Perhaps the title of this post is a bit harsh considering this is my first entry in seven months... but maybe a bit of harshness is appropriate.
I have grown accustomed to having a minority view among Christians when it comes to various social issues. And, for the most part, I'm ok with that. I don't usually make sweeping public statements about them, either way. (Of course, I love talking about it one-on-one or in small groups!) But the backlash that has resulted from the passing of Prop 8 (and similar laws in other states) has provoked some thoughts in my mind that cry out for public expression.
I think that many in the Christian community have completely missed the bus when it comes to gay marriage. Why do I say that?
In the past few years, Christians have begun to enjoy a certain amount of political clout in this country. While I don't think that a huge ultra-conservative Christian lobby is a good thing, I absolutely agree that thoughtful Christians should get more involved in the political process.
What I don't agree with is Christians using this newfound political power to outlaw gay marriage.
Two reasons:
1) This action puts a HUGE barrier in the way of any future discourse between Christians and the rest of the world. Since I believe that this discourse is vital - in fact, required (see the Great Commission) - we should be trying to remove barriers, not raise new ones. We have plenty of barriers already in place...
2) The 'sanctity of marriage' argument is completely ludicrous. Christians have done as much to destroy the sanctity of marriage as any other group out there. Christians have the same divorce rate as non-Christians. Public sex scandals, domestic abuse, misogynistic marital attitudes, the glass ceiling preventing women from being paid the same as men, etc... non-Christians have nothing on us when it comes to ruining marriage.
Am I saying that Christians should change their minds and embrace gay marriage? I'm not saying that at all. I am saying that we ought to consider embracing gay people. There is no way that someone being told that they can't marry the one they love won't perceive that as an attack. It's hard for me to reconcile the thought of attacking someone with the thought of loving them.
So, what then... should we allow our laws to reflect a changing view of marriage? I'd have to say yes. I think anyone who is a child of a mixed-race marriage would probably agree with me.
So, if we shouldn't use our political clout to enforce our views of marriage on the world, what should we use it for?
In my opinion, I would like to see us use our clout to show our love to the world. I'd like to see us push the government forward in the fight against poverty. I'd like to see us work to actually improve (not just quit hurting) the environment. Christians can (and should) be a driving force in education, health care, the economy, etc.
In short, I'd like to see Christians work as hard to show the world our love as we've worked in the past to show everyone else how wrong we think they are.
And, on the other end, I'd love to see Christians exemplifying Godly love and marriage in such a way that the world would actually crave what we have.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
The Way, the *blank*, and the Life
Here is a list of things that I've been taught over the years. What's important about this list is that it contains only things that I was taught at church, either from the pulpit, from a Sunday school teacher, in a tract, etc.
1) We shouldn't pay much attention to the words (or life or impact) of Dr. King because he was a Communist and an adulterer.
2) The Beatles were Satanic.
3) Advertisers are trying to subliminally transform me into a sex-and-drug-crazed criminal.
4) We can't gain any wisdom from poetry because a lot of poets were homosexual.
5) The scientists who are warning about environmental crises also believe in evolution, so we can't trust them.
6) Giving money to the poor is often a case of bad stewardship.
7) There are no Christians outside the Churches of Christ.
8) AIDS was engineered by the federal government to punish the homosexual community.
Don't get me wrong, I have learned a lot of truth (including the Truth) from folks at church as well... I guess I just wish that the true message of the good news of Jesus didn't always have to compete with so much other stuff from our churches...
1) We shouldn't pay much attention to the words (or life or impact) of Dr. King because he was a Communist and an adulterer.
2) The Beatles were Satanic.
3) Advertisers are trying to subliminally transform me into a sex-and-drug-crazed criminal.
4) We can't gain any wisdom from poetry because a lot of poets were homosexual.
5) The scientists who are warning about environmental crises also believe in evolution, so we can't trust them.
6) Giving money to the poor is often a case of bad stewardship.
7) There are no Christians outside the Churches of Christ.
8) AIDS was engineered by the federal government to punish the homosexual community.
Don't get me wrong, I have learned a lot of truth (including the Truth) from folks at church as well... I guess I just wish that the true message of the good news of Jesus didn't always have to compete with so much other stuff from our churches...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Public discourse may not be dead after all!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I am quite happy to be living in this time. As I look around my new home, for example, I see a lot of modern conveniences that I definitely enjoy. I have a bottled water dispenser, so I don't have to worry much about the cleanliness of my drinking water. I also have a very nice ice machine, so I don't have to worry about drinking water that is anything less than glacial. I have multiple computers that are connected to the ether via Verizon's new FIOS product... the fact that I can achieve 15MB per second both up and down from this "series of tubes" (to quote a certain frightened old man from Alaska) is ridiculous and amazing. I am certainly spoiled...
