Jennifer C J Radtke

Amos' straw tax updated

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Amos' straw tax updated

O, my people, hear the sorrow of the Holy One
“Divided and in denial
with one set against the other
In the midst of your slow motion destruction
There is no one to call out ‘enough’”

Hear the judgement of She who is Wisdom
“Your piles of wealth, they will not save you
In those days, hate will be turned back to you
And those who have taken mother from child
will know what it is to mourn”

This is what Mighty God says
“Seek me and live
don’t put your hope in AGI
don’t scroll your feed forever
for AGI will not save you
and you know your feed does not have the answer

Seek the God who saves
or your society will be set to ruin
divided against itself, destruction will reign
and there will be no one left to put things right

The Lord your God breathed life into you
life and intelligence for all living beings
He set the electrons in their places
and wrote the rules by which they move amongst the atoms
However much you rearrange them, you cannot do more

But you excel in injustice
in hiding behind your creations
You deny healthcare to those who have paid insurance for it
And set the blame on the AI powered system you commissioned
Do you check your algorithm for bias
before you use it to keep people locked up?
The wealth you have built up will not be yours to enjoy
The power and prestige will not remain forever

You lay blame at the feet of those who shine light on this horror
You wield the courts like a weapon – the very place where justice should reign!
Your systems are used to spread nonsense and noise
You don’t care that hate, support for genocide, is making your money
You want it to be impossible to see the truth
And those who just need to get by, try to keep quiet
These are the days when evil is done in plain sight

Seek good and not evil, for that is the way to life
She who is holy will walk with you
Return justice to the courts and set out on the path to ending oppression
She who saves may redeem you then

Styled after Amos 5:1-15

Notes

The prophet Amos declares clearly God’s preference for the poor and marginalised in society. He speaks out against those who indulge in the means of injustice at the time, and highlights the systemic injustices – taxes on straw and grain (Amos 5:11), preventing the poor from receiving justice in the courts and taking bribes (Amos 5:12). He also identifies (Amos 5:5) places such as Bethel and Gilgal where people “worshipped”, but did not connect with God (read on in Amos 5 to hear his opinion on that more fully!).

This piece attempts to update Amos’ language and examples for a 21st century tech audience. Following are some short descriptions of some of the concepts and events referenced above, with links to more detailed pieces. I hope it helps you to reflect on the part we all play in our technological landscape, and the systems that shape our lives whether or not we are involved in creating them.

Examples of algorithmic injustice

AI based medical insurance denials

In the US, medical insurance providers will authorise payment for your treatment. Medicare Advantage for the over 65s decided to use an AI powered system to predict the number of days of care people would need after a hospital stay. Unfortunately the error rate was as high as 90% (based on appeals) – and the system and policy was built around attempting to adhere to the algorithms predictions.

The decision to decline payment would be made whilst patients were receiving care, and were still unwell, overriding the advice of doctors involved in the patients’ care. If you had the energy to appeal (few did), a success could be overturned in a few days. And appeals after the fact can take years, while patients are elderly and/or terminally ill.

This is currently the subject of a lawsuit in Minnesota. The initial detailed investigation was published by StatNews.

The recidivism algorithm

At many points in the justice system, someone needs to answer the question: How likely is this person to reoffend?

The answer can make a significant difference to a defendant. In the US in particular, it can inform how much money they’re asked for to receive bail (before any court case), or the sentence they receive for a crime after conviction. For the sake of those individuals and the society around them, it’s important to make a good assessment of the risk of reoffending.

Unfortunately, an algorithm made for that purpose has been found to be biased. Black people are more likely to be miscategorised as high risk, and white people are more likely to be miscategorised as low risk. The algorithm doesn’t do any better than untrained people – nor is it more fair.

Facebook in Myanmar

Caution: This contains references to genocide, and therefore many of the worst things humans can do to each other. Bear this in mind when reading further on this topic.

Algorithmic injustice describes only a portion of Facebook’s involvement.

