Young Anabaptist Radicals » CharlieK

Final Judgment: A Parable

CharlieK — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:22:48 +0000

On the great day of judgment, all of humanity was gathered in a celestial banquet hall. It was a huge space, with a massive round table in the middle. The table was so big that it accommodated what seemed to be hundreds of thousands of people, probably more. As one looked to the left or the right, there were people as far as the eye could see. Yet somehow, by some supernatural optical phenomenon, one had no trouble seeing clearly everyone seated directly across the table. In a position of prominence was the Almighty herself, who interestingly had an appearance not unlike the way God was portrayed in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian,” yet whose Voice was unmistakably feminine. After a while, some grumbling was to be heard, as people began to take notice of who was present. Finally, a lone voice cried out, a voice with a thick Brooklyn accent, saying, “Hey God, I’m happy to be here, of course, but I see my old neighbor Moshe sitting over there and I know that rotten sonofabitch rascal ought to be in the other place. What gives?” And the Almighty replied, in soft mellifluous tones reminiscent of Lauren Bacall (who was seated to my left, by the way): “Well, just as I asked all of you to love your neighbors no matter what, and to forgive others over and over again, why would you expect me to do any less?” As those words sunk in, heads nodded around the room, and some were heard to say: How can one argue with divine logic like that? The Almighty continued: “Don’t allow your eye to be filled with envy because I am generous.” More murmuring and head-nodding. “As for the other place,” the Almighty said, “there is no other place. Being here with Me is all there is, all there ever was, all there ever can be. What a horrible notion to think I would send anyone away forever. That’s punishment out of all proportion to the crimes, is it not? In any case, it doesn’t matter, because I’m now going to render my Final Judgment. And here it is: I judge you, each and every one of you, every single human being who has ever lived, to be my children, my friends, my lovers, whom I cherish with all my heart. I welcome you to this special banquet, prepared just for you.” And there were audible gasps, and many sighs of relief, to be heard around the room.

The Universe Loves You! (A publication of the Marginal Mennonite Tract & Propaganda Dept.)

CharlieK — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:29:26 +0000

The Universe Loves You! … & thinks you’re perfect just the way you are!

The christian church teaches the doctrine of original sin, that everyone is born with a sinful nature.

… We, on the other hand, believe in original goodness, that the spark of the divine resides in each and every human being. (Psalms 82:6, John 1:9)

The christian church portrays God as the heavenly father.

… We believe in God as mother, as well as father. (Isaiah 49:15)

The church says God’s justice will require him to damn most of his creatures to eternal punishment.

… We believe hell is a myth, and that every person who’s ever lived gets a seat at the celestial banquet table. (Isaiah 25:6)

The church claims Jesus was rejected by the Jews, and that his message superseded the “Old Testament.”

… We believe Jesus was a Jew in good standing until his dying day, and that everything he taught was firmly grounded in Torah.

The church asserts that every word of Jesus is true.

… We believe most sayings attributed to Jesus were put on his lips by the authors of the gospels, decades after his death. Of the 100 or so sayings that originate with Jesus, the densest collection is found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). We particularly like the ones emphasizing: Mercy (Matt. 5:48/Luke 6:36); Forgiveness (Matt. 6:14-15/Luke 6:37); Nonviolence (Matt. 5:39-40/Luke 6:29); Compassion (Matt. 7:9-11/Luke 11:11-13); Freedom from anxiety (Matt. 6:25-30/Luke 12:22-28); and Non-attachment to material things (Matt. 6:19-21/Luke 12:33-34).

The church insists Jesus was sent to earth by his father to die as atonement for humanity’s sins.

… We believe Jesus did NOT die in some cosmic “child sacrifice” scenario. Rather, he was swept up in a Roman dragnet and, in short order, found himself looking down from a rebel’s cross, probably regretting he’d stayed so long in Jerusalem.

Christians think the kingdom of God is coming down the road, and that it will be the exclusive domain of church members in good standing.

… We believe God’s kingdom is a state of being. Inside us. Here and now. In our hands. Within our power. Available to EVERYBODY. (Luke 17:21)

*A publication of the Marginal Mennonite Tract & Propaganda Dept.*

*Visit the “Marginal Mennonite Society” Facebook page & “like” us.*

*Revised: March 2012*

Disclaimer: Marginal Mennonites are a diverse and contrary bunch. This publication does not purport to speak for all. The ideas expressed above belong solely to those Marginal Mennonites who subscribe to them.

The Golden Thread: The promise of universal salvation throughout the Jewish bible (Bronx Streets Translation)

CharlieK — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:47:46 +0000

“God says: I’m gonna have mercy on whoever I’m gonna have mercy on. And I’m gonna have compassion on whoever I’m gonna have compassion on.” (Exodus 33:19)

“God got mad mercy. Mad grace too. She don’t get pissed off much. Her love stretches down through the years. She lets people off the hook pretty easy.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

“God is one merciful dude. He won’t kick you to da curb. Won’t mess you up. Won’t off you neither.” (Deuteronomy 4:31)

“We all gonna die. We be like water spilled on the sidewalk. Can’t scoop that shit up. But God ain’t gonna take you out. He’ll come up with a plan so that even thugs and gangstas won’t be banished from his hood forever.” (2 Samuel 14:14)

“On this here hill, God’s gonna have a major throw-down, with lots of free food, and top-shelf drinks. Everybody gonna be there.” (Isaiah 25:6)

“Can mamas forget their babies? Can mamas stop caring about their own kids? Well, says God, they may forget, but I won’t be forgetting you.” (Isaiah 49:15)

“As I live and breathe, says God, I get no pleasure from the demise of thugs and gangstas. I’d prefer they get straight, and have a life.” (Ezekiel 33:11)

“As a mama has compassion for her babies, so God has compassion for those who respect the Eternal.” (Psalms 103:13)

“God’s good to everybody. Her compassion reaches everyone, and everything she done made.” (Psalms 145:9)

“Poor folk and fat cats have this is common: God gave all of them working eyeballs to see with.” (Proverbs 29:13)

“Is there any limit to the numbers in God’s posse? Where does God’s light not shine?” (Job 25:3)

“God’s love just don’t quit. Her mercy ain’t got no end to it.” (Lamentations 3:22)

“God ain’t gonna be rejecting nobody. God’s into compassion, into love. She don’t wanna lay no trips on no one. She don’t wanna give no one no grief.” (Lamentations 3:31-33)

“God ain’t gonna stay all pissed off. He loves letting folks off the hook. He gonna show compassion. He’ll kick our bad behavior’s ass, and throw our rap sheets into the East River.” (Micah 7:18-19)

Bruderville 2020: An urban anabaptist odyssey

CharlieK — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:45:11 +0000

…

Picture this:

As the new millennium dawns, anabaptists do a new thing in the city: Build a communal neighborhood populated by tens of thousands of simple-living sectarians.

The project is initiated by the Bruderhof and some Old Order Amish, partly for practical reasons: (1) the Amish and Bruderhof population explosions, making it necessary to continually branch out and establish new settlements; and (2) the shortage of affordable farmland, making it difficult to maintain a rural way of life.

More importantly, the initiative stems from a “quickening” amongst these plain people, who realize they’ve lost their ancestral impulse for going into the marketplaces & street corners, inviting others to become co-workers in God’s kingdom. They also realize geographical isolation no longer protects them against worldly influences. So they branch out to the Bronx, where they can influence the world instead.

To achieve critical mass, these “city Amish” and “city Bruderhofers” buy a large tract of land and buildings, then move in several thousand of their own people. Like-minded folks (Quakers, Brethren, Mennonites, Hutterites, Hasidim, Hindus, Buddhists, Ghandians, Tolstoyans, tree-huggers, cyclists, recyclists, etc.) are invited to live and work alongside them. Small manufacturing shops and cottage industries are set up, with the goal of creating a self-sustaining local economy. Fossil-fuel-burning machines are banned. Roof-top farms, windmills, solar panels, clotheslines, bike racks, and hitching posts begin to dot the streetscape.

“Bruderville” is dense, diverse, auto-free, and without a steeple-house in sight. For instead of building religious institutions, residents take their cues from the subversive social ethic of the Sermon on the Mount. No membership rolls, rituals, creeds or dogmas. They also draw on the “hospitality house” model created by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin of the Catholic Worker movement. No coercion, no rejection.

As a result, the neighborhood becomes a haven for the city’s tramps, tormented souls, and other of “God’s ambassadors.” All are welcome, they say. And, as Emmy Arnold put it in describing the early Bruderhof communities: “We try to concern ourselves with each one who comes.”

Instead of engaging in a lot of talk about the world’s needs, Brudervillians decide to simply do what needs to be done. Why? Because Jesus wants it that way, they say.

–by Charlie Kraybill, Bronx, NYC. Charlie is a member of the Marginal Mennonite Society and the Pink Menno Campaign. This essay was originally written in the late 1980s, when it was entitled “Hutterville 2001: an urban anabaptist odyssey.”

