Mike:  Tonight (October 8), Chris and I talked about how to become a refugee, if it is even possible.  I commented on the fact that we could never really understand, even if we joined up with a group of actual refugees.  The reason for the lack of understanding is our America-ness.  It is a back-up plan.  Meaning, even if we went to India and worked with say the lepers, we could eat, drink, and live with the lepers and still we would not be lepers.  Because if our lives are in danger, we can always run to an embassy or call home for a plane ticket.  Now we may not actually run or call home, but the option is there.  I likened it to Paul and his Roman citizenship.  Sure he took a lot of abuse, but it had to play a part of his psyche. So my point was, in our current situation, to become like a refugee isn’t so much about being in the physical situation as it is being in the mental situation.

 

Chris:  So I suppose the one of the questions is, do we take what steps we can in “untangling” ourselves from the kingdom of man in hopes that we can resolve these issues or at the very least reconcile the issue to our current state or do we accept our current comfort, freedom, and prosperity as a good thing to be enjoyed while we have it? I’m generally open to all sorts of tough subjects that challenge me as a person, but this is a whole different idea that is not so easy to flesh out. On on hand I have no problem giving up voting, constitutional protection, etc. but how far does that go? I’ve been homeless and can say, it sucks. If I had to do it again, I could. But if I came home one day and told my wife I was giving up our apartment, our organic food and fair-trade coffee, our DVDs and books, our vehicles, and all of our crappy IKEA furniture… I would probably have divorce papers in my hands within the hour. Not because my wife is materialistic. But because I had better have a damn good reason for pulling all of our physical security out from under us. I think most people would agree. But do the securities that we keep only serve to keep us at arms length (or further) from those who actually do need help? We tried to talk a bit about how Paul was viewed to the Jews or other oppressed groups under Roman rule. The phrase “Easy for him to say” comes to mind. He took a lot of punishment for what he did. However, that doesn’t change the fact that whether or not he ever relied on it, he always had his citizenship to fall back on. I can’t help but wonder if some viewed Paul as still a part (as minute as it was) of the oppressor.

 

Mike:  That is an interesting way of looking at it… Was he a part of the oppressor?  I’m sure there were those who looked at him in such a way.  I mean when you add in his hunting down early Christians, there is no doubt he was viewed in such a light.  Honestly, it makes me wonder how the world views the Christian population of the U.S., especially when so many have attached themselves to a (any) political party pushing war.

But I digress…

Well, as far as enjoying our prosperity, I think we see in the Hebrew scriptures that while the idea of jubilee was never really implemented, it took into consideration that there would be those who prospered and those who didn’t.  There is a difference between greed/selfishness and prosperity.  You can prosper without being greedy.  But what if the nation you are a part of has gone about gaining/maintaining the ability to prosper through means that are in conflict with our beliefs?

 

Chris: Should true prosperity ever be seen as something that should ever be attained by the individual? Isn’t that where it crosses the line to greed? I think God’s prosperity and ours are polar opposites. I think that is a major, MAJOR issue with the prosperity teachings within the modern American church. It’s why most people love it and others are sickened by it. It’s why enlightened biblical passages and systems can be taken so out of context. Like everything in modern Christianity prosperity has lost any communal significance and has become about the individual’s personal wealth. Our nation is not prosperous when we have 40 million people living in poverty… we are just rich and greedy. Shouldn’t it be, we prosper as everyone prospers? We attained wealth not through God’s blessing but by stealing it at gunpoint. But has any wealthy government ever done differently, this should always conflict with our beliefs.

 

Mike: Well, I don’t think prosperity is something that we should strive to attain since its peak can never really be found.  But it begs the question, “What is prosperity?”  Are we talking American standards?  European?  Asian?  In various contexts, both you and I are extremely prosperous.  In others, people can’t believe I support a family on what I make.  I don’t know if we can ever nail down a figure, but I do think we can figure out how to share any abundance with others.

 

Chris: So we’ve established that this “refugee” idea is in any case going to be completely intangible to most of us, simply by chance of birth. We may never really be able to live that out or reconcile with our current lives. But one step always leads to another. But I think going at this like “well, we really never can fully enact this idea” is making it too much of a black and white issue. The idea of taking small steps in the direction of the oppressed and the refugees is not a compromise, but a witness and a show of solidarity. It is small steps toward loving our neighbor. In doing this we not only show some amount of solidarity and resolve but we put ourselves in a position to b shine light on the issues, to give a voice to the voiceless, to point out the real evils in our world. For example, voting is often seen as a wonderful thing, we have representative government and we are not being a good citizen if we don’t enact this priviledge. That’s great but what about those here and in other countries who don’t get the chance to vote, even though the actions of our government greatly affect their daily lives? Or what about the fact that by voting, we are helping to support and order a violent government… supporting violence against our neighbors is not loving them. We obviously can’t give our vote to Iraqis or “illegal” immigrants (though I think that would be a great idea). We can however choose not to take part in the process in a show of love and solidarity. We very well may always have our status and citizenship to fall back on, but we can take steps to bridge the gap between us and our less fortunate neighbors.

 

Mike:  Nicely said.  I have been of the position that we should view everything we do through a filter.  The filter being love God, love your neighbor.  In a phone conversation last night, I asked Chris how becoming a refugee, giving up various rights, etc., looks through such a filter.  His mentioning solidarity really rang true, especially as I struggle with my background and (relative) privilege and if it is even possible to become a refugee by choice considering such conditions.  Hence the tangent about prosperity.  Solidarity, it seems, will only work however if we who have a voice, actually use it.  Thanks, Chris, for working though this with me.