This last Sunday I had the great joy of attending Cabaret at the University of Montana for it's final showing. The show was really well done and it is truly a show that should cause one to stop, think and reflect. If you do not know, Cabaret is a satire on the rise of Nazi Germany.
In viewing this show I was reminded of the great pain that suffered the world, and the unfortunate thing in that many leaders of the church in Germany went along with it. There were of course those who opposed and even lost their life because of it (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). You see, I have been looking at how religion has been used as a weapon, used for evil in the world. In the United States there are many such examples that are still present through in our world today. Did you know that after the Great Depression bankers and other financial leaders utilized Church to keep themselves from being the 'bad guys' and to grow their wealth? It is actually through this that the term 'in God we trust' ended up on US currency. They attempted to make money as important if not more important than God. I have just started this book but it has been very eye opening to me.
And there are even more ways in which our faith/religion continue to be abused by politics, but we can rise above this. As Christians we are called to FOLLOW Jesus. That means that we should be standing up against systems that oppress our neighbors, loving others and being willing to take on any burden this may leave on us. As we are moving towards Advent and a New Year, let's prepare to serve God by following Jesus. As Joshua said "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
