IMPOLITE TOPICS

Welcome back!

For many of us, there are only two reasons to put both “religion”
and “politics” in the same sentence.

• The first reason involves etiquette in the form of this well-known social warning: “Never discuss religion and politics.” The belief behind this warning is that it is simply not polite. People get passionate about religion and politics. If religion and politics are topics of conversation at the dinner party, people might argue and never get around to oohing and aahing over the dark chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries. So, to save embarrassment for the hostess who went to all that trouble to make the chocolate mousse, polite people keep their political and religious beliefs at home, and talk about safer topics. “How about those Red Sox?” “Did you hear that Bob and Alice are divorcing?” “Can you believe the price of gas?”
• The second reason to put “religion” and “politics” in the same sentence is to claim that religion and politics don’t belong together. After all, we are supposed to have separation of church and state, don’t we? Religion is personal. Politics is public. Religion and politics have nothing to do with each other. Let’s keep them separate.

What about these reasons? I’m all in favor of politeness. In fact, we would probably all be much happier if we went out of our way to be polite and consider how our words and actions affect other people. If keeping your political and religious opinions to yourself will keep you from spoiling the dinner party, then the convention is a good one. But if not talking about religion and politics keeps you silent when you need to speak and powerless when you need to act, then this convention of etiquette needs to be tossed out of the window. Better
to be impolite than silenced and powerless.

What about the idea that religion and politics can and should be kept separate from each other? This notion is actually dangerous. Why dangerous? Because religions are always political and politics are always religious. It is dangerous to pretend that religion and politics are somehow separate because this effort to separate the inseparable blinds us to how much religious politics and political religion affect our lives.

And this raises other questions, which get to the heart of the reason for this blog.

• Why have we been taught to keep silent about religion and politics at the
  risk of offending people?
• Why have we been taught that religion and politics are somehow separate spheres, with very little connection between them?

The basic reason boils down to power and persuasion. The politically and religiously powerful have vested interests in keeping their political and religious power. One of the ways they do this is by teaching people that the religious should not be interested in political power and the politically powerful should not be interested in religion.

So, What Is “Impolite Topics” Blog About?

• It is a place to stop being so polite about these impolite topics of religion and politics, to see how religion and politics are intimately and inseparably related in our world.
• It is about techniques of persuasion as weapons of power. It demonstrates how you are persuaded to believe what you believe. And it also reveals how the powerful benefit from your beliefs.
• It is about religion and politics in the Bible. If you really want to know what the Bible says on any topic, you need to see how the inseparable connection between religion and politics affects every topic in the Bible. (If you want to see how religion and politics affect your bank account, see Going Broke With Jesus.)
• Most of all, “Impolite Topics” is a blog about how the Bible is used in our contemporary world as a tool of persuasion. Words are the most powerful weapons on earth. Words from the Bible are often used to persuade people to be silent and surrender their power.

What Is “Impolite Topics” NOT About?

• It does not challenge belief in God.
• It does not challenge Christian belief in Jesus as the Son of God.
• It does not attempt to prove or disprove the validity of the Bible.
• It does not demean believers or attempt to persuade non-believers.

Who Is “Impolite Topics” For?

This is a place for seekers, who are no longer satisfied with old answers that separate religion and politics.

Our world is constantly in turmoil because of conflicts that are both religious and political. We cannot create solutions for these conflicts if we pretend that religion and politics are somehow separate.

Most of all, this is a place where we can discuss the “Impolite Topics” without being impolite to each other. I invite you to join me in this discussion.

Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson

written by Kalinda \\ tags: Impolite Topics, Kalinda Rose Stevenson, Kalinda Stevenson, never discuss religion and politics, persuasion, politics, religion, separation of church and state

What are the big theological questions? Is there a God? Who are you? Why are you here? What is the meaning of life? What happens when you die?

There is another big theological question that doesn’t get as much attention as these more obvious questions, but it is foundational to every religious ideology and every religious group: Who has the authority to speak in the name of God?

The question of authority is crucial to every religious discussion on any topic you can imagine.

This is the first article of what I intend to be an in-depth exploration of religious authority, especially related to the Christian Bible.

Before we can go any further, we need to look carefully at the word, “authority.”

I know that citing dictionary definitions of words tends to be the dullest possible way to start anything, but until we get clear about what the word “authority” means, we can’t get too far in recognizing claims to authority IN the Bible and claims to speak with the authority OF the Bible.

According to Merriam-Webster, “authority” is derived from the Latin “auctoritat,” which means “opinion, decision, power.” (It is also related to the English word, “author.”)

“Authority” has a range of meanings in English, but the one that I want to focus on is: “the power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior.”

Merriam-Webster also identifies these synonyms: “influence,” and “power,” In the vocabulary of this blog, I will often use the word “persuasion” as a synonym for “influence.”