However, as I also mentioned in my previous post, there are some things that were alive in the past that are at least endangered, if not extinct. I'd like to add to that list the idea of public discourse... and in specific, I'm talking about public speeches.
Much of what is considered literature today originated as a public speech. While we can (and probably should more often than we do) read these speeches, I know that some of the power of the words is lost when we can't hear the message as it was originally delivered. Here are some speeches that I've read many times... but I would give almost anything for the chance to have been there to hear them live:
Abe Lincoln's "Fourscore and seven years ago" address...
Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" rant...
Jesus' sermon on the mount (assuming I could speak Aramaic!)...
There are also some that were recorded... I've not only read them, but I've watched ancient videos or heard ancient recordings of the speeches. Still, the quality of these recordings haven't withstood the ravages of time - like Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, or JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you" address. The words are still stirring, but even now I am too far removed from that moment to feel the full impact of the speeches. My generation (and the generations that have followed mine) just isn't equipped to absorb all of what is available in an old speech, full of dated turns of phrase and colorful vocabulary and complex syntax.
My generation saw the beginning of the video game era, the start of MTV, and the coming-of-age of sound byte discourse. If you couldn't say it on a t-shirt, we didn't know it. "Where were you when the mountain blew?" (Mt. St. Helen's eruption). "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Reagan's shining moment) "I want my MTV" (Gen X's rallying cry of escapism)...
It's gotten even worse - while my generation had an attention span of roughly 24 minutes (1 sit-com minus a few words from their sponsors), that number has decreased exponentially with successive generations. I know kids who can't sit through a single 8-second rodeo ride without looking for their personal playstation game.
In the current state of our communications ability, I am rarely able to find anything that resembles the public discourse of old. While I'm sure it wasn't as rosy in reality as I seem to believe it was, I do believe things have gotten worse. Even among my own friends, it's difficult to talk about deeper subjective topics without having someone feel attacked. Religion, race, politics, economics - I can't even talk about these things in my own immediate family without someone going on the defensive immediately... maybe it's me...
Still, in the midst of all of this, I am still able to be amazed. Last week, Senator Obama delivered a speech in Philadelphia that was, at least on the surface, meant as a response to all of the hubbub surrounding the remarks made by his former pastor. If you haven't had a chance to see/hear the speech, or would like to read a transcript of it, check it out here on Larry James' blog from today (Tuesday, March 25)... http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/
In my mind, this speech should be required reading/watching/listening for everyone who is (or wants to be) an American citizen. Yes, I realize that's a big sweeping statement - but I think this speech is that important.
Like all great speeches, I think it hits different people in different ways. Here's where it hits me... I am frequently angry that racism is still a problem in this country. In my mind, it should be relegated to the past, along with beliefs in a flat earth, blood-letting, and Pluto's planetary status. But this speech reminds me that our work is just not done. There are people who are still alive and well who were forced to ride in the back of the bus, or drink from a separate water fountain, or enter a restaurant from a different door (if they could get in at all). It just wasn't that long ago - those wounds are still relatively fresh.
In the same way that I am dumbfounded by those who argue that the Holocaust never happened (despite the fact that there are still living witnesses and participants, not to mention all the documentation), I am amazed that we expect African-Americans who lived through the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. to just forgive, forget, and move on.
And the senator didn't stop there - with the anger of the African-American community. He eloquently expressed the feelings of much of the white community as well. Feelings of fear, resentment, jealousy, etc. that are just as valid as any other group's feelings... I forget that sometimes... Ok, I forget that a lot.
I hear words from older relatives and I cringe. I read articles and opinions by my peers, and I flinch. How can you think that? How can you say that? I forget that things aren't perfect for much of the white community either.
This speech won't solve the nation's problems. It won't heal all the wounds, provide for our futures, or erase all injustices... but it's a step - a powerful step forward. Of course, its momentum is immediately lost if people don't hear/read it, think about it, process it, and do something about it... but at least this first step was taken.
However, as I also mentioned in my previous post, there are some things that were alive in the past that are at least endangered, if not extinct. I'd like to add to that list the idea of public discourse... and in specific, I'm talking about public speeches.
