Scalzi on the Left/Right Divide
John Scalzi has hit the nail on the head, I think. His whole post, Justice and the Religious Right, deserves your time. I offer a few snippets below.
I don't see the religious schism as a right/left or conservative/liberal one, anyway. To me, what it appears to be is a schism between those religious people who are concerned with justice, and those who are concerned with power....
And it's not about political positions, per se. One may believe abortion is wrong, but be opposed to a political agenda that explicitly denies to the poor the access to family planning that the middle and upper classes have as a matter of course. One may believe that homosexuality is morally wrong but be opposed to the political agenda that works to have gay Americans permanently branded as second class citizens....
One may believe all the things that those who are in the religious right believe, and also that justice does not include division, discrimination, ignorance and coercion.
And this from an agnostic! If only more of my Christian brothers and sisters thought the same way. Thanks, John.
1 comment:
There is something of value here, but the "justice/power" dichotomy telegraphs the author's biases more than a bit....
For example, I'm on record as saying that I cannot reconcile my understanding that homosexuality is uniformly described as a sin in the Bible with my desire to see homosexuals treated as full human beings. This means that I'm opposed to much of the horrible mistreatment homosexuals have received at the hands of the church, but still come out against the ordination of practicing homosexuals. Frankly, I'd like to find a way to interpret the relevant passages differently, but just don't feel that I can with any intergrity.
Where would such a position put me on the "justice/power" spectrum?
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