Jim Winkler: “Church must remain clear-eyed, determined…”

Jim Winkler presents a message during the 2012 Pacific Northwest Annual Conference in Pasco, Wash.  Photo by Amy Pazan.

Word from Winkler — Hogwash | by Jim Winkler

The great lawyer Clarence Darrow once said, “The world is made up for the most part of morons and natural tyrants, sure of themselves, strong in their own opinions, never doubting anything.” As proof of this observation, we now have the statement by the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, Rep. Todd Akin, that a woman who has been the victim of a “legitimate” rape will not give birth to a child because her body has some sort of magical internal mechanism to prevent the unwanted pregnancy.

This hogwash is, of course, simply a means by which Rep. Akin seeks to deny women control over their own bodies despite their being the victim of a horrendous, violent assault.

Akin’s comment is emblematic of a larger tendency to deny basic reality — and not just by him. It is essential the Church of Jesus Christ refuse to participate in or ordain such endeavors.

Right now, efforts to secure strong legislation against human trafficking and reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act are stalled in the U.S. Congress. I submit to you that Akin’s world view in relation to women is shared by too many of his colleagues on Capitol Hill. Legislation that would protect women is considered suspect by them.

We must be vigilant
United Methodists must contact their members of Congress and insist good legislation on these matters be adopted.

We must be ever vigilant to confront and refute many myths that exist. Among the most notable are white supremacy, redemptive violence and American exceptionalism. These are but a few of what appears to be an ever-expanding mythology.

I watched the wonderful film, “The Help,” recently. It reminded me of another era of ignorance during which white people believed that black people carried diseases. Therefore, using their political and economic power, whites created a separate, demeaning and unequal life for blacks. Whites conjured up false science to justify belief in their own supremacy. Incredible and disgusting.

Do you remember when many people believed no link existed between cigarette smoking and cancer? That one took many, many years to disprove. It was in the economic interest of predatory enterprises to perpetuate the notion that cigarette smoking was glamorous and even beneficial to health.

Many United Methodists accepted that idea, too. Now we look back on that era with incredulity.

Improbable mythology
Climate change remains another issue where too many people have decided to ignore science. Once again, it is in the financial interests of powerful corporations to deny what is occurring. They fear that by acknowledging global warming, they would be forced to make changes to the way they function. They worry that such changes could hurt their bottom line.

I remain mystified by the devotion of intelligent people to the idea of a “just war.” War is evil. Yet there are those who seek grounds to justify it.

In his science fiction classic, Pavane, Keith Roberts imagined a world in which the Protestant movement was destroyed in Europe and the Roman Catholic Church reigned supreme. Innovation was suppressed.

Electricity was banned. Life was more difficult for ordinary people. Suspicion was prevalent.

Perhaps, Roberts could have imagined the opposite in which a Protestant domination would have the same impact. Judging from some of the mythology confronting us today, it’s not improbable. Ever heard of creationism and intelligent design?

In any event, history teaches us that the Church must remain clear-eyed, determined not to be captured by wealthy and powerful interests, but rather be devoted to the poor and oppressed. That’s Jesus’ way. And lest we forget, Jesus confronted more than a few myths in his own time. We must do likewise.

Jim Winkler is the General Secretary of the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.