Much of what is considered literature today originated as a public speech. While we can (and probably should more often than we do) read these speeches, I know that some of the power of the words is lost when we can't hear the message as it was originally delivered. Here are some speeches that I've read many times... but I would give almost anything for the chance to have been there to hear them live:
Abe Lincoln's "Fourscore and seven years ago" address...
Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death" rant...
Jesus' sermon on the mount (assuming I could speak Aramaic!)...
There are also some that were recorded... I've not only read them, but I've watched ancient videos or heard ancient recordings of the speeches. Still, the quality of these recordings haven't withstood the ravages of time - like Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, or JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you" address. The words are still stirring, but even now I am too far removed from that moment to feel the full impact of the speeches. My generation (and the generations that have followed mine) just isn't equipped to absorb all of what is available in an old speech, full of dated turns of phrase and colorful vocabulary and complex syntax.
My generation saw the beginning of the video game era, the start of MTV, and the coming-of-age of sound byte discourse. If you couldn't say it on a t-shirt, we didn't know it. "Where were you when the mountain blew?" (Mt. St. Helen's eruption). "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (Reagan's shining moment) "I want my MTV" (Gen X's rallying cry of escapism)...
It's gotten even worse - while my generation had an attention span of roughly 24 minutes (1 sit-com minus a few words from their sponsors), that number has decreased exponentially with successive generations. I know kids who can't sit through a single 8-second rodeo ride without looking for their personal playstation game.
In the current state of our communications ability, I am rarely able to find anything that resembles the public discourse of old. While I'm sure it wasn't as rosy in reality as I seem to believe it was, I do believe things have gotten worse. Even among my own friends, it's difficult to talk about deeper subjective topics without having someone feel attacked. Religion, race, politics, economics - I can't even talk about these things in my own immediate family without someone going on the defensive immediately... maybe it's me...
Still, in the midst of all of this, I am still able to be amazed. Last week, Senator Obama delivered a speech in Philadelphia that was, at least on the surface, meant as a response to all of the hubbub surrounding the remarks made by his former pastor. If you haven't had a chance to see/hear the speech, or would like to read a transcript of it, check it out here on Larry James' blog from today (Tuesday, March 25)... http://larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com/
In my mind, this speech should be required reading/watching/listening for everyone who is (or wants to be) an American citizen. Yes, I realize that's a big sweeping statement - but I think this speech is that important.
Like all great speeches, I think it hits different people in different ways. Here's where it hits me... I am frequently angry that racism is still a problem in this country. In my mind, it should be relegated to the past, along with beliefs in a flat earth, blood-letting, and Pluto's planetary status. But this speech reminds me that our work is just not done. There are people who are still alive and well who were forced to ride in the back of the bus, or drink from a separate water fountain, or enter a restaurant from a different door (if they could get in at all). It just wasn't that long ago - those wounds are still relatively fresh.
In the same way that I am dumbfounded by those who argue that the Holocaust never happened (despite the fact that there are still living witnesses and participants, not to mention all the documentation), I am amazed that we expect African-Americans who lived through the 40s, 50s, 60s, etc. to just forgive, forget, and move on.
And the senator didn't stop there - with the anger of the African-American community. He eloquently expressed the feelings of much of the white community as well. Feelings of fear, resentment, jealousy, etc. that are just as valid as any other group's feelings... I forget that sometimes... Ok, I forget that a lot.
I hear words from older relatives and I cringe. I read articles and opinions by my peers, and I flinch. How can you think that? How can you say that? I forget that things aren't perfect for much of the white community either.
This speech won't solve the nation's problems. It won't heal all the wounds, provide for our futures, or erase all injustices... but it's a step - a powerful step forward. Of course, its momentum is immediately lost if people don't hear/read it, think about it, process it, and do something about it... but at least this first step was taken.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Adult-ness
As I mentioned in my last post, my wife and I just bought our first house. I’m 40 years old – and I just bought my first house. This is actually kinda par for the course. I didn’t get married until I was 34… I still don’t have any kids. I have absolutely no idea what I want to be when I grow up. In fact, there are quite a few folks out there who have simply accepted the likelihood that I just won’t ever grow up.
They may be right. I’m not really even sure what it means to grow up. Yes, tying the mortgage albatross around my neck is probably one of the items on the checklist…as was getting married, finally moving out of my parents’ house, and realizing that music actually sounds better when it’s not causing physical pain.