Jesus sayings from the Sermon on the Mount (the Marginal Mennonite version)

CharlieK — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:07:55 +0000

(Revised November 2011)

The Sermon on the Mount is defined as the 40+ sayings of Jesus found in Matthew 5, 6 and 7. About half of those sayings are considered by scholars to be non-authentic (meaning they were likely created by the early church rather than originating with Jesus). Non-authentic sayings are not included here. Most Sermon sayings have parallels in other gospels (Mark, Luke & Thomas). Sometimes the parallels are in simpler form, and thus probably closer to what Jesus actually said. Listed below are 21 of the most authentic Sermon sayings, along with Torah passages that Jesus probably had in mind when formulating them. Similar sayings from other traditions are offered as well.

Luke 6:20: “Congratulations, you poor! God’s kingdom belongs to you.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:3: “Congratulations to the poor in spirit! Heaven’s domain belongs to them.”

Thomas 54: “Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven’s domain.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 61:1-2: “He’s sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn.”

Psalms 41:1: “Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.”

Proverbs 14:21: “Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor.”

Sayings from other traditions:

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 200: “Oh, with what ease we live, we who have nothing! We will become as the radiant ones, feeding on joy.”

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 22: “Be broken to be whole. Twist to be straight. Be empty to be full. Wear out to be renewed. Have little and gain much. Have much and get confused.”

Luke 6:21b: “Congratulations, you who weep now! You will laugh.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:4: “Congratulations to those who grieve! They will be consoled.”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Psalms 126:5: “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.”

Luke 6:21a: “Congratulations, you hungry! You will have a feast.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:6: “Congratulations to those who hunger and thirst for justice! They will have a feast.”

Thomas 69:2: “Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the stomach of the one in want may be filled.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 55:1: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

Psalms 146:5 & 7: “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God … who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.”

Luke 14:34-35: “Salt is good & salty. But if salt loses its zing, how will it be renewed? It’s no good for either earth or manure. It just gets thrown away.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:13: “If salt loses its zing, how will it be made salty? It then has no further use than to be thrown out and stomped on.”

Mark 9:50a: “Salt is good and salty. If salt becomes bland, with what will you renew it?”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Job 6:6: “Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?”

Matthew 5:14b: “A city sitting on top of a mountain can’t be concealed.”

Compare to:

Thomas 32: “A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Isaiah 2:2: “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.”

Matthew 5:15: “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, where it sheds light for everyone in the house.”

Compare to:

Luke 8:16: “No one lights a lamp and covers it with a pot or puts it under a bed. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

Luke 11:33: “No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar or under a bushel basket, but rather on a lampstand so that those who come in can see the light.”

Mark 4:21: “Since when is the lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket or under the bed? It’s put on the lampstand, isn’t it?”

Thomas 33:2-3: “After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 42:6-7: “I have given you as a … light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeons, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Isaiah 49:6b: “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Luke 6:29: “When someone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well. When someone takes away your coat, don’t prevent that person from taking your shirt along with it.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:39-40: “Don’t react violently against the one who is evil. When someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other as well. When someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let that person have your coat along with it.

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 50:6: “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard. I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.”

Proverbs 20:22: “Do not say ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the Lord, and he will help you.”

Lamentations 3:27 & 30: “It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth … to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.”

Sayings from other traditions:

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 63: “Strive not to struggle — achieve just by being. Savor the flavorless — value the unimportant. Meet unkindness with compassion.”

Buddha, Majjhima Nikaya 21.6: “If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words.”

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 5: “In this world hostilities are never appeased by hostility. But by the absence of hostility are they appeased. This is an ancient truth.”

Luke 6:30a: “Give to everyone who begs from you.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:42a: “Give to the one who begs from you.”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Deuteronomy 15:7-8: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.”

Saying from other tradition:

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 224: “One should speak truthfully, one should not get angry; when asked, one should give, even if there is just a little. With these three traits, one would go in the presence of the radiant ones.”

Thomas 95:1-2: “If you have money, don’t lend it at interest. Rather, give it to someone from whom you won’t get it back.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:42b: “Don’t turn away from the one who tries to borrow from you.”

Luke 6:34-35a: “If you lend to those from whom you hope to gain, what merit is there in that? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to get as much in return. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Exodus 22:25: “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor. You shall not exact interest from them.”

Leviticus 25:35-37: “If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them. They shall live with you as though resident aliens. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God. Let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit.”

Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies. And pray for your persecutors.”

Compare to:

Luke 6:27-28: “Love your enemies, do favors for those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for your abusers.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Exodus 23:4-5: “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.”

Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:34: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 10:17-19: “For the Lord your God is God of gods, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphans and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Proverbs 24:17: “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.”

Proverbs 25:21: “If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat. And if they are thirsty, give them water to drink.”

Sayings from other traditions:

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 27: “The sage is good at helping everyone. For that reason there is no rejected person.”

Buddha, Sutta Nipata 149-150: “Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world.”

Matthew 5:45b: “God causes the sun to rise on both the bad and the good, and sends rain on both the just and the unjust.”

Compare to:

Luke 6:35d: “As you know, he is generous to the ungrateful and the wicked.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Psalms 145:9: “The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made.”

Proverbs 29:13: “The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.”

Saying from other tradition:

Buddha, Sadharmapundarika Sutra 5: “That great cloud rains down on all whether their nature is superior or inferior. The light of the sun and the moon illuminates the whole world, both him who does well and him who does ill, both him who stands high and him who stands low.”

Luke 6:36: “Be merciful and compassionate, in the way your Father is merciful and compassionate.”

Compare to:

Matthew 5:48: “You are to be unstinting in your generosity in the way your heavenly Father’s generosity is unstinting.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Exodus 34:6b-7a: “The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

Deuteronomy 4:31a: “Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you.”

Luke 11:2b: “Father, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule.”

Compare to:

Matthew 6:9b-10a: “Our Father in the heavens, your name be revered. Impose your imperial rule.”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Malachi 2:10a: “Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?”

Matthew 6:11-12: “Provide us with the bread we need for the day. Forgive our debts to the extent that we have forgiven those in debt to us.”

Compare to:

Luke 11:3-4a: “Provide us with the bread we need day by day. Forgive our sins, since we too forgive everyone in debt to us.

Torah passage behind the saying:

Exodus 16:4a: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.’”

Luke 6:37c: “Forgive, and you’ll be forgiven.”

Compare to:

Matthew 6:14-15: “If you forgive others their failures and offenses, your heavenly Parent will also forgive yours. And if you don’t forgive the failures and mistakes of others, your Parent won’t forgive yours.”

Mark 11:25: “And when you stand up to pray, if you are holding anything against anyone, forgive them, so your Parent in heaven may forgive your misdeeds.”

Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not acquire possessions here on earth, where moth or insect eats away & robbers break in & steal. Instead, gather your nest egg in heaven, where neither moth nor insect eats away & where no robbers break in or steal. As you know, what you treasure is your heart’s true measure.”

Compare to:

Luke 12:33-34: “Sell your belongings, and donate to charity. Make yourselves purses that don’t wear out, with inexhaustible wealth in heaven, where no robber can get to it and no moth can destroy it. As you know, what you treasure is your heart’s true measure.”

Thomas 76:3: “Seek his treasure that is unfailing, that is enduring, where no moth comes to eat and no worm destroys.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 51:8: “For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool.”

Proverbs 23:4-5: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone, for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven.”

Sayings from other traditions:

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 9: “Chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.”

Tao Te Ching 46: “The greatest evil: wanting more. The worst luck: discontent. Greed’s the curse of life.”

Tao Te Ching 70: “The sage wears rough clothing, and holds the jewel in his heart.”

Buddha, Khuddakapatha 8.9: “Let the wise person do righteousness: A treasure that others cannot share, which no thief can steal. A treasure which does not pass away.”

Instruction of Amenemope, ch. 7: “Toil not after riches. If stolen goods are brought to you, they remain not overnight with you. They have made themselves wings like geese. And have flown into the heavens.”

Matthew 6:24: “No one can be a slave to two masters. No doubt that slave will either hate one & love the other, or be devoted to one & disdain the other. You can’t be enslaved to both God & a bank account!”

Compare to:

Luke 16:13: “No servant can be a slave to two masters. No doubt that slave will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and disdain the other. You can’t be enslaved to both God and a bank account.”

Thomas 47:1-2: “A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor the one and offend the other.”

Saying from other tradition:

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 75: “There is one way for acquiring things, another leading to the unbinding. Knowing this, the practitioner, the disciple of the Buddha, should not take pleasure in honour. Let him foster detachment.”

Matthew 6:25-30: “Don’t fret about your life, what you’re going to eat & drink, or about your body, what you’re going to wear. There is more to living than food & clothing, isn’t there? Take a look at the birds of the sky. They don’t plant or harvest, or gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Parent feeds them. You’re worth more than they, aren’t you? Can any of you add one hour to life by fretting about it? Why worry about clothes? Notice how the wild lilies grow. They don’t slave & they never spin. Yet let me tell you: even Solomon at the height of his glory was never decked out like one of them. If God dresses up the grass in the field, which is here today & tomorrow is thrown into an oven, won’t She care for you even more?”

