The Prayer Room 1/11/15: Baptism of the Lord Sunday

"There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28 NRSV)

The verse listed above from Paul's letter to the Galatians is, to me anyway, one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. He's breaking the down the largest barriers of his age: Jew vs Gentile, slave vs free, male vs female.  For Paul, when Christ comes into the picture, those walls are torn down so that the light of Christ shines on all in equal measure. "You are one in Christ Jesus."

This last week was tough on the world scene.  It seems like every time I sit down to write one of these that there's some other horrible thing that's happened.  Last week it was the terrorist attacks in Paris and subsequent hunt for the killers.  That got all the news.  Let's also not forget that in Nigeria, Boko Haram militants slaughtered over 2,000 innocent men, women, and children.  That didn't get as much play here in the states.

But why? It's an easy question to answer.  French journalists working in an office are "us."  Poor people in the third world are "them."  We're nowhere near as concerned with what happens to them as opposed to what happens to us.  A massacre in a village in Africa seems a world away, while an attack on a French magazine office has us wondering if that kind of a thing could happen in our hometown.

The "us vs them" thinking comes even more into play when we look at Christians, or shall we say "western societies" vs Islam.  It was appalling to see "Kill All Muslims" trend on twitter for several hours last week.  Yesterday a certain American news outlet claimed that President Obama is going to alter the first amendment to fit Islamic law. The same outlet peddled an opinion that the City of Birmingham, in England, was now a Muslim enclave where non-Muslims are not welcome and will not go. They eventually apologized for that one, but it's clear that once again the fear machine has revved up to full volume as people seek to lay blame.  It doesn't matter that a Muslim employee at the Jewish kosher market that was attacked hid people in the meat locker and then snuck out to give police valuable info about the building and the situation inside.  That got little to no airplay.

The fear, and the "us vs them" thinking clearly goes against the Unity that Paul wishes for us to have in Christ, but it's not all bad news.  Yesterday millions of people marched in a rally in France to say that they weren't afraid of terrorism, and the President of France clearly drew a line between regular Muslims and the fundamentalists who perpetrate these actions.  It seems that despite the media hype and the raw rage of social media, most people still have their heads on straight about this.  

My prayer for the upcoming week is that it stays that way, and that it improves.  At some point, if humanity can come to conclusion that we're all in this together no matter gender, age, race, creed, social status or anything else, then we could really make some strides in this world.  Is that a tall order?  Absolutely.  Is it worth advocating for anyway?  Absolutely.  Please join me in keeping the victims of these incidents in your thoughts or prayers this coming week, and our world as well, that we can continue to try to realize that what unites us is bigger than what divides us.

Dear Christ, Prince of Peace:

We find, once again, that our world has been scarred by the worst kind of violence.

We offer up those who have died, that they may be at peace.

We offer up friends and family who are left behind, that they somehow find healing.

We even offer up those who commit these acts, that their hearts might be turned from hate.

We offer up our world to you, as we seek to find the best way to end this violence and be together.

We offer up ourselves to you, that we may recognize and void our own prejudices.

May your Spirit of peace, justice, and unity prevail as we pray the prayer you taught us:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.

Amen.

Church and State: Can the Church Be Too Nationalistic?

What happens when the church and the government, or the church and political parties, become close bed fellows?  This is something that's been on my mind a lot over the last couple of weeks for two reasons.  First, those of us in the United States have elections coming up tomorrow, and second, I've been studying the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his role in a plot to kill Hitler as well as being openly against the way the Nazi party had co-opted the Christian Church in Germany.

This is a huge issue in today's United States, whether you like it or not.  You can be the most irreligious person on the planet, but if you live in the USA, the interaction between the Government, particularly political parties, and Christian churches has an effect on you.  You may or may not think it should be that way, but for now anyway, it is.  The question before us now is: can it go too far, or perhaps has it already gone too far?