The evolution of western society – what some call progress – has been, on the whole, a very good thing. The progression of civil rights, the benefits of improved medicine and nutrition, the world-shrinking improvements of communications technologies, air conditioning… these things are some of the examples I cite when asked why I’m glad I live in the present, as opposed to, say, the 1770s.
However, there are some small areas in which progress has let us down. Here’s a silly example: the fact that smoking is essentially on its way out in
Another area in which progress has hurt us is in the area of rites of passage. As a middle-class white city kid who came of age in the late 80s, early 90s, I never had a defining moment that made me a ‘man.’ I had no Bar-Mitzvah, I didn’t fill my bottom lip with gigantic metal plates, I didn’t get my ‘bones’ by ‘whacking’ a ‘made man’, I didn’t bungee jump from a rainforest canopy into the jaws of a bazillion piranhas, nothing!
We just don’t have anything like that in my culture. There’s no debutante presentation, no quinciniera, no symbolic passing of a mystical eagle feather… I have no tangible, empirical evidence of adulthood, no single event I can point to and say “Ah, now I’m a man.”
There are some contenders – some times that are put forth by parents or military recruiters or John Hughes movies… but they don’t really fit the bill. The loss of virginity, senior prom, selective service notification, the first legal alcoholic beverage, the first paid vacation day – they’re all important, but none of them say ‘grown up.’
Then, suddenly, I’m 40 and I am the proud owner of a shiny new mortgage. So at some point it seems that I passed that threshold into adulthood. When did it happen? I missed it. I hope there weren’t any forms I had to fill out, or passwords I had to say. I guess there wasn’t a parade or wake or meeting I was supposed to attend. There was no badge or license or certificate.
So maybe – just maybe – I don’t have to worry about it! Maybe it’s one of those things that just happens, and doesn’t require any assistance from me – like growing hair or rising gas prices.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s the case. If any of you have some ideas you’d like to share with the class, I’d love to hear them!
From the land of Ur...
So my wife and I just moved. We finally bought our first house – in Grapevine, where we’ve wanted to live since we left downtown
First, moving in general – and this move in particular – makes me think of Abraham. Ol’ Abe had a very colorful life… lots of stuff happened to and around him. Occasionally we give him hard time. We make fun of some of his decisions… like the time he told folks that his wife was really his sister. I’m not sure that current technology is sophisticated enough to measure the hurt Janet would put on me if I tried something like that.
And since it worked so well that time, Abe did it again! Brilliant!!
Still, I have to give him a break. God asked some hard things of Abe. “Hey, you know that son you prayed for your whole life? That miracle kid I gave you when you were so old you dreamed about prunes? Well, I want you to go kill him for
The one I can fathom is when God told Abe to move. And that’s the story that popped into my head while my wife and I have started to settle into our new home. Moving is NOT fun. I’m not even talking about the heavy lifting… I’m wise enough to pay someone to do that for me now. I’m talking about putting everything you own in boxes; deciding which treasures to keep and which to toss; figuring out where everything goes; decorating; repairing; notifying everyone of your new address; getting an updated drivers license; the list goes on and on…
I’ve moved a lot over the years, but this one was different. This time, rather than renting, we were going to buy our house. Due to the insanity of my wife’s work schedule, it fell to me to take care of the majority of the details… in much the same way, I imagine Abraham took care of most of the details. I stayed in touch with the realtors, found the right lender, got the paperwork going, applied for the loan, scheduled meetings and signings and payments and home shields and homeowners insurance…
Still, something happened to Abe that most definitely did NOT happen to me. See, when God told Abe to move, he didn’t tell him where they were going. Abraham had to go tell his wife, “Hey Sarah, sweetie, honey, baby. That earth-colored smock really sets off your eyes! So… um… had a chat with God this morning, and guess what?? We’re moving! We’ll get all packed up, and get ready to head out… what? Where? You know, funny story!...”
You think it would hurt if I called Janet my sister?? Imagine what would happen if I told her we were moving, but that I didn’t know where! I just can’t wrap my brain around that. There’s a reason that the writer of Hebrews listed this first when he lauded Abe’s faith in chapter 11.
And where does that faith come from? It comes from a relationship with God. It’s not a series of rituals or a liturgy of texts. It’s not the right hermeneutic or a clever understanding of prophecy fulfilled. That kind of faith comes with a closeness, a living every day with God, developing a personal connection with the God who then is worthy of our trust, faith, and obedience.
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