onsdag 23. november 2016

Norsk nærsynthet og norske briller


Hvorfor tenker folk i Norge at Trump er eksponent for en ‘ekstrem˙høyre’ retning?

Jeg leser kommentarer i avisene og hører en og annen ytring, og det forundrer meg hvor feil de tar. Det er som om de registrerer  ulike trender i Europa, trender som roper på nasjonalisme og utestenging av  mennesker fra ulike andre kulturer, som tar til orde for at noen mennesker er mer verd enn andre , osv.  Vi kan med fordel være på vakt over slike trender i våre samfunn. De er destruktive og menneskefiendtlige. Vi kan gå dem i møte, ideologisk. Vi argumenterer ut fra en bevissthet om at ethvert menneske er  verdifullt. Begrunnelsen finner vi i at vi alle står overfor Gud som skaper livet.

Men hvor kommer den påtroppende presidenten i USA, Donald Trump, inn i dette? Hvor står amerikanerne i denne sammenhengen? Jeg har bodd 20 år i Ohio, og jeg kjenner republikanere av ulike slag, demokrater og partipolitisk uavhengige velgere. Å overføre Europas trender og holdninger på USA er en blødme basert i bind uvitenhet. Trump selv kan ikke kalles noe typisk ’ekstrem høyre’-figur. Han er pragmatiker og ikke ideolog. Han var tidligere New York-demokrat, nå er han med nød og neppe en ’republikaner’.  Han var ikke i Tea-party Movement eller i andre sterkt ideologiske grupper, men han har uttrykt noe om isolasjonisme. Har en rekke verdier jeg ikke vil kalle typisk republikanske – moralsk sett. Avisene Dagen og Vårt Land har fått det for seg at han var kristen, og det oppfattet de som bortimot blasfemisk. Jeg er ikke den som skal dømme hjertene – alene Gud tar den jobben – men jeg kan ikke se at Trump er mer eller mindre kristen enn våre egne stortingsrepresentanter, som fordi de engang ble døpt, kan kalles kristne, i alle fall kulturelt sett.

Når bedrevitere i Norge snakker om republikanerne i USA som om de var eksponenter for Europas høyreekstremisme, lurer jeg seriøst på hvilken horisont de forholder seg til. Er Europa alt som egentlig eksisterer, er det egentlige utspring for enhver ideologi, og andre deler av verden fungerer som en gjenklang?

USA er et unikum. Det er et konstruert samfunn, med innsats og godvilje fra så mange som mulig, for at hjulene skal fortsette å rulle. Det er et sprikende og konfronterende samfunn, hvor det finnes mange stemmer på en gang. Det er et levende demokrati, og jeg tror at styrken i det amerikanske samfunn ligger i muligheten til åpenhet og frihet til å tenke annerledes.  Jeg ser ikke bort i fra at det kan finnes ’høyreekstremisme’, og den er i tillegg anti-establishment, anti-government, og ligger lavt i terrenget som en sur liten understrøm av rasisme og smålighet.  Men det er ikke rasistisk og snakke om problemet med illegale immigranter. Selv ikke i Norge liker vi når noen sniker i køen. Selv ikke i Norge er det uproblematisk å oppholde seg i Norge illegalt. Det finnes like mye ’venstre-ekstremisme’ blant folk i USA. Det finnes også mange kristne, av ulike retninger. De bærer også sitt politiske ansvar på eget ideologisk grunnlag.

Jeg er ikke noe Trump-fan, men jeg vil respektere det valg som er gjort, og jeg vil vise respekt for USAs nye leder. Det ser jeg som en naturlig kristen-plikt. Jeg ser det også som en naturlig kristen foreteelse å be for dem som er valgt inn i politiske lederposisjoner.  Det forundrer meg litt at jeg ser oppslag i den kristne dagspressen som skaper et rama-skrik av at kristne mennesker i USA faktisk ber til Gud for den nye presidenten. Det skjedde da vitterlig med Obama også, uten at det den gang var noe å bemerke. Det betyr ikke at kristenflokken hyller en Ave Caesar! Det betyr heller at det er håp, for Gud hører bønn og er virksom gjennom mennesker og gjennom Ordet sitt. Her er det snakk om vidsyn med evighetsperspektiv.



søndag 13. november 2016

Americans, who are you?


I lived 20 years in the USA and I have learnt to treasure and appreciate the ordinary Americans. They are people who do their job and are content with the fruits of their labour. They are politically aware, particularly on local issues. They vote. They share opinions and ideas. The ordinary Americans enjoy life.
            The crowd I used to hang out with was probably more idealistic, more opinionated than most of the people I meet in Norway. It has to do with the kind of direct democracy which is active in regular elections, where you have to vote on issues – like raising taxes to pay for the Zoo, the local schools, the sports stadium to keep the pros in town, etc. It has to do with caring for your district, you neighbourhood, your family and friends. They also believe in democracy.
The ordinary Americans are painfully aware of the US foreign policies, as they are the families who see their young teenage sons enter into military training. They are the mothers and fathers, the sisters and brothers who learn to live with fear and patience, who need to find courage to back up their own offspring, as they are sent into the war zones of this world.
            US military are called upon to provide brute force, to deal with disturbance of confusing conflicts and forces of evil in different part of the world. Whatever they do, they will be criticized. I think it gives off a rather bad odour when Norwegians find it necessary to mouth off a sour criticism. They do not send their loved ones into harms way; they sacrifice nothing.
            To me, the ordinary Americans are decent people, willing to give and share, willing to help where needed.

This past election was complicated for most of these ordinary people. The Democrats ditched Bernie Sanders and promoted Queen Hillary. It seemed like she had earned her right to be first. Although I disagree with Bernie on many issues, I value his contribution to the political scene. He is real, has always been an idealist, and he is willing to work democratically and politically in order to solve problems.
            Hillary lost the game to the most unlikely Republican candidate ever. It makes me wonder if many had the sentiment like: Anything but Hillary, even Trump.  Whereas the press gave the impression that Hillary was entitled to become the next president of the USA, the ordinary Americans revolted and decided the better bet for them was on the self-made billionaire with brash manners, unschooled in political correctness, unskilled in debate technique, and with little traditional political experience. Since the choice is really only between two, one will be preferred over the other.
            In Norway, not surprisingly, all the Christian leaders interviewed in the newspaper Dagen would have voted for Hillary Clinton. This generation of Norwegians are not used to think much on an independent level. Most people have the same opinion.  Ok, I must admit that I was no Trump-fan, and I would have voted for a third-party candidate, sort of in protest. It puzzles me that peace-loving Norwegians would unilaterally go for a power hungry, aggressive warmonger with a rather careless treatment of classified material. Her name is associated with fraud, cover-up, people committing suicide in the wake of misconduct in the Clinton trust fund, but Norwegian Christian leaders must not consider such things as too bad, I guess.

So, Trump won the election with 306 electorates vs. 232 for Clinton. A map provided by Pamela Geller shows the red blanket of the US map in counties where Trump won.
            I spoke with an older couple in the Mid-West, a retired couple in their 80-ties. They have worked hard all their lives. Lately they have had some challenges with the health care since the introduction of the new health reforms under Obama’s administration.  Their benefits were down and the health care costs were up.
They were happy to see a guy like Donald Trump come on the scene. There was a new sense of optimism. He is a pragmatic and has good negotiating skills, which he has used in business.

I admire the old couple. I have deep respect for them. So, they welcome Trump: interesting. It does not make them racist or sexist, nor greedy or pretend-Christians. It does not make them ignorant, easily fooled, self-interested or isolationist. They are ordinary Americans embracing new trends. What makes America great are people just like them, and the citizens of America will always be their best resource. Only Americans can make America great again – and, by God's grace, power and love,  I think they will.

For us Christians, it is a good time and opportunity to pray. God may move the hearts of men and women. Politicians are ordinary people, but they carry the responsibility for the common good of  citizens and for opportunities these people have to contribute. It is a good time and opportunity to do what is good in our communities and to live peacefully with all as far as we can. 

søndag 6. november 2016

On the Morning of Nov 6




I woke up to a dark November morning blanketed in white snow. It is always mesmerizing to see the first snowfall of the season. Nov 6 is very early for snow to come, even here in the cold north. I have not heard the snow ploughs yet, so I think we may be prepared to walk to church this Sunday morning. I sing in the little church choir – often we are like an octet – but our masterful director has grand plans, and it has been his hope we could sing from Faure’s Requiem before he retires. And today we are singing Libera Me, Domine and Pie Jesu in Latin. It is All-saints Day in the liturgical year. The songs have been churning n my head in the wake moments of the night. Peculiar tunes they are, for I sing alto. And the text of Libera Me is rather somber. It is an existential cry to God to save me from the eternal death.
 
It is real. There is no happy-go-lucky sentiment that Jesus is our buddy and of-course-we-all-go–to-heaven, no matter what we say or do or believe. The text in Libera Me has a sense of fear and trembling, and there is an either-or.

I had a small devotional for the students at our school the other day. We are prescribed texts to dwell on, and I was given Matt. 7, 15-23, and after the warning against false teachers, we meet the words: “Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but the ones who do the will of my Father.” And Jesus explains that on the day of reckoning many will come to him, in protest and say: Hey, you can’t do this to us. We were the real thing: we did miracles and stuff in your name!  Of course, they had this notion that all was well in their Christian life – and Jesus never knew them. Now, that is a wake-up call. It is a wake-up call for me in my settled, cozy Christian state of mind.

On a snowy November morning, as daylight breaks the darkness, I sing silently, Pie Jesu, Domine: dear Lord Jesus. And in the church, I may join the others and sing out loud.
He is Lord, and I am known by him like a shepherd knows his sheep.
Lord, have mercy! Give us rest, eternally.





Libera me

Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna,
in die illa tremenda, die illa:
quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:
dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.

Tremens, tremens factum sum ego,
et timeo dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae.
dies illa, dies magna, et amara, amara valde.

Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Libera me, Domine de morte aeterna
in die illa tremenda, in die illa
Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra:
dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem
Libera me, Domine de morte aeterna,
Libera me, Domine!


Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death,
On that dreadful day, on that day,
When the heavens and earth are moved,
When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

I tremble; I am seized with trembling,
And I fear, when the desolation cometh, and also the coming wrath,
That day, day of wrath, of calamity and misery.
A day of great power, and it is bitter, very bitter.

Grant them eternal rest,
O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death,
On that dreadful day, on that day,
When the heavens and the earth are moved
When Thou shalt come to judge the world through the fire,
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death,

Deliver me, O Lord!

torsdag 3. november 2016

Humanism and the Problem of Evil: A Question


One of the basic assumptions I have about humanists is that they hold the human kind to be fundamentally good in its core nature. The question which has puzzled me lately is: how will they answer the problem of evil?

As I see it, the basic problem of evil is that it simply is there. We cannot ignore the existence of pure evil acts between people. If you think, theoretically, it is a question of definition, you have never met it in any of its destructive force. When one person willfully and purposefully inflicts a hurtful act, bodily or otherwise, on a fellow being, we understand it as a rather negative force.

If the human nature is basically good, where does the destructive elements come from? If it were to be part of a natural life cycle in order to bring about change, we still must ask why the damage is done towards only some. 

I grew up in an agnostic-humanistic setting, and I must admit: the question never occurred to me as a child and teenager. Somehow I was shielded from much of this world’s tragedy by my innocence and ignorance and experienced life as a child sees it. Coming back to my childhood El Dorado on short visits, I realized the extreme hurt people lived with – betrayals, theft, bodily injury, hatred, envy, strife, adultery, abuse… but why?

The definition of evil is related to how we humans treat each other in utterly destructive ways. We judge evil ethically. We have not the same sense of sentiment when a natural disaster causes havoc. True, it is tragic, but not with evil intent. I suppose there is some consequence to religions that operate with angry weather-gods in order to relate all hurt to some form of ethical reasoning. I am not going there – I leave the winds and the rain, the earthquakes and the volcanoes to its own domain. But the human heart, soul and mind – that I cannot but question on the intent of the acts. We are responsible towards how we treat each other.

Some may suggest there is an explanation to be found in the impact of environment and influence from the outside of the individual who acts destructively. There is will to understand and excuse evil acts on basis of unfortunate circumstances. This only extends the question; it does nothing to solve it. If there are unfortunate, hurtful circumstances in a person’s life, these are most likely due to another person’s ugly acts.

If the claim in popular humanism, that we humans are deep down good, is true, it should follow that we want to do what is good. Is this a reasonable deduction? If we are basically good, how is it even possible for us to do evil?


Perhaps some will say: there is an aspect of the dark side in the human potential, but we are mostly good. An evolutionary deduction has occurred from time to time: that we gradually over time become more refined, we evolve as better human beings. If this is to be taken seriously, we must also establish a standard of measuring what is good.

So, this leads us to the next inexhaustible question of what is meant by "the good"... 

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I certainly find it much closer to life to bring God into the equation. His presence defines both standards of good and the forces of evil. And He has dealt with the entire problem of evil by offering each and anyone a way out of its grip and consequence - by destroying it through the act of sacrificial love.