Anyone trying to live a spiritual life knows that we are not converted once but many times. Salvation is an ongoing process, at least for Christians. The “mind of Christ” penetrates the soul step by step, here a little, there a little, as we submit to God’s Spirit and overcome selfishness incrementally. This means we must be “born again” over and over again, like moving from 1st grade through college—never stopping.
Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). If God’s Spirit is like the wind, then the Spirit can be active anywhere in human life. We must look for the Spirit at work not only in the church and in our personal lives, but throughout all dimensions of our social life, including politics.
How can someone fail to see God’s Spirit at work when oppressed people rise up and stand for justice? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The universe is on the side of justice . . . This belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the long tradition of our Christian faith.” In other words, Good Friday may reign for a day and the righteous may be crucified for a time, but Easter is the fundamental belief of Christianity. The kingdom of God is the goal. This kingdom relates to our social life.
Thus, democracy must also be “reborn” in every generation. Organized sin must be countered by organized righteousness. Corporate evil must be stymied by corporate justice. Partisan lies must be exposed by truth. Liberty is a God-given human right that is maintained only through struggle against the demonic forces of oppression.
If there is anything positive in the chaos in Madison, Wisconsin, right now, it is the rebirth of a dormant democratic spirit. People are rising up. Many of them are being reborn. Young people are beginning to see democracy in action. Complacent Americans are realizing that our liberties are at risk and it is time to be “born again.”
What about complacent churches? In 1917 Walter Rauschenbusch wrote, “The saving power of the church does not rest on its institutional character, on its continuity, its ordination, its ministry, or its doctrine. It rests on the presence of the kingdom of God within her.” I would argue that the eyes of faith will recognize the kingdom of God at work right now in Madison, for God is on the side of justice and righteousness.
But in order to see this, we must be “born again.”
March 10, 2011
March 6, 2011
Governor Walker, Jesus, and “Outside Agitators”
I can’t help but chuckle whenever Governor Scott Walker complains (whines?) that many of the protestors in Madison are outside agitators. Many of them are, but the vast majority of protestors are Badgers standing up for justice in our state.
Why all the complaining about people from out of state joining the movement for workers’ rights and social justice? First of all, Gov. Walker has received enough “outside” money to help his cause. “Americans for Prosperity” out of Washington, D. C., has also been visiting our state, renting a bus, and running radio ads promoting their right-wing agenda. It’s a bit hypocritical for Gov. Walker to whine about outside agitators when he himself uses them for this own political purposes.
Gov. Walker comes from a strong Baptist background. His dad is a Baptist minister. Maybe this will help him understand this issue from a biblical perspective. For example, many of the Old Testament prophets were outside agitators. Elijah the Prophet went all the way up to Samaria to confront Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab said, “Are you the one who’s causing so much trouble in Israel?” Elijah, answered, “No, you are.”
Gov. Walker the problem isn’t the outside agitators; the problem is YOU.
Everywhere Jesus went he was an outside agitator: Capernaum, Tiberias, Tyre and Sidon, Samaria, and especially Jerusalem. He was kicked out of Samaria and even his home town of Nazareth. He was crucified in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned at least three times for being an outside agitator. He was stoned almost to death numerous times and was kicked out of countless synagogues. The whole history of Christ and the Apostles and the early church is a history of outside agitators.
But what about America? I will use only one example, Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963, King wrote his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” He went to Birmingham from Atlanta to protest (nonviolently) racial injustice. He was jailed as an outside agitator. From his jail cell he wrote one of the finest social justice documents ever written…on a few scraps of paper brought to him by a friend:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was being true to Jesus and to the spirit of democracy. Gov. Walker isn’t. His complaints about ‘outside agitators’ are hypocritical, unbiblical, and undemocratic.
Why all the complaining about people from out of state joining the movement for workers’ rights and social justice? First of all, Gov. Walker has received enough “outside” money to help his cause. “Americans for Prosperity” out of Washington, D. C., has also been visiting our state, renting a bus, and running radio ads promoting their right-wing agenda. It’s a bit hypocritical for Gov. Walker to whine about outside agitators when he himself uses them for this own political purposes.
