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Choice, Life and Compassion
My daughter came into the house this morning steaming. She had been listening to National Public Radio.
"Mom, what is the purpose of religion? Is it to condemn people or bring people to God?"
In my silence, she went on.
"How can the Roman Catholic Church even have the audacity to say it is going to deny (Vice President elect) Joe Biden communion because Obama is pro-choice and will support legislation that supports the right of women to choose?"
A few bishops have said that Biden should not receive Holy Communion because he supports abortion rights, not just because Obama is pro-choice. Another bishop (W. Francis Malooly of Wilmington, Delaware) said communion could not be denied on those grounds; he will serve Holy Communion to Biden ... "but it's just the fact that they (the church) would even try to do that that bothers me," she said, visibly angry.
"Is the church supposed to be like that?" she continued. "What right do they have? Nobody can judge people and condemn them like that, nobody but God." She paused. "And Biden's not even a woman! So why punish a man for what a woman might choose to do?"
Compassion. It is the one thing that is so often lacking in organized religion. There is a huge disconnect, far too often, between what people expect those who profess belief in God to be like, and what they see.
In the Hebrew scriptures, over and over, God was angry at his people for not having compassion. In the New Testament, Jesus spars again and again with Pharisees over the issue of compassion versus law.
In the story of the man with dropsy, Jesus opted to heal him on the Sabbath. He said to them, "Which one of you has a donkey or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath? Will you not immediately pull him out?" In other words, why would one be inclined to have more compassion for an animal than a human being?
Ah, but it was the Sabbath! One did not do anything that broke the Pharasaic laws which defined what work was on the Sabbath. Healing was defined as work, and it was only allowed when there was danger to life.
Even at that, the "healing" done on the Sabbath could only involve doing things that would keep the afflicted soul from becoming worse; one could not take steps that would make him or her better. So, a wound could be bandaged, but on ointment could be put on. One might receive water on the Sabbath but no medicine.
So, if one had to suffer, so what? It was in keeping with the law.
To Jesus, the lack of compassion was maddening. It is not law that binds people together; it is relationship and the compassion that comes from that relationship.
But it's easier to make and impose laws than to risk being vulnerable, which is what compassion does. It is more comfortable for us to hide in pages of law than to stand openly under God, allowing our souls to be seen.
There is not much compassion, in my opinion, in any religion that I have studied. There is the potential for compassion, but the actual practice is almost absent, at least on a large scale.
People are made to look at and look for their weaknesses, things that make them feel guilty, as opposed to being made to understand how God is a God of compassion and loves everyone.
I don't think God would keep the child of an unmarried woman from being baptized.
I don't think God would push or keep a person with HIV/AIDS out of church.
I don't think God condones racism, or classism. I don't think God approves of religious people being content with the disparity between rich and poor.
What happened to the compassion that is supposed to characterize religion? I don't think it ever existed on a large scale, because compassion requires an involvement of our spirits and souls that scares us. If we give anything, including ourselves, we expect a like-giving in return.
Compassion does not guarantee a quid-pro-quo existence. One might act with compassion and be symbolically slapped in return. That is just not a pleasant thought.
I have read a lot about Mother Teresa, and have been profoundly moved and changed by her life. She opted to work with the poor and live amongst the poor as a poor person. Only by knowing what they faced on a daily basis could she offer true compassion.
It is that getting out of our comfort zones and entering the sphere of the unknown that seems to make compassion so hard. We "do religion from afar," not connecting with the vast numbers of the suffering and lost.
It reminds me of how being disconnected can ruin the most honest and sincere intentions. Every time I go to a public bathroom, I think of how most of them must have been designed by men. The long lines we find so often in the restrooms is because someone has designed the restroom from afar.
Were the male designers to stand in line just one time like women so often have to do, I would bet they'd come up with something different and more functional.
It is supposed to be compassion that marks the person of God from the person who is seeking God. Importantly, the only god some will ever see is the positions and values of God we present to them.
And too often, what we present is more of what too many have grown up with: judgment and condemnation.
Nobody needs that, but conversely, everyone needs more love, more accceptance, more genuine appreciation for who they are, no matter what.
We religious types don't get that. I have not quite grasped who we are trying to please with our hard-lined stances that run people away and punish them for being human beings with weaknesses.
But I don't think we please God.
By the way, I don't think God would approve of the Roman Catholic Church denying communion to Joe Biden.
By
Susan K. Smith
|
November 11, 2008; 8:59 AM ET
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Posted by: Kay30 | November 19, 2008 11:22 AM
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"To Jesus, the lack of compassion was maddening."
I have to admit that was the one thing about Christianity I really connected with. My experiences of the Gods had nuffin to do with the 'adult let's pretend' of Church, but I really did think maybe the dude would walk in the church one of those days and trash the place.
Maddening... Is the word.
" It is not law that binds people together; it is relationship and the compassion that comes from that relationship."
A lot of people with a lot of laws have said a lot of things are compassion, or 'better.'
Me, for all I've seen, haven't seen a *thing* that said compassion was ever that complicated or conditional.
Simpler than all that.
Posted by: Paganplace | November 19, 2008 3:22 AM
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The more things change the more they stay the same...The Catholic church however, shouldn't be very vocal in denying anyone anything. Especially somthing as personal as communion. Does anyone remember the recent sexual revelations of the Catholic Church??? Please, if men could have babies I'm sure there would be numerous abortions swept under the rug.lol
Just my thoughts...Just my thoughts!
Posted by: s2scarlett | November 18, 2008 10:40 AM
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Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Could it be that so many of us have not learned to love ourselves? We don’t know how to be compassionate (kind, considerate, caring, gentle, benevolent) to ourselves in essence, loving ourselves and therefore cannot love others.
Instead we sit in judgment and perpetuate policies and engage in behavior that we would NEVER want done to us!
It is sad that people are not compassionate, but the good news is this, God is!
Posted by: tyson41 | November 15, 2008 4:41 PM
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Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Could it be that so many of us have not learned to love ourselves? We don’t know how to be compassionate (kind, considerate, caring, gentle, benevolent) to ourselves in essence, loving ourselves and therefore cannot love others.
Instead we sit in judgment and perpetuate policies and enactments that we would never done to us!
It is sad that people are not compassionate, but the good news is this, God is!
Posted by: tyson41 | November 15, 2008 4:39 PM
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The sad irony: It seems that most atrocities are committed and "justified" in the name of God and religion.
Posted by: rahmundo_imani | November 14, 2008 4:22 AM
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Dr Smith,
You are so right,we do need more compassion. It is amazing how people get so caught up in the dogma of religious doctrine, judgement and having hearts that can’t feel or empathize with another’s plight. I can honestly say that my heart stirs at the pains of others; praying that the person will be free from any suffering and will help if possible, without expecting anything in return. All people make mistakes and we tend to forget this, if it’s not our mistake that was made. I know if we could turn the light on everyone, we would find something in everyone’s life that an individual may not want others to know because they may feel it would not be favorable in the eyes of others. But God knows everything in your life and he still loves you unconditionally and is willing to forgive you. People judge you in Gods name. However God is Love and expects you to love and accept one another the same way he loves you.
"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7