a good read for a thursday...

from the latest blog on "God's Politics":

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tennessee
Church Shootings: The Culture War's Latest Casualties (by Craig Detweiler)
Tragically, the culture war crossed over fighting words to shooting
bullets. Once again, a community of faith was caught in the
crossfire. While 25 children sang songs from "Annie," a gunman fired
three shotgun blasts inside the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist
Church. The seven people shot and two people murdered on Sunday
morning are the latest victims of the culture war.

Sadly, this wasn't the first shooting to occur at a house of worship in America and not likely to be the last. Do we remember the four teenagers and three adults who were murdered at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas in 1999? Two more died at New Life Church in Colorado Springs last December. In each case, the shooter turned their frustration with particular religious expressions into an occasion to kill. (And as a nation we continue to support the right to shoot others over sane gun control policies--but that deserves its own separate conversation).

While many evangelicals celebrated Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott as martyrs who died for their Christian convictions at Columbine High School, I wonder if we will extend the same heroism to the victims in Tennessee? Evidently, usher Greg McKendry shielded the children performing selections from "Annie" and took the brunt of the shotgun blast. A retired school teacher, Linda Kraeger, also died from
gunshot wounds. She was merely visiting the church. In both Columbine and Knoxville, the cowardly shooters took out their grudges upon innocent victims. Those with a conservative faith died at Columbine. Those with liberal beliefs perished in Tennessee. We mourn for them all.

The shooter in Tennessee, Jim Adkisson, has been identified as an unemployed divorcee. A four-page note found in his car described his contempt for liberals. When the system failed to work (evidently, his food stamps had just run out), Adkisson took up arms, aiming at those who he had been trained to hate--gays and liberals. Why did he single out Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalists? Evidently, the church has recently posted a sign welcoming gays to their congregation. It set off a firestorm on conservative and Christian talk radio in East Tennessee. I found this online:

The specific chain of events that brought Jim Adkisson
to the TVUC sanctuary was a recent decision to erect a sign specifically
welcoming LGBT people into the congregation. That choice evidently set off a
firestorm in the local right-wing community with the specific church and its
location named repeatedly on right-wing and evangelical radio. The gunman,
already looking for someone to take out his rage on, evidently took the path of
local least resistance. At any rate, while I'm not sure it's even worth
assigning blame, it's not likely that Jim Adkisson would have driven the ten
miles from his exurban hovel to my family's church if he hadn't learned what he
needed about where to go on the radio.

While ultimate responsibility resides with the shooters, we can also connect these deaths to too much toxic talk radio. Both the left and the right play the blame game all day long. On talk radio, my problems are always somebody else's
fault. This is the kind of tragedy that occurs when we adopt war rhetoric,
turning our fellow Americans into enemies. Both sides have
effectively demonized the opposition, laying blame for our problems at others'
feet. Would it "kill" talk radio announcers to tone down their tenor
for the sake of the common good? Could they sacrifice a few ratings
points by refusing to serve the red meat their most radicalized listeners
relish? Can we discipline ourselves to change the channel when the
scapegoating begins? I still recall my shock and horror when Paul Hill
murdered Dr. John Britton in the name of 'life'. How could a graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church of America take up arms, killing in the name of God? I recently saw the chilling documentary Lake of Fire, which illustrates all the tragedies surrounding the fight over abortion. Director Tony Kaye captured early footage of Paul Hill, boldly proclaiming death sentences upon abortion providers. Lake of Fire also presents
the horrors of an abortion procedure, including the emotional trauma that also
follows. This even-handed movie leaves you with an enormous amount of
sadness. There are no winners in Tony Kaye's bold documentary (or in our
current culture war). In response to all the overheated rhetoric, I created a
documentary, Purple State of Mind with my college roommate, John Marks. As I was a entering the Christian faith twenty years ago, John was exiting. We
revisited that crossing as an example of a constructive dialogue across the
religious and political divide. Purple State of Mind is rooted in the profound hope that we can co-exist despite our differences. But plenty of patient listening must precede that fragile peace. We will not get there by burying our differences, but by bearing one another's burdens enroute. I write this with a fair amount of trepidation. To promote peace to a war mongering people can get you in trouble. I don't want to be placed on anybody's hit list. I do not want to put my children in the line of fine because I extend an olive branch towards atheists, homosexuals, or anyone else deemed 'other' by the conservative Christian community. Churchgoers in Fort Worth, Texas and Colorado Springs and Knoxville want to worship in freedom rather than fear. When something your pastor says or your congregation does can get you killed, we live in decidedly dangerous times. Heaven help us all to cease fire.

