159 Dec. 4 The God of Bread or the God of the Sword – Which?
We’re a complicated and inconsistent bunch. We want to be coddled and taken care of, yet we yearn
for freedom and independence. We seek to control others even though we take offence when others do the
same. Instinctively, we try to make God, however named, into our own image. Because we instinctively know
of the primacy of love, we are attracted to the loving God of Jesus of Nazareth, the Abba-God, Little Daddy or
Mommy, the loving parent who is always there for their children, non-judgemental and accepting. Yet, we
want a God of power and control, one who is in-our-pocket, to do our will if we only pray. We try to have
both: we turn the prayer of Jesus, “Our loving Daddy…,” into “(Our Father…” Two very different gods. One of
love, the other of control. We want both realities. Not possible. They are opposite.
As parents soon learn, love and control don’t mix. You can’t have both. The longer parents try to
control, the less love there will be. In the end, only love will last. Yet, we try to hold these two opposite
powers together in our understanding of God. It doesn’t work. Those religions that try to do this are bound to
fail. They only survive as long as they have enough power to enforce the lie. In Christianity, that is no longer
the case, thankfully.
In Christianity, both versions are there in scripture and tradition. The God of Jesus was definitely the
non-violent God-of-Bread. Jesus of Nazareth was against force and control of any kind. His vision and actions
were confrontational and divisive, but never forceful.
But his life was in a time of violence and control. Rome ruled the land with an iron fist. The Jews knew
this was against the will of God and logically assumed that any who were ‘of God’ would be against Rome, and
violently so. Again and again, Jesus was urged to accept the role of messiah, one who would lead the people in
revolt. He refused time and again, finally accepting the role of messiah, knowing that only in having and then
rejecting ultimate control, might the people finally understand his radical Way of non-violence. To no avail.
His followers stayed in Jerusalem, unwavering in their mistaken belief that Jesus would come again to
exert control and ‘clean house’. They waited, finally joining the Zealots in their revolt against Rome in 65 A.D.
believing that God would send them the risen Jesus, who would finish the job. They were wrong, again. All
perished by Roman swords in 70 AD.
Did the surviving Greek-thinking believers learn? No. They also refused to place the teachings and
actions of Jesus before their own needs and beliefs. The ‘second coming’ became entrenched within the
movement, cemented into orthodoxy when the Jesus Movement was adopted and adapted by Rome in 325 as
a means to unify the Roman Empire. It has remained there ever since, well ensconced within Christian
doctrine, expectation and song, bringing disaster after disaster, not only among those who give it more than
lip service, but to all within their influence. Like clockwork, every generation or two, it rears its head and does
untold damage. But rarely discussed. It’s just assumed. You don’t question doctrine.
Most Christians insist on believing that God directs the events of the world, but they remain content in
praying for health, wealth, wisdom for their leaders or for their sports teams to win. Most seem to be able to
juggle the two exclusive and opposite Gods until a crisis hits, one that causes them to question enough to
bring out the fact that one God simply can’t be of both love and control.
The danger comes from those who come to rely most heavily on the God-of-the-Sword. Knowing that
their God is all-powerful and yearns to be in control, to show and prove their faithfulness and to encourage
God to bring on their longed for Second Coming, they assume they must use what-every power they have to
force and control others to do their will, which just happens to be the will of God. They ignore the fact that
Jesus always gave people choices. These believers take away choices at every chance. They ban abortions,
liberties and everything that offends them, assuming that they are pleasing their God.
This element of Christianity has always been with us. Unfortunately, in the past fifty years, they have
grown extremely wealthy and powerful by being unfused with enormous funds from corporations who make
their money from fossil fuels and arms manufacturing. Just look at Congress in the U.S. This faction controls so
many votes, the new speaker-of-the-house is one of their leaders. (Why do so many of the Christian Right
support Israel, even though they know Jews, as Christ-killers, are going to Hell? As they understand it, the
Second Coming won’t happen until Israel controls the Middle East.)
The understanding of this God-of-the-Sword is affecting and infecting the whole world. Why worry
about climate change when you know that Jesus is coming again and will straighten everything out? Why
spend money on ‘the poor’, or any other social program? Why strive for peace when you know that God is
going to use and utilize violence for his righteous end? This is happening, right now. It started in the U.S. under
Reagan and has grown ever since. They control Trump, who they consider to be their God-inspired leader.
How do we combat this? Share the news. Realize it’s not being reported. The riot at the U.S. capitol
was a religious event. The Proud Boys, the shock-troops of the event, spent five minutes in prayer before they
stormed the buildings. Right-thinking churches all over the world are being urged to ‘get political’ and ban
abortions and gay rights. It’s working. We must talk about it. Urge the media (very often controlled by the
Christian Right) to tell the story.
Urge moderate Christians to choose which God they believe in, to take a stand and make noise and do
something that proves their faith. Most people assume that all Christians are of the same ilk. By-in-large,
moderates don’t give them any reason to think differently.
No matter our spirituality, this is affecting us. We need to keep informed, awake and to become active.
The Christian Right are organized and extremely powerful. Apathy plays into their hands. Every month, we get
better at killing each other. We simply cannot survive if we allow those who believe in a God-of-the-Sword to
be in control.
Anthony Gifford,
author of Bread Versus the Sword: How the Inherent Schism Within Christianity Threatens the World.
