As John Fugelsang, who runs the risk of becoming this era’s ablest political commentator, reminds us, “The Christmas economy depends on people buying possessions to celebrate the birthday of the man who renounced possessions.”
The author of this year’s best-selling objection to the abuses of religion and politics by right-wing Christian nationalists, Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, Fugelsang is a decent and good-humored fellow who has no desire to snow on our Christmas fun. He simply wants to remind us of biblical entreaties that tend to be lost on right-wing zealots who claim—as President Donald Trump has—that “Christianity is under tremendous siege” by liberal do-gooders.
“Jesus consistently sided with the underdogs, not the privileged and powerful,” writes Fugelsang. “Broad-minded, tolerant, and way too inclusive for the ultraconservatives of his day, the Nazarene modeled generosity and selflessness, and told his followers to share their resources and prioritize the well-being of other people over personal gain.”
Fugelsang further reminds us:Jesus stood up to…the authoritarians among then religious leaders, drunk on their own eminence.
The wealthy, worshiping their own stature and possessions while denying the suffering of the poor.
The capitalists in the temple, greedily exploiting poor believers.
The imperial government of Rome, whose hunger for power led to its own collapse.
Those who imagine that this is too militant an interpretation of the gospels might consider the Gospel of Matthew, with its charge: “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:”
Or they might turn to the messages of Pope Leo XIV, who has carried forward the work of his predecessor Pope Francis, by asserting the importance of the Catholic Church’s “preferential option for the poor.” Leo wrote in his first apostolic exhortation, “God has a special place in his heart for those who are discriminated against and oppressed, and he asks us, his church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest.”
The bluntness with which the new pope has challenged the excesses of capitalism has drawn global comment—not all of it favorable. The pope has argued.