Facebook positioned itself to be “the internet” in Myanmar, with deals that made Facebook free to access on mobile data plans in a country just getting online. They paid little attention to moderation, and ignored warnings. The engagement based algorithms amplified hateful and dangerous content. The platform was weaponised to spread hate against the Rohingya people. This has been linked to the offline violence and genocide in Myanmar against the Rohingya. Some of those still in refugee camps are suing Facebook (now Meta) for reparations.

Erin Kissane has written an in depth series on Meta in Myanmar, with many links to further detail and evidence.

Artificial General Intelligence

Some groups are concerned about the potential risk of AI that might be significantly more intelligent that humans and believe it may be developed soon. They consider it imperative to work out how to manage this risk – above other risks like climate change, nuclear war and pandemics. Others see this as hype masking the present harm done by AI technology. Large language models such as ChatGPT are currently being talked about frequently: these are statistical models generated from large amount of text, and only output plausible text rather than anything fundamentally tied to intelligence, reasoning or reality.

Names for God

Many of the names for God used in this piece are taken from “A Women’s lectionary for the whole church” by Wilda C. Gafney.

Authority and healing - drama

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Authority and healing - drama

This is a short drama based on Matthew 21:23-32 and Matthew 9:20-22, with a reference to Exodus 17:1-7. It would be best to read Exodus and Matthew 21 before the drama, and Matthew 9 directly afterwards. The mother here cannot be the woman from Matthew 9, since this drama is set after Matthew 21 (and in the same place) - but her story allows us to imagine that other people may have had similar encounters with Jesus.

Authority and healing are both charged topics, and need handling carefully. It's worth considering where this drama sits in the worship service, and how to set up a space which enables people to engage with the questions raised.

Staging wise, this can be done as a "radio play" with all characters stationary, with just a tea towel and mug from the kitchen as props. Fuller suggestions are in the script if you have the time and space for them.

Download the script

Beyond the logic

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Beyond the logic

Beyond the logic of this world
That sees no end to war and hate
God's grace invites us on – from here!
– and leads us in to life

You knew what you would have to do
the cross, alone, your mother's tears
The depths of love laid bare – for us!
– restoring all to God

The blossom dusts our city streets
drowned in the oil of our greed
Creation sings its song – again!
– eternally renewed

Your justice seems a distant dream
Your people scattered, torn apart
Gift of your word set close – to us!
– love written in our hearts

Long shadows of despair and doubt
Scatter my thoughts, distract my mind
But hope in you, my Lord – my God!
– grounds all my waking days

Metre: 88 86 Suggested tune: Woodworth (556iii in Singing the faith) - for the extended 2 beats, use the last 2 syllables of the third line.

Climate justice and the Bible

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Climate justice and the Bible

You won’t find the word “climate” anywhere in the Bible, so it would be tempting to conclude that our faith has no bearing on our reaction to the climate crisis. But “justice” ? Justice turns up in the Bible a lot, right from the book of Genesis. And stewardship of creation is also mentioned – stewardship of God’s creation. We have a duty to care for the creation given to us.

What is climate justice?

Climate change has been extensively studied, and two things are clear: it is human driven, and it will have severe impacts for human society. Those two factors make for a crisis, but alone they do not cause a problem of justice. The justice issue arises because of unequal distribution of cause and effect: those most responsible for the problem are mostly the world’s richer nations, whilst those most at risk for the effects are typically in poor nations (and/or already disadvantaged parts of society).

Let’s look at four passages from different parts of the Bible, and see what they might say about an approach to climate justice.

Matthew 6:19-34

Doesn’t the Bible say we should have faith in God to provide?

Matthew 6:25 (and the short sermon in the following verses) is sometimes cited to suggest we shouldn’t worry about climate change, because God will provide what we need. It is, depending on translation, “the Gentiles”, “unbelievers” or “pagans” who spend time worrying about material needs in the future. But Matthew 6:33 suggests something stronger than merely not worrying: we should “strive” for the “kingdom of God”, and we’ll find our needs met as well. The preceding verses offer some insight into what this might mean, starting with talk of treasure in Matthew 6:19. And strive is a strong word – it’s not a bit of homework, but a significant task that we should take seriously. “The dog ate it” won’t cut it here.