Let me give you a little background on what I'm talking about with Bonhoeffer, the Nazis, and the German Church of the World War II era.  In March 1933, the German Reichstag passed what was known as the "Enabling Act," granting then Chancellor Adolf Hitler plenary powers over the German state.  With these powers in hand, he and the Nazi party dismantled the machinery of state and all political opposition.  They also went to work on the church in Germany.  In April of that year, various protestants in Germany (likely Nazi stooges) began to advocate for a "German National Church."  This came to pass over the summer as the machinery inside the German church became steadily Nazified.  There was even a broadcast plea from Hitler to German protestants calling on them to join this movement.  Eventually one of Hitler's cronies was installed as the head of this new church as the "Reichsbischof."  In late summer of 1933, the new "Protestant Reich Church" adopted the "Aryan Paragraph" which included tossing out any clergy with a drop of Jewish blood or any clergy who was married to anyone with a drop of Jewish blood. The seminaries in Germany began cranking out pro-Nazi clerics, and with all of this in place Hitler and the Nazis had full control over the German church.  Throughout the Third Reich era it would be used as a propaganda arm for the Nazi government, an indoctrination center, and a tool to further eliminate Jews from German society.

Not all German Christians were thrilled with this.  One of these was a young pastor and theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Bonhoeffer and others broke away from the Protestant Reich Church and formed what would be known as the "Confessing Church."  These Christians contended that any government regime, including a dictatorship, had limits when it came to the church.   They renounced the Reich Church and their interpretation of Christianity.  This was of course, illegal. Bonhoeffer and others were persecuted for this, and some were even sent to concentration camps, including Bonhoeffer himself.  Bonhoeffer had also become a courier with the German resistance and was allegedly linked to Operation Valkyrie.  This was discovered and he was eventually executed by hanging at Flossenburg concentration camp in April 1945, just two weeks before the camp was liberated by Allied forces.  His body was never found.

Now I'm not saying that Christianity in the US is becoming Nazified.  The example of the German Church in the Third Reich is obviously an extreme case, but I am concerned that we are seeing elements of the politicizing of churches in our country.  This is problematic on a couple of levels. First off, the United States Constitution specifically set up the government as a separate entity from any religious organization.  Some conservative Christians disagree with this, but it's true.  The word "God" does not exist anywhere in the US Constitution.  However, the use of religious litmus tests for candidates and making laws about the establishment of religion are expressly prohibited.

As a part of this, churches and religious organizations in the USA are allowed to operate as charitable organizations that pay no taxes to federal, state, or local governments.  They are meant to be apolitical entities.  Questions have arisen in recent years as several churches have not only taken high profile positions on specific proposed laws, but they have also given church (tax free) money to interest groups fighting for or against these laws and have also began to advocate for or against these laws from the pulpit.  Now, this might be one thing if churches were out advocating for the poor, the homeless, the sick, and the dying, you know like Jesus did, but instead much of the church in America seems overly preoccupied with LGBTQ people.

This came to a head in Houston, Texas, in recent weeks.  Some churches in Houston had been gathering signatures that would require the city to put a controversial non-discrimination law on the ballot for public referendum.  The mayor of Houston, an openly gay woman, met with clergy members and came to believe that some pastors were advocating against the law from the pulpit. Five pastors, 4 men and 1 woman, had their recent sermons subpoenaed by the city as they sought to determine if this had actually taken place.  There was an immediate outcry against this by religious groups and conservatives, and the mayor decided to recall the subpoenas.  I will admit that even as a very liberal minded Christian, this made me a bit uncomfortable, and perhaps seemed a bit heavy handed.

However, this is an interesting test case for our nation in which churches have became more and more politically orientated, particularly in Conservative political circles.  I'm not trying to pick on conservatives here, but let's face it, you don't really hear people wondering if the American church is going too far in advocating liberal policies, do you?

Should the church have any role in politics?  Should the church somehow function as the "conscience of the state?" If it should, should there be limits?  Where should the line be drawn on these limits? Can our churches become too nationalistic?  These are important questions that we will continue to face in the years ahead, and as I mentioned earlier, the way these questions are answered will affect both religious and nonreligious people alike.

In order to illustrate my opinion here, I turn again to Bonhoeffer.  In 1933, in the midst of everything that was happening in Germany, he wrote an essay entitled "The Church and the Jewish Question." In this essay, he argued that the church should indeed be the conscience of the state, and he described three ways that the church can interact with the state.  I'll list them here as illustrated in Eric Metaxas' book "Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy."

