Barbara Ehrenreich is not talking about theology or faith here, but this is also true in several strains of Christianity.

“Positive thinking Christianity” is often referred to as prosperity theology (also known as prosperity doctrine, the health and wealth gospel, or the prosperity gospel)It is a religious belief found among “tens of millions” of Christians primarily in the United States but also here in Europe, centered on the notion that God provides material prosperity for those he favors. It has been defined by the belief that “Jesus blesses believers with riches” or more specifically as the teaching that “believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the ‘sowing of seeds’ through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.

I see this thinking and teaching also influencing all parts of Christianity to different degrees. The belief that belief or should we say “positive thinking”  itself is a powerful tool in either manipulating-influencing God or people in a good or bad way to achieve personal gain or good. The belief in Utopia, the belief in the unrealistic or unseen. I believe in the mystical,in dimensions beyond our senses and in the supernatural but it is always in the context of  reality or as Barbara emphasizes the need for realism.

Have a look and tell me what you think;

Thanks Gunilla for this:)

A few weeks ago the Scottish government released Al-Megrahi, the man convicted of bombing U.S.-bound Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

The past few weeks have been rough ones for the Scots. Angry Americans threatened to boycott Scottish products. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lined up to condemn the move. (I was by the way a strong supporter of Hillary, and I still am, but disagree with her on this reaction)

This is one of many good examples on the polarization and the great gap between American thinking and European thinking when it comes to Justice and the theories and platforms on which this thinking is built.

Let me generalize to try to show my point.

An eye for an eye

The American system wants the offender to get what he deserves. The punishment is then awarded according to the crime committed.

In Europe it’s very different. Let this encounter serve as an example.

I was talking to a friend of mine some time ago. He works as a Judge in one of the biggest courts in Oslo. I asked him about a case he had presided over and asked him why he only gave 2 years in jail for what I considered was a grave offense. (It was the case in which Munch’s scream painting was stolen)

His answer was this. First of all he told me that he felt 2 years was a very tough and hard sentence for the offender.  Second of all he told me that his main purpose as a judge was not to give this man what he deserved, but give him a chance to both live with the consequence of what he did and get back into society and become a good citizen again.

The decision to free Al-Megrahi was made in accordance with Scottish legal practice, which makes explicit provision for the early release of prisoners on compassionate grounds.

Let me summarize: In Europe the goal is not to give the offender only a punishment in accordance with the gravity of his crime, or to give him what he deserves, but  also to show and give grace with the desire to help him into a normal life some day again.

Intertwined with view of God

This fundamental view on justice is also very much intertwined in the view on salvation, God and Christianity. One can argue that both views come out of how one understands salvation, humans worth the bible and God. The dominant American Christian view is again God as a judge, giving us what we deserve. And in this aspect the western European church follows the Americans. But the Eastern European church(Orthodox) have a totally different view. God as a father, trying to help his children with their mistakes.  As a parent guides his children. This thinking is very far from a judicial view of God and his relation with humanity.  The way of Jesus is never one that gives back what one deserves. It is one that shows grace and mercy also in the Judicial sphere of humanity. I applaud the Scottish for following the way of Jesus in this case. Grace and Peace to Al- Megrahi.

Read more about Eastern Christianity and the difference between western and eastern Christianity in my post; “The lost Christianity”

Is Obama a socialist?

I have been reading how much of the American media, and also some of my American friends compare Obama to a socialist or a Scandinavian. The question I will seek to share some views on in this blogpost is; is he?

Media in Sweden, Denmark and my homeland Norway are across the board happy about Obama being elected as the 44th President of the United States of America. This is also the case in the Christian media I have been following.

The Democratic Party and Republican Party are both viewed as clearly part of the conservative political block if compared by Nordic standards. And if we should put a color on them both it would be dark blue.(blue conservative, red being socialist leaning) I would say that pretty much all of the political parties here in Scandinavia has a socialistic foundation. The word socialist used as the worst word the republican party could come up with is not something I as a Scandinavian would understand or be able to relate to if used on Obama’s politics. By our standards he is far from a socialist.

What is Obamas model ?

Obamas political model deploys civic nationalism to transcend ethnic diversity. Many of Tuesday’s revelers were waving the stars and stripes, or sporting it on some part of their dress. No right-wing Republican could insist more than Obama does on American uniqueness, exceptionalism, manifest destiny. His proclaimed purpose is “to make this century the next American century”. If George W Bush said that, we from the rest of the world might regard it as rank nationalist arrogance. Because it’s Obama, we somehow accept it.

Now comes the test. As he acknowledged in his sober acceptance speech, America has a huge mountain to climb. The very circumstances that ensured his victory make it more difficult for him to succeed. One can argue about “what would have happened if …”, but it’s indisputable that the campaign turned decisively in his favor after September’s financial meltdown. Now the crisis is really hitting the real economy, on his chosen terrain of jobs, homes, savings and healthcare for ordinary Americans. He inherits a soaring national debt from Bush, who presided over a massive redistribution of wealth from future generations to the present one. The country faces two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a host of other challenges around the world.

