Moving Beyond The Religious Wars

This audio interview is wonderful! It is one of the best interviews I've heard expressing emerging Christianity. Bishop John Shelby Spong presents a way to move beyond the war between secular left and fundamentalist right. He gives us a postmodern option for Christianity to emerge beyond this modern battle.

The first half of the interview is a biographical sketch of his experience, the second half contains one of the most clear and concise explanations of emergent faith that I've ever heard. Don't miss out on this gem. Many people discount Bishop Spong based on a few surface level prejudices. Evangelicals are scared of him because he doesn't use their canned terminology, but they should listen. There is plenty of common ground and opportunity to move beyond the modern construct that forced our division. I think something wonderful is emerging in Christianity and his voice is an important part of the process.

I'm an Obama Girl!

Say it! Say it! Hillary, you know you want to say it.

In a flash of historic irony, the Clinton legacy may be solidified, not by a 3rd Clinton term, but by their faithful enthusiastic support of the first black American President. This is a potential story book ending. In some ways, it could be the best way to play out their story. So Hillary, just say it while you can still make a graceful exit and a powerful statement about American politics. Say it while it still means something. Shed a tear (you've almost done it before). Embrace your role as a person who helped the cause without claiming the spotlight. This is the moment you've been waiting for since you first heard Dr. King speak as a teenager. Not the moment your husband would be President, but the moment you would help reconcile race relations in America by supporting the most literal manifestation of Dr. King's dream. This is your calling. This is your brightest moment. Just say it out loud and let yourself be carried away! Hold his hand, walk with him out on the stage and say it. Give him your support, loan him your husband's political savvy. This is what your career has been all about. Join the team. We'll accept you. Just say it!

Making the Bible an Idol

I really appreciate and share John Piper's love of the Bible and I think that underneath his narrow polarizing language there is a valid criticism of "trendy faith". His ability to inspire emotion is amazing and takes me back to my early childhood experiences of faith. However, I wonder if Piper is suggesting that we become blind to the Christ that lives in the world today in many people, places and things. Do you think he is so caught up in the particular stories that opened his own eyes to the love of Christ, that he now discounts the many ways other people find Christ?



It seems to me that sharing culturally relevant stories that communicate the central meanings about God’s love and community is not only ok, it is an act of being true to Jesus by imitating his own love of symbolic parables. Why must we favor our own stories and myths over the universal meanings hidden within them?

"The best way to waste your pulpit is to preach your own thoughts, instead of preaching God's thoughts" - John Piper

Isn't this another way for a preacher to say...

"Don't think, just check your brains at the church door. Of course, I can think because my thoughts are really God's thoughts."

If Piper really believed what he said, then why does he preach? Wouldn't he just read scripture from the pulpit? What is he really suggesting here?

The Bible is a lens to understand how particular people experienced God. We can learn so much for its texts, but when we make it an idol, it feels like we lose sight of the living Christ that is at work in the world. Christ is present. I’m in complete support of Piper’s devotion to Christ, but we shouldn't have to limit Christ to the works and experiences of the past.

Operation Disgust

Rush Limbaugh is continuing his campaign to get more Republican voters to cross over and vote for Clinton in the primaries. Over 100,000 people switched to the democratic party in Ohio. I suspect that number will be much higher today in Indiana and North Carolina. We may never know the exact numbers, but I don't think you can ignore the impact of this tactic. I suspect the real motivation is the money Limbaugh would make if Clinton were elected. This is a way to hedge his bets. The Clinton years made Limbaugh's career a success. Another term would solidify his listeners.

Here is the quote from his site used to sell bumper stickers.

"Make your gas guzzler a rolling support vehicle for Operation Chaos! It's all part of Rush's effort to keep the Democrat Party in disarray. The sticker features the red, white and blue Operation Chaos logo. We used the national colors because Operation Chaos is patriotic!" - (taken from Rush Limbaugh's website)

The good news is that this type of partisanship is exactly what drives many voters to Obama.

Tax Holiday? Obama Wins This Debate

The issue of a summer Gas Tax holiday is proof positive that Obama is the only candidate who places America's best interests above his own political goals. Do we really need to feed the machine of consumerism with tax cuts on Gasoline? It is nothing more than another subsidy for the oil industry. I'm not sure Mickey Mouse really needs a hand out either. Borrowing more money from China so that families will have an extra $5 in their pockets when they get to his theme park is not a good investment. Is Obama the only candidate who thinks the government should keep its hands out of our business?



Gasoline is still cheaper than beer. Maybe we should cut the alchohol tax?

