No Labels?

 A comment made by comedian Steven Colbert made an impression on me today.  

If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

I made an immediate connection with the use of the American flag by the MAGA crowd.  I believe people are hungry for identity, and so they crave for readily recognized labels.  Christian and American are used as labels to define a certain tribe, irrespective of the tenets and meaning that others would use to define the group.  For Colbert, a devout Catholic, Christianity is a faith for people who follow Christ's teachings.  The quote is not quite direct enough.  Many Christians do not even admit the basic teachings usually associated with Jesus.  In my experience growing up in the Southern Baptist community, the main definition of Christianity is that a person believes Jesus is the son of God who died for our sins and through this declaration, the believer will not perish but have everlasting life.  

The tears of the converted are not about understanding Jesus's teachings.  They are the emotions of someone who believes they have escaped the fate of the unbeliever, eternal damnation in hell after death.  Some may cry because they believe they have found a constant companion and guide, no less than the Son of God.  They cry because they believe whatever befalls them in the future, whatever sins they have committed in the past, their lives have been changed.  The past sins are forgiven, and whatever happens in the future, they are saved.  

The act of baptism is supposed to be representative of burying the person pre-confession and the rising of a new person, imbued with Christ's love and righteousness.  Personal responsibility is secondary.  Studying the Bible is encouraged but not required.  Most Christians I know act comfortable and confident in their claim to be Christians.  

 God's Word says that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and not by our own efforts or works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace Alone. Faith Alone. Grace alone means that God loves, forgives, and saves us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ.

Many Christians treat their "conversion" as a task done once and for all time.  There is no need for thought about behavior or for any other consequence.  Now, the Catholic might think attending to the sacraments regularly is important.  And to be fair, many Catholics I know are like Colbert: they at least believe that their Christianity demands something of them and their behavior.  Yes, they will fall short of the standard, for that is the state of being human.  But the standard is nonetheless there.  Colbert is actually telling us that he, like most Christians, understand much about Christ's teachings, like attending to the needy without condition, but we don't make it the center of our lives.  Only saintly people do that.

In analogy, being American only means being born in the country or achieving citizenship.  Here the bar is perhaps even lower than faith,  Being American does not obligate recognition of any set of values.  The Constitution even seems to give safe harbor to the most abhorrent ideologies, and it even protects free speech to advocate without limits.  Here, then, is the eternal challenge in American culture: the definition of America and what it means to be an American.  It seems 'freedom of religion,' while being protected by the First Amendment, is no longer accepted as a feature of being American in many circles.  

Unapologetic bigotry is now the central plank of the Republican Party, and the 2024 election's main choice is between this bigotry and liberalism.  The MAGA Republican is ready to trade in the Constitution, including civil rights protections, for Trump autocracy, because MAGA Republicans believe white Christian nationalism will best preserve their values and culture.  They believe accommodations to non-believers have marginalized them and even threaten their survival.  Their movement has freed them from the burdens of inclusion and accommodation.  The only people who should fear the MAGA movement are infidels, damned to hell anyway.  

It is ironic that the Colbert quote aptly defines logic that has taken the American experiment in democracy, pluralism, and multiculturalism to the brink of extinction.  Let's look at Colbert's quote and substitute appropriately. 

If this is going to be a nation under the Constitution, either we have to pretend that the laws are meant to be followed only as is convenient for the powerful, or we've got to acknowledge that that the Constitution requires the law to apply for all citizens without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.