1. The Church can ask the state whether it's actions are legitimate and in accordance with it's character as the state, i.e. it can throw the state back on it's responsibilities.  

2. It can aid the victims of state action.  The church has an unconditional obligation to the victims of any ordering of society, even if they do not belong to the Christian community. "Do good to all people."

3. The third possibility is not just to bandage the victims under the wheel, but to jam a spoke in the wheel itself [to stop the state from perpetuating evil]. Such actions would be direct political actions.

These things are in line with what Bonhoeffer believed about Christianity.  He believed that as Christians, we are required to speak out for those who cannot speak.  He believed that this was the very least that the Bible requires of us.

My opinion is based on these three assertions and the belief that Christ requires me to speak out for those who cannot speak, for those who do not carry the power to influence government, those who cannot escape the crushing wheel that Bonhoeffer speaks of.  Yes, the church has a role in politics. Yes, the church should function as a conscience of the state.  However, yes there should be limits. Churches should not be aiding specific agendas of political parties.  The church should not be pushing the perceived moral absolutes of the ultra right wing on people whether they are Christians or not.  This was not the concern of Christ.  The role of the church is to advocate, and advocate strongly, for the those whom Christ advocated for: the poor, the needy, the sick, and the dying.  These people are becoming more and more ground down under the wheel of the moneyed elite and their powerful political interests in our country, and for the most part, the church is not even asking if that's the right thing to do or aiding those who are damaged by our system.  I would prefer to see Christians drive a spoke into the wheel of the political machine myself, and that's how I vote.  Instead much of the Christian church seems to be caught up in advocating against certain ideals that don't fit their archaic version of morality. much of which Jesus himself had nothing to say about.  In my mind, we've become distracted from the real purpose.  Much of what passes as "Christian advocacy" these days is nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Republican party and their ultra right moral agenda. People are not asking what Jesus might say or think, they're too busy buying up books from the Duck Dynasty guys, who seem to be prophets and spokesmen for a new generation of Christians who care about nothing more than money, fame, and strict adherence to an Old Testament morality.

This is all leading to a national, American brand of Christianity, and that frightens me.  We have begun to cloak the cross of Christ and the Bible in the Stars and Stripes.  Want proof?  Click here.
This process attempts to connect our history specifically to Christianity, which is exactly the opposite of the secular republic set up by the Constitution.  This leads to Americans feeling superior to other Christians and non Christians alike and is resulting in negative and un-Christlike behaviors towards many people including poor people, gay people, and Muslims.  A couple of months back, one of the Duck Dynasty guys was on Fox News saying that ISIS members should be converted to Christianity or killed.  Many Christian circles have become hotbeds for anti-Muslim sentiment, and in this climate, I fear that we are only one terrorist incident away from having that sentiment explode into some very nasty outcomes, outcomes that might be sanctioned and advocated for by many Christians in our country.  In the end, is it all that different from earlier times?  Is wrapping the Bible in the Stars and Stripes really any different that wrapping it in the Swastika?

THE GERMAN PATRIOT'S BIBLE connects the teaching of the Bible, the history of the Reich, and the life of every German. Discover Biblical truths that formed the foundation of the Reich's values and how they apply to today's culture. Experience spiritual milestones in Reich history with beautiful, full-color insert pages. Examine the intersection between Reich history and the Christian faith through unique articles spotlighting the people and events that have made the Reich great.

Does reading that make you even a little bit uncomfortable?  Does that sound like something the Nazi propaganda machine might have put it out?  Does it sound like a Bible for the Protestant Reich Church?  All I did was take the paragraph on the "American Patriot Bible" and switch the word "American" with "Reich" or "German."  It makes me sick to my stomach.

That is what I have to say on all of this.  You may disagree or agree with me.  You may think I'm flat out crazy and reading too much into things, but the reality is that these questions and issues will continue to face our country for awhile to come.  They WILL have an affect on all of us no matter which faith we belong to, and even those of us who don't belong to any faith.  These questions are worth asking and it's a conversation worth having.  I've told you what I think, what do YOU think?

Calling For Peace In Dark Times.

Do you remember what you were doing 13 years ago?  I do.  I was working as an assistant to my Pastor at Family in Christ Christian Reformed Church.  I had just graduated from college and was working toward eventually going to seminary.  I didn't have anything on my plate that day, except for an appointment to get my hair cut around 9 in the morning.  I was in the shower getting ready to start the day, and my mom called through the door and told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.  As I drove to my hair appointment,  I listened to the news and it seemed like all hell was breaking loose.  Later that day I was glued to the television and watched the horrors unfold.

Thirteen years have now passed since that day.  It's really one of those days that you can point to in history and say, "Nothing was ever the same after that day."  Thirteen years later there are still ceremonies in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.  It is right and proper to remember those who died, and I imagine that much like December 7, 1941, September 11, 2001 will always occupy a place in the American mind, and it probably should.

Something disturbing happens every year around this time though.  Some people who are still angry, and some people who are still afraid, use this solemn occasion to vent that anger and fear at ordinary Muslim people.  This year, things seem to be worse. Current events in the Middle East have brought all the skeletons back out of the closet.  Truthfully it's hard to hear about, or see, innocent people being executed by masked terrorists and not be angry or even a little afraid.  However, it's how we respond to these events that is most important.

Social media and cable news have been flying the flag of fear nonstop since ISIS turned from a Syrian rebel group into a full fledged terrorist organization that has designs on becoming an actual terrorist state.  We're told that the only way to deal with this is violence.  We have to take the fight to the terrorists.  Some B-List celebrities masquerading as Christians have even taken to the airwaves and said that the way to deal with them is to convert them to Christianity or kill them.  This of course, isn't any different than the ISIS message of "convert to our version of Islam or die."

Islamophobia is rampant and TV, radio, and social media are doing nothing except stoking the fire. That's kind of scary, because our country has a history of issues like this. During World War II, people of Japanese descent were rounded up and put into camps. There were no charges. These folks were guilty of nothing but being Japanese in a time when our national fear was at it's height. It's important to remember that your Muslim neighbor, customer, friend, or coworker doesn't have anything more to do with Al-Qaeda or ISIS than you as a Christian had to do with the Crusades or the Inquisition.  Their blood is red just like yours.  Their DNA is almost exactly the same as yours.

What does Jesus have to say about this?  What example does he set?  Matthew 5: 43-48 is instructive.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (ESV)

Good luck finding that perspective on TV or Twitter.

Look, I don't have the answers.  Obviously we're not just going to be able to hug it out with ISIS. Remember though, with a couple of notable exceptions, their victims have largely been other Muslims.  My prayer is that in the end this is all resolved with the least amount of violence done to the least amount of people. Violence cannot be the only answer.  We've been fighting this "war on terror" for 13 years.  Bin Laden is dead, and yet the problem remains.

I invite you to join me in trying to be a part of a different solution.  Pray for peace, not war. Remember that the vast majority of Muslims are just living their lives the same as you and I are. Actively work to be a friend to others, including our Muslim brothers and sisters, instead of giving into the spirit of anger, hatred, and fear.  You don't even have to be religious to love one another and see others as friend instead of foe.  For those of us who are Christians, we are called to follow Him who was the Lover of Enemies, the Gentle Healer who didn't lift a finger against his own execution.  The hands of Christ were those of a carpenter, not a warrior or conqueror.

If you're curious about how a regular Muslim views the world, his faith, and the world around us, I urge to check out No God But God by Reza Aslan.  If you're a Christian who is looking for answers on how to be a friend to those of other faiths, check out Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road by Brian McLaren.  The blog Godspace also has a nice list of 9-11 memorial prayers from different faiths for those that might be so inclined.

Never Forget, but also remember....

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons of God." (Matt. 5:10 ESV.)

Target For Conversion or Opportunity For Friendship?

Growing up in Utah and not being LDS is, shall we say, an interesting experience.  If you're not familiar with the term "LDS," I'm referring to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or as they are sometimes known, Mormons.  Now, I know where you think I'm going here.  You're thinking I'm going to setup the "Are Mormons actually Christians" debate (yawn) or you think I'm just going to trash the LDS Church.  I promise, I'm not going to do either.