Compare to:

Luke 12:22-28: “That’s why I tell you: don’t fret about life, what you’re going to eat, or about your body, what you’re going to wear. Remember, there is more to living than food and clothing. Think about the crows: they don’t plant or harvest, they don’t have storerooms or barns. Yet God feeds them. You’re worth a lot more than the birds! Can any of you add an hour to life by fretting about it? So if you can’t do a little thing like that, why worry about the rest? Think about how the lilies grow: they don’t slave and they never spin. Yet let me tell you, even Solomon at the height of his glory was never decked out like one of these. If God dresses up the grass in the field, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into an oven, it is surely more likely God cares for you, you who don’t take anything for granted!”

Thomas 36:1-2: “Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, about your food, what you’re going to eat, or about your clothing, what you are going to wear. You’re much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Job 12:7-9: “Ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you. And the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?”

Song of Solomon 6:2-3: “My lover has gone down to his garden, to the bed of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies. I am my lover’s and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies.”

Sayings from other traditions:

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching 73: “The way of heaven doesn’t compete yet wins handily, doesn’t speak yet answers fully, doesn’t summon yet attracts. It acts perfectly easily. The net of heaven is vast, vast, wide-meshed, yet misses nothing.”

Tao Te Ching 81: “The sage does not accumulate things. He lives for other people and grows richer himself. He gives to other people and has greater abundance.”

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 92: “Like the path of birds in the sky, it is hard to trace the path of those who do not hoard, who are judicious with their food, and whose field is the freedom of emptiness and signlessness.”

Thomas 26:1-2: “You see the sliver in your friend’s eye, but you don’t see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend’s eye.”

Compare to:

Matthew 7:3-5: “Why do you notice the sliver in your friend’s eye, but overlook the timber in your own? How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me get the sliver out of your eye,’ when there is that timber in your own? You phony, first take the timber out of your own eye and then you’ll see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend’s eye.”

Luke 6:41-42: “Why do you notice the sliver in your friend’s eye, but overlook the timber in your own? How can you say to your friend, ‘Friend, let me get the sliver in your eye,’ when you do not notice the timber in your own? You phony, first take the timber out of your own eye, and then you’ll see well enough to remove the sliver in your friend’s eye.”

Torah passage behind the saying:

Leviticus 19:17: “You shall not hate in your heart any one of your kin. You shall reason frankly with your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.”

Sayings from other tradition:

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 50: “Look not at the faults of others nor at what they do or leave undone; but only at your own deeds and deeds unachieved.”

Buddha, Dhammapada v. 252: “It is easy to see the faults of others, but difficult to see one’s own. The faults of others you sift like a husk, but conceal your own, like a deceitful gambler conceals a bad roll of the die.”

Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask, it’ll be given to you. Seek, you’ll find. Knock, it’ll be opened for you. Rest assured: everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and for the one who knocks it is opened.”

Compare to:

Luke 11:9-10: “So I tell you: Ask, it’ll be given to you. Seek, you’ll find. Knock, it’ll be opened for you. Rest assured: everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds, and for the one who knocks it is opened.”

Thomas 2:1: “Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find.”

Thomas 92:1: “Seek and you will find.”

Thomas 94:1-2: “One who seeks will find, and for one who knocks it will be opened.”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Jeremiah 29:13: “When you search for me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart.”

Proverbs 8:17: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.”

Matthew 7:9-11: “Who among you would hand a child a stone when it’s bread they’re asking for? Again, who would hand a child a snake when it’s fish they’re asking for? Of course no one would! So if you know how to give your children good gifts, isn’t it much more likely that your Parent in the heavens will give good things to those who ask?”

Compare to:

Luke 11:11-13: “Which of you parents would hand your children a snake when it’s fish they’re asking for? Or a scorpion when it’s an egg they’re asking for? So if you know how to give your children good gifts, isn’t it much more likely that the heavenly Parent will give holy spirit to those who ask?”

Torah passages behind the saying:

Isaiah 49:15: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.”

Psalms 103:13: “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.”

