The Oklahoman newspaper had two powerful op-eds by local religious leaders that attacked the Oklahoma House's "Christ is King" resolution.
I'm hoping you will read them both (links below), but I wanted to highlight a few excepts from each of them.
Excerpt #1 From Rabbi Vered Harris (my rabbi at Temple B'nai Israel of OKC):
As non-Christian clergy, I regularly meet former Christians with painful stories about Christian church upbringings that nearly destroyed them. I know very few Jewish people who have not been told that we will burn in hell because we are not Christian.
I have been dismissed by at least two Oklahoma Christian preachers because my six years of graduate school studying Bible and religion are not "faithful" — in other words: Understanding God is as simple as reading their version of the Bible. They are, as the proclamation says, free to hold and express their deeply held beliefs. However, these same pastors think Christianity and Judaism share "Judeo-Christian" values. From a Jewish perspective, approaching religious leadership without comprehensive learning is a disgrace to the brains God has given us. Unfortunately, it is also an example of the outright dangerous ways Christianity is being taught and practiced in Oklahoma; the same Christianity your proclamation extols as a blessing.
Excerpt #2 (also from Rabbi Harris):
Voting for this resolution was within your legal rights, but good grief: At its most basic level, it is rude and disrespectful to the people in this state whose non-Christian beliefs have shaped our community, society and the state.
I know it is unreasonable to expect an apology for asserting your faith is somehow superior or more noteworthy than minority religions in this state. At the least, I hope for an acknowledgment that the wording of this proclamation fails to be supportive of all Oklahomans, and it disregards the damage done to Oklahomans in the name of Christianity.
Excerpt #3 (from Rev. Adam Young of Sunny Lane UMC in Del City):
Earlier today, the House passed Concurrent Resolution 1013, a proclamation declaring “Christ is King.” As a United Methodist pastor, I believe that phrase deeply — but only within the context of faith, worship and the countercultural way of life Jesus calls us to. When the state takes those sacred words upon its lips, they are transformed into something else entirely. What was once a confession of worship becomes a political power play. What was once a theological truth becomes a civil decree. And in doing so, the government steps into the dangerous territory of Christian nationalism.
Let me be clear: This resolution is unconstitutional, anti-democratic and theologically misguided.
Excerpt #4 (from Rev. Young):
HCR 1013 betrays the Christ who refused power and domination. In Mark 10, Jesus gathers his disciples and says, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant… For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Jesus never crowned himself king. The title he uses is “servant.” His vision is an upside-down one, where the first are last and the last are first. The only throne Jesus ever sat on was a cross. His kingdom looks less like the Capitol dome and more like foot-washing, shared meals, and solidarity with the poor and oppressed.
Our state, however, often operates in contradiction to this vision. As noted from the House floor today:
* The first bill our state passed established segregation.
* Our history is filled with the mistreatment of Black, Native, Latine, Asian, Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern communities.
* We criminalized “the least of these,” rather than cared for the unhoused.
* We continue to underfund education, and our outcomes lag behind the rest of the nation.
#Oklahoma #FirstAmendment #EstablishmentClause #Judaism #Christianity #ChristianNationalism #OklahomaLegislature #ConLaw #Fascism
James M Branum - יעקב מתתיהו ☮
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