Gov. Walker comes from a strong Baptist background. His dad is a Baptist minister. Maybe this will help him understand this issue from a biblical perspective. For example, many of the Old Testament prophets were outside agitators. Elijah the Prophet went all the way up to Samaria to confront Ahab and Jezebel. King Ahab said, “Are you the one who’s causing so much trouble in Israel?” Elijah, answered, “No, you are.”
Gov. Walker the problem isn’t the outside agitators; the problem is YOU.
Everywhere Jesus went he was an outside agitator: Capernaum, Tiberias, Tyre and Sidon, Samaria, and especially Jerusalem. He was kicked out of Samaria and even his home town of Nazareth. He was crucified in Jerusalem. The Apostle Paul was imprisoned at least three times for being an outside agitator. He was stoned almost to death numerous times and was kicked out of countless synagogues. The whole history of Christ and the Apostles and the early church is a history of outside agitators.
But what about America? I will use only one example, Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963, King wrote his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” He went to Birmingham from Atlanta to protest (nonviolently) racial injustice. He was jailed as an outside agitator. From his jail cell he wrote one of the finest social justice documents ever written…on a few scraps of paper brought to him by a friend:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was being true to Jesus and to the spirit of democracy. Gov. Walker isn’t. His complaints about ‘outside agitators’ are hypocritical, unbiblical, and undemocratic.
February 27, 2011
How we got labor unions and workers’ rights…lest we forget
Here are a few excerpts from an essay I wrote last year on the social gospel in America:
According to historian Howard Zinn, 1,118,000 children under the age of sixteen were employed in this country in 1880. On May 1, 1886, nationwide strikes occurred: 350,000 workers in 11,562 establishments walked off the job. In New York City, 25,000 of them marched in a torchlight parade to protest capitalistic injustice. That year, 1886, was called “the year of the great uprising of labor.” There were over 1,400 strikes involving half a million workers.
The Homestead Strike of 1892 bore witness to the increasing divide between labor and owners. Workers walked off the job in Pennsylvania at the Carnegie-Phipps steel mill. There was violence and bloodshed. At this time a factory worker earned $446 annually, a miner earned $393 per year, a school teacher $273 per year. But Andrew Carnegie’s income was $4,000,000 a year.
December 1907 was a bad month for miners. A West Virginia coalmine explosion killed 361 miners; an explosion in Pennsylvania killed 239 miners; in Alabama a coalmine explosion killed 91 miners. But there were positive signs on the social front: twenty-three states passed laws reducing work hours for men employed in mines, smelters, underground work, and train operators.
Walter Rauschenbusch was a pastor in the slums of New York City. In 1892 he went to John D. Rockefeller and told him, “It has been a hard year for many of our people. Many of them have been laid off for weeks, and even months.” That took guts.
Urban pastors like Rauschenbusch supported the causes of the Progressive Era. These causes included taxation of income and inheritances, safety standards for factories, shorter work hours, accident and unemployment insurance, public health initiatives, old age pensions, regulation of tenements, and conservation of natural resources.
New York City changed Walter Rauschenbusch. He never forgot the funerals he performed for children who had died from disease, abuse, neglect, or starvation. He never forgot the plight of the workers and the unemployed. To him, “the Gay 90s” were not gay at all. Machines, money, and the metropolis were killing people…
And so we have come a long way from those days, largely because people spoke up, churches got involved, workers united, and government policies became more humane—but not without effort and sacrifice. The work goes on now under different circumstances, yet it’s based on the same principles of the dignity of human beings and social justice. The Gospel of Wealth is a false gospel.
According to historian Howard Zinn, 1,118,000 children under the age of sixteen were employed in this country in 1880. On May 1, 1886, nationwide strikes occurred: 350,000 workers in 11,562 establishments walked off the job. In New York City, 25,000 of them marched in a torchlight parade to protest capitalistic injustice. That year, 1886, was called “the year of the great uprising of labor.” There were over 1,400 strikes involving half a million workers.
The Homestead Strike of 1892 bore witness to the increasing divide between labor and owners. Workers walked off the job in Pennsylvania at the Carnegie-Phipps steel mill. There was violence and bloodshed. At this time a factory worker earned $446 annually, a miner earned $393 per year, a school teacher $273 per year. But Andrew Carnegie’s income was $4,000,000 a year.
December 1907 was a bad month for miners. A West Virginia coalmine explosion killed 361 miners; an explosion in Pennsylvania killed 239 miners; in Alabama a coalmine explosion killed 91 miners. But there were positive signs on the social front: twenty-three states passed laws reducing work hours for men employed in mines, smelters, underground work, and train operators.
Walter Rauschenbusch was a pastor in the slums of New York City. In 1892 he went to John D. Rockefeller and told him, “It has been a hard year for many of our people. Many of them have been laid off for weeks, and even months.” That took guts.
Urban pastors like Rauschenbusch supported the causes of the Progressive Era. These causes included taxation of income and inheritances, safety standards for factories, shorter work hours, accident and unemployment insurance, public health initiatives, old age pensions, regulation of tenements, and conservation of natural resources.
New York City changed Walter Rauschenbusch. He never forgot the funerals he performed for children who had died from disease, abuse, neglect, or starvation. He never forgot the plight of the workers and the unemployed. To him, “the Gay 90s” were not gay at all. Machines, money, and the metropolis were killing people…
And so we have come a long way from those days, largely because people spoke up, churches got involved, workers united, and government policies became more humane—but not without effort and sacrifice. The work goes on now under different circumstances, yet it’s based on the same principles of the dignity of human beings and social justice. The Gospel of Wealth is a false gospel.
February 26, 2011
Why American Christians Reject Fundamentalism
American Christians, on the whole, are wary of fundamentalism. The dominant form of Christianity in America has never been fundamentalism. Christian fundamentalists are among us, but most Americans view religious fundamentalism as a form of tyranny. We don’t like tyranny or tyrants. We prefer freedom, particularly religious freedom. Fundamentalism strikes us as oppressive and unfree.
There are theological reasons for this. First, the sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty over all is not a call to tyranny but humility. If God is sovereign, then I am not! If God is sovereign, then I should be humble about my views and recognize that I could be wrong. God is, in essence, beyond human knowledge. Statements about God and God’s will are always human interpretations; they must be evaluated on a large mental field by many people. This saves us from fanatics and religious tyranny. God is sovereign. We are not. Every human government, institution, and church stands under the judgment of God.
Second, God is free. If we believe in the sovereignty of God, then we also affirm that God can do whatever God wishes to do. We cannot control God any more than we can control salvation. Because God is free, salvation can appear anywhere, anytime, and through anyone. God is not restricted as to the means of salvation or the persons God chooses to be his prophets. Revelation, in other words, can come from all directions, from any source, at anytime, from any place. This is the freedom of God. We cannot restrict God’s revelation, God’s grace, or God’s salvation. We cannot pronounce judgment on who is everlastingly saved or everlastingly lost.
Third, the cross of Christ. The greatest argument against religious fundamentalism is the cross of Christ. Jesus was crushed by the combined powers of altar and throne, church and state. We cannot call the religious leaders of his day “fundamentalists,” but they certainly were not committed to religious freedom! The death of Christ is a warning against religion in politics. How does this connect with our time? Since the late 1970s conservative and fundamentalist Christians in America have been expressing the need to “take back America” for God. They continue to have a political agenda for our nation, to “Christianize” America according to their definition. This is a dangerous blend of religion and politics. This blurs the line between church and state. The cross of Christ condemns the union of church and state; it also condemns the efforts of religious fundamentalists to impose a theocratic ideal on our country.