What about people who are starving now?

Not everyone finds that they have all they need for life. Some people live, and die, in severe poverty today – and many more did at the time these passages were written, even those with great faith. This reality is difficult to reconcile with a reading of this passage that suggests no one with faith will want for essentials. It could also be said that if people in poverty are happy we should not mind the inequality, but this runs contrary to notions of justice threaded throughout the Bible – more on that later.

What’s this about treasure?

We are to store up treasure in heaven. This treasure will not decay, or rust, or be stolen. What is it? This is a question that can take a whole book to answer – a whole Bible in fact! We can look at many passages that describe the kingdom of God, righteousness and other concepts to begin to understand what following God looks like.

This particular passage is instead invested in the choice to be made: do we follow God, or not? The first three paragraphs make this point in different ways, contrasting between earthly and heavenly treasure, light and darkness, and God and wealth. We shouldn’t store up earthly treasure. Not anything that can decay, rust or be stolen. God knows that we need certain things – we don’t need to store up vast wealth to be sure we will have them.

My eye isn’t a lamp!?

Matthew 6:22-23 sounds very strange to modern readers, particularly to anyone familiar with physics or biology. We know that our eyes do not produce light, but receive light reflected from the objects around us. At the time this passage was written, it was thought that the eye produced light to see with. If it produced no light, then the person could not see. Following the metaphor, if a person does not serve God, then they would be in complete darkness.

Ezekiel 34: 11-22

How does God care for the flock?

Ezekiel 34:11-16 paints a beautiful picture of God’s relation to the people of God, the flock. First (11-13) God will gather them up, then (13-15) God will ensure they have all they need, good food, water and a place to rest. God will (16) find the lost, heal the wounded and build up the weak. Finally, God will “feed them with justice” – an odd phrase, but it seems that justice is included with other things the flock needs. Like our passage from Matthew, God will provide what is needed.

Why are we talking about sheep and shepherds?

At the time of writing in the near east, sheep and shepherding were common metaphors to describe the relationships societies had with their gods and/or kings. God is represented by the shepherd, and we are the flock, the sheep and the goats. So we see the prophet using language and imagery that would have been familiar to his audience, and extending the metaphor to describe the Lord.

Waste isn’t okay. What does that have to do with justice?

Ezekiel 34:18 describes wastefulness on the part of some in the flock: treading over good pasture, messing up water. These are things that the rest of the flock need – you can almost hear in v19 the outrage – “must my sheep eat what you have trodden..”. And God goes on to describe the judgement that will be made, between the fat and the lean sheep – between those with too much and those with not enough. In Matthew we were cautioned against having too much – in this passage we see the injustice visited on others as a result. And God will judge between the two groups.

I’m not wasting things or breaking things for other people. Why is this relevant?

Almost everything we buy, use or do emits carbon dioxide. Carbon footprint calculators use spending as a way to estimate carbon emissions because spending correlates well with emissions. The more you have, the more you are contributing to the climate crisis – and the suffering that causes. In many ways, our excess carbon emissions are exactly like trampling over the pasture of others, or messing the water up once we’ve had our share.

Exodus 23:1-9

What does justice look like?

The Bible contains many passages on justice – let’s take a look at one on a human scale. Exodus 23:1-9 gives some guidance on issues of justice. It starts with a basic point: don’t lie. In a world of misinformation and disinformation, this bears repeating. Climate change has its share of misinformation. It can be hard to sift through the noise to find the truth, but truth is the foundation of justice. Even when the majority are going along with it, we should not be complicit in injustice. Note this call to justice stands even in cases where we might want to favour “the underdog”.

No one I know has a donkey. Isn’t this irrelevant today?

