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Let me tell you the story about how many politically progressive Christians came to think they were Anabaptists. (Im mainly talking about post-evangelical progressives rather than traditional mainline progressives.)

To recap, Ive made the argument that many progressive Christians believe they are Anabaptists when, in fact, they are Niebuhrians. This truth was exposed with the election of Donald Trump. The rise of Trump has politically energized progressive Christians in ways that are hard to reconcile with Anabaptist theology and practice. Again, this is no judgment of Anabaptist theology or of all the political activism of progressive Christians. Not at all. This is just a description of the disjoint between political theology and political praxis.

Most progressive Christians want to be politically engaged. Very much so. Especially with Donald Trump in office. But Anabaptist theology doesnt provide great theological scaffolding for much of that political activism. Thus my advice: Seek out and embrace a political theology that provides better theological support. To my eye, I think that theology is Reinhold Niebuhrs Christian realism.

But that raises a different question. Why did so many progressive Christians come to embrace Anabaptist theology in the first place?

Thats the story I want to tell you.

The story starts in 2003, with George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq. Many progressive Christians mobilized against that war. At the time, social media was just exploding. Blogging was in its Golden Age. Twitter would show up in 2006, just in time for the 2007-2008 Presidential campaign where we debated the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, torture and Guantanamo Bay.

As these debates raged on social media, Anabaptist theology, with its criticisms of nationalism and war, became a powerful theological tool in the hands of progressive Christians to level indictments at the Bush administration.

In addition, emergent and post-evangelical expressions of Christianity were going strong. Many disaffected and disillusioned evangelicals were looking around for theological positions that critiqued how evangelicalism had been co-opted by politics. With its strong criticisms of Constantinianism, Anabaptist theology also fit that bill.

And so it was during these years that many progressive Christians, in using Anabaptist theology so effectively to critique the Bush administration and the politicization of evangelicalism, convinced themselves that they were Anabaptists.

But they werent Anabaptists, not really.

Why werent progressives Anabaptists? Two reasons.

First, theres more to Anabaptist theology than its peace witness. Anabaptist theology also espouses a robust ecclesiology, the church as the locus of life and political witness. This aspect of Anabaptist theology doesnt sit well with many progressive Christians, who would rather work as political activists than invest in the daily life of a local church. To be sure, many post-evangelical progressive Christians harbor nostalgia for the local church, memories of hymn sings, youth camps, vacation Bible school and pot luck casseroles. But at the end of the day, progressive Christians tend to think calling Congress, community organizing and marching in protests are the best ways to make the kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

Second, the robust ecclesiology of Anabaptist thought and practice works with a strong church-vs.-world distinction. This contrast has been famously captured by Stanley Hauerwas: The first task of the church is not to make the world more just but to make the world the world. In Anabaptist thought the church is set apart from the world, its goal to be a witness to the Powers by making a stark contrast between the kingdom of God and Babylon.

That negative view of the world has never sat well with progressives, who, being liberals, tend to have a very favorable view of the world, a view which sits behind their very open, inclusive, cosmopolitan, non-judgmental social ethic. Progressives want to embrace the world, they dont want to create a community that highlights the darkness and depravity of the world. For many post-evangelical progressives, a negative view of the world smacks of the judgmentalism they are fleeing from.

In short: During the Bush years, progressives used parts of Anabaptist theology to great effect. Progressive Christians denounced the evils of war, empire, nationalism and Constantinian Christianity. Progressive Christians were so effective in this critique that they started to think they actually were Anabaptists. But progressive Christians never really were Anabaptists. They were post-evangelicals who became Democrats.

Richard Beck is professor and department chair of psychology at Abilene Christian University. He is the author ofUnclean: Meditations on Purity, Hospitality and Mortality.Richards area of interest be it research, writing or blogging is on the interface of Christian theology and psychology, with a particular focus on how existential issues affect Christian belief and practice. He blogs atExperimental Theology, where this post originally appeared.

Excerpt from:
How did political progressives think they were Anabaptists? - Mennonite World Review

Theres a famous story about how Lana Turner was discovered: sitting in a Hollywood drugstore, sipping a soda. Next thing you know, shes one of the most sought after It girls of the 1940s.

There may be some key details left out of that account, but one can assume, at least in theory, that it makes sense.

What doesnt necessarily make sense? The recent fever pitch over 78-year-old Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has been adopted by a new generation as Auntie Maxine.

Waters has spent more than four decades in public service but its only now that shes become the political crush for young progressives. Thats due to her fierce attacks on President Trump and his new administration. While other politicians practice staid sound bites, Waters is extemporaneous and unpredictable. But usually her message is along the lines of Impeach 45!

