Category: Accountability

The Lord’s Complaint

‘Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel!  The Lord has brought charges against you, saying, ‘There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in your land…There is violence everywhere – one murder after another.  That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away.  Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.  Don’t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame!  My complaint, you priests, is with you.’

– Hosea 4:1-4 (NLT)

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while now.  I began writing it shortly after learning of the mass shooting event at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston Maine, an event that took the lives of eighteen, injured thirteen, and left countless others in mourning.  It was the 560th mass shooting of 2023.[1]

The facts are eerily familiar: a shooter with a well documents history of mental illness; an AR-15 style assault rifle; authorities who received troubling information about the shooter but failed to act.  Now begins the familiar cycle of calls for common sense gun control legislation from the left, Second Amendment saber rattling from the right, offering of ‘thoughts and prayers,’ criticism of said ‘thoughts and prayers,’ promises by political leaders to do something, debates about doing something, the public getting bored and distracted by something else (have you seen the Taylor Swift concert movie?), the resignation to the fact that nothing will be done, and then a lull until the next newsworthy mass shooting (some mass shootings aren’t newsworthy for some reason) at which point the cycle will start up all over again. 

I’ve blogged about this issue from time to time, thought about it many more times, and honestly sat down this time with little more to say.  But turning to the scriptures, specifically to the above quoted passage from Hosea, I found something God had to say. 

Hosea prophesied in similarly violent times: ‘there was violence everywhere – one murder after another.’  As he relayed God’s words about the times, he identifies who God blamed.  Not the murderers themselves (although he surely held them accountable) but, the priests of Israel.  In other words, the spiritual leaders of the nation. 

Why would God blame them?  Hosea explains why in the remainder of the chapter (take a moment to read it if you wish).  The priests, you see, held a sacred trust.  They had been charged with living faithfully and pointing the people along the right paths.  Alas, they did neither.  Instead, they exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols.  They deserted the Lord to worship other gods.  Instead of walking in God’s ways and using their positions responsibly for the sake of those they represented before God, instead of fulfilling their sacred charge, they birthed a culture lacking in faithfulness, kindness, and the knowledge of God.  A culture in which violence was everywhere, one murder after another. 

‘That is why,’ says God through Hosea, ‘your land is in mourning.’   

And that was why, God went on to say, he would punish the priests for their wicked deeds (4:10).  God would hold the leaders accountable for failing to keep their sacred trust to care for the people. 

They may not be priests, but it seems to me that many of the political leaders of our age should feel cautioned by Hosea’s words.  The people of Lewiston Maine, along with people from every city, town, village, and hamlet on the infamous list of places where mass shootings have occurred, are demanding answers and solutions.  They have every right to call upon those in charge to enact reasonable gun control measures (such as banning the possession of assault weapons), improve access to mental health care, and mount more energetic responses when in receipt of information that an individual might be armed, dangerous, and harboring murderous thoughts.  Not much to ask for, really. 

But what do their (our) leaders have to say in response?  Well, there are some signs that some may do something in Maine.  But chances are it won’t be enough, and it is a near certainty that leaders at the federal level, at least on the right, will do nothing.  If history is an accurate predictor, they will keep offering the same tired excuses and deflections: ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people;’ ‘the real problem is in the human heart;’ ‘the best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun;’ ‘you know what I blame?  Video games;’ ‘actually, it’s transgender people;’ ‘this is the price of freedom.’  The same tired crap over and over again.

True, some leaders want to do something, typically liberals and progressives who are righteously frustrated by the intransigence of right.  But even these must be held accountable for their failure to be more vocal, more insistent, for valuing political civility over the lives of the next set of victims, for lacking the courage to stand firm and to gum up the works in an effort to stop the slaughter, for settling in and whimpering ‘peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 

The scriptures say that God ordains civil authority (see, Romans 13).  This does not mean that government is righteous, or that the action or inaction of leaders is always right.  But one of the things it does mean is that those in places of political authority hold a sacred trust to keep the peace, to, in the words of Jean Lassere, ‘stop people from tearing each other apart.’  They, like the priests of Israel, bear a sacred charge.  And they are failing to fulfill it.  They have valued their idols (guns, the second amendment, reelection, etc.) above the lives of those they represent, even children.  In this they have birthed a culture lacking in faithfulness, kindness, and the knowledge of God.  A culture where violence is everywhere, one murder after another. 

This is why, Hosea would say, our land is in mourning. 

I pray for the day when our political leaders, and those who elect them, wake up.  When they cease to bow before their false gods.  I pray they receive wisdom from the Lord and the courage to act upon it.  I pray they will value what is right above their own political futures.  I pray they will see that the reason we have so much gun violence in America has everything to do with the fact that we have too many guns, too little compassion, and the lack of common sense to do something about it.  I pray they will finally fulfill their duty to the people and work for a society in which people need not live in constant fear of being shot while bowling, or worshipping, or going to school. 

Until then, I weep with Hosea, and with Hosea, I call them out. 

Don’t point the finger elsewhere, leaders of America. 

This is on you. 

Under Christ’s Mercy,

Brent

P.S. I could almost write another blog about this, but it is worth noting that Hosea’s initial words were addressed to the spiritual leaders of Israel. Church, where is your voice in all this?

[1] According to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more persons are injured or killed. 