America divided

Meanwhile, America itself is still divided. The gulf between red and blue may even be more difficult to bridge than that between black and white. Many Americans are still irrationally suspicious of Barack Hussein Obama, but an entirely rational observer could conclude that his instincts are more socially and cultural liberal than those of a cultural-conservative Republican, and less economically liberal than those of a libertarian Republican. To overcome those concerns, he would have to govern from the centre or even centre-right, disappointing his own supporters and taking on some triumphalist Democrats in Congress.

Has he got what it takes: in himself, his team, and the power resources at his disposal? I spent the days before the vote talking to not a few Washington insiders, including some well placed in his campaign. Their unanimous refrain was: we don’t know. We don’t know which of the many policy options he’ll plump for; we don’t know who he’ll choose for the key posts; we don’t know what he’ll be like on the job. Few presidential candidates have had less of an executive or legislative track record from which to guess their future performance in a job like no other.

Is Obama a Scandinavian?

On one thing all agree: if he can run the country the way he has run his campaign – one of the most effective ever – then America will be in good hands. But a country is not a campaign. He is, in every sense of that over-used word, cool. He barely looked excited even as he accepted the presidency before an ecstatic crowd. As president, his hard-power resources may be somewhat diminished, but no one in the world currently has more soft power. Where the Bush administration used military “shock and awe” to hunt down weapons of mass destruction that turned out not even to be there, Obama is himself a weapon of mass attraction.

And he can appeal to what is perhaps America’s greatest power resource: the can-do spirit of innovation, enterprise and hard work, mixed with civic patriotism, which this country invites everyone to embrace, wherever they come from. This is the promise summed up in what Obama called in his acceptance speech “that American creed: Yes We Can”. The American creed they were chanting outside the White House on that unforgettableTuesday night.

Is “the Obama model” the “Scandinavian model”? Far from it. Should it be? Probaly not. I do think however, Obama should turn his eyes and ears this way (once i a while) and ask if there are things that would be helpful in leading the greatest nation out of the mess created by Bush, and a political system that clearly has not been working for quite some time. We certainly turn our eyes and ears the american way quite alot.

I am horrified by the Christian right

I have been following the election process in the states carefully over the last few months, and am again struck by the way politics is conducted in this beautiful and great land of freedom. I am horrified by the rhetoric and claims of the religious Christian right putting fear into the hearts of millions of voters.

James Dobson

James Dobson, president of “focus on the family” is one such Christian right leader.

Jim Wallis confronts James Dobson, asks for an apology and says the following; “The fictional letter released through your Focus on the Family Action organization, titled “Letter From 2012 in Obama’s America”, crosses all lines of decent public discourse. In a time of utter political incivility, it shows the kind of negative Christian leadership that has become so embarrassing to so many of your fellow Christians in America. We are weary of this kind of Christian leadership, and that is why so many are forsaking the Religious Right in this election.

This letter offers nothing but fear. It apocalyptically depicts terrorist attacks in American cities, churches losing their tax exempt status for not allowing gay marriages, pornography pushed in front of our children, doctors and nurses forced to perform abortions, euthanasia as commonplace, inner-city crime gone wild because of lack of gun ownership, home schooling banned, restricted religious speech, liberal censorship shutting down conservative talk shows, Christian publishers forced out of business, Israel nuked, power blackouts because of environmental restrictions, brave Christian resisters jailed by a liberal Supreme court, and finally, good Christian families emigrating to Australia and New Zealand.”

An embarrassment

Jim Wallis continues with the following.

“The America you helped vote into power has lost its moral standing in the world, and even here at home. The America you told Christians to vote for in past elections is now an embarrassment to Christians around the globe, and to the children of your generation of evangelicals. And the vision of America that you still tell Christians to vote for is not the one that many in a new generation of Christians believes expresses their best values and convictions.

Christians should be committed to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America, and the church is to live an alternative existence of love and justice, offering a prophetic witness to politics. Elections are full of imperfect choices where we all seek to what is best for the “common good” by applying the values of our faith as best we can.

Dreams and hopes

Dr. Dobson, you of course have the same right as every Christian and every American to vote your own convictions on the issues you most care about, but you have chosen to insult the convictions of millions of other Christians, whose own deeply held faith convictions might motivate them to vote differently than you.  This epistle of fear is perhaps the dying gasp of a discredited heterodoxy of conservative religion and conservative politics. But out of that death, a resurrection of biblical politics more faithful to the whole gospel—one that is truly good news—might indeed be coming to life.”

Tomorrow the world turns its eyes, hopes and dreams to two men, Obama and McCain. I believe the best choice for the world is Obama, I believe the best choice for America is Obama, and if I could would give him my vote tomorrow at noon. No matter who you chose tomorrow, dont let fear be the deciding factor.

the need for change will finally prevail over the appeals to fear. Pray that the voters will choose either Barack Obama or John McCain as the best agent of change, rather than submit to the tyranny of fear. It is always better to live (and to vote) in the light of hope than in the darkness of fear. It is always an act of faith to believe that, in the end, hope will prevail over fear.

Read more about the elections here.

While I visited the Popes home in the Vatican city he decided to visit the US. During his visit, Pope Benedict XVI gave a consistent and prophetic call to U.S. Catholics that might have something to say to humans everywhere:

I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today, to share their joys and hopes, to support them in their sorrow and trials, and to help them flourish in their new home. This, indeed, is what your fellow countrymen have done for generations. From the beginning, they have opened their doors to the tired, the poor, the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” These are the people whom America has made her own.