* * * * *

The Sermon on the Mount in the Torah

Exodus

16:4a: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day.’” (see Matthew 6:11-12, Luke 11:3-4a)

22:25: “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor. You shall not exact interest from them.” (see Thomas 95:1-2, Matthew 5:42b, Luke 6:34-35a)

23:4-5: “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

34:6b-7a: “The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” (see Luke 6:36, Matthew 5:48)

Leviticus

19:17: “You shall not hate in your heart any one of your kin. You shall reason frankly with your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself.” (see Thomas 26:1-2, Matthew 7:3-5, Luke 6:41-42)

19:18: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

19:34: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you. You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

25:35-37: “If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them. They shall live with you as though resident aliens. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God. Let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit.” (see Thomas 95:1-2, Matthew 5:42b, Luke 6:34-35a)

Deuteronomy

4:31a: “Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you.” (see Luke 6:36, Matthew 5:48)

10:17-19: “For the Lord your God is God of gods, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphans and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

15:7-8: “If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbor. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be.” (see Luke 6:30a, Matthew 5:42a)

Isaiah

2:2: “In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.” (see Matthew 15:14b, Thomas 32)

42:6-7: “I have given you as a … light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeons, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (see Matthew 5:15, Luke 8:16, Luke 11:33, Mark 4:21, Thomas 33:2-3)

49:6b: “I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (see Matthew 5:15, Luke 8:16, Luke 11:33, Mark 4:21, Thomas 33:2-3)

49:15: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (see Matthew 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13)

50:6: “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard. I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.” (see Luke 6:29, Matthew 5:39-40)

51:8: “For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool.” (see Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:33-34, Thomas 76:3)

55:1: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (see Luke 6:21a, Matthew 5:6, Thomas 69:2)

61:1-2: “He’s sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn.” (see Luke 6:20, Matthew 5:3, Thomas 54)

Jeremiah

29:13: “When you search for me you will find me, if you seek me with all your heart.” (see Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10, Thomas 2:1, Thomas 92:1, Thomas 94:1-2)

Psalms

41:1: “Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.” (see Luke 6:20, Matthew 5:3, Thomas 54)

103:13: “As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.” (see Matthew 7:9-11, Luke 11:11-13)

126:5: “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.” (see Luke 6:21b, Matthew 5:4)

145:9: “The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made.” (see Matthew 5:45b, Luke 6:35d)

146:5 & 7: “Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God … who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.” (see Luke 6:21a, Matthew 5:6, Thomas 69:2)

Proverbs

8:17: “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” (see Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10, Thomas 2:1, Thomas 92:1, Thomas 94:1-2)

14:21: “Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the poor.” (see Luke 6:20, Matthew 5:3, Thomas 54)

20:22: “Do not say ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the Lord, and he will help you.” (see Luke 6:29, Matthew 5:39-40)

23:4-5: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone, for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven.” (see Matthew 6:19-21, Luke 12:33-34, Thomas 76:3)

24:17: “Do not rejoice when your enemies fall, and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

25:21: “If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat. And if they are thirsty, give them water to drink.” (see Matthew 5:44, Luke 6:27-28)

29:13: “The poor and the oppressor have this in common: the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.” (see Matthew 5:45b, Luke 6:35d)

Job

6:6: “Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any flavor in the juice of mallows?” (see Luke 14:34-35, Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:50a)

12:7-9: “Ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you. Ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you. And the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?” (see Matthew 6:25-30, Luke 12:22-28, Thomas 36:1-2)

Lamentations

3:27 & 30: “It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth … to give one’s cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.” (see Luke 6:29, Matthew 5:39-40)

Song of Solomon

6:2-3: “My lover has gone down to his garden, to the bed of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies. I am my lover’s and my lover is mine. He browses among the lilies.” (see Matthew 6:25-30, Luke 12:22-28, Thomas 36:1-2)

Malachi

2:10a: “Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?” (see Luke 11:2b, Matthew 6:9b-10a)

* * * * *

Manifesto of the Marginal Mennonite Society

CharlieK — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 21:44:25 +0000

We are Marginal Mennonites, and we are not ashamed.

We are marginal because no self-respecting Mennonite organization would have us. (Not that we care about no stinkin’ respect anyway.)

We reject all creeds, doctrines, dogmas and rituals, because they’re man-made and were created for the purpose of excluding people. Their primary function is to determine who’s in (those who accept the creeds) and who’s out (those who don’t). The earliest anabaptists were also non-creedal.

We are inclusive. There are no dues or fees for membership. The only requirement is the desire to identify oneself as a Marginal Mennonite. We have no protocol for exclusion.

We are universalists. We believe every person who’s ever lived gets a seat at the celestial banquet table. No questions asked! Mystic-humanist (and anabaptist) Hans Denck was quoted saying that “even demons in the end will be saved.”

We reject missionary activity. Christian mission, historically, goes hand-in-hand with cultural extermination. We love human diversity and seek to preserve it. Thus, we oppose evangelistic campaigns and mission boards, no matter how innocuous or charitable they claim to be.