The most critical point I want to make concerns the interrelationship between the three words: “authority,” “power,” and “influence.”  These words are synonyms, with meanings that overlap and intertwine. In other words, every claim to authority is simultaneously a claim to power. And every claim to power carries with it the power to influence thoughts, opinions, and behaviors.

This focus on the interrelationships between authority, power, and persuasion goes back to two specific intentions for “Impolite Topics. Religion, Power, And The Bible…For Seekers.”

• Impolite Topics: is about techniques of persuasion as weapons of power. It demonstrates how you are persuaded to believe what you believe. And it also reveals how the powerful benefit from your beliefs.
•  Most of all, “Impolite Topics” is a blog about how the Bible is used in our contemporary world as a tool of persuasion. Words are the most powerful weapons on earth. Words from the Bible are often used to persuade people to be silent and surrender their power.

At the outset of this exploration, I want to acknowledge my mentor and teacher, Dave Lakhani of Bold Approach, who knows more about persuasion than anyone I know. He encouraged me to address the question: “Where does the authority for the Bible come from?”  Thanks for the suggestion, Dave.  Let’s see where this question takes us.

Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson

 

written by Kalinda \\ tags: authority, Dave Lakhani, influence, Kalinda Rose Stevenson, persuasion, power

For many of us, there are only two reasons to put both “religion”
and “politics” in the same sentence.

• The first reason involves etiquette in the form of this well-known social warning: “Never discuss religion and politics.” The belief behind this warning is that it is simply not polite. People get passionate about religion and politics. If religion and politics are topics of conversation at the dinner party, people might argue and never get around to oohing and aahing over the dark chocolate mousse with fresh raspberries. So, to save embarrassment for the hostess who went to all that trouble to make the chocolate mousse, polite people keep their political and religious beliefs at home, and talk about safer topics. “How about those Red Sox?” “Did you hear that Bob and Alice are divorcing?” “Can you believe the price of gas?”
• The second reason to put “religion” and “politics” in the same sentence is to claim that religion and politics don’t belong together. After all, we are supposed to have separation of church and state, don’t we? Religion is personal. Politics is public. Religion and politics have nothing to do with each other. Let’s keep them separate.

What about these reasons? I’m all in favor of politeness. In fact, we would probably all be much happier if we went out of our way to be polite and consider how our words and actions affect other people. If keeping your political and religious opinions to yourself will keep you from spoiling the dinner party, then the convention is a good one. But if not talking about religion and politics keeps you silent when you need to speak and powerless when you need to act, then this convention of etiquette needs to be tossed out of the window. Better to be impolite than silenced and powerless.

What about the idea that religion and politics can and should be kept separate from each other? This notion is actually dangerous. Why dangerous? Because religions are always political and politics are always religious. It is dangerous to pretend that religion and politics are somehow separate because this effort to separate the inseparable blinds us to how much religious politics and political religion affect our lives.

And this raises other questions, which get to the heart of the reason for this blog.

• Why have we been taught to keep silent about religion and politics at the risk of offending people?
• Why have we been taught that religion and politics are somehow separate spheres, with very little connection between them?

The basic reason boils down to power and persuasion. The politically and religiously powerful have vested interests in keeping their political and religious power. One of the ways they do this is by teaching people that the religious should not be interested in political power and the politically powerful should not be interested in religion.

So, What Is “Impolite Topics” Blog About?

• It is a place to stop being so polite about these impolite topics of religion and politics, to see how religion and politics are intimately and inseparably related in our world.
• It is about techniques of persuasion as weapons of power. It demonstrates how you are persuaded to believe what you believe. And it also reveals how the powerful benefit from your beliefs.
• It is about religion and politics in the Bible. If you really want to know what the Bible says on any topic, you need to see how the inseparable connection between religion and politics affects every topic in the Bible. (If you want to see how religion and politics affect your bank account, see Going Broke With Jesus.)
• Most of all, “Impolite Topics” is a blog about how the Bible is used in our contemporary world as a tool of persuasion. Words are the most powerful weapons on earth. Words from the Bible are often used to persuade people to be silent and surrender their power.

What Is “Impolite Topics” NOT About?

• It does not challenge belief in God.
• It does not challenge Christian belief in Jesus as the Son of God.
• It does not attempt to prove or disprove the validity of the Bible.
• It does not demean believers or attempt to persuade non-believers.

Who Is “Impolite Topics” For?

This is a place for seekers, who are no longer satisfied with old answers that separate religion and politics.

Our world is constantly in turmoil because of conflicts that are both religious and political. We cannot create solutions for these conflicts if we pretend that religion and politics are somehow separate.

Most of all, this is a place where we can discuss the “Impolite Topics” without being impolite to each other. I invite you to join me in this discussion.

Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson

written by Kalinda \\ tags: Impolite Topics, Kalinda Rose Stevenson, Kalinda Stevenson, never discuss religion and politics, persuasion, politics, religion, separation of church and state