“Oppressing the poor in
order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.”
Proverbs 22:16
“A ruler who oppresses
the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.” Proverbs 28:3
“The righteous care
about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” Proverbs 29:7
“Speak up and judge
fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:9
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| Photo taken by John W. Martens |
There is a constant
refrain that is heard in conservative Christian circles in the US (and perhaps
the Western world in general) that we are in a “post-Christian” or “neo-pagan” or
“neo-barbarian” culture. In fact, this seems to be the major motivating factor
behind Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option – it is time for Christians to
retreat and create intentional Christian communities since the public square is
both antithetical to Christianity and hostile to Christians. I do not want to judge the overall
validity of these claims here –since I am not convinced that a culture made up
of a majority of Christians is hostile to Christianity, but rather might just be tired
of a moralistic pseudo-Christianity – but I do think there is some truth to claims
that we are living in a “neo-barbarian” or “neo-pagan” society.
Usually when these
claims are made, however, the blame is cast at what is called in the US the
“left” or “progressives” or “liberals,” whether associated with liberal churches
or secular political parties or people with such personal liberal leanings.
Such charges have not generally been leveled against the “Christian Right” in
the US, which has been a major oversight, since the healthcare bill winding its
way through the Senate now (having already been through the House) is a
specific example of neo-barbarianism or neo-paganism from the Christian political
Right.
It is improper really
to speak about “paganism” as such, since it is a term that encompasses many ancient
Greco-Roman religions and philosophies, and might also include modern versions of paganism,
and does not tell us much of anything. I am not using it to refer to ancient Greco-Roman
thought in general or modern varieties of paganism, whatever might be meant by
the use of that term.
It think it is useful,
though, to use the term “neo-paganism” to explore one strain of Greco-Roman thought
and religion which was a fatalism about one's lot, as encapsulated by a belief
that our lives were governed by fate (moira, tychē, the whims and
caprice of the gods, or even that which transcended the gods) and there was not
much you could do about your fate but accept it. This seems to be the dominant
paradigm by which Christians such as Paul Ryan (Catholic) and Mitch McConnell
(Baptist) have created the healthcare bill which may soon become law: if you
have had the bad fortune to be born poor or born with chronic and demanding
health problems, your fate is to suffer. There will be no help for you.
With almost
22 million set to lose healthcare in the near future, according to the non-partisan
CBO, the position the post-Christian, neo-pagans of the Republican party
have taken is that your lot is due to the whims of the gods of health and
wealth. If you have neither the fortune of health nor wealth, you clearly deserve neither.
This sense of unrelenting fate which determines one’s place in life is not
Jewish or Christian, but it is well-represented throughout Greek history. Fate,
of course, is not entirely negative, at least for those who are blessed by the
gods. But that is the point: you take what the gods give you and no one can
alter their fate.
I will use
the dramatist Euripides as an example of this strain of thought, but one could
choose from innumerable Greek or Roman examples. Euripides writes: “Look upon us. Whoever is
noble among mortals will bear the calamities sent by the gods and not repudiate
them” (My Translation; The Madness of Hercules, 1227-29). In Arthur Ways’ far more poetic translation
of this passage than mine, he writes, “who of men is royal-souled beareth the
blows of heaven, and flincheth not.” [1] “Flincheth not,” this is our starting point. You
take what you are given. You cannot "repudiate" what the gods have sent you! Accept your lot. Take it
without complaint, for these are the blows the gods have given us. Among
mortals, Euripides makes clear, you can be certain that the “blows of heaven”
will fall. It might arise from actions which infuriate the gods, it might arise
from divine capriciousness, it might simply be your fate, beyond the actions of
the gods, but these blows will fall.
Euripides represents a
type of Greek thought in which the primary ethical arbiter is the caprice of the gods, who do what they will when they will; and who are
filled with the same motivations as humans. Hercules’ wife Megara, awaiting her
death and those of her children at the hands of the usurper Lycus says, “So,
even, nothing (concerning the ways) of the gods is clear to human beings” (The Madness of Hercules, 62). Why is she marked for death by fate? She
recounts that “I was not banished from (good) fortune (tychês) through
my father” (The
Madness of Hercules, 63). So
what has brought her to this place of doom? The goddess Hera has decreed that
she and her children will die at the hands of their father Hercules. It is
this fate, this necessity, which one must pay, though one does not necessarily know
why it must be or when the terms of the payment are due, which leads to an
overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Hera’s hatred of
Hercules knows no bounds; Megara and her sons are caught up in his fate. What
is in the past is past: “fate (tychê) has substituted your brides and
given to you instead Maidens of Doom to have” (The Madness of Hercules, 480-81), says Megara to her sons. But why?
The chorus cries out, “But now there is no boundary of the gods which makes
clear good and bad” (The
Madness of Hercules, 669-670).
This is precisely the problem: who knows why we suffer what we do? It is just
our fate to accept the decree of the gods. If you are poor, too bad! If you are
born sick, face your fate! If you are wealthy and powerful, the gods have
smiled on you! It is not in our power as human beings to change the decrees of
the gods and we have no idea, really, why they have decreed what they do.