We like Jesus. A lot. The real Jesus, not the supernatural one. We like the one who was 100% human, who moved around in space and time. The one who enjoyed the company of women and was obsessed with the kingdom of God. The one who said “Become passersby!” (Gospel of Thomas 42), which we interpret as an anti-automobile sentiment.

We endorse the Sermon on the Mount. Or at least the sayings within that can be identified by modern biblical scholarship as authentic. The sayings emphasizing love, mercy, compassion, nonviolence, and non-attachment to material things. We recall that the earliest anabaptists were known as “Sermon-on-the-Mount people.”

We recognize that focusing on “authentic sayings” might say as much about us as it does about the historical Jesus. There are many Jesuses around these days. We choose to hang with the merciful and inclusive Jesus of the Sermon, as opposed to the judgmental and exclusive Jesus of the church.

We are unapologetic humanists. We believe in art, evolution, relativity, paradox, synchronicity, quantum mechanics, string cheese theory, and putty tats. We value irreverence, outrageousness, and a strong cup of tea. We aim to help raise the collective consciousness, as well as the awareness we are all One.

We strive to animate the spirits of Jalaluddin Rumi (d.1273), Hans Denck (d.1527), George Fox (d.1691), Leo Tolstoy (d.1910) and Dorothy Day (d.1980), among others.

We are weirdly drawn to the example of 12 anabaptists who ran through the streets of Amsterdam in the nude in 1535.

We believe God has a funny bone as big as the cosmos, and wants us all to lighten up.

Our favorite color is lavender. Our favorite flavor is rainbow.

Visit the “Marginal Mennonite Society” Facebook page, and “like” us.

(The MMS was created in February 2011.)

Manifesto last revised: November 2011.

Email: carlosnycity@gmail.com

Mennonites on the Bowery

CharlieK — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:13:19 +0000

There’s a building boom on the Bowery these days. It’s been happening for a while, but the last couple years have witnessed an escalation in development, turning the neighborhood into a hip destination point.

Fifty years ago the Bowery was the largest skid row in the world. There were gin joints and flophouses on every block. That’s all gone now, thanks to the forces of gentrification. In their place are condos, art galleries and upscale eateries. Only one skid-row relic remains: the Bowery Mission.

Some of my earliest memories are of sitting behind the Mission’s pulpit in the 1960s, looking onto a sea of expectant faces while my father preached. In retrospect I realize the men behind those faces were awaiting the sermon’s conclusion so they could get their grub.

I also remember Dad leading Mennonites on walks where we’d see groups of men lying on the sidewalk. Such scenes became increasingly rare in the 1980s, though, for by then the bars were disappearing.

Yet the Mission has endured, even thrived. In 2009 it received $15 million in contributions (up from $7 million four years earlier).

Mennonite involvement with the Bowery Mission has a long history. Mennonites never had any ownership stake in the Mission, but have supported it heavily with money and in-kind contributions. For decades groups from Lancaster have come here to give weekend programs.

Recently I became curious to see how things have changed. So on a chilly Saturday in February 2011, I strolled down the Bowery to Prince Street, entered the Mission’s auditorium, and took a seat up front for the 6:30 program.

The Mennonites that night were introduced as the “New Haven youth group.” They sang for a spell and then their minister took the pulpit. He preached from Romans, something about being accountable to God. Unfortunately, his message was riddled with clichés and I had difficulty staying focused. The brother sitting next to me was snoring. The brother in front of me was holding an audible conversation, with himself.

I’m not wrapped too tight either, frankly, and was soon engaged in my own internal dialogue. “Why can’t you say something new,” I queried silently, “something I haven’t heard a billion times before?” Nothing new came. Obviously the minister wasn’t tuned to my frequency.

After the service, seating for dinner commenced. The Mission’s dining space is limited and I could tell it would be a while before I got my grub. So I sat back, relaxed, and stared at the ceiling. I stared at the verses on the walls. I stared at the pipes of the century-old organ. I checked out the crowd behind me. There were about 50 men (and several women), waiting and staring. None inebriated. Just folks down on their luck.

I wondered why the New Haven group didn’t take advantage of this waiting period to mingle with us. Nothing heavy, just friendly chit-chat. But too late … they were already on their bus heading home to Lancaster.

A week later the service was given by a group from Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. They opened with hymns and testimonies, followed by a message from their deacon, a man named Weaver. Deacon Weaver wasted no time getting to the nitty-gritty. According to him, the Bible says everyone is headed one of two places.

