A Dove in a World Full Serpents

I’m not sure there is much worse than when religious people are in power. They often use ugly means to ascend to power and they often continue to use those means to remain in power. While there are exceptions, the exceptions tend to lie with an individual here or there rather than with the masses. People don’t realize that waves rise and fall and they live in the delusion that they will reside at the crest of the wave forever.

When religious people gain power they attribute it to God and think that God has made them gods…or more frankly they think God has taken a vacation and left them in charge. I wonder if they send God a letter telling Him that there is no need to return to work.

When masses of Christians seek and gain political power the Cross and the Gospel are the first to go – the Bible becomes a pragmatic tool to motivate the masses and to justify the policies of those in office; Scriptures are ripped from their context and placed in slavish service to political masters. The Church loses its voice and the Bride loses her monogamous relationship to Jesus Christ – we replace the worship hymn Holy, Holy, Holy with the show tune Anything Goes.

If I think I am not susceptible to the milieu in which I live I should think again. Better yet I should pray this prayer of Henri Nouwen’s:

“Do not allow evil powers to seduce me with the complexities of the world’s problems, but give me strength to think clearly, speak freely, and act boldly in Your service. Give me the courage to show the dove in a world full of serpents.”