1821-1848 ~ The Monroe Doctrine, Manifest Destiny, & The Mexican-American War
18 Feb 2009 3 Comments
in U.S.-Latin American Relations Tags: American Foreign Policy, Empire's Workshop, Greg Grandin, James Monroe, Latin America, Manifest Destiny, Mexican Cession, Mexico, Monroe Doctrine, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, U.S.-Latin American Relations, United States
Due to one of my more recent posts, it has been brought to my attention that one area in which I am passionate about is Latin America. I want to make it my personal goal to work hard in being a participator in bringing to a realization of more just societies in our hemisphere. This realization is or has been hindered by certain multinational corporations, oil and banana tycoons, social inequalities presented in class systems, and past and present hegemonic interests of particular states within the international community, among other factors.
Today, as I am undertaking New York University Professor Greg Grandin’s acclaimed book, “Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, The United States, and the Rise of the New Imperialism (henceforth referred to as Grandin’s EW),” I am starting a new series entitled “U.S.-Latin American Relations,” it may be accessed in the Categories column on the right side of the page. It will consist of snippets of U.S. intervention in Latin American affairs throughout history- expounding on which I could not expound in one of my earlier post, and drawing from Grandin’s work or as my research, acting as a companion to it. I will try to keep to individual events in a chronological bend, rather than examining and dissecting over-arching policies as I am not schooled per se in American Foreign Policy. This series is meant to raise awareness of the delicacy of the situation concerning U.S.-Latin American Relations, showing the history that lies beneath the situations that we find ourselves amidst today and why there remains for a number of Latin Americans, resentment towards people from the States. Grandin responds to the question as posed by United States citizens, “Why do they [the 'third world'] hate us?’ like this:
The United States would go on thinking of America as an anticolonial power, but elsewhere in the world many now condemn U.S. policy as imperialism- informal as opposed to the European variety but imperialism nonetheless (Grandin’s EW, 55).
This shall also serve as an exercise for me to reacquaint myself with the ‘other side’ of American history, perhaps making new acquaintances along the way while exploring the ideas of empire and imperialism.
The first entries will take us back prior to the U.S. Civil War. Under the Presidency of 
James Monroe in 1823 a doctrine was put into action that told Europe that they have no right to continue colonizing in the Americas (or to put it more bluntly- “you are no longer welcome here!”), it is known as the Monroe Doctrine. This transpired shortly after Mexico claimed independence from Spain after a bloody duel in 1821. Basically, it assured that the U.S. would not interfere with Europe’s- that is Britain, France, and Spain’s- matters in their respected hemisphere, but expected the same cordial gesture in return. This along with the ever present idea of Manifest Destiny, the God-given right of American expansion- created quite the political milieu. The two factors essentially secured the pursuit of interests for the United States. In this political climate the states of Central America claimed independence in 1824.
Some years later in 1846 the Mexican-American War transpired, due to the annexation of Texas (which succeeded in a military victory in 1836 from Mexico, but the Mexican government refused to acknowledge the succession) in 1845 by the U.S. (that’s the Manifest Destiny concept). The war resulted in over 20,000 deaths. At the close of the war and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory to the U.S., this included then Alta California and Nuevo Mejico along with Tejas and Mexico received as its border to the U.S. the Rio Bravo. Mexico received a sum of 18,250,000 USD in exchange for the lands- about half of what was initially offered before the outbreak of war (actually 15 million USD for the land and 3.25 million in debt cancellation). This act would be later known as the Mexican Cession. The whole affair was a source of great controversy. A U.S. newspaper at the time, both prophetically and satirically stated:
We [the U.S.] take nothing by conquest. . . thank God.
I think this is a good launching pad to begin a series about U.S.-Latin American Relations. Look for a new post in this category every Wednesday. The next entry will be about Cornelius Vanderbilt & William Walker and their adventures in Nicaragua.
-MLW
América no es tanto una tradición que continuar como un futuro que realizar -Octavio Paz
U.S. Intervention Map
Quote of the Day #1
17 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in Church - Theologizing, Quotes of the Day Tags: Paul Tillich
The first duty of love is to listen.
A Call to Shut Down the School of the Assassins!
12 Feb 2009 4 Comments
in Christianity in Context, Global Issues, Human Rights, Politics, Social Justice, U.S.-Latin American Relations Tags: American Foreign Policy, Barack Obama, Civil War, El Salvador, Ft. Benning, Georgia, Human Rights, International Relations, Latin America, Nicaragua, Panama, School of America Watch, SOA, Social Justice, U.S. Army Schools of the Americas, WHINSEC
I would have to commend President Obama on his setting a timetable for the closing of Guantanamo’s Detention Facilities. That’s a start. But I, personally would also like to see a timetable set for termination of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security and Cooperation (WHINSEC) at Ft. Benning, Georgia, to further our supposed message of being “the new ushers of peace” to the international community.
The U.S. has had a long history of meddling in the affairs of Latin America. I wish I could 
elaborate, but I will not permit myself to do so here as the focus is limited. This particular story begins when the States opened the Latin American Training Center in Panama in 1946- later renamed U.S. Army School of the Americas in 1963. It was used to influence and train Latin American states and their militia during the cold war to combat communism and further the American agenda. In 1984 it was relocated to Ft. Benning, Georgia in compliance with the Panama Canal Treaty. This transpired during the Reagan administration, the same time the U.S. was supporting a terrorist government and fueling a brutal civil war (even training boys as young as 12 to engage in combat) in El Salvador that claimed the lives of over 75,000 people and displaced over a quater of the country’s population as refugees (yes, the same administration that takes credit for the Iran-Contra affair that involved Nicaragua).
About 1,000 Latin American soldiers are hand selected and invited to be schooled in the tactics of sabotoge and carnage at WHINSEC every year. More than 60,000 Latin American soldiers and generals have gone through the school (while in Panama and in Georgia), including many that were involved in the Salvadoran Civil War. It has also been involved in controversies concerning the use of tactics of torture. The U.S. has trained (and often times silently supported) some of this hemisphere’s most vile and vicious dictators and violators of human rights. For example: Argentine dictator and initiator of the “Dirty War” that entailed the disappearance of more than 30,000 people, Leopoldo Galtieri was trained there; Manuel Noriego Noriega of Panama; among many others. Even some of Pinochet’s officers were trained there. The graduates of WHINSEC excel in suppression and oppression.
Who pays for this? Why American tax payers of course. Recently there has been much talk concerning President Obama’s executive order in which he overturned the Mexico City Policy and Assistance for Voluntary Population Planning act that placed broad conditions on government grants. Many people are complaining about U.S. tax dollars being spent (which non-governmental NGOs receive as grants) for furthering planned parenthood and the legalization of abortion both inside and outside of the U.S. borders, specifically because of the threat to life that it represents (although in most places legal abortion saves the lives of the women that would have had an abortion anyway, yet could have died under the knife in a black market operation had the safeguards of legislation not been in place). But why are the same people not raising hell or at least questions about their tax dollars being used to train Latin Americans to exterminate people in mass? Especially if the crux of the issue is life.
In 2004 Hugo Chavez withdrew all of Venezuela’s participation with the school and in 2006 Kitchner of Argentina followed suite. Since then Costa Rica, Uraguay, and more recently Bolivia have decided WHINSEC is not the answer. Why are we not joining them? What do we still stand to gain?
Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkin’s, during her sermon at the National Prayer Service, called President Obama and us to reason from our ethical centers. Let us look deep within ourselves and find the voices of all those thousands and thousands of voices that have been muffled or silenced due to the operation of this school of death.
If you wish to use your voice to halt oppression and shut down the school of assassins, write to your congressman or woman. SOA Watch is a non-violent organization that protests the existence of WHINSEC and has a very informative webpage and useful resources concerning steps that can be made in regards to legislative action.
Various legislative attempts have tried to shut down the school: in 2000, 2005, and 2007. In 2007, the legislation to cut funding for WHINSEC was barely shot down: 203 ayes, 214 noes. Let’s see what the 111th congress can do.
-MLW
Hosea 4:1-3
Update: Check out my new series on U.S.-Latin American Relations, that further addresses the issues that surround the School and American Foreign Policy.
U.S. Intervention Map
Church Happenings in Tlalpan, Mexico City
09 Feb 2009 1 Comment
in Biblical Ethics, Church - Theologizing, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Devotional Thoughts & Bible Studies, Mexico, Tlalpan Church Plant Tags: Church, Missions, Tlalpan
Thus far into 2009 we can’t complain too much. Though work is still slow, we’re as busy as ever. My wife, Yuli, is now in her last semester of her master’s and will become increasingly preoccupied as she continues writing her thesis. And as soon as I finish this post I am going to start refreshing myself on APA style, as I have been dubbed the style man. I hope it’s not going to be too straining going from Chicago-Turabian back to APA. Since English classes have been scarce (since December!), I have been able to put a lot of energy into preparing church material in Spanish. As well, we were blessed this past week to have met with some friends from college that we haven’t seen in some time. I’m also looking forward to going to places in Mexico this year that I have never been to, and cannot wait to share those experiences with Yuli. As far as being back in the States, we have a trip tentatively planned for August. We hope we can make it- it will be 13 months this time without returning.