I wished he’d cited chapter and verse for that claim, since I’ve never found it stated in so many words. Sure, I know boilerplate revivalist rhetoric when I hear it. But this is the 21st century. Are Mennonites still recruiting with threats of hellfire? Were references to eternal torture ever an appropriate way for pacifists to win souls?

In any case, Weaver’s words did not fall on fertile ground. No one responded to his altar call. Later, though, the call to dinner got a unanimous response. I wondered: Do the Mennonites realize that everyone in the audience is there for one reason?

The Mission’s website says they dispense hundreds of meals daily. A worthy endeavor, to be sure. Yet the meals aren’t exactly free. The homeless do pay, with their time and their presence at services. The Mission, in turn, uses the presence of the homeless to justify its existence.

It’s a symbiotic relationship. And a reasonable trade, I suppose. After sitting through hour-long services I’d feel I earned some food too, or something. Maybe a dividend check for a piece of that $15 million pie.

Why, I asked myself, is it assumed that people from the streets need the gospel treatment? Is being homeless the same as being lost?

Having few possessions used to be a hallmark of following Jesus. Apparently we’re too sophisticated nowadays to take Jesus seriously when he urges us to not become attached to material things. (Matthew 6:19-30) But are we so far removed from his perspective that we no longer acknowledge the spirituality of life on the margins?

The service the next Saturday was given by some Old Order Mennonites from Weaverland Conference. As they filed up front, each one carrying a hymnal, I had the feeling we were in for a treat. Sure enough, what followed was a stirring hour of four-part a capella singing. No sermon, no altar call. It was exhilarating as well as bewildering.

I spoke with a member of the group and he schooled me on the origins of Weaverland Conference. One of the reasons they left Lancaster Conference was because of their opposition to innovations like mission boards and revival meetings. Aggressive proselytizing, in their view, is worldly. It invokes an unacceptable sort of emotionalism. Hellfire preaching just isn’t the Weaverland way.

The following week’s group was also from Weaverland Conference: two busloads of young people singing under the direction of Eddie Martin. Like their colleagues the previous Saturday, they rocked the house.

This time, though, the program was interrupted midway for words by minister Richard Burkholder. He spoke about traffic directions, green lights and red lights, water turning into vapor and life as vapor, then concluded with something from Revelation. He walked up to the edge of an altar call without giving one.

I remember taking umbrage, again, at the implication something was amiss with the eternal status of us audience members.

Why do church folk think the unchurched are further from heaven than they? Didn’t Jesus say sex workers and tax collectors are ahead of preachers and deacons in the line to enter the kingdom? (Matthew 21:31) That would leave Bowery folk in a good position. Would it not?

Without a doubt, many people on the Bowery suffer from mental illness and need professional help. For those enslaved by drink, there’s only one way to salvation: Alcoholics Anonymous.

To the extent the Mission provides access to quality medical care, social services, A.A. meetings, etc., they are doing God’s work. But evangelistic services and altar calls, in my view, are antiquated window dressing, put on primarily for the sake of funders.

After this I wanted to visit another soup kitchen to see how it’s done elsewhere. Four blocks north of the Bowery Mission stands St. Joseph House, run by the Catholic Worker.

I’ve appreciated the Catholic Worker ever since reading Dorothy Day’s book Loaves and Fishes and realizing her affinities with historic Mennonitism: simple lifestyle, pacifism, communalism, concern for social justice.

Catholic Worker facilities are known as “hospitality houses.” The word “mission” is not used. Dorothy thought it condescending. They operate under the assumption that people from the streets have something to teach those of us who live above the poverty line. This is why, in CW parlance, the homeless are “God’s ambassadors.”

I stumbled into St. Joe’s one Friday for early lunch. I was seated with six others and handed a bowl of vegetable soup, accompanied by dark bread and strong coffee. On one wall was a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. On another wall was a picture of Dorothy, with the quote: “What we would like to do is change the world.” Jazz was playing in the background. On dish-washing duty was a Quaker I recognized from the 15th Street meetinghouse.

During the course of my meal I was asked several times whether I needed anything. At those particular moments I did not, yet I appreciated the manner in which I was asked. I could get used to this, I thought to myself.

It was in the Catholic Worker dining room that I experienced my own hour of decision. I decided, when time comes I’m on the street in need of three squares and a cot, I’ll know where to go. And where not to go.

*****

Charlie Kraybill lives and works in the Bronx. He is a member of the Marginal Mennonite Society (search for our Facebook page) and the Pink Menno Campaign. Email: carlosnycity@gmail.com