Finally, the sources of Christian theology keep us from fundamentalist extremes. Over the centuries a method of doing theology has been developed. This method revolves around four sources of truth: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience
The church has used all four sources to discern God’s revelation and God’s will. Fundamentalists reduce the Christian revelation to a book—the Bible—and interpret this book through the lens of inerrancy (an error-free book straight from God). The church as a whole has never done this. Fundamentalism is a freak when compared to centuries of interpretation and discernment by Christians and theologians. Fundamentalism turns Christianity into a “religion of the book,” like Islam and Orthodox Judaism. But Christianity has never been a religion of the book.
Rather, Christian truth has always been a blend of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Ideally, we aim at the Bible without biblicism, tradition without traditionalism, reason without rationalism, and experience without subjectivism. This is balance. We need balance, and there is nothing about fundamentalism that is balanced.
To sum up, we have four checks against religious fundamentalism:
•The sovereignty of God
•The freedom of God
•The cross of Christ
•Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience
These save us from fundamentalism and the tyranny of religious fanatics.
There are theological reasons for this. First, the sovereignty of God. God’s sovereignty over all is not a call to tyranny but humility. If God is sovereign, then I am not! If God is sovereign, then I should be humble about my views and recognize that I could be wrong. God is, in essence, beyond human knowledge. Statements about God and God’s will are always human interpretations; they must be evaluated on a large mental field by many people. This saves us from fanatics and religious tyranny. God is sovereign. We are not. Every human government, institution, and church stands under the judgment of God.
Second, God is free. If we believe in the sovereignty of God, then we also affirm that God can do whatever God wishes to do. We cannot control God any more than we can control salvation. Because God is free, salvation can appear anywhere, anytime, and through anyone. God is not restricted as to the means of salvation or the persons God chooses to be his prophets. Revelation, in other words, can come from all directions, from any source, at anytime, from any place. This is the freedom of God. We cannot restrict God’s revelation, God’s grace, or God’s salvation. We cannot pronounce judgment on who is everlastingly saved or everlastingly lost.
Third, the cross of Christ. The greatest argument against religious fundamentalism is the cross of Christ. Jesus was crushed by the combined powers of altar and throne, church and state. We cannot call the religious leaders of his day “fundamentalists,” but they certainly were not committed to religious freedom! The death of Christ is a warning against religion in politics. How does this connect with our time? Since the late 1970s conservative and fundamentalist Christians in America have been expressing the need to “take back America” for God. They continue to have a political agenda for our nation, to “Christianize” America according to their definition. This is a dangerous blend of religion and politics. This blurs the line between church and state. The cross of Christ condemns the union of church and state; it also condemns the efforts of religious fundamentalists to impose a theocratic ideal on our country.
Finally, the sources of Christian theology keep us from fundamentalist extremes. Over the centuries a method of doing theology has been developed. This method revolves around four sources of truth: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience
The church has used all four sources to discern God’s revelation and God’s will. Fundamentalists reduce the Christian revelation to a book—the Bible—and interpret this book through the lens of inerrancy (an error-free book straight from God). The church as a whole has never done this. Fundamentalism is a freak when compared to centuries of interpretation and discernment by Christians and theologians. Fundamentalism turns Christianity into a “religion of the book,” like Islam and Orthodox Judaism. But Christianity has never been a religion of the book.
Rather, Christian truth has always been a blend of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience. Ideally, we aim at the Bible without biblicism, tradition without traditionalism, reason without rationalism, and experience without subjectivism. This is balance. We need balance, and there is nothing about fundamentalism that is balanced.
To sum up, we have four checks against religious fundamentalism:
•The sovereignty of God
•The freedom of God
•The cross of Christ
•Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience
These save us from fundamentalism and the tyranny of religious fanatics.
February 18, 2011
The Things That Make For Peace
As I write this, Wisconsin is making front page news. Tens of thousands of protestors pack the capitol, Democratic legislators have left the state, and Republican Governor Scott Walker appears to be in meltdown mode for trying to ram his agenda through the state senate.
