General Board of Church and Society: the Next MLK?

The religious left is plagued by “the MLK complex.” This rampant syndrome is an obsession to mimic the urgency, courage, spirit, and tactics of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s campaign against segregation. The GBCS showed its fascination in its latest Faith in Action newsletter. Take for example general secretary Jim Winkler’s post-incarceration letter after his sought after arrest in the U.S. Capitol to protest budget limits and urge tax increases. He tries to mimic the thoughtful eloquence of King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” noting how liberal religious leaders supposedly suffer by protecting of welfare programs. Such a copy-cat stratagem is not new to the Religious Left; it serves as the Holy Grail of liberal activism.  Unlike King, these briefly jailed clergy do not seriously exegete biblical texts and analyze the Christian sacred tradition. Instead, Winkler cited military spending figures and called out specific defense contractors. MLK’s exhortations for biblical justice have been cheapened into polemical punditry.

A GBCS article after Winkler’s letter had similar problems. GBCS writer Kathy Gilbert decried Congress’s intent to “balance the budget on the backs of the poor.” As previous investigations have shown, this term refers to limiting growth of problematic welfare programs. Gilbert’s portrayal of the arrested clergy mimics the ecumenical nature of King’s civil rights campaign. Since various liberal clerics could unite for higher spending and taxes, surely they must be right.  She portrays the 11 leaders into martyrs for compassion. She quotes NCC poverty initiative director Michael Livingston: “Today, we ‘offer our bodies as a living sacrifice’ to say to Congress ‘Raise revenue, protect the vulnerable and those living in poverty.’” Evidently, early Christian martyrs are comparable to brief staged arrests for political statements.

The Religious Left expends its limited moral capital in demanding a larger Welfare State.  GBCS official John Hill’s condemnation of spending “cuts” and deficit reduction seem rather petty and divisive for a church agency.  Even more troubling was GBCS board members Bishop Jane Middleton and Katey Zeh’s report on foreign aid cuts in “family planning” aid. They wrote, “Cutting foreign aid is about more than balancing a budget. Attached to those dollars are the lives of real persons whom God has created and loves. May we continue to work toward a world where the sacred worth of every person is honored and protected.” Many Christians would be surprised that God requires the U.S. to provide birth control to third-world nations. Instead of healthy economies and, more importantly, healthy families and moral limits, GBCS thinks contraceptives are an international cure-all.  Is this the oft-touted dream of Dr. King?

GBCS and other Religious Left outlets cite the halcyon days of the civil rights movement because the 1960s represent the last noble hurrah for Christian liberalism. A broad spectrum of religious traditions helped end a national injustice.  Those participants faced strong and violent opposition with peaceful tactics. Today’s Religious Left’s agenda is not as pressing or consistent with the Christian faith. Contrasted with ending segregation, the defense of the failing and financially untenable Welfare State seems paltry. These liberal activists are not facing attack dogs at Selma or even jeering and bullying at lunch counter sit-ins. Instead, GBCS ineffectually seeks an echo of MLK’s civil activism to perpertuate imprudent financial practices and destructive social policies.