Spirit of Peace ALL CHURCH RETREAT
Suncadia Resort, March 23 – 25, 2012: It’s the best of conversation, growth, play, relaxation, food, and relationship-building! Please contact Suzi at suzi@europa.com for more details.
All Church Potluck - February 11, 2012
Join us for an all-church potluck Saturday evening, February 11th at 5:30 pm. For more info, please contact Julie at theaverills@me.com.
Pastor's Report - Winter 2012
With the turning of the calendar to 2012, we find ourselves in the year of a presidential election.
And when it is the year of a presidential election, talk of religion fills the air.
Reporters during the Iowa caucus scrambled to talk about which candidate was receiving the most votes from Christians who call themselves “evangelical”. It is the season when the adjective “Christian” often comes to define only one part of Christ’s body. Those who have found a way to capture the media’s attention and so are effective in being quoted as representing “the” Christian viewpoint. “Christians” who do not hear the gospel and the Spirit of Christ calling them toward the political beliefs of these other “Christians” haven’t yet found a way to make our voices heard. We often decide it’s safer not to call ourselves “Christian”. Because we fear colleagues and relatives and friends will assume we believe things we do not.
Sadly, different parts of Christ’s body often look toward each other with deep suspicion, resentment, dislike … even hatred. We read the same Bible. We pray some of the same prayers and sing some of the same hymns. We worship the same God through the same Jesus Christ. Yet few of us have close friendships with those who have starkly different views that we do about what it means to follow Jesus.
Most likely, these divisions within Christ’s body will only become deeper as the campaign intensifies, and candidates vie for the “Christian” vote. As if there were such a thing.
How might people bring their faith to decisions around whom to support for president, or for other elective offices?
I write as a pastor who for three years worked as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives, and for eight months worked in a congressional campaign office in Washington, D.C. I care about the political process, and its power to create a more just, civil society. While also acknowledging the limits of what we can expect from elected officials.
First, I believe one can never draw a straight line from a passage of the Bible to a specific public policy position. I believe that is an irresponsible and even lazy way to try to live our faith. Both “conservative” and “progressive” Christians (terms I wish we could find helpful replacements for) are guilty of picking a couple favorite verses from the Bible and using them to say, “See! That proves God supports/opposes …” and then fill in the issue. The reason I say this is because of that complicated concept of context. It’s so easy to take a sentence or two and proclaim with utter self-confidence and self-righteousness that it’s absolutely clear what these words mean, and therefore how God or Jesus would vote on the matter. When looking at the material that comes before and after those words indicates that it’s anything but clear.
An example. I totally agree with what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12: Do not repay anyone evil for evil….If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12.17-21). I could use these to prove how Jesus would feel about all kinds of things. Right?...
Wrong. Looking at the context surfaces an inconvenient truth. In the very next verse, Paul writes, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13.1-2). Oops. I thought Jesus supported non-violent resistance…but Paul seems to be saying it’s wrong….
Instead of using our favorite passages, we need to do that harder work of looking at what the writers meant by what they said, and what words may have meant, and how words have been translated, and….instead of trying to be so sure what God would do if God had all the facts.
This doesn’t mean we who are inspired, moved, challenged, and chastened by the Bible can’t draw wisdom and guidance about public policy from its stories and teachings. We just have to be extremely careful to try to use all the wisdom that is available to determine what these ancient stories are talking about.
For those of us who want to live our lives as followers of Jesus, I believe the way we can do that with the deepest integrity is to learn as much as we can about what his life was like. What he lived for. And died for. Whom he most often challenged. And most often comforted. How his stories called people to change…and what kind of society would be created if we changed in those ways. What was he passionate about? What did he hate? What do this tell us?
I believe Christians who wish to be faithful in how we apply our spirituality to voting and public policy issues need to look at more than the Bible for guidance and inspiration. No words have been added to the Bible for 1800 years. Many issues that are highly controversial now were unknown and unknowable when scripture was written. How do we apply the words of scripture to such topics? I believe we must draw from the wisdom of John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist Church. Wesley knew God speaks to us in many ways. So he believed if we want to make faithful decisions, we must draw not just on Scripture, but also on Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Listening to the wisdom and insights of all of these and holding them in creative tension can lead us to hear God much more clearly than paying attention to just one or two of them. God is still speaking. And we must seek God’s voice in even the most surprising places. If we only listen to Scripture, we choose to turn those words into our god, and proclaim God stopped speaking when the books of the Bible were decided upon.
Finally, I believe Christians who want our faith to shape our political views are to be humble. We admit there is yet more light and truth to become known. So we open ourselves to what others have heard from the Living Spirit of God. We affirm all people on this earth are beloved daughters and sons of God. And God doesn’t make junk. So we have much to learn from one another. Especially those we disagree with. I write these words confessing I have no close friends who hold radically different political and religious views than me. I have no conversation partners who fundamentally challenge how I hear God’s Word, and how I bring that Word to the voting booth. Which means I do not have access to a word from God I need to hear.
To be humble doesn’t mean to be silent. To be humble doesn’t mean to let some Christians try to say that all Christians hold one particular view. To be humble means we state what we believe to be true without apology or timidity. And we connect that belief to our religious faith. Otherwise, we twist religious teachings to fit our pre-conceived beliefs and ideology. And we always seek to show respect to those with whom we disagree. Because we are part of the same Body of Christ. And, as the motto of the United Church of Christ asserts, our prayer is that “we may all be one”.
And when it is the year of a presidential election, talk of religion fills the air.
Reporters during the Iowa caucus scrambled to talk about which candidate was receiving the most votes from Christians who call themselves “evangelical”. It is the season when the adjective “Christian” often comes to define only one part of Christ’s body. Those who have found a way to capture the media’s attention and so are effective in being quoted as representing “the” Christian viewpoint. “Christians” who do not hear the gospel and the Spirit of Christ calling them toward the political beliefs of these other “Christians” haven’t yet found a way to make our voices heard. We often decide it’s safer not to call ourselves “Christian”. Because we fear colleagues and relatives and friends will assume we believe things we do not.
Sadly, different parts of Christ’s body often look toward each other with deep suspicion, resentment, dislike … even hatred. We read the same Bible. We pray some of the same prayers and sing some of the same hymns. We worship the same God through the same Jesus Christ. Yet few of us have close friendships with those who have starkly different views that we do about what it means to follow Jesus.
Most likely, these divisions within Christ’s body will only become deeper as the campaign intensifies, and candidates vie for the “Christian” vote. As if there were such a thing.
How might people bring their faith to decisions around whom to support for president, or for other elective offices?
I write as a pastor who for three years worked as a legislative aide in the Ohio House of Representatives, and for eight months worked in a congressional campaign office in Washington, D.C. I care about the political process, and its power to create a more just, civil society. While also acknowledging the limits of what we can expect from elected officials.
First, I believe one can never draw a straight line from a passage of the Bible to a specific public policy position. I believe that is an irresponsible and even lazy way to try to live our faith. Both “conservative” and “progressive” Christians (terms I wish we could find helpful replacements for) are guilty of picking a couple favorite verses from the Bible and using them to say, “See! That proves God supports/opposes …” and then fill in the issue. The reason I say this is because of that complicated concept of context. It’s so easy to take a sentence or two and proclaim with utter self-confidence and self-righteousness that it’s absolutely clear what these words mean, and therefore how God or Jesus would vote on the matter. When looking at the material that comes before and after those words indicates that it’s anything but clear.
An example. I totally agree with what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12: Do not repay anyone evil for evil….If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12.17-21). I could use these to prove how Jesus would feel about all kinds of things. Right?...
Wrong. Looking at the context surfaces an inconvenient truth. In the very next verse, Paul writes, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment (Romans 13.1-2). Oops. I thought Jesus supported non-violent resistance…but Paul seems to be saying it’s wrong….
Instead of using our favorite passages, we need to do that harder work of looking at what the writers meant by what they said, and what words may have meant, and how words have been translated, and….instead of trying to be so sure what God would do if God had all the facts.
This doesn’t mean we who are inspired, moved, challenged, and chastened by the Bible can’t draw wisdom and guidance about public policy from its stories and teachings. We just have to be extremely careful to try to use all the wisdom that is available to determine what these ancient stories are talking about.
For those of us who want to live our lives as followers of Jesus, I believe the way we can do that with the deepest integrity is to learn as much as we can about what his life was like. What he lived for. And died for. Whom he most often challenged. And most often comforted. How his stories called people to change…and what kind of society would be created if we changed in those ways. What was he passionate about? What did he hate? What do this tell us?
I believe Christians who wish to be faithful in how we apply our spirituality to voting and public policy issues need to look at more than the Bible for guidance and inspiration. No words have been added to the Bible for 1800 years. Many issues that are highly controversial now were unknown and unknowable when scripture was written. How do we apply the words of scripture to such topics? I believe we must draw from the wisdom of John Wesley, one of the founders of the Methodist Church. Wesley knew God speaks to us in many ways. So he believed if we want to make faithful decisions, we must draw not just on Scripture, but also on Tradition, Reason, and Experience. Listening to the wisdom and insights of all of these and holding them in creative tension can lead us to hear God much more clearly than paying attention to just one or two of them. God is still speaking. And we must seek God’s voice in even the most surprising places. If we only listen to Scripture, we choose to turn those words into our god, and proclaim God stopped speaking when the books of the Bible were decided upon.
Finally, I believe Christians who want our faith to shape our political views are to be humble. We admit there is yet more light and truth to become known. So we open ourselves to what others have heard from the Living Spirit of God. We affirm all people on this earth are beloved daughters and sons of God. And God doesn’t make junk. So we have much to learn from one another. Especially those we disagree with. I write these words confessing I have no close friends who hold radically different political and religious views than me. I have no conversation partners who fundamentally challenge how I hear God’s Word, and how I bring that Word to the voting booth. Which means I do not have access to a word from God I need to hear.
To be humble doesn’t mean to be silent. To be humble doesn’t mean to let some Christians try to say that all Christians hold one particular view. To be humble means we state what we believe to be true without apology or timidity. And we connect that belief to our religious faith. Otherwise, we twist religious teachings to fit our pre-conceived beliefs and ideology. And we always seek to show respect to those with whom we disagree. Because we are part of the same Body of Christ. And, as the motto of the United Church of Christ asserts, our prayer is that “we may all be one”.
Tent City, January 20th, 2012
We will be serving dinner to the residents of Tent City Issaquah on January 20th. This will be Tent City’s last night in Issaquah and we hope to make it a special evening. Please consider ways that you can be of service. Contact Michele Williams at mickiwms@gmail.com if you are able to help.
Monday Evening Theology Conversations
Discussions will resume on January 2nd at Bellewood Retirement Community, 3710 Providence Point Drive SE from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. We will discuss the first chapter of “An Altar in the World” by Barbara Brown Taylor on January 2, 2012. Sign up if you would like to purchase a copy ($14).We are always blessed by new conversation partners. For more details, please click here.
Planter 1 is planted!
The first planter box of our pea patch is planted! We have potatoes, radishes, peas, lettuce and onions. Thanks to all the work crew, what a great day for it!
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