Not too long ago, a pal was requested, “What church do you go to?” to which he replied he was an atheist. I heard his response and was left considering what does that imply in the present day and on this historic second? What did his declaration need to do with what we have been doing on Saturday mornings on a avenue in Washington, D.C., educating and asking individuals to affix the financial boycott towards the Goal company?
Goal was one of many first firms to announce a variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) initiative after the police homicide of George Floyd. Goal, being a Minneapolis-based company, evidently felt it had a particular duty to steer the nation when it comes to addressing racial injustice. This was till Donald Trump got here to workplace. Goal was one of many first firms to bend its knee on the altar of the wannabe emperor, Donald Trump.
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Trump’s assaults and calls for on companies and different entities to jettison DEI applications served as a litmus check of loyalty and patriotism. Almost the entire different firms adopted go well with, prostrating themselves earlier than the gods of greed and political lodging.
That is how dictatorial regimes work. They devise methods to tell apart the “believers” from the “nonbelievers,” from the trusted versus those that can’t be trusted.
Due to this fact, when my pal asserted boldly, proudly, and loudly that he was an atheist, I used to be left to make a historic reference to what that meant on this heated political second, and likewise what did that imply to me, a church individual most of my life?
“I’m an atheist,” he asserted, and that precipitated me to surprise what does that need to do with us boycotting Goal these many months, and whether or not there was a historic correlation between what he was declaring and what we have been doing?
The Unique Atheists
After a while, I turned to my pal, reflecting upon the historical past of the time period atheist, and I shared that the time period atheist was used within the first century CE to label and castigate those that wouldn’t take part in emperor worship or the trimmings of the entire different Roman gods and goddesses. An atheist was an individual who didn’t worship Caesar. The Caesars have been usually deified, and the worship of Caesar — and the entire Roman array of deities — served as a check of loyalty. Those that fell into line and worshipped Caesar have been loyal and patriotic, and those that resisted the check have been seen as a risk.
Early Christians have been usually labelled atheists as a result of they refused to worship the issues of Caesar, they usually usually resisted the Roman social order. It’s rumored that John who wrote the letter Revelation, not the John of the gospel, was exiled to the Isle of Patmos for his refusal to “Hail Caesar” or worship the entire different trappings of the Roman order.
A Trendy Insurrection Towards Empire
I reminded my pal that he was standing in a time and place the place his declaration, “I’m an atheist,” may imply one thing greater than the truth that he didn’t imagine in God. With out him even realizing, he was declaring the identical sentiments said within the first century that separated the believers from the nonbelievers. The nonbelievers refused to simply accept the false gods, deities of human making, and the trapping of these gods for the sake of cash, place, and energy.
Given these historic details, it made sense as to why we have been on the road in entrance of a Goal retailer, boycotting the enterprise and urging others to do the identical. We have been doing traditionally what the atheists of the primary century did — problem the acquiescence to energy and governments, and the enterprise entities and those that have surrendered their dignity to fulfill the gluttonous urge for food of a king. We’ve been demanding that Goal and different companies cease genuflecting on the throne of Caesar.
We want seasoned and dedicated political atheists who will demand that we not be seduced into the courtyards of this king or any new king.
So, I used to be ecstatic over the “No Kings” rallies and marches held throughout the nation. I may odor an aroma of political atheism within the crowds. The marches declared that in America, there are “No Kings”, no Caesars, and no emperors. The marches confronted King Trump with the truth that individuals weren’t bowing or honoring the trimmings of this Caesar-King. The marches throughout the nation and in some cities abroad was an announcement that, for this second, some individuals weren’t bowing earlier than this king.
However even with the celebrations of the variety of individuals and cities responding to the “No Kings” sentiment, there have been fears and perils that turned obvious, a minimum of for me. I started to fret about what would occur after the marches have been over. What would occur after this administration is pushed out and its energy has light? Will individuals bow earlier than a brand new king — one among their liking?
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That is why we want seasoned and dedicated political atheists who will demand that we not be seduced into the courtyards of this king or any new king. Democracy is fragile, and folks can simply be fooled by the charms of charlatans. We want political atheists, with their cynicism, to shock us by reminding us to not be seduced in any approach or any season by any king. With out sincere critique and cynicism from nonbelievers — not seduced by the Democratic-Republican magnificence contest or the quixotic notions of an impartial candidate — we are going to discover ourselves on this predicament once more.
We want our political atheists who will sound the alarm of the hazards of a king lest we turn into beguiled and seduced once more by the flash and type of a brand new snake-oil vendor. We must march and march, exhibit and exhibit to carry on to our nation. The demagogues and charlatans, just like the individuals at present within the White Home and Administration, in addition to the would-be kings of our liking, know the way simply the nation may be hijacked.
The typical American citizen is a cultural believer, worshipping the myths of goodness and benevolence, believing that it’s going to do the precise factor if the precise king is on the helm. And, after the precise individual will get in, we are able to return dwelling and permit the “good” king to do the nice issues for us. We usually have positioned our belief within the goodness of the American buildings, however obvious earlier than us are the realities that Congress and the Supreme Court docket as our protectors is probably not the case. We’ve seen simply how Congress and the Supreme Court docket also can prostrate themselves on the altar of political expediency.
Refuse to Bow
The political atheists, nevertheless, name us to be cynical, stay alert, stay within the streets, protest even when so-called “Good Kings” fill the so-called “Good Constructions” of democracy, and to march on the king even after we just like the king, however by no means once more to prostrate ourselves earlier than the throne of political satisfaction. To win the nation again is an effective factor, however to maintain it’s troublesome, and so we want the sentiment of political atheists who refuse to bow and demand that we refuse additionally.
My pal precipitated me to understand the atheism that doesn’t imagine in doubts, that questions, and doesn’t fall into line. That is a crucial political posture to have always. The Christians of the First Century have been referred to as atheists and have been thought-about subversives as a result of they didn’t salute the emperor or the emperor’s males, however pushed in the direction of a better order, and so should we. However that is our calling not solely in the present day as we problem and resist emperor Trump, however in all political seasons, and with all individuals aspiring to be king.
Reverend Graylan Scott Hagler is the senior advisor for the Fellowship of Reconciliation–USA, director and chief visionary of Religion Methods LLC, and pastor emeritus of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C.
A longtime religion chief, activist, and strategist, Hagler is understood for his work on the intersection of social justice, public coverage, and ethical management, advancing actions for peace, fairness, and financial equity throughout the USA and overseas.