However, when you're a kid, it doesn't matter that much.  You play with the kids in the neighborhood.  You ride bikes, play army men or whatever and the thought of "this kid doesn't go to the same church as me" doesn't generally come into play, at least until the adults become aware.  I remember I must have been in my early grade school years when I asked one of my friends if he wanted to come to my house and play after school.  His response was "My mom says I can't come to your house anymore because you're not Mormon."  He was as baffled as I was.

It cuts the other way as well though.  Many Protestant and Catholic churches, ok mostly Protestant churches, in the State of Utah feel like they need to "witness to Mormons."  This generally involves teaching members of the congregation the differences between LDS theology and what we'll call "classical Christian theology."  Once you're armed with the knowledge of these differences, you're told to go hit the street and smack your Mormon friends over the head with Bible and tell them that they're going to hell unless they renounce their "cult" and then preferably convert to whatever your brand of Christianity might be.  It's just as divisive as what other folks accuse Mormons of doing.

I was, however, strangely fortunate growing up.  "Winning souls for Christ" was never really a huge part of the church I was raised in.   My pastor was a very kind-hearted man who loved to talk about ancient and biblical history.  He also loved Mormons.  Not the kind of condescending "love" that says "I love you, so accept my message and my faith or burn in hell," but actual love.  He was always willing, and thrilled, to sit down with any Mormon individual and talk about their faith and ask them what they thought about the things he believed.

Not everybody in our church was thrilled with his approach, but he became a force in the community trying to unite, instead of divide, it's residents.  He was even a featured writer in the local newspaper's religion section for awhile.  He was ahead of his time.  At one point some Muslim residents asked if they could use some of the facilities on the church property as kind of a makeshift mosque.  He welcomed them with open arms.

He and I had our differences later on, differences that were so steep that they caused me to abandon my desire to join the clergy and leave the church altogether.  These differences were personal, and had nothing to do with the way he treated people of other faiths.  However, now I look back on it and I see that I probably didn't give him enough credit for what he was trying to accomplish in the community.

So let's say you're a Christian.  Where do you sit?  When you bump into a Muslim, a Mormon, a Jewish person, a Buddhist, or even an atheist, what is your thought process?  How do you want your relationship with this individual to develop?  Do you see this person as a target for a religious conversion, or as a chance for you to make a new friend and learn about their traditions, or even their lack of traditions?  I would contend that the way most people would answer this question is the source of a lot of conflict in our world.

We've all been there.  You're sitting down to watch TV and the doorbell rings.  You get up and answer the door to find missionaries from another faith at your door and what happens?  You get instantly annoyed. You may be polite enough as you decline their advances, but generally speaking, that sense of annoyance wins out.  Now, do you not think that other people see you that way when you try to smack them on the head with your Bible?  Spoiler alert: that's exactly how they see you.

Writers and leaders in the Emergent Church movement have suggested an entirely different way to view "missions."  What if, instead of the divisive "accept my faith or rot in hell" approach, we take an approach more like Jesus might have.  Instead of Bible thumping, maybe we could say "Oh, you're a Muslim/atheist/Mormon/Buddhist or whatever?  Great!  Let's catch a bite to eat sometime, I'd love to hear more about how you look at the world."

Now perhaps once your prospective new friend overcomes the shock of not being Bible-thumped, they may actually take you up on it!  If they do, keep the commitment, and LISTEN.  They'll probably expect a point by point rebuttal, but surprise them!  Ask them questions, seek to deepen your understanding of their worldview without having to insert your own.  Nobody's asking you to agree with everything they say, but just maybe you'll make a new friend instead of a convert, and when you make a new friend, you can grow together. Can you imagine what might happen in our world, the change that could be brought about by being friends as opposed to adversaries?

In the end Christians are ultimately called to live like Christ, and that means seeking peace and understanding.  That means breaking down barriers and serving others, even those folks who are of a different faith than you might be.  Think about that next time you start to roll your eyes at someone who is of a different belief or culture.

In the end, I love the way Brian McLaren talks about this.  He says that oftentimes when you meet someone of a different faith, the desire is to walk along the path with them and to bring them to YOUR PLACE. That is somewhere you've been, somewhere you feel comfortable, your turf so to speak.  Well guess what?  Your companion on the path probably isn't going to find that as appealing as you do.  Instead, being genuine companions on a journey should take you both to a place where neither of you have been, and maybe where neither of you feel comfortable at first, but it's in that place where you both learn so much about each other and the world as a whole.  By undertaking these journeys and seeking to make friends instead of win converts, we just might have a chance to forge a unity never before seen that could be great for all of us!

