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I know who needs to read this, and it's definitely @KLoeffler and @Perduesenate, but it's also anyone else attacking @ReverendWarnock over the "controversial" quote from his past sermon to keep y'all from exposing yourselves as having never read the Good Book.
Let's dig in. 1/
Let's dig in. 1/
The quote comes from a sermon Rev. Warnock gave in 2011 on the Sermon on the Mount. Now, a lot of us have heard this sermon hundreds of times, but we've never internalized how radical it is. The actual verse in dispute is Matthew 6:24. 2/
Some of y'all know I am staunchly Episcopalian, so I'm quoting NRSV. You're free to find your own version:
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." 3/
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." 3/
The more common phrase you hear is "God and money" rather than "God and wealth." But it's pretty clear in either version that you cannot serve two masters. I think all of us who are any denomination of Christian have been (correctly) taught this is the point of this verse. 4/
That Americans *in general* like to pretend like this is just a verse reminding us to quaintly "put God first in our lives" and not an indictment of our entire economic system is a big discussion for another day, but it's important to establish the point. 5/
The Bible has *a lot* to say about riches and money, and too many American Christians who are also white and middle class or higher in the economic rungs never truly internalize how unfavorably it's cast in the New Testament. 6/
The quote that's apparently controversial (to white conservatives) is, "America, nobody can serve God and the military, you cannot serve God and money, you cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. America, choose you this day, whom ye will serve." 7/ https://www.wsav.com/news/your-local-election-hq/warnock-criticized-for-resurfaced-sermon-on-serving-god-and-military/
That's not so far off from the actual verse, and I believe most of us can use a bit of critical thinking to distinguish between "serving the military" and "serving in the military." The word "in" makes a big difference. 8/
But, notice that Rev. Warnock put "serving God and the military" before "serving God and money." Why?
I dare not speak for the reverend, but I have my own ideas. 9/
I dare not speak for the reverend, but I have my own ideas. 9/
The United States spends around $826 billion per year on Defense. That's more than half of discretionary spending per year, and it's 10 times more than China spends annually. Sure, some of that is going toward the people who serve, but not most of it. 10/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-rein-in-inflated-military-budgets/
I'll include Defense News' breakdown of the FY 2020 budget request to hammer home my point about where the money goes. 11/ https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2019/03/12/heres-the-breakdown-of-the-pentagons-budget-request/
Oh, here's a pie chart of FY 2015, which is similar to the spending priorities in FY 2021. 12/ https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/
If you look at CBO charts, they'll show a lot more being spent on health than the National Priorities chart in the last tweet. The difference in the two is where you place the VA and "other defense spending." I think it's more accurate to put them under Defense. 13/
My guess is that Reverend Warnock, like many others who preach a social justice gospel, is concerned that we focus so much on military spending to the detriment of some of the very populations Jesus instructed us to care for especially, the poor and the needy. 14/
This country occasionally lets go of its fear that the Boogey Man (flavor of the decade: Russia, China, Cuba, wherever) and does Big Things to help its people. Social Security, Medicare, FDIC, etc. We're at a point in our country where it's an absolute must to do it again. 15/
I absolutely want someone who clearly understands Jesus' teachings leading us through the next few years, which are going to be tough ones economically. (Don't believe me? Ooooh, boy, have some more charts!) 16/ https://time.com/5911723/biden-economy-pandemic/
Rev. Warnock's commercials specifically talk about us expanding Medicaid. This is contrary to the "waiver" Governor Kemp got under the Trump Administration that's going to spend more money to help fewer people than expansion would have. 17/ https://www.reporternewspapers.net/2020/10/17/breaking-down-georgias-health-coverage-plan-after-medicaid-waiver-is-granted/
That, to me, is embodied in Psalm 35:10:
"All my bones shall say,
'O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them.'"
(NRSV)
That's the kind of person we need representing us. 18/end
"All my bones shall say,
'O Lord, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them.'"
(NRSV)
That's the kind of person we need representing us. 18/end