That has made her deep raspy voice and withering facial expressions almost inescapable recently.

Although shes been a staple of cable news shows on CNN and MSNBC, Waters popularity and reach have surpassed the traditional political audience and grabbed hold of young left-leaning hearts and minds.

In the past month alone, shes appeared at the MTV Music Awards where she basked and curtsied in the roaring applause of a standing ovation that went on and on. Shes been featured in the Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, Ebony and The Washington Posts Cape Up podcast.

But it was probably a January article by humor columnist R. Eric Thomas on Elle.com that catapulted the septuagenarian to stardom with the selfie-taking set and led to her new, familial nickname.

Apparently, Thomas, who has a Lana Turner story of his own he was hired by the magazine after being discovered on Twitter was home watching C-SPAN, when Waters serendipitously appeared on the screen.

Thomas had found a new muse.

If you havent seen the performance that launched hundreds of thousands of tweets, take 30 seconds to watch the whole thing. But if you dont have the time, heres what you need to know: Waters had left an intelligence briefing with then-FBI Director James Comey. She was not pleased with what she had heard.

Yes, can I help you? What do you want? is how she addressed reporters.

Thomas cant help laughing as he recalls watching it unfold in real time. I was like, Who is this person? he said, She walks into a press conference like theyre already on her last nerve.

He was delighted, flabbergasted and inspired and that led to this unforgettable paragraph:

I have never seen anything like this outside of a family reunion. Rep. Waters is definitely that auntie who got rich selling Avon and doesnt really like your father. Or any of these low-rent people. But you sit by her so that she can stage-whisper critiques with a mouth full of potato salad.

So, technically, the words Auntie Maxine may never have been strung together by Thomas, but he takes full credit anyway.

Its on my business card! he bragged.

Asheya Warren is among Waters legion of fans, and says the congresswomans frank style and shade-throwing skills are what appeal to her.

Its the way she says what she says, Warren said. Older women like Waters get a pass to freely speak their minds, added the 30-year-old.

Once a woman is over 60, she said, Youre able to say whatever you want to, whenever you want to. My mom does it, her two sisters do it, my grandmother did it, and again, thats why that Auntie moniker is so well received.

Waters is thrilled by it all.

I am surprised and honored to be so enthusiastically supported by millennials, she said by phone from her office in Los Angeles.

She says millennials though she may be a little generous with that designation stop her on the street, at the mall and in restaurants, with the same cry. Auntie Maxine! Oh my God, can I take a picture? they squeal in excitement.

Waters recognizes shes filling a void left by todays professional politicians, who are sometimes afraid to state their genuine opinions, fearing a backlash from constituents or the potential loss of their seat. But Im not afraid of that, she said defiantly. I will speak my mind.

And if that makes you want to call her Auntie, be ready. She likes giving hugs.

Original post:
'Auntie' Maxine: The Young Progressives' Political Crush of the Moment - KQED

President-elect Emmanuel Macrons success in France against a far-right opponent suggests voters from different camps are prepared to rally around a moderate candidate from the centre. Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Will Hutton mentions creating a new party in a throwaway line at the end of his column on why the future for progressive politics looks less than inviting (Never in my adult life has the future looked so bleak for progressives, Comment).

This should not be an afterthought. It is the one bright spot of hope in a desolate landscape and one that progressive media outlets such as the Observer should be championing. If 8 June sees Theresa Mays Conservatives returned to power, then moderate Labour, Lib Dem and Green politicians should finally agree to form a single progressive party and stop splitting the anti-Tory vote, as they have done since 1945.

A beneficial side-effect of such a realignment will be that Jeremy Corbyns hard-left Labour will not join and can become marginalised by a much larger and more electable force. The left-of-centre party activists have become detached from their voters witness the haemorrhaging of support from the Lib Dems after entering a coalition with the Tories that was opposed by many and the way that lifelong Labour supporters are deserting Corbyn.

What we need now is undeniable evidence to confirm that voters are crying out for change and political leaders with the backbone to put country before party and listen to them.

David Vigar Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire

Britain is a country of the European Enlightenment, so I have thought, writes Will Hutton in last weeks newspaper. If only it was, we would not be descending into the mess of xenophobia and economic self-immolation that is the product and inevitable outcome of Brexit. But the Enlightenment was more at home in Scotland than it was in England.

In recent years, there has been a debate about the identity of the English, a debate that never produced a definitive answer.

The result of the referendum, however, has supplied one we are not Johnny Foreigner. For at least four centuries, the British, dominated by the English view of politicians, politics, society and the rest of the world, have been seen and understood through a prism of the dominant culture of a Great Britain. It is a culture of pomp, an unelected upper house, titles signifying social differences and a how we won the war media. There has never been a whole commitment to the European Union.

