Sunday, November 7

We're just a buncha Christian Smartypants!

I graduated from Harvard Divinity School in 1988.

This quote making the rounds:

"The Republicans think they are morally superior to the Democrats. The Democrats think they are intellectually superior to the Republicans."

This gets to the crux of the 2004 election, which was to my mind a battle between good Christians (anti-intellectual) and good intellectuals (anti-Christian).
The question for the Christian Democrat is, can one be intellectual and Christian/moral? Must we be "fools for Christ" or must we set aside faith for facts? And what does that mean?

I think (and I use the word think with caution here) that intelligence and faith need not be mutually exclusive. What faith requires of us is a sacrifice of ego, not intelligence. Less ego is needed in Democratic circles, because we are so right about everything, aren't we?

Can we speak the truth to power while our speech and motives are completely devoid of rancor and hatred? Can we be both right and kind at the same time? Hmmm. Who in the history of the world set the example for how to do this? No better example than Comrade Jesus himself.

If you can cut through the self-promotion, Cheryl Richardson has some good things to say on the aftermath of the election.



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