In Badger Country we don’t like being pushed around by cocky, upstart governors who act like bullies. It’s a showdown now as Republicans attempt to bust up the unions for state employees under the guise of “cutting the budget because we’re broke.” We’re not broke, and this is not about the budget as much as it is about Republican anti-labor policies.
Republican are not on the side of middle class workers and families; they are owned and operated by large corporate interests. The people have finally marched on Madison and they aren’t leaving. There is now gridlock and stalemate.
Gov. Walker, in my opinion, blew it. He is blind to “the things that make for peace.” He is ignorant about “the day of his visitation.” This is a key moment, a key learning moment. But it appears that Scott Walker is learning nothing. Specifically, he is not learning how to govern. He is not learning that folks in Wisconsin, at least, are committed to consensus-building, negotiation and the democratic process. We don’t like autocrats.
But Walker is a Tea Party person. This is what the Tea Party looks like close up. It isn’t pretty. We can only hope that the people will be heard and respected, and that this right-wing Tea Party spasm will soon pass. Then we can get some rational leadership that understands the art of negotiation, working together, and compromise.
After all, isn’t that what politics is about?
There are “things that make for peace,” as Jesus said. And then there are certain politicians who don’t understand this. Gov. Scott Walker is one of those politicians. He will have to learn his lessons the hard way—and look foolish in the process.
Go Bucky!!
In Badger Country we don’t like being pushed around by cocky, upstart governors who act like bullies. It’s a showdown now as Republicans attempt to bust up the unions for state employees under the guise of “cutting the budget because we’re broke.” We’re not broke, and this is not about the budget as much as it is about Republican anti-labor policies.
Republican are not on the side of middle class workers and families; they are owned and operated by large corporate interests. The people have finally marched on Madison and they aren’t leaving. There is now gridlock and stalemate.
Gov. Walker, in my opinion, blew it. He is blind to “the things that make for peace.” He is ignorant about “the day of his visitation.” This is a key moment, a key learning moment. But it appears that Scott Walker is learning nothing. Specifically, he is not learning how to govern. He is not learning that folks in Wisconsin, at least, are committed to consensus-building, negotiation and the democratic process. We don’t like autocrats.
But Walker is a Tea Party person. This is what the Tea Party looks like close up. It isn’t pretty. We can only hope that the people will be heard and respected, and that this right-wing Tea Party spasm will soon pass. Then we can get some rational leadership that understands the art of negotiation, working together, and compromise.
After all, isn’t that what politics is about?
There are “things that make for peace,” as Jesus said. And then there are certain politicians who don’t understand this. Gov. Scott Walker is one of those politicians. He will have to learn his lessons the hard way—and look foolish in the process.
Go Bucky!!
October 19, 2010
When is religion good? When is it bad?
Religion can find you cracked or leave you cracked. I teach world religions, and perhaps I’m a bit cracked for doing that, too! Religion has everything in it from soup to nuts. But there is also a lot of good in religion, as well as the bad and the crazy.
How do we tell the difference? When is religion good, and when is it bad?
The criterion seems simple: religion is good when it’s a blessing to human beings; it is bad when it is a curse to human beings. Religion is good when it serves humanity; it is a curse when it oppresses humanity.
Religion is good when it sets people free to be fully human, as God wishes them to be. It is a curse when it enslaves people, bullies people, and destroys their humanity.
Every religion has a bright side and a dark side. Every religion has good in it, and yet every religion can become demonic. Whatever is good can be twisted into the demonic. Religion becomes demonic when it ceases to serve people and, instead, hurts people.
The question today is not whether or not religion will survive. It will survive. The question is: what kind of religion will survive? Will the world be blessed by a religion of service, love, and compassion? Or will the world go down in flames with a religion of anger, retaliation, and violence?
Speaking as a Christian, I can’t think of God without thinking of Jesus. My God is the God of Jesus Christ. This is the God who is not just “up there” in heaven but who came down to earth. This is the God who loves all humanity and who suffers with us, just as Jesus suffered on the cross.
Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Here is an important principle. Religion was made for humanity, not humanity for religion. This means that all religious laws and commandments and institutions are to be judged by how much they serve humanity.
People are more important than religious laws and commandments. People are more important than doctrines. People are more important than creeds and religious institutions. God wants to save people, not religion.
No religious norms or institutions are absolute. No religion is absolute. Everything is to be judged by the criteria of love and service to humanity. That’s when religion is good for the human race.
How do we tell the difference? When is religion good, and when is it bad?
The criterion seems simple: religion is good when it’s a blessing to human beings; it is bad when it is a curse to human beings. Religion is good when it serves humanity; it is a curse when it oppresses humanity.
Religion is good when it sets people free to be fully human, as God wishes them to be. It is a curse when it enslaves people, bullies people, and destroys their humanity.
Every religion has a bright side and a dark side. Every religion has good in it, and yet every religion can become demonic. Whatever is good can be twisted into the demonic. Religion becomes demonic when it ceases to serve people and, instead, hurts people.
The question today is not whether or not religion will survive. It will survive. The question is: what kind of religion will survive? Will the world be blessed by a religion of service, love, and compassion? Or will the world go down in flames with a religion of anger, retaliation, and violence?
Speaking as a Christian, I can’t think of God without thinking of Jesus. My God is the God of Jesus Christ. This is the God who is not just “up there” in heaven but who came down to earth. This is the God who loves all humanity and who suffers with us, just as Jesus suffered on the cross.
Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for humanity, not humanity for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Here is an important principle. Religion was made for humanity, not humanity for religion. This means that all religious laws and commandments and institutions are to be judged by how much they serve humanity.
People are more important than religious laws and commandments. People are more important than doctrines. People are more important than creeds and religious institutions. God wants to save people, not religion.
No religious norms or institutions are absolute. No religion is absolute. Everything is to be judged by the criteria of love and service to humanity. That’s when religion is good for the human race.
August 22, 2010
Obama can’t win regarding faith and religion
A Pew research poll this week indicated that only 1 in 3 Americans are certain that President Obama is a Christian. This means 2 out of 3 Americans are either in a coma, clueless, or simply prejudiced against the man.
Many Americans believe Obama is a closet Muslim, just like many believe he is not an American citizen. People believe what they want to believe, no matter how ridiculous it is. Yes, there are still some people out there who also believe the earth is flat and the Pope is Antichrist.
But a President can’t win in regard to religion. If he comes on too strong with religion he is seen as pushy or a fanatic. If he takes a low-key approach to religion he is viewed as lukewarm or suspect. It’s a tough position to be in. In my opinion, the more careful a President is in his religious statements, the better. The last thing I want is a President who pretends to be an evangelist!
My question is this: what would President Obama have to do to convince all the unconvinced that he is a Christian? My answer? Nothing. It wouldn’t work anyway. Some people just don’t like Obama, they won’t believe him, and they simply keep creating things to use against him. So be it.
But just for the record, Obama is indeed an American citizen, he is a Christian (if that really matters), and he was legally elected as our President. Sorry to disappoint so many Americans, but facts are facts.
Many Americans believe Obama is a closet Muslim, just like many believe he is not an American citizen. People believe what they want to believe, no matter how ridiculous it is. Yes, there are still some people out there who also believe the earth is flat and the Pope is Antichrist.
But a President can’t win in regard to religion. If he comes on too strong with religion he is seen as pushy or a fanatic. If he takes a low-key approach to religion he is viewed as lukewarm or suspect. It’s a tough position to be in. In my opinion, the more careful a President is in his religious statements, the better. The last thing I want is a President who pretends to be an evangelist!
My question is this: what would President Obama have to do to convince all the unconvinced that he is a Christian? My answer? Nothing. It wouldn’t work anyway. Some people just don’t like Obama, they won’t believe him, and they simply keep creating things to use against him. So be it.
But just for the record, Obama is indeed an American citizen, he is a Christian (if that really matters), and he was legally elected as our President. Sorry to disappoint so many Americans, but facts are facts.
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