George Hudson Worcester

I agree with Will Hutton. David Cameron lacked judgment in holding the referendum, but also to blame for the result was the lack of Labour leadership in promoting a vigorous campaign to expose the distortions and lies the Tories were using to blame Europe for the policies they had instigated, which had damaged schools, hospitals, social services and housing needs.

Equally disastrous was the Labour leaders crass decision to take his MPs into the lobby to abandon the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act, which had been deliberately designed to prevent opportunist governments from taking advantage of electoral swings to benefit their own party. He could have stopped Theresa May in her tracks by opposing her and prevented her from gaining the 67% majority required to change the act. Instead, he not only faces the self-devastation of his own party, but, even worse, it gives the Tories untrammelled power to do as they wish for the next five years, uncontrolled by the slender overall majority the party currently enjoys.

Charles Tyrie Nottingham

Hasnt Will Hutton anything cheerful to say? Im depressing myself enough think about the political and economic state of the nation without him making me feel even worse. Cant the Observer start a pre-election section full of humour, something to let readers feel a momentary surge of happiness and, shall we say, enlightenment? Ian Hogg Witney

Read the rest here:
The big issue: progressives are crying out for a new party - The Guardian

House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters listens as Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling speaks on Capitol Hill on May 2, 2017, during the committee's hearing on overhauling the nation's financial rules. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters listens as Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling speaks on Capitol Hill on May 2, 2017, during the committee's hearing on overhauling the nation's financial rules.

There's a famous story about how Lana Turner was discovered: sitting in a Hollywood drugstore, sipping a soda. Next thing you know, she's one of the most sought after "It" girls of the 1940s.

There may be some key details left out of that account, but one can assume, at least in theory, that it makes sense.

What doesn't necessarily make sense? The recent fever pitch over 78-year-old Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who has been adopted by a new generation as "Auntie Maxine."

Waters has spent more than four decades in public service but it's only now that she's become the political crush for young progressives. That's due to her fierce attacks of President Donald Trump and his new administration. While other politicians practice staid soundbites, Waters is extemporaneous and unpredictable. But usually her message is along the lines of "Impeach 45!"

That has made her deep raspy voice and withering facial expressions almost inescapable recently.

Although she's been a staple of cable news shows on CNN and MSNBC, Waters' popularity and reach have surpassed the traditional political audience and grabbed ahold of young left-leaning hearts and minds.

In the past month alone, she's appeared at the MTV Music Awards where she basked and curtsied in the roaring applause of a standing ovation that went on and on. She's been featured in the Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, Ebony and The Washington Post's "Cape Up" podcast.

But it was probably a January article by humor columnist R. Eric Thomas on Elle.com that catapulted the septuagenarian to stardom with the selfie-taking set and led to her new, familial nickname.

Apparently, Thomas, who has a Lana Turner story of his own he was hired by the magazine after being discovered on Twitter was home watching C-SPAN, when Waters serendipitously appeared on the screen.

Thomas had found a new muse.

Rep. Maxine Waters, left, and Tracee Ellis Ross present the award for best fight against the system at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Sunday, May 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption

Rep. Maxine Waters, left, and Tracee Ellis Ross present the award for best fight against the system at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Sunday, May 7, 2017, in Los Angeles.

If you haven't seen the performance that launched hundreds of thousands of tweets, take 30 seconds to watch the whole thing. But if you don't have the time, here's what you need to know: Waters had left an intelligence briefing with then-FBI Director James Comey. She was not pleased with what she had heard.

"Yes, can I help you? What do you want?" is how she addressed reporters.

Thomas can't help laughing as he recalls watching it unfold in real time. "I was like, 'Who is this person?'" he said, "She walks into a press conference like they're already on her last nerve."

He was delighted, flabbergasted and inspired and that led to this unforgettable paragraph:

"I have never seen anything like this outside of a family reunion. Rep. Waters is definitely that auntie who got rich selling Avon and doesn't really like your father. Or any of these low-rent people. But you sit by her so that she can stage-whisper critiques with a mouth full of potato salad."

So, technically, the words "Auntie Maxine" may never have been strung together by Thomas, but he takes full credit anyway.

"It's on my business card!" he bragged.

Asheya Warren is among Waters' legion of fans and says the congresswoman's frank style and "shade"-throwing skills are what appeal to her.

"It's the way she says what she says," Warren said. Older women like Waters get a pass to freely speak their minds, added the 30-year-old.

Once a woman is over 60, she said, "You're able to say whatever you want to, whenever you want to. My mom does it, her two sisters do it, my grandmother did it, and again, that's why that 'Auntie' moniker is so well received."

Waters is thrilled by it all.

"I am surprised and honored to be so enthusiastically supported by millennials," she said by phone from her office in Los Angeles.

She says millennials though she may be a little generous with that designation stop her on the street, at the mall and in restaurants, with the same cry. "Auntie Maxine! Oh my God, can I take a picture?" they squeal in excitement.

Waters recognizes she's filling a void left by today's professional politicians, who are sometimes afraid to state their genuine opinions fearing a backlash from constituents or the potential loss of their seat. "But I'm not afraid that," she said defiantly. "I will speak my mind."

And if that makes you want to call her "Auntie," be ready. She likes giving hugs.

Read more from the original source:
'Auntie' Maxine Waters Is The Political Crush Of The Moment For Young Progressives - NPR

posted at 5:31 pm on May 13, 2017 by Jazz Shaw

Heres an odd little story for you this weekend which I ran across in the local press out of San Francisco. It really wouldnt merit much national attention were it not such a sterling example of enshrined, liberal tribal beliefs being carried over in the real world to the point of self-ridicule. This story in the SF Weekly deals with a commercial property in the Haight-Ashbury district which became a local bone of contention after some redevelopment work. The address on Steiner St. was, for many years, the home of a locally owned coffee shop called Bean There. (Trs adorable, nest-ce pas?) It was popular with the locals, but following some earthquake mitigation work by the owner of the property, the lease to the coffee shop owner was not renewed. Theres some debate over why that took place, but thats not really the story here.

What came next was an ongoing fight to see what business would replace Been There. A profitable looking bid came in for a different coffee shop operated by Blue Bottle Coffee. As the linked article explains, having another coffee shop there wasnt going to be acceptable if it wasnt the right kind of coffee shop, if you know what I mean. Local community activists leapt into action without delay.

But behind the scenes, a battle against corporate coffee moguls was being waged

The process hands a fair amount of power to nearby residents, who are allowed to petition to the Planning Commission for or against a formula retail business moving in.

With this bit of power, Lower Haight got fired up. Neighbors United, a group formed by former District 5 supervisor candidate Dean Preston and his deputy campaign manager Jen Snyder, worked closely with the Lower Haight Merchants and Neighbors Association (LoHMNA) and local resident Hal Fischer to flyer the neighborhood and alert residents about the plan. On Thursday people flooded the Planning Commission meeting, voicing an overwhelming distaste for the chain coffee shops attempt to move into Bean Theres old spot.

And in the end, they won. The Planning Commission voted 2-4 in favor of the opposition. A final motion to officially block Blue Bottle will be held at a future meeting.

The locals apparently have the power to petition the planning commission and stop any development which doesnt fit in with the flavor (oh pardon me. Im sure thats probably flavour) of the Lower Haight neighborhood. They are also on the lookout to prevent gentrification and they certainly dont want one of those big, international chain operations moving in and diluting the local culture. So they shut down Blue Bottles bid. The people rejoiced over this great victory.

This is a huge victory for preserving the character of our neighborhood, said Fischer, who led a petition drive that gathered more than 1,300 signatures.

Congratulations, community organizers! You kept out that big, nasty, soulless international chain store. Except for one thing. Blue Bottle is a boutique coffee outfit which was formed pretty much next door in Oakland. Their mission statement tells you all about their horrible corporate philosophy. It was started by, a slightly disaffected freelance musician and coffee lunatic. He created the brand specifically to rebel against major chains like Starbucks and bring people freshly ground coffee made from (and this is the important bit) responsibly sourced beans.

And how big is this massive international chain which the locals were too exclusive to have in their neighborhood? They have a total of 34 stores. But thats more than the eleven which the local ordinance allows before you are considered a major international player, however. So Blue Bottles bid was shut down. And what did this victory deliver for the sensitive, socially woke residents instead? The property sits empty, as it has for over a year with the exception of a brief, failed attempt to open up a hair salon there. So the neighborhood used to have a coffee shop where people could gather for a cup of joe and mingle. Now they have an empty eyesore which is generating zero profit or tax revenue.

Well played, folks. Youve certainly struck a blow for hipster culture everywhere. Youve also managed to squeeze out even more of the remaining incentive to attempt to engage in capitalism in California. But whats the difference if you drove down the property values and stopped someone from providing some jobs to local folks and possibly making a profit? You managed to ward off the scourge of gentrification. Thank God you were there to save the union from falling into disrepair.

Visit link:
This is how progressives undermine capitalism in the name of character - Hot Air