Book Review: "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?" by Brian McLaren

I wish more people would read Brian McLaren's books. I genuinely think he's onto something.  This is the third one of his that I've read, and I think it's the best so far.  In all of his books he advocates for a new spirit in Christianity, a spirit that is more focused on being like Jesus than on Old Testament moral codes and whatever conservative political cause happens to be raging at the moment.

The heart of this book is daring to ask, and answer, a simple question:  What if Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and the Prophet Mohammed were to meet?  What would happen if they all bumped into each other at the local diner?  If you take these four great men at their word, it's hard to believe that they would get into an argument over who was right or whose followers were on the right path.  What you might actually envision is a very hospitable meeting where ideas are exchanged and love is given.

So why are the followers of these great men so different?  McLaren seeks to answer that throughout the book, at least as far as Christians go.  Along the way he ruffles a lot of feathers.  If you're a more traditional Christian, this book will challenge you to think about your deeply held religious beliefs, and that's a good thing.  People like me, who think that the Christianity has gone off the rails, welcome this process and the results can be life changing for the better.

The first set of assumptions that McLaren challenges have to do with doctrine, and I think it's here that he probably angers the most people.  He tackles Creation, Original Sin, Election, the Trinity, Christology, and the Holy Spirit.  All through these reformulations he is asking the question: How can we view these doctrines in a way that makes us benevolent people without watering down the Christian faith?

If making you think about doctrine wasn't enough, next McLaren tackles liturgy, which has long been an interest of mine as I've taken part in various Protestant and Catholic liturgies.  First McLaren looks at how to re-imagine the church year to help foster his Strong-Benevolent Christian identity.  This includes sections on Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time.  The he goes on to talk about baptism, music, Bible reading, and concludes with a beautifully written chapter on Communion. 

Finally McLaren talks about how to take his Strong-Benevolent Christian Identity out into the world, getting into the nuts and bolts of dealing with people from other faiths or people with no religion.  He doesn't advocate seeing people as "conversion targets."  He advocates being nice and Christlike to people form other religions or people with no religion.  He argues that we should respectfully learn about their beliefs and traditions and see the good in everyone.  After all, Christians believe that humans were made in the image of God, so we can see God in Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists...it doesn't matter.  He draws on his own experiences with people from other traditions to hope that if Christians can set a Christlike example and lead the way, then perhaps others will join us in making the world a better place.

This book will make you think about things, whether you're a Christian or not.  I encourage folks to read it.  Obviously it will challenge you if you call yourself a Christian, but it can also challenge non Christians or lapsed Christians to see the faith in a new light and know that not every Christian wishes to be hostile to everyone else.

I'm not done with this book.  Well, I finished it, but it's impossible to not have other thoughts and feelings about the things he says here.  Look for other entries in the future on various aspects of this Strong-Benevolent Christian identity.

Conquest and Reconciliation: Where Our History Leads Us

"Reconcile By This"

Much of my thinking on the subject of religion and life in general over the last year or so has been influenced by Christian author and former Pastor Brian McLaren.  In fact, when I wrote my previous entry "Adventures in Missing the Point" I had no idea that McLaren had already written a book (with Tony Campolo) with that exact title!  Currently I'm reading his book "Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road: Christian Identity in a Multi-Faith World."  The most recent chapter talks about dealing with our actual history, not just as Americans but as Christians, warts and all.  As someone with a minor in history, this strikes really close to home for me and I think, no...I KNOW that the way we view, interpret, and sanitize our history has consequences not only for us, but for the world as well.

The version of American history taught to children is extremely sanitized and heavily propagandized.  Maybe it's less so than it was when I was in school 20 some years ago, but I doubt it.  In the book McLaren talks about the story of Christopher Columbus and his absolute genocide of the native people of Hispanola.  I didn't get that in school.  I got that from reading people like Howard Zinn once I got into college.