Craig Detweiler directs the Reel
Spirituality Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary. He blogs at http://www.purplestateofmind.com/. His new book, Into the Dark, searches for the sacred amidst the top ranked films on the Internet Movie Database.

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clearly from my last post i am finding myself moving into a new type of political ideology that isn't aligned with any one party, but seeks instead to support and advocate policies that focus on the "least of these", that focus on a consistent ethic of life, and that focus on a mutual respect for all of God's creation.

unfortunately, challenging political beliefs actually has turned out to be the easy part. the more difficult task is challenging my beliefs about the church and it's institutions, doctrine, and rituals. the easy way to "deal with" my new ideologies would be to simply say that this ideology has a place in the political arena, but that church is church and i need to be there and do all that goes into church.

as i tried to do this however, i felt my soul getting restless. i was sitting in sunday school classes of 50 people (48 of whom were 55 and older) discussing the nuances of paradise that we would experience when (not if) we went to heaven. two things bothered me. first, while i believe it is important to be confident of your faith, i find it dangerous to start listing "who gets in" and "who burns". there is a self-righteousness inherent in these discussions that turns me off. as i put myself in my atheist friends shoes, i see an arrogance about these types of conversations. if we are to be sharing the gospel with all people, then certainly we should be conscious of how are words are being perceived, not just how we intended them to be understood. second, i was bothered by the fact that we fat, rich, spoiled americans were sitting around on our butts debating how we would look in heaven, what we would do on the new earth, who we would know, etc....in other words, would heaven be as comfy for us as america is? 5 people die of AIDS every minute...meaning that in that hour long class, 300 people died around the world. it disgusted me that we were so wrapped up in our heavenly retirement plan. when jesus talked about the kingdom of heaven, i believe he was talking about something that is both in heaven and on earth. how do i know this? when he taught us to pray, we learned these words: "they kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". the key there is "on earth." what are we doing to bring the kingdom to earth? and no, i don't mean "what are we doing to fulfill wild prophecies found in apocalyptic literature so that the rapture will happen sooner". (my thoughts on the book of revelation will come later i'm sure) what i mean is what are we doing to create a church, a faith, that the outcast of society can find safety in? is your church a place where an openly homosexual man or woman can find love? is your church a place that cares more about the radical calling to follow jesus, or is it more focused on providing a nice place for nice people to be nice together for a few hours before leaving in their nice lexus and going home to their nice house? if we are called to share jesus with the people of the world, then we must ask ourselves "what kind of jesus do people see in me?" do they see a jesus caught up in moral "codes", self-preservation, and personal gain? or do they see a jesus who has ALREADY DIED FOR ALL? who died for us while we ALL WERE STILL SINNING? do they see a jesus who loved the world so immensely that he followed his love to death? who took on the weight of the world's sin in a single moment? do they see a jesus who says "come to me child, you are loved" or who says "you are not loved unless you clean up your act"? these are important questions to wrestle with. they are consuming my mind and heart right now, to the point that i can barely sleep. i hope and pray that the jesus i share with people is a jesus who loves them, a jesus who provides a safe place for them, and a jesus who is their advocate.

as i think about these things, i can't help but also wonder what the purpose of church should be. for me, i too often find that church is a big friendly self-help group. we all are trying to improve who we are as christians, so that we can be sure we "get in" at the end. we join in bible studies to understand how we can be better christians, we join small groups to share how we are trying to be better, and we listen to preachers who share with us insights as to how we can be better christians. and yet jesus himself tells us what it is we should be focusing on.

Matthew 25: 31-45

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

jesus plainly states that our final judgement will rest on how we treated the poor, the sick, the outcast, the lost....the least of this world. i have yet to find a church that is truly buying into this theology. i have been reading recently about the emergent church, and how they are seeking to establish a postmodern church that focuses more outwardly (towards the least and lost) and less on self-improvement. i'm hoping to learn more in the coming weeks.

ultimately, i am an individual that cannot ignore my deepest convictions, so kerry and i will be searching for a new place to foster our faith. during our search, we are hoping to do much more volunteering for the sick and poor, to deeply engage with close friends (both christians and non-christians), and to continually wrestle with how our faith is carried out in our lives and in whatever place we call church.

any thoughts? i'm afraid i've written quite a bit once again. thanks for reading though. peace.

please take 3 mins 36 secs and watch this video.

okay, time to commit to this...

once again it has been some time since posting.  my just-past-mid-year resolution is to change that.  perhaps this resolution will go better than my new year's resolution which was....???  i forget.  either way, having asked kerry to remind me to get on here, it's safe to say this resolution will have some life.  ;)

the last few months i have found myself on quite an interesting ride.  i find myself challenging almost everything that i know...almost being the operative word there.  my faith is as strong as ever, and is in fact what is calling me to challenge nearly all of my political opinions.  it is calling me to challenge what i know about church institutions and traditions.  it is calling me to learn and understand how the human experience within a cultural context has shaped scripture, doctrine, and traditions.  