Donkeys are not a common sight today. However, verses 4 and 5 use them to make another important point: we should not deny justice to our enemies. We shouldn’t turn away from their loss, and we should not let the donkey suffer because it would benefit our enemy to help it. Climate justice will require working together for the good of everyone, whether we like them or not.

Bribes? No one takes bribes today…

The problems attributed to bribes in this passage are: a bribe blinds the officials, and a bribe subverts the cause of those who are in the right. We may not call them bribes, but dubious financial interests remain an issue in society today. For instance, many pensions are invested in fossil fuels. Donations can be made to political organisations and lobbying groups. Again, we cannot serve God and money.

What is a resident alien?

Translated variously as resident alien, stranger, foreigner and sojourner, the person mentioned in verse 9 is an outsider. Someone likely without friends or family, who has moved in from another place. These people are also to receive justice, and there is a call to empathy here as well. How should we interpret this in an increasingly globalised world, when we know our actions here will impact people everywhere?

Galatians 6:1-10

Isn’t the climate crisis just too big to tackle though?

It can be hard to know where to start: climate justice is a huge challenge. We should not be discouraged, but look instead to our God. Galatians 6:7-10 reminds us of this – if we work in faith with God, we will gain eternal life. We should not give up, but work for the good of all.

How do we go about it then?

We have guidance on how to do the work: Galatians 6:1-10 gives us one example in scripture, but there are many others. In short, to work together, share the burdens but ensure we do our part well, and always relying on God. Working with others will help the scale of climate justice seem less daunting. And climate justice is a whole community effort.

Share each others’ burdens but also do our own work? That’s a contradiction!

Isn’t it nice when scripture reflects real world tensions? Life is like that sometimes – you need a bit of both, and it isn’t always clear what the right balance should be. Doing your part, helping others out and accepting help are all vital to living in community. The split between them will change with time, place and person, as well as the work.

Someone isn’t doing their bit. Should we force them?

It’s tempting, isn’t it? But Galatians 6:1 specifies that we should be gentle, and avoid temptation to doing wrong ourselves. In many translations the language used is “to restore” – this has a gentle connotation. It’s far more helpful and wholesome than just forcing someone to go along with it.

That was a lot. What were the main points again?

Pretty much from the word “go” in the Bible (okay, it actually says “Exodus”) we see God making a thing about justice, and doing justice well. By the time we get to the prophets, like our example from Ezekiel, we see justice is an essential part of society. Stories about fat and lean sheep show the harm done when some have too much and others too little – and that God cares about such harm. Our Gospel reading from Matthew presents us with the choice: seeking the Kingdom of God, or building our earthly treasure. And our epistle reading from Galatians gives us some tips on working well together in a Christ like fashion, and how faith in God can keep discouragement at bay – even when faced with such a huge task as climate justice. Because wherever our climate justice journey takes us, our God is with us.

Warming stripes from https://showyourstripes.info/s/globe

Images from Pixabay

Music performed by Matt Beckingham

Loose every bond and chain

Wed, 29 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Loose every bond and chain

Loose every bond and chain,
you have been called by God
Not to bring people out,
but to let them go free
The tears of Christ demand no less
than love for all, as all are loved

Loose every bond and chain,
Weep with the ones who mourn
Cherish all God has made
Worth is in every soul
Discrimination, hate and fear
they have no place when God is near

Loose every bond and chain,
Stand with the dispossessed.
Speak of God’s love for all,
With every act and breath
Wealth, dignity, your pride and claims:
In worship lay before Your God

Loose every bond and chain,
God dwells in human hearts
Notice the act of God
In cultures far and near
People of every rhyme and race
Reflect the image of God’s face

Loose every bond and chain
Even my very own
Yes, God is in my heart
Sharing my work and rest
Christ calls to all, free all to Christ
Redeemer, Saviour, Word of life

Metre: 66 66 88 – suggested tune “Little Cornard”, which can be found in Singing the Faith at 172 (Hills of the north, rejoice)

A hymn inspired by a liberation theology-informed reading of the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead and the following events (John 11:17-12:7).