On Nicene Christianity

Okay, so I know I've been on just the tiniest Christianity kick of late, but I think it's not entirely inappropriate, considering how religion seems to be heavily contributing to today's global climate of generalized insanity. Fundie Islam is struggling for power in Iraq, fundie Christianity already has plenty of it here, lesbian Wiccans are saving the world in "Buffy" reruns, and now the Reverend Dr. Giles Frasier over at the Progressive Blog Alliance HQ" introduces us to the idea of "Nicene Christianity":

Nicene Christianity is the religion of Christmas and Easter, the celebration of a Jesus who is either too young or too much in agony to shock us with his revolutionary rhetoric. The adult Christ who calls his followers to renounce wealth, power and violence is passed over in favor of the gurgling baby and the screaming victim. As such, Nicene Christianity is easily conscripted into a religion of convenience, with believers worshipping a gagged and glorified savior who has nothing to say about how we use our money or whether or not we go to war.

The Good Reverend Doctor goes on to expound upon the institutionalization of Christianity throughout the ages, subverting its revolutionary message of, like, peace, and being nice to people, and loving thy neighbor and stuff, and neutering Jesus Christ into "a gagged and glorified savior who has nothing to say about how we use our money or whether or not we go to war." This carries all the way up to modern times, where Bush The Younger perverts the presence of Jesus in his life in order to start wars, contramand the Constitution and lay the smackdown on gays and old people. Per Rev. Dr. Frasier, "Bush may have claimed that "Jesus Christ changed my life", but Jesus doesn't seem to have changed his politics."

Amen.

Much thanks to Nick Lewis over at The American Street for the link.