The cruelty of fate
seems to be the only reason I can see motivating the recent iterations of the
Republican healthcare bills in which healthcare will be taken from the poor,
the disabled, and many others. It boils down to this: Some people have been
chosen to be poor and sick and there is nothing we can or should do to help
them. They are simply not as loved by the gods as are those who have been
chosen to be wealthy and well. Not all lives are of equal worth in this
equation.
The view of the Jews, adopted
by the Christians, is different, not just in terms of why people are poor or
suffering (it is not usually a matter of personal blame, though God might play
some role in it, such as punishment or pedagogy), but how to respond to it (the
task for Jews and Christians is to care for the powerless because they are
especially loved by God). Regardless of their situation here on earth, God
values all human beings as equally worthwhile. The providence of the one, true living
God guides all things, without question, but there is a major difference
between this and the fatalism of fortune: God cares for the poor and the weak
and it is the task of the rich and powerful to care for the poor and weak. Even
kings need to listen to God's prophetic word.
You also never ought to imagine that the poor and the weak are not blessed!
Throughout the Hebrew
Bible, God’s care and love for the poor and disenfranchised is made evident. A
few passages (NRSV) will be listed here, though hundreds more - no exaggeration - could be offered:
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
If in any of the towns
in the land that the Lord your God is giving you there is a
fellow-Israelite in need, then do not be selfish and refuse to help him.
Instead, be generous and lend him as much as he needs.
Psalm 69:30-33
30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
Psalm 140:12
12 I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the
needy,
and executes justice for the poor.
and executes justice for the poor.
Proverbs 13:23
23 The field of the poor may yield much food,
but it is swept away through injustice.
but it is swept away through injustice.
Proverbs 22:22-23
22 Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
23 for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.
or crush the afflicted at the gate;
23 for the Lord pleads their cause
and despoils of life those who despoil them.
Amos 5:21-24
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Isaiah 1:17
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
seek justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan,
plead for the widow.
Jeremiah 22:3
3 Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and
righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been
robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or
shed innocent blood in this place.
Micah 6:8
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Jesus’ own teaching
adopts these views of Judaism regarding the poor and the powerless. We see this especially in the Beatitudes of Luke 6, where Jesus
said,
20 “Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Luke also has the Woes
for the rich, since, as Jesus says in Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13:
13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave
will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Riches come to be seen
not inherently as blessings but as a danger, with the ability to block the wealthy
from love of God and love of neighbor. The story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in
Luke 16:19-31 places in narrative form the warning in Luke 16:13. Jesus interpreted his entire ministry in
light of his care for those who were the neediest, saying in Luke 4:18-19
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
This concern for the
poor and those in need runs throughout the whole of the New Testament tradition.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:13, “Contribute to the needs of the saints;
extend hospitality to strangers.” In his letter to the Philippians 2:3-4, Paul states,
“3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility
regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look
not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
The letter of James
excoriates those Christians who believe that faith excuses them from acting on
the part of the poor: “15 If a brother or sister is naked and
lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace;
keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs,
what is the good of that?” (James 2:15-16). Finally, the first letter of John
asks, “17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the
world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” (1
John 3:17).
What we see in the Republican
healthcare bill is the antithesis of Jewish and Christian teaching about the poor. It is,
I would argue, an adoption of fatalistic beliefs about the poor which once
reigned in Greco-Roman thought. I would encapsulate it in this way: “everyone gets
what they deserve, even if we do not know why; if some are fated to poverty
and uselessness, and some to wealth and power, so be it. The poor are not worth as
much as those who have much and so they deserve much less.” There is no way to
make Christian sense of a bill that cuts millions of people, literally
millions, from healthcare to give tax breaks to the wealthy.
This rejection of
Christian and Jewish teaching is profound, especially since the healthcare bill
is written by people who are purported to be Christians (and I take them at
their word). The bill suggests that there is a class of people who are no
longer loved or valuable in God's eyes. I can only see this as an adoption of
one particular type of divine fatalism found in ancient pagan thought: only
those with wealth and power are blessed and loved by the gods. The poor are
useless, abandoned by the gods.
Instead of adopting
the Christian attitude that “from everyone to whom much has been given, much
will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more
will be demanded” (Luke 12:48), the neo-pagan belief driving the Republican
healthcare bill is rather that those who have a lot deserve it and those who have
nothing deserve nothing. Once one rejects the value of every human life, as this
healthcare bill does, it becomes possible to extend such anti-life views in
every direction. If we regard the weak and the poor as not worthy of healthcare,
it becomes possible to extend this belief to those of a different religion,
color, or ethnicity, who are seen (and treated) as inherently less valuable.
The Republican
healthcare bill makes it clear that people are no longer valuable in themselves,
simply as human beings loved by God, but only for the monetary value they hold.
But at various times in our lives, any of us at any time could be what Jesus
calls one of the “little ones,” in need of support and care, such as polio
treatment, in need of primary healthcare, due to accident, gunshot wound, or disease, in need
of food, shelter and medicine. This healthcare bill is a turning point for the
Christian Right in the US for it clearly demonstrates that it has rejected the equality
of all life, which is a rejection of God's love of all humanity, and turned to
a neo-pagan belief that fate has chosen and the gods have decreed. The
Christian Right in the US, to the extent that they choose to defend this
healthcare bill, have chosen death over life, the gods over God, the maws of
Moloch over God's love for all humanity. The barbarians are not at the gates; they are inside the building, shutting out the poor.
John W. Martens
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