Where Wright Goes Wrong

Does Rev. Jeremiah Wright have a split personality? His criticism of our government was perfectly acceptable and within his rights as an American citizen. I didn't even mind the clips played over and over on YouTube because I've read enough to know the true context. His interview with Bill Moyers last week was truly inspirational. However, the words of Rev. Wright the last few days have been puzzling. I was taken back by his comments to the NAACP about how African Americans instinctively interpret music differently and are predisposed to being right-brained (creative) instead of left-brained (logical). That smacked of the same kind of ignorance that exists in the people he criticizes. It does nothing but feed prejudice and discrimination. Maybe he was just out of his element. Maybe he meant to do that. Maybe he was trying to create the kind of uneasy feeling found in the movie "Crash" where racism is thrust out into the open spaces of dialogue for all to see in its ugly details. If he was, then it was at best poor timing and at worst devious.

I've supported Rev. Wright on this site and I still marvel at the few sermons I've listened to, but I'm not about to suggest that I blindly support his latest words. I'm saddened by his those words. Barack Obama is right to distance himself, but he is also right not to disown him as a friend. I have friends who are bigots. I have friends and family who are ignorant and I firmly believe their religious beliefs and political views are harmful, yet they are still my friends and family. I love them. I would not expect Obama to disown Rev. Wright because he said something wrong, and it doesn't then make his previous statements wrong also. Those statements are still valid, but his latest are certainly not.

Emerging Atheism

There has been a surge of books by atheists in the last few years. Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens are the holy trinity of neo-atheists. Fortunately, there are less demeaning voices among the atheist community. In her book "The Age of American Unreason", Susan Jacoby has given us a fresh voice that is less angry and more conversant than her atheist cohorts are.

For Jacoby, the big problem we face is not religion, but instead the problem is anti-rationalism. Fundamentalist strains of religion can certainly become a catalyst for anti-rationalism, but she is clear to state that religion doesn't always have to be that way. The real culprits are poor education, the rise of junk-science, the degradation of our media, and a growing distrust of intellectualism. Jacoby also points out that we have lost our ability to have conversations. We've learned to mimic what our media sources present to us as examples. Unfortunately, that means we spend more time talking past one another rather than listening. The recent political debates are perfect examples.

As Christians, we could learn a great deal from the voices of reason. Many of their criticisms are valid. If we have any hope of emerging from our polarized past, we need to invite this perspective to the table. Rationalism does not exclude faith, but it does force the conversation to a level deeper than flimsy rhetoric and ancient dogma.

Is there a possibility for faith that goes beyond a simple rejection of reason? Is there a case for an emerging post-atheism?

Jeremiah Wright an American Hero

Rev. Jeremiah Wright was interviewed by Bill Moyers last night. You can watch the entire interview online. Over the last few months, my feelings for Rev. Wright have gone from disdain to concern to an awkward appreciation. I appreciated his rhetoric but in the back of my mind I wished he had been more politically correct. I saw him as a person with good motives but poor taste. I was wrong. After this interview, I can only say that I wish he were my own pastor. I'd gladly give my time and effort to the cause of supporting his message. He has more than my respect as a prophetic voice of descent, he has my admiration as a true American hero. I'm saddened by the fact that our society has forced Barack Obama to speak out against this great man. Rev. Wright's comments about America's mistakes were not "over the top". He was not too harsh, misguided, or of poor taste. His comments were right on the mark and he has a life of service to back up this message.

The most powerful tools of imperialism are amnesia and numbness. The citizens of empire forget their historic mistakes and gradually lose their ability to see and feel pain. Our only hope is that some brave prophet may jar our memory and awaken our consciousness.

Sexpelled

Check out this great parody of the new creationism propaganda move "Expelled".

Tagged

I don't usually play these, but here goes...

I was tagged by Bob Cornwall:

• The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.


• Each player answers the questions about himself or herself.


• At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. Ten years ago I was doing . . .

• I was working for a small software company and moonlighting in a Christian rock and roll band (FYI.. I hate Christian rock now!). I had just sold my house, bought a van, and informed my boss that I would be leaving my career behind to “follow God’s calling”. People who know me now are laughing because I retired my guitar, I now run that software company, and I would never use the phrase “God’s calling” for anything.

2. Five Things on Today's To Do List

• Prepare a project proposal for a local non-profit


• Requirements definition meeting w/ customer


• Weekly staff meeting


• Finalize rules for employee “Green Initiative” ($75 subsidy for each employee to buy energy efficient light bulbs)


• Bi-weekly client billing

3. Things I'd do if I were a billionare

• Live somewhere else for a couple of years (maybe san Francisco).


• Buy a beach resort and reserve the whole place for my friends and family year round


• Pay somebody to build me an electric car built.

4. Three Bad Habits

• I don’t clean


• Late night snacking


• I’m too critical

5. Five Places I've lived

• Athens, Ga


• Braselton, GA


• Augusta, GA


• TBA


• TBA

6. Five Jobs I've had in life:

• Farm Hand
• T-shirt Printer


• Yard maintenance


• Computer Programmer


• It manager

7. Tagged Ones

• Daniel


• John


• Chris


• Veronica


• Andrew