Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Of Ideologies and Religion

I suppose it could be said that all religions comprise an "ideology" of sorts, as they all follow the teachings of another.  That said, what really matters in the end is "ultimate truth."  Focus on the Family put together an amazing set of instructional DVD's that put this into perspective, namely that first and foremost, "ultimate truth" and "ultimate reality" can only be determined by God.  Humanity in its age-old bondage to see the self as ultimate, rejects any other truth that would trump "truth" as WE define it, and THAT is what ideology is really all about.  In the end, ANY ideology - be it political or otherwise - really comes down to redefining truth on our terms, and not in any sort of penultimate way.
     Political ideology pretty much follows the same path.  Today for example:  the president vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline.  Now I really don't care what side of the issue you may come down on this.  The simple fact is that the majority of Americans in every poll are in favor of it, and because of the president's ideology, he vetoed it.  Last I checked, our government was set up so that elected officials carried out the will of the people, and that the Constitution was set to ensure that the government was limited in ways in which it could thwart that will.  This is to say nothing of whether or not the majority rule in this case was also an ideology:  one of the need for petroleum and its by-products, which in western society is a given.
    Also today, we see that the world is simply NOT a fine place.  Christians are facing persecution, and recently 21 Egyptian Christians faced their own deaths, not willing to renounce their faith even as they were being beheaded.  ISIS too is an ideology - one driven by pure hatred and evil, with strong roots in Islamic history.  The simple historic fact is that today's terrorism is pure evil and has nothing to do with the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries.  The first attack between Islam and Christianity occurred roughly 400 years prior to the first crusade, and it was Islam attempting to take over the Holy Roman Empire, not the other way around.  There were hundreds of similar battles and attacks in the years that followed, allowing for Islam to take over nearly 2/3 of Christian Europe and Middle East, until the Christians began to fight back in 1095 AD.
     So let's come to the heart of the matter.  What makes one ideology better or worse than the other?  As I would maintain:  nearly ALL religions comprise an ideology, and nothing more.  I say "nearly" because in the field of comparative religions, there is indeed one that stands apart and alone:  Christianity.  The Lutheran doctrine of "Law and Gospel" (without going into great detail in this post) summarizes this critical component.  It essentially postulates that humanity is a fine mess, and that we, ultimately, are responsible for our own mess.  Furthermore, we cannot in the end save ourselves from our own stinky mess.  Salvation comes through God alone (through Jesus' death and resurrection), simply because we cannot save ourselves.  This one religious tenet sets Christianity apart from EVERY other world religion, all of which leave the business of salvation dependent upon you and what you do.  Islam is only one of a long line of such religions, where salvation is in your own hands.  Islam has a disturbing track record of believing and teaching that the road to salvation is in killing your enemies in gruesome fashion.  Any other religion that relies on the self in any fashion is not a true religion, for it denies the power, authority, and sovereignty of God.  When Christians, too, rely on their own intellect and ability alone, they have reduced the Christian faith to an ideology only as well.
     When it comes to politics, our only concern must be for understanding ultimate truth and reality.   With all the "so-called" truths out there, where will you turn for "ultimate truth?"  If it comes from anywhere other than God who created the universe - the God who saves you not because of yourself but because of His love for you - it comes from the wrong place.

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