As far as church work is going, we had one of the biggest turn outs (since my wife and I have been working there) yesterday. Two house churches converged, ours and one from the State of Mexico to the north, for a time of visiting, sharing of ideas, stirring of each other on to good works, and mutual edification (and the food was unfathomable- so I’m not going to bother describing it, one word should suffice: Carnitas). We also had a visitor from Guadalajara that is now entering his 5th year of working with the church there that shared some remarkable news. Some of the house churches there are banding together to initiate Mexico’s first fund for children with diabetes. They are approaching the UN as a source of funding sometime in the near future. It’s very encouraging to see the interest and activity here. Our visitors of December-January seem to have officially joined the bandwagon in full communion. We’re so blessed to have met Benjy and Carolyn, they’re great and have done so much work here along with James and his family, of which we’re all exited about their return in April. As well, I have begun to meet one member, Jorge on an individual basis once a week in attempt to enhance our knowledge of the text and how to extrapolate and transmute that which the text is trying to convey. And we have a couple in their mid-twenties that has announced that they will be getting married in June, and another married couple has announced that they are now expecting. So all of that, coupled with the superbowl, soccer games, an impending retreat in March, the return of James and his family in April, and let’s not forget the formidable economy, there is an incredible amount of excitement brewing in Tlalpan, Mexico.
Right now I’m teaching on Sundays. I’ve designed an 8 week study in Spanish entitled: El Éxodo, La Opresión, y El Problema de La Santidad: Influenciando Nuestra Identidad y Misión. That is in English: The Exodus, Oppression, and the Problem of Holiness: Influencing Our Identity and Mission. I spent the majority of 2008 in a profound personal study of the book of Exodus, and am thrilled to be able to embark in a teaching engagement such as this. I’m drawing a lot from the works of Terence E. Fretheim, Walter Brueggemann, Jacob Milgrom, David L. Peterson, Abraham J. Heschel, John Howard Yoder, Stanley Hauerwas, Gustavo Gutiérrez, Bruce C. Birch, and John G. Gammie. Right now we are in week 3 and are 2 weeks away from launching into the social ethics and broader mission of the prophets, where the true excitement will commence. It’s been great for me, though naturally I’ve encountered some bumps along the way. Sometimes synthesizing and contextualizing some of the material presents a challenge- especially in a second language. But my wife has been eager in assisting me. You know, it’s truly amazing to see when something that comes out of your mouth resonates with an individual. The first week was, let’s be honest: so-so, but last week and this week were great. The types of questions that are being illicited and those that are being developed are the kind that lead to not only faith formation, but to full self-formation. I think it’s going in a good direction. This Sunday there was a lot of interaction and I have planned for the 6th class a time of real dynamic group involvement. We have, we are, or we will be touching on motifs such as the forces of life and death, the oppressed/marginals of society, Empire, creation-salvation, our response to salvation, community, ecology, social justice, holy nation/nation of priests, and the idea of holiness. It is my goal to say something during these 8 weeks that might fester and allow the beginnings of overcoming dichotomies that are so prevalent in our societies and communities. For example, the strict dichotomy of individual and communal salvation. And make ‘what we do with our hands’ sound just as loudly as ‘what is in our heart;’ to create a platform that will allow discipleship to enter another level.
Sadly, some church traditions derive their idea of holiness by focusing almost entirely in the social ethics of the prophets (Amos 5) and Jesus and leave little attention to the integrity and purity of the heart. While other traditions formulate their idea of holiness by focusing on wisdom passages that stress a pure and contrite heart (Ps. 51), the correct modes of worship as stressed by the Priests (Lev. 10), and emphasis that Jesus put upon the inward person (thoughts and not actions), and neglect the passionate ethics of the prophets. I believe that a healthy concept of holiness should consist of what each of these traditions have to offer, yet all the while not maintaing one above the other. So another goal that I feel that I should aspire to is to instill in the group, as it is evident that they are of the later tradition, a sense of practicing justice which is such an integral part to discipleship. This I feel is part of my mission where I am at now.
-MLW
but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am Yahweh who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares Yahweh.” -Jeremiah 9:24
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause. -Isaiah 1:16-17
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