Lesson for Christians in Buddhist Protests

Clergy in Burma are putting their safety—maybe even their lives—on the line to defend the rights of their nation’s underclass. The protesters, led by Buddhist monks and numbering up to 35,000, have been on the streets for over a week demanding justice from a military regime that has reduced its people to poverty while reserving privilege for itself. The trigger for the protests in this Asian nation now known as Myanmar was a massive fuel price increase.
“Today we saw the most widespread demonstrations since 1988,” said Bangkok-based Burmese analyst Win Min. “Things are moving very quickly.” Win Min characterized the current situation as a spiritual rebellion, an economic protest and a reaction to longstanding suffering, according to a report from the Asia Sentinel.
The Burma protests are a form of religion-in-action not seen in the United States since the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam War when church leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and the Berrigan Brothers led street protests to oppose oppression. And despite memories of thousand of Burmese being gunned downed during the 1988 protests, the monks seem prepared to pay whatever price is necessary:
"There's no prospect now of the monks just deciding to abandon this. They are getting braver every day and their demands are getting greater every day, and it's much more overtly political," a Rangoon-based diplomat told Reuters.
As it was in the United States, the presence of religious leaders is problematic for the government. Soldiers are reluctant to beat or kill members of the clergy, although it appears Wednesday in Burma they finally took restrained but clearly aggressive action. The natural and rightful inclination of religions like Christianity and Buddhism is to foster an atmosphere of peace, not violence. The Burmese monks were cautious in taking their complaints to the street—the fuel increases date back to August 19 and the protests grew slowly. Dr. King faced that same reluctance in the 60s as other ministers argued for caution and patience. But when caution and patience become inaction, injustice will flourish unopposed.
We know that Jesus was troubled by religious leaders who not only stood by but benefited as God’s values were being subverted. Is it reasonable to expect our secular leaders to support Godly values like compassion and justice on their own? If not, at what point must religious leaders also become political leaders?

A Spirit of Joy Marks New Counter Culture

Back in 1969 Theodore Roszak, a California history professor, published The Making of a Counter Culture. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement and the increasing pace of change spawned by technology had created a new dimension within American society not born on Wall Street, Main Street or Madison Avenue. It was all around, rising up from many places in many ways, sporting long hair and dashikis, tie-dye tees and bell bottoms. Roszak’s book attempted to describe the complex cross currents that comprised this counter culture.
Common believe has it that the children of the 60s were eventually folded in among the denizens of Wall Street, Main Street and Madison Avenue, more involved in making a living and raising families than changing the world. Dreams were overtaken by realities. Life goes on.
But as God promised through Isaiah, a remnant remained on which to rebuild a world of justice and compassion such as God had intended in the creation. If you are a Christian, this is your inheritance, this is the obligation of being born again, not of the flesh but of the spirit.
While Roszak’s book described a landscape of groups and influences, today’s counter culture takes its meaning from two shared convictions: Living “in the spirit” is a real possibility here on earth, not some obscure reward for good boys and girls to collect when they die; and that the institutions of our materialistic society are opposed to those who would inhabit the kingdom of heaven now, not later.
And don’t be naive; our prevailing culture is powerful and alluring. Ask Christian parents who have tried to raise their children as what Jesus called “children of light.” It is hard enough for us as adults to stand up to our sorry culture; how can we expect our children to survive against a market place and media designed to swallow them whole?
Jesus said the children of this world are often more shrewd than the children of light. While they offer the mostly false promise of cheap thrills and flashy possessions, we counter with an unappetizing campaign of “just say no.” For all its excesses the counter culture of the 60s knew one thing: there’s a joyful exuberance in being spiritual. Instead of saying no to pleasure, our mantra should be say yes to joy. Say yes to the kingdom of joy and say it now.