of course it would be impossible to discuss this journey without acknowledging my own human experience as it has been shaped by my social experience, family experience, religious experience, etc.  so let's start there.

for anyone who has known me since before college, it is an understatement to say that i was raised in a conservative christian household.  it is also safe to say that i embraced the notion that i was, because of my belonging to the evangelical religious right, on God's side.  it was my belief that true christians could be identified by a few markers:

republican party affiliation

vocal opposition to abortion, homosexuality, extensive social programs, taxes, evolution

fundamental opposition to alcohol in all forms and quantities

opposition to any policy that embraced the idea that climate change was actually taking place

entering college, i embraced this group of ideals and became an incredibly judgmental person.  i was quick to point out other's flaws, and slow to acknowledge my own.  

(quick disclaimer:  in no way am i saying that because i labeled myself a conservative evangelical i automatically became a self-righteous jerk.   nor am i saying that everyone in this "group" acts like i did simply because of their affiliation with this segment of christianity.  these were my own shortcomings, and i am simply pointing them out as i explain how the ramifications of these actions jump-started the journey i find myself on today.  okay, glad i got that out of the way!)

then about halfway through freshman year, the first major event that would jump-start my journey rocked me.  a good friend of mine from college approached me one night looking to talk, and opened up to me that he was in fact a homosexual.  my first instinct was to try and "convert him to straight" by flooding him with bible verses.  wow, i was dumb!  he was kind enough to hear me out, but admitted that he wasn't looking to be "converted".  i spent a lot of time in prayer and meditation after this encounter, and came to realize that all he needed was for me to listen and remain his friend.  so that's what i sought to do.  i never imagined this would get me in so much trouble....

soon after, another of my friends (who happened to be my first friend's roommate) approached me holding several pieces of paper in his hands.  turns out he had spoken to his mother about the weeks events, and about how his christian friend (me) had the audacity to remain friend's with a homosexual.  she wrote to him explaining that clearly i didn't have a true faith or relationship with jesus if i was still friends with a homosexual after he had come out.  i couldn't believe that a fellow christian would "call me out" like this, especially since jesus came into this world and sought out and loved the people who were downtrodden, cast out, and rejected.  he came for the hurting people of the world, for the social pariahs, for the prostitutes, tax collectors, and crooks.  all of us are in that list somewhere.  my friend was clearly hurting, was struggling with self-confidence, and was knowingly stepping into the realm of the outcast as a modern day leper.  

there were many more instances throughout my college experience that i simply don't have room for here, but trust me when i say the more i sought to love everyone i encountered, the more i was abandoned by people who were just like i used to be...self-righteous, pious, narrow fundamentalist evangelicals.  

fast forward to a year ago.  as i started working at world vision i was excited to finally be around christians who actually embraced a theology of love and peace,and espoused a social-justice doctrine that sought to help the widows, orphans, and other "least of these" people in the world.  i was ecstatic.  and then, tony campolo came to chapel...

...and shattered whatever remnants of allegiance i had left towards the "religious right".  tony came and spoke about what he called "red-letter christianity", a theology that focused on what jesus himself actually said and viewed the entirety of scripture through the lens of the reality of jesus' message and sacrifice.  wow.  i was sold.  here was a man telling me that yes, i could be a christian and be in favor of an environmental policy that seeks to protect and preserve God's creation.  yes, i could be a christian and be in favor of higher taxes that would support social programs intended to help the least of our society.  yes, it was okay to serve the homeless without asking "can't you help yourself?" or "why are you homeless?" and instead embrace the method of the good samaritan who helped and loved without asking questions first.  yes, i could serve the poor and suffering and not require that they first accept the gospel as their own truth, but that i could instead spread the gospel as effectively or more effectively with my actions and not my words.  clearly, tony had an impact on me.

since then i've been reading books and blogs by tony, jim wallis (founder of sojourners), brian mclaren, and others and i am finding a burden lifting off my shoulders.  it's like a breath of fresh air to know that others in the christian community share my thoughts and beliefs and aren't afraid to say it!

this is getting ridiculously long now, so i'll cut it off for tonight.  but trust me when i say there is much more to come.  please, please, please take a gander at some of the links i've posted on this blog.  allow your mind to be open, and challenge everything you read from all authors by testing it against scripture.  hopefully you will find something interesting, and maybe you'll learn something new!  but have fun, and feel free to comment as you wish.  (just keep it civil...)

peace.