Jesus calls himself “the Good Shepherd.” He contrasts that witness with a hired man, “A hired man… whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them.”
Institutional christianity is the hired man in the story above. Who has hired institutional christianity? The military. It is the wolf. Unfortunately, institutional christianity does worse than leave and run away when the military is on the prowl. Institutional christianity stays and corrals the sheep because it has been hired by the military to enable officers to farm and feed on the sheep. The U.S. military is the subject of West Point Professor of Law Tim Bakken’s book, The Cost of Loyalty. Bakken uses the analogy of wolves being the superior officers who make sheep of subordinates, beginning as recruits. Bakken criticizes superior officers prizing unquestioned faith from lower ranks. He thinks when lower ranks and civilians question the military it serves the purpose of strengthening faith in the military, making the military better. Bakken also wants civilians to control the military. But Bakken keeps proving the military controls civilians by routinely calling people civilians. Civilian is defined as non-military personnel. We are not civilians. We do not live in reference to the military. We are human beings. We are wise to live free of the wolfish military that farms and feeds on civilians, aka all of us. Bakken wants civilians to question who in the military should be supreme, or hostile, or violent. He does not want civilians to question faith in the military being supreme, hostile, and violent. Bakken writes, that Militarism is “almost like a religion.” He is mistaken. Militarism is a religion. Militarism is THE religion. It is the cult, creed, and code of our lives. It is the holy cult of supremacy; rank over recruit, wealthy over poor, whites over people of color, men over women. The cult explains the dominating GOP and a wealthy white supremacist former and perhaps future president suppressing voters, immigrants, and free speech. Militarism is the justified creed of hostility; unlivable wages, racism, sexual assault. The creed explains GOP cruelty by its wealthy, racist, rapist members. Militarism as THE religion explains the sacred code of sanctified violence; the 2nd amendment, police brutality, and gun violence and war – in market places in Iraq and spas in Atlanta GA and grocery stores in Bolder CO and army bases in Fort Detrick MD and homes in Rock Hill SC and Fed Exes in Indianapolis and… and… and every place else. We are all trained for faith in the military that is dominating us, abusing us and killing us. Our training happens across a military culture that subjects us all to varying types and degrees of boot camp. Boot camp trains civilians to be unquestioning obedient soldier subordinates. Parenting can do the same, as can teaching, coaching, the priesthood, business bosses, policing, and more. It is foolish to believe that subordinates trained in unquestioning obedience will become questioning. For soldiers to question superior officers is to be guilty of insubordination. Hence, as subordination is drilled into all soldiers, so too it is drilled into all ‘civilians.’ The author cannot rationally propose civilians question the military since it is the military’s job to make all civilians unquestioning. Nor can Bakken rationally propose civilians control the military as an institution, since it is the military’s job to control all civilian institutions, including christianity as an institution. Christianity became an institution diverting people away from Jesus when it adopted Militarism’s cult, creed, and code. Jesus was not a priest but it rules through the supremacy cult of priests/pastors. Jesus never called people sinners nor abused them for it, but institutional christianity justifies Jesus’ abuse on the cross by the creed a ‘loving’ God and thus all people’s abuse by a ‘loving’ father, boss, master sergeant,… Jesus never killed anyone but institutional christianity practices Militarism’s just war code that sanctifies killing people. It explains why white men, poor from being robbed of a living wage, and call themselves Christian, are more willing to subordinate themselves to dictators, pay dearly for a deadly 2nd amendment, and kill themselves – evident in most gun death victims being poor white men who put a gun to their mouth. How sad to be sheep farmed and fed on by the military. How foolish to be a civilian when we could be human beings who are peacemakers.
“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.” (Jesus of Nazareth)
Prayer: Spirit, keep us wise.
Question: How do I live as a good and wise shepherd with those foolish about the military?
April 25, 2021 Gospel John 10:11-18 Fourth Sunday of Easter