The history of Christianity is equally sanitized and propagandized.  When I was in Sunday school growing up, we learned about the "conversion" of the Roman Emperor Constantine in 312, C.E.  If you actually learned church history growing up, you probably learned a similar version.  Basically, on the eve of a big battle, Constantine sees a vision of a cross in the sky, the upright beam of the cross being a spear, and under the cross the words "Conquer By This."  So Constantine orders the cross painted on all his shields, banners, and the like and goes on to win the battle.  He goes back to Rome, makes Christianity the new religion of the empire, everybody converts, and then everything is all hunky dory, at least until the Reformation.

I wrote a paper on this during my freshman year in college for a world history class.  Nobody had ever challenged that narrative in my mind.  The professor did though, and rightly so.  After thrashing my paper in red ink he pointed me to resources about Constantine's violent enforcement of his new found faith, persecution of those who chose to follow other religions within the empire, and forced conversions of people to Christianity.  I was stunned, to put it mildly.

So I hope that Brian McLaren doesn't mind me riffing off his idea here a bit.  He mentions Constantine and these issues that my professor pointed out all those years ago.  So why do they do this?  Why is our history so white-washed and sanitized?  There is a pretty easy answer.  These narratives of history, both secular and religious, enforce our sense of identity, our sense of US.  To put it in more of a social psychological context, the narratives enforce the "In group" of  "In group-Out group" behavior.   This worldview, where we see everybody in an "us vs them" light, allows us to validate any behavior as long as it's done for "us" and dehumanize and shun any person or behavior associated with "them."  In short, it allows us to see things in a simple, black and white construct.  No critical thinking is required, and no questions need to be asked.  This is the way most of us like it, and this is the way many of the people in power, both secularly and religiously, want it.  This is also the crux of McLaren's point.

Where McLaren gets me, and why I sat down to write this morning, is where he actually asks a question that might change the entire narrative.  A question, that if embraced, could lead to an entirely new and I believe more authentic version of Christianity and could perhaps alter the course of modern history.

What if, instead of the cross and the words "conquer by this," Constantine's vision would have been an image of bread and wine with the words "reconcile by this?"

Lets not take up the Christian aspects of bread and wine just yet.  The sharing of bread wine, the sharing of food, the sharing of one's resources is a symbol of peace and hospitality in many cultures across the world.  When you open your table to a friend or a guest, it's a gesture of peace.  It also shares your identity with the person and invites them to become part of an "us" with you.  You don't need to be a Christian or even religious to see the grace, mercy, and love involved with opening up your table to someone else.

For Christians, the point is even deeper.  Christ invited all of "us" to his table and eat and drink, not only of bread and wine, but of his body and blood.  Whether you believe in that literally or figuratively is beside the point in this discussion.  Christ is opening his table to you, sharing his identity with you, offering to make you part of an "us" with him.  He is offering to reconcile us to him.  The taking of Holy Communion, or the Eucharist if you prefer, is the deepest, most sacred ritual act in Christianity.

So if Jesus opens his table, why shouldn't we?   Let's also not forget that Jesus's table is open to anyone.  In many Christian sects, you have to accept that particular sect before you can take Holy Communion, but I'm not sure that's how Jesus wanted it.  This is also why I love the "open table" approach of the United Methodist Church.  They realize that Jesus hung out with whores, sinners, and tax collectors.  Their Communion table is open to anyone, Christian or not, active or not, to come share in the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ.

This, I believe is true message of Jesus.  "Come to me, all of you.  Let's break bread together and have a glass of wine.  Let's talk about each other, get to know each other, be KIND to each other, serve each other, and realize that we are all one in the same on this planet.  Each of us has a unique life and purpose, and each of us should be respected, and most importantly, loved."

Taking this approach to our lives and our Communion with Christ and others sheds light on all of us and even our histories.  We may not want to acknowledge the black spots in out social and religious histories, or even our personal histories.  But bringing all to the table and acknowledging this areas draws us into reconciliation, which can lead us to common ground, peace, and love.

Try it. Try seeing yourself, your country, and your faith as others see you.  Don't be afraid to shed the light of reconciliation on those ugly spots.  Once those are dealt with then we truly are able to honestly open our table to all and build a better, peaceful, and loving community where everyone is respected and belongs.