Calling Out Quislings

‘A vile race of quislings – to use a new word which will carry the scorn of mankind down the centuries – is hired to fawn upon the conqueror, to collaborate in his designs, and to enforce his rule upon their fellow countrymen, while groveling low themselves’ – Winston Churchill, June 12, 1941

Let me be clear at the outset of this post that I believe in forgiveness and enemy love.  God commands these things, and believe it or not, they are powerful forces that can and do change the world.  But I also believe in justice and accountability.  God talks about them a lot too. 

This past week’s attack on the Capitol Building in Washington cries out for accountability and justice.  Make no mistake: this was a coordinated insurrection orchestrated by the President of the United States, who even as it unfolded, called Senators to convince them to heed the will of the mob and overturn a free and fair election.  That the President and perpetrators of the assault need to be held accountable should go without saying (though sadly, it needs to be these days). 

But accountability needs to go much further than the President and his Brownshirts (or should I say Redhats?).  Just as there were many fingers on the trigger that killed Jimmie Lee Jackson, there were many collaborators in the assault on the Capitol that killed five people, including a law enforcement officer.  What happened at the Capitol was the inevitable result of four years of fomented outrage, wholesale engagement with the politics of fear, hate, and division, and a collective refusal on the part of those who know better to simply stand and say, ‘enough.’ (It is actually in a deeper sense the inevitable result of hundreds of years of American History, but that’s a longer story for another time).

The insurrection was led by Republican members of Congress who, for four years, stood by in silence as children were put in cages.  As families were torn asunder.  As racism roared from the mouth of a white supremacist president.   As daily assaults against the institutions of democracy flowed from his twitter account.  As the President invited foreign interference in what was then the upcoming election, and as he spun false conspiracy theories about election fraud once he lost while simultaneously attempting election fraud himself.  As these and a parade of a thousand other horribles swept across the land, these members of Congress, almost to a man and woman, stood by and did nothing.  In fact, they defended it all.  And when given the opportunity to remove a would-be dictator from office before he could do further damage, failed to do so.  My goodness, even in the wake of the assault, 147 of these Congressman continued to press false conspiracy theories in an attempt to steal the election!  As for the rest, well, we can be thankful they finally decided to step back from the brink to some degree.  But even they have failed to own up to their part in this insurrection.  Shame on them.  Shame on them all. 

It was also led by members of the President’s own administration, who stood by and defended the President at every tweet, every provocative word, every assault on the fabric of society.  They stroked his ego, fueled his narcissism, and carried out his cruel and destructive orders.  They peddled lies about the election themselves and kindled the fires of rage.  In the wake of the attack, some have resigned.  Some have been silent.  None have stood up.  None have owned up.  Shame to them as well. 

It was led by the heroes of right-wing media.  Outlets like FOX News, Newsmax, and One America have knowingly reported lies as facts, all in the name of ratings and the dollars they bring.  And when the coup failed, their spin machines went into action.  ‘It’s the fault of the liberals.’  ‘It was really Antifa.’   Have they no shame?  Whether they do or not, shame on them all. 

And it was led by leaders of the white American Church.  White Evangelical leaders such as Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell Jr., and Eric Metaxas, Christian Nationalists all, may as well have broken the barriers at the capitol themselves.  Such supposed followers of the Prince of Peace put down their crosses and took up their swords in defense of a man whose every utterance threatened lives and defied the teachings and way of Jesus.  And not just white Christian leaders.  White Christians in general are, tragically, among the most likely to believe the President’s lies.  The most likely to repeat them.  Heck, there were even some among the insurrectionists waving Jesus flags and crosses alongside Confederate banners.  Even now, many still stand beside the man who inspired an attack on Congress.  Shame, the deepest shame, be on them all.  It’s long past time we stopped calling these folks Christians. 

The above quote from Winston Churchill is a reference to the government of Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian politician who betrayed his country in an attempt to gain power through a collaborative alliance with the Nazis in the 1930s.  He brought shame to his family name and nation and earned the legacy of a coward and a collaborator with evil.  Sadly, he was not the last of his kind by a long shot. 

Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a standout of virtue amidst the crisis of the Trump Presidency, spoke like Churchill the other day.  In the wake of the insurrection, he spoke in defense of democracy:

‘We gather today due to a selfish man’s injured pride and the outrage of his supporters whom he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning.  What happened here today was an insurrection, incited by the President of the United States.  Those who choose to continue to support this dangerous gambit by objecting to the results of a legitimate, democratic election will forever be seen complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy.  They will be remembered for their role in this shameful episode in American history.  That will be their legacy.’

Like I said at the outset, I am a big believer in forgiveness and enemy love.  But I’m also for justice and accountability.  We cannot sweep the actions of these scoundrels under the carpet.  We must call them to account.  We must pray and call for their repentance.  For there can be no moving forward, no peace, no reconciliation, no justice, and no hope for a better tomorrow otherwise. 

And so, until there is repentance, until there is accountability, let us remember who and what the collaborators are: a vile band of quislings complicit in an unprecedented and violent attempt to inaugurate an era of authoritarianism in America. 

For their sake, for the sake of the Church, and for the sake of our society, I pray for their transformation, and if it happens, I will gladly stand in line to embrace them.  But let us not pretend that things are fine before then.

The quislings must be held accountable. 

Under Christ’s Mercy

Brent