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By Soong-Chan Rah
RECENTLY at North Park Theological Seminary, we
conducted our annual Scripture Symposium. This year’s topic was
‘The Idolatry of Security.’ The topic was picked years ahead of
time, so the organizers had no idea how appropriate it would be in light of
the economic meltdown of the past several weeks. I offer a few observations
on the topic.
One of the presenters, Daniel Carroll of Denver
Seminary, referred to the proper exegesis of Amos 7:7-8:
“The Lord was standing by a wall that had been
built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me,
‘What do you see, Amos?’ ‘A plumb line,’ I replied.
Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people
Israel; I will spare them no longer.’”
As Prof. Carroll explains: “The key term there is
anak, usually
translated ‘plumb line.’ Recent studies, however, make clear
that a more correct rendering is ‘tin.’ This translation
conveys the self-deceiving ideology of Israel’s defences.
“From a distance, the walls of their fortresses
might appear to be made of iron, a strong metal; surely, they could resist
attack. In reality, however, they are but tin. Perhaps the meaning of the
vision is that Yahweh has reached down and ripped out a piece of this
fragile wall and thrown it in the midst of his people, as if to say,
‘This is nothing!’”
No trust in God
Amos 7:7-8 reveals the fallen capacity of the people of
God. We have the fallen capacity to trust in everything and anything
but God. But God has the capacity to reveal our walls to be nothing more
than tin.
God reveals our idols, even the idol of security in all
its forms: national security, economic security, military security, social
security, securities and exchanges, and so forth.
Don’t misunderstand me – I’m not
saying that God and God alone is directly responsible for the current
economic crisis. Nor am I indulging in the common mistake of confusing
God’s words to the kingdom of Israel as words intended for 21st
century secular United States.
But can this economic crisis help reveal the idolatry
of security to American Christians? Can the tearing down of the tin wall
allow the light to shine upon Christians who have placed their security in
securities?
Theologian Walter Wink writes about how mediating
narratives are necessary to prop up the powers that be. In American
society, the mediating narrative of materialism and capitalism provides an
undergirding that sustains our way of life.
I would raise the challenge that American Christianity
operates under the narrative of materialism and capitalism, that there are
times when American Christians are more enamored with materialistic and
capitalistic values above biblical values – in how we shop for
churches, how we look to church to meet our needs, how we value success,
and in the type of books which push us towards a materialistic worldview.
Captivity to materialism
But what happens when the economic security and
materialistic value system we have trusted more than God begins to
collapse? What happens when this wall is revealed to be nothing more than
tin? At that moment, will we do all it takes to restore the wall of tin, or
will we willingly embrace God’s revelation to examine the American
church’s captivity to materialism and consumerism?
In his paper at the symposium, theologian and ethicist
Scott Bader-Saye contrasted the perception of security in two different
gardens found in the Bible: the Garden of Eden and the Garden of
Gethsemane.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam responds to the possibility
of insecurity with fear, and an attempt to trap and control God’s
blessing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus responds to the possibility of
insecurity with faithful obedience, yielding his blessed position for the
sake of the cross.
A common thread in the two gardens is that there is an
imminent state of emergency. In a state of emergency, the temptation is to
change the rules we live by. Fear of the unknown, fear of loss, and fear of
insecurity can lead to the shutting down of the “ordinary processes
of deliberation, reflection and conversation in favor of quick and decisive
measures,” stated Bader-Saye.
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In some sense, the idolatry of security leads to the
loss of freedom and democracy. National crisis leads to national panic and
insecurity, which can yield unprecedented power to the government without
civilian/citizen oversight.
Case in point: the suspension of many democratic
principles in order to fight the war on terror. In a state of emergency,
those who idolize security will do everything possible to preserve their
way of life. Concessions will be given and drastic measures taken to help
our nation out of the crisis.
The stark difference in the two gardens is in the
response of Adam versus the response of Jesus. Adam responds in crisis
mode, seeking to preserve his own life and preserve his own assets –
even to the point of hiding from judgment. Jesus simply states: “Thy
will be done.” Jesus seeks the blessing and salvation of others
– even at the cost of his own life.
In this state of emergency, the temptation will be to
preserve our own security at the expense of others – and to
uncritically accept hasty solutions that benefit some but not others.
Concern for the marginalized
If Christians idolize security more than Christ alone,
then we will also fall into the trap of doing everything to preserve our
own security rather than caring for the poor among us. However, I
believe the call for the Christian is to be even more concerned for the
very least of these, the marginalized in our society, rather than to
protect our own assets.
Wall Street will not be the first to feel the pain of
this crisis. While the parachute may not be golden, it’s still a
parachute – something the poor among us do not have at all.
Brokers and bankers have enough of a nest egg that they won’t be out
on the street anytime soon. But there are many low income and middle class
families which are feeling the pain. They have already lost homes and jobs.
Already marginalized, the margin for error just got a lot smaller.
I am not stating a position on the Wall Street bailout.
I’m asking Christians to consider what values are being exhibited
when we discuss and reflect on the bailout. Is our first priority caring
for the poor among us, or the preservation of our right to worship at the
foot of the idol of economic security?
I close with a citation from Bader-Saye’s paper:
“And so we are left with two gardens and two
choices in the face of fear. One is to hide and sacrifice the other for our
own safety, making security the highest good.
“The other is to embrace a cruciform ethic of
risk, losing our lives to find them – extending blessing in the face
of curse because we trust that our flourishing comes not from controlling
or consuming the good, but from extending it.”
Soong-Chan Rah is assistant professor of evangelism at
North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago. This article was originally
published by God’s Politics (www.godspolitics.com), the blog of Jim
Wallis and Sojourners (www.sojo.net).
November 2008
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