This blog originally appeared as an op-ed piece in WashingtonPost.com.

In moments of severe disasters like the tornado in Oklahoma, people of faith will often speak of “praying for the city” or “praying for the victims.” As the massive tornado outside of Oklahoma City annihilated buildings including a school with students and teachers, some people of faith used social media to speak messages of prayer and hope in God. However, some atheists also posted in social media, referred to this natural disaster as a “gratuitous evil” or evidence against God’s existence. One atheist tweeted:

“NEWSFLASH—If god cared about Oklahoma he wouldn’t have allowed the tornado in the first place. #PrayForOklahoma #Atheism

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Originally posted 3 years ago, here is a Christmas season repeat of hope, justice, Jesus and latte's. 

 

I broke routine this morning. I interrupted my morning commute to work with a pit stop at Starbucks and a book in hand. It’s been a very long time since I have sat and read over a latte and to my surprise, Jesus was there.  

 

I ordered a sinful Caramel Brulee Latte and took a seat along the perimeter so that I could watch the subtle rain drops collide with the ground outside. I opened my book in hand, Just Courage by Gary Haugen and reached for my latte. But before I could take in my first sip of that delightful little beverage, I was met by Jesus who had appeared somehow on my Christmas themed cup.

 

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A survey conducted by the Gallup organization in 2010 found that one in five Americans believed that “God is actively engaged in the daily working of the world and has an economic conservative view that opposes government regulations and champions the free market.”  24 So is God for reduced government, lower taxes, and a free-market economy? Is God a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, a Socialist, or what? Does God affiliate himself with political parties or get involved in political agendas?

The Kingdom Question

If ever there was an issue of God getting involved in politics it was in the first century. The Jewish people had endured many years under the rule of or enslaved by other governments. For centuries they had been looking for their Messiah, the Christ who would lead their nation out from tyranny into a new kingdom of rightness and glory.

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It seems as though the Christmas shopping season, which officially kicked off on Black Friday, is a bigger deal than ever this year. For the first time stores opened on Thanksgiving rather than waiting until the wee hours of Friday morning to welcome hoards of shoppers. Some people, eager to be the first to snag a killer deal on a 50-inch LED television, camped out in front of stores like Target and Best Buy Best for a week.

Truth be told, I don’t have a problem with Black Friday and Christmas shopping or with people camping out on sidewalks across the nation for days in order to get a good deal. I mean, who doesn’t want a great price on everything these days?

But I do have a problem when this consumer nation is uneducated about the products they are buying such as how objects are made and where the materials to make all the products we love so much come from. Sometimes it seems that America, a country in which education is freely available to any and all who desire it, operates as one of the more ignorant, uneducated nations in the world in terms of understanding how things work globally. 

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There has been quite a lot of discussion about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith. How serious is his Mormon faith? Does his faith influence his politics? Should Christians vote for a Mormon for the highest office in the land? Would people become more interested in the LDS faith if Romney becomes president?

 

These questions have been discussed and debated throughout this election cycle. People have not necessarily fallen into predictable patterns in their views. Ben Stein has called Romney’s faith a “worry.” Progressive Tony Jones has written a piece called, “Mitt’s Mormonism Matters: Considering a Candidate’s Faith.” Jones expresses concern that Christians, such as Billy Graham, seem willing to set aside their convictions in order to vote for a Mormon. Here is how Jones puts it:

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Global catastrophes sadden us. The images are terrifying and experiencing such moments in history are painful. Why does God allow this to go on? Is He causing it? Where is God in hurricanes and pain? Here are some answers that make sense biblically.

God Is Opposed to Storms

When God first created the world, He pushed back the chaos. He brought order where none existed. This is what much of Genesis 1–2 is about. This is why God’s focus at the beginning is the sky and the waters. He is pushing back the madness. He calls doing so “good.”

When God’s will is connected to natural disasters in the Old Testament—like the flooding of the earth—God is not happy about it. It’s a last resort. It means God letting His own work be undone.

Jesus is political. That’s how He died.

In this season of everyone pitching their political beliefs—including my favorite kind of naysaying, Facebook critics—Christians quickly get out of control. In the midst of it all, it’s really easy to lose sight of who is really ruler, Jesus, as Eugene Cho recently pointed out. It’s also easy to lose sight of just how political Jesus is and what that means for us.

Our Opposition Is Everywhere—That’s the Choice We Made

Jesus’ entire identity opposed the worldwide power of Rome.

I have never been one who has fought against abortion. By that I mean that I have never carried a sign that says, “Stop Abortion Now,” nor have I ever participated in a pro-life rally.

However, that doesn’t mean I waver in my belief that abortion is wrong and is tantamount to taking the life of a precious, innocent, fully alive though not fully formed human being. I believe that completely. I’m just not an active opponent of those who believe in a woman’s right to choose (to use the common language of those who favor abortion rights). Instead, I’m a passive proponent of a child’s right to live.

And you know what? I’m ashamed to tell you of my passivity, especially after reading two articles that came across my radar recently.

The first was a disturbing piece entitled, “The Three Deadliest Words in the World: It’s a Girl.” Reported by A.G. Harmon on Patheos.com, the piece focused on a new documentary produced and directed by Evan Grae Davis. I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch the film trailer, but be forewarned. It will disturb you, not because it’s so graphic (it’s not), but because it shows everyday people in India and China admitting to killing their newborn daughters in what is known as gendercide, “the culturally-based killing of a child (overwhelmingly female) on the basis of sex.” It is estimated that as many as 200 million girls are “missing” from the world’s population--whether killded, aborted or abandoned--due to gendercide.

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I like doing more than having.  Anti-consumerism just seems right to me. To be a lover of God and humanity more than a lover of things, to be a Christ follower who chooses abstracts like love and peace over crass commercial objects--this world view feels, to me, like a soft blanket I just discovered in my closet. On most days Henry David Thoreau feels legit. 

But my house is full of those same crass objects I claim to dislike. I bought a new messenger bag the other day when I already have two, and I was certain that the made-in-China wooden bird I bought for my kitchen table would make my house feel, you know, more bohemian. The capitalists who have custom-built their jacked-up mansions along the bluffs outside my city have also bankrolled dozens of charities and helped pay my salary as a public school teacher. In short, the paradoxes of capitalism are keeping me up at night, especially in an election year. To make things worse, most of the Christians I know don't see the paradoxes at all. 

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