Compostcompote

I’m not big on mixing food together. When I was growing up and attending four family reunions each year (big family, both sides), I grew fond of those Styrofoam, sectioned plates. You could put your green beans in one slot, your squash casserole in another, and your sweet potato casserole in yet another place and know that none of it would get mixed together before you ate it. I don’t dig green beans in my sweet potato casserole, so the “segregated” (as my goofy cousins called them) plates were ideal.

Now I do like some foods mixed together. For example, I love black-eyed peas and collard greens all in a pile. In fact, I just had a plate-full, and it was better than some of the sex I’ve had (I’m sorry to say!). I also like to mix scrambled eggs with grits…and those of you who are thinking, “Yuck! Grits!” haven’t had _my_ grits. My pal Kary, who is from one of those cold states in the Midwest, raves about my cheese grits so I know I’m not just kidding myself.

The point is, some things go well together – chocolate and peanut butter; black-eyed peas and collard greens; George Clooney and, well, yours truly! And some things should never, ever be combined. Things that are quite acceptable on their own, such as green beans and sweet potato casserole, are hideous together.

Religion and politics are two things that, in my opinion, call for the old “segregated” plate. Many people reading my blog probably assume I hate religion, and that’s not true. Like many good Southern girls, I was raised in the church and I know my Bible (and the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and lots of old hymns by heart). Even though organized religion gives me the heebie-jeebies these days, I can honestly say I still love Jesus. In fact, I probably love Jesus more than I’ve ever loved any man. But some of his followers scare the hell out of me.

I’m also a follower of politics, an avid voter, and a long-time Progressive Democrat. I believe that politics, justly applied, can do a lot to improve peoples’ lives. I am a staunch Democrat because I believe the Dems do a better job of applying politics justly to more people than do the Republicans. In a perfect world, however, I would vote Green Party and feel confident that my vote wouldn’t serve to elect the likes of George W.

What I don’t like or trust is this nasty mixing of religion and politics as practiced by the “New Evangelicals,” or as I prefer to call them, “Neo-Puritans.” These folks are great at lip-service, but as my buddy at Emilyviolet (a terrific blog – you should read it) describes, Evangelicals positively suck at serving people who are poor, sick, gay, mentally ill, or otherwise “different.” Evangelicals seem to be a lot more interested in tax cuts than they are in serving others, which flies in the face of everything Jesus taught. I have to wonder if these folks read the New Testament at all; I suspect the majority of them are content to attend their mega-churches and soak up everything the Rod Parsley’s, John Hagee’s, and Jerry Falwell’s of the world spew out of their mouths. I also suspect they spend a lot of time during the week listening to other “religious” leaders such as Neil Bortz, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O’Reilly (even my very conservative father says O’Reilly is a “pompous ass.” This is one thing we agree on, thank goodness.).

Back to religion…I believe it is in the book of Matthew that Jesus says, “as you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto me...and as you have done it not to these, you have done it not to me.” If you are an Evangelical Christian who believes the Bible should be taken literally, it’s tough to get away from the meaning of these verses. If you believe what Jesus is saying, you can’t go around suggesting that the United States needs to kill Hugo Chavez (Pat Robertson). If you really believe what the Bible says, you have to love Hugo Chavez because Jesus does. And you have to be kind to the poor and sick and mentally ill because that’s what Jesus did. You also have to do what is just, not what is politically expedient (Tom Delay? Ralph Reid? I’m talking to you. Or, rather, Jesus is, via the New Testament.).

If Evangelicals were really practicing what the New Testament teaches, they wouldn’t all be voting Republican, railing against illegal immigrants, and bitching about the public schools. They would be actively engaged in service to others, and people would be falling all over themselves to join up. Seriously! If Christians were actually living what Jesus taught in the New Testament, there would be no gated communities, a lot fewer homeless people, adequate treatment centers for the mentally ill/substance abusers, better schools for all kids (not just the rich, white ones), etc.

The Christians who do strive to follow Jesus’ teachings stand out so vividly they practically shine. I know people like this: Renee, June, Wanda, Tim, Matt, Gayle, Abby, Barbara, Ron…and lots more I won’t name. I have so much respect and love for these folks, and I make a point to think of them every time some crazy-ass, so-called Christian mouths off about how all Gay people are going to hell unless they “turn straight.”

Christians ought to be involved in politics, but they shouldn’t be ruled by politics. The idea that all Christians must be Republicans (or Democrats, for that matter) is both offensive and ludicrous (not the rapper, Ludacris. I have no idea what his political affiliation is, though I do know he lives in Decaturrrrr! with the Indigo Girls. Talk about strange bed-fellows!).

In the same way, politics can – and probably should – be influenced by various people’s religious beliefs. However, politics shouldn’t be so closely linked to one religious group that you can’t tell the two apart.

So I guess I’m saying this: you can have religion and you can have politics, and the two can influence each other…but if you mix them together you wind up with a nasty mess that nobody can swallow.