Tag: Bigotry

Naming Samaritans (and why this is relevant in our current cultural/religious tensions)

“Why do we need to point out people’s ethnicity or sexuality?” “Why can’t we just say that we welcome all people?”  I’ve had this conversation recently and found it helpful to remember how Jesus called attention to particular identities – Samaritans, Gentiles, Women, Eunuchs. In all of these cases, the purpose of naming these identities, is not to push a “Samaritan Agenda,” (or fill in the blank with the other identities); the purpose is to stand with those who have been harmed and to go the extra mile in honoring them as beloved children of God – and to put these two purposes together in a way that illuminates the calling that comes from God through Christ.  

To use the term “Samaritan” as an illustration, we see multiple examples of this counter-cultural calling. In the famous parable of the Good Samaritan, we are given an example of how we are all to be good neighbors (Luke 10:25-36).  It was shocking to the religious ones who heard the parable. In the story of ten persons being “made clean” with only one returning to give thanks, we are directly told that this one was a Samaritan, and he became an example of not only being made clean but also being made well or healed. (Luke 17:11-19). 

To the shock of even his disciples, Jesus takes time to talk to a Samaritan woman at a well.  She becomes the first preacher, we might say, and many believed because of her testimony (John 4:1-42). And she is just one example of Jesus honoring women and giving them a place and a voice at the proverbial table (See Luke 8:2; 10:38; 23:55; Mark 7:24-30; John 4:39; Acts 1:14, 2:14-17, 8:12, 9:36, 16:14-15, 21:9; Rom 16:1; 16:3; Phil 4:2; Gal 3:28; and more).   

At one point Jesus is called a “Samaritan” and it is not meant to be a compliment.  This is followed by the accusation that he has a “demon within him.” This accusation occurs in a conversation with religious leaders who firmly believe that God is on their side. Jesus makes it clear that this practice of using religion to divide and judge only serves the “father of lies.”  (John 8:39-58).  

This big lie can be illuminated by what John Wesley called the “wildness of enthusiasm.”  In this condition, we confuse our own opinions and biases with the will of God.  In another place Wesley uses the term “bigotry” to describe this big lie.  He defines bigotry as an extreme attachment to one’s own party, opinion, or religion to the point of causing bitterness and division, often in the name of God.  Jesus names particular identities in the hopes of challenging this evil among us. 

As we address the religious tensions among us today, naming particular identities is challenging. Accusations of bias and bigotry flow from multiple sides.  It is true that Jesus treated all with honor and respect, wanting all to know God’s love and to be able to live into this love.  In this light, the scriptures make it clear that we are all one in Christ and that God shows no partiality (Gal 3:28; Acts 10:34).  And, from the other side, the scriptures also name particular identities, not to promote what we might call “secular agendas” but to call attention to the sin that divides and demeans, often in the name of God.  In Christ, both of these approaches can be true, for biblical truth is that which reveals love and opens the way for true togetherness. In the spirit of grace and truth, we can hold both of these perspectives together. (Alethia – John 17:17; I Cor 13:8; Eph 4:1-16; Col 3:5-17).  

My hope is that this analysis will help us all make good decisions about how to be more welcoming. How can we go the extra mile in showing Christ-like love and cultivating opportunities for all to grow in this love, without putting up barriers that get in the way?  May we find the courage to do this well. 

Thoughts on Transformation and Truth (sparked by a handwritten sign)

As we arrived at worship, there was a man standing on the corner of our property with a two-sided handwritten sign.  One side said, “Trans Women are Men.”  The other side said, “Repent or Perish.”  Needless to say, this was upsetting to many.

When I hear this targeted message – in the name of the gospel – my heart goes out to some people that I know.  For one example, I think of one dear soul in the church who was born as a male.  Few knew this.  To most she was known as a sweet woman in the church who sang in the choir and served in the food pantry and shared the love of Christ.  I suspect that there are persons with similar stories in many congregations, and they have had to live in fear while wanting to be faithful.

I am grieved when people come to church and have to encounter bigotry in the name of righteousness. (And to be clear, I define bigotry, with the words of John Wesley, as an extreme attachment to one’s own party, opinion, or religion to the point of causing bitterness and division, often while thinking that they are in service to God).  It is hurtful when beloved souls are targeted and used to promote other agendas. I think of the Greek word “pornia,” which can be defined as the objectification of persons so that they can be used for our pleasure and purposes.  As I read the scriptures, those who engage in such practices are not giving witness to the kingdom of God.

When it comes to repentance and the dangers of siding with that which leads to death (the other side of the sign), we all need to start by looking in the mirror.  In this act of repentance, God will open the way to God’s forgiving, life-giving, eternal love.  This love does have the power to transform us, into the image of Christ – but let’s focus on the right things (II Cor 3:17-18). The hope is that we would be transformed from an eagerness to divide and judge to an eagerness to hold one another in love, with patience, kindness, and a humility that does not insist on its own way. The hope is for a transformation from “arrogance of spirit” to a desire for “unity of spirit.”  The hope is to give witness to the God and Father “of all, who is above all, and at work through all, and in all” – a big God. (See I Cor 13:1-8; Eph 4:1-6; Col 3:12-17; Rom 12:1-18, just to start).

May this experience give us the courage to be bold in our witness – as a congregation and as individuals.  Many beloved souls in our community need those willing to stand with them in a time when the lies of division, judgement, and objectification are being masqueraded in such obscene ways as truth (Aletheia -that which opens the way to what is life-giving and glorifies God).  

Just recently, for another instance, we have had people take fragments of curriculum that we have used and weaponize it by telling lies about what is being taught.  And before we judge too harshly, know that we all need to pay attention. It is so easy to be tempted by the “father of lies,” to borrow a term from Jesus. Jesus uses this term in a conversation with religious leaders claim that God is on their side and who call Jesus is a “Samaritan” (it is not a compliment) with a demon in him (John 8:39-59). Promoting faith in that way is the opposite of truth.

May we be among those who live into the words of the Creed, that we proclaimed last Sunday,  as those “kept in perpetual remembrance of the truth of Christ,” a truth found in a God “whose mercy is over all his works,” a truth that “manifest itself in the service of love” (as defined above), a truth “set forth in the example of our blessed Lord, to the end that the kingdom of God may come upon the earth. Amen (may it be so).”

Published on my Facebook page as well

Lifestyles, Vows, and Obedience (A response to a comment on my last post)

IMG_4576To my last post I received this anonymous comment: “…YOU want to follow culture, not the Bible. You want to have it your way, rather than work together. YOU want to promote a lifestyle that the Old and New Testaments say are abominable… YOU want to change the Bible to fit the modern world, rather than following the Bible in the modern world. Leave. No one will miss you…” The comment goes on to say that I call those who want to follow 2000 years of precedence “bigots” and those who want to enforce vows as “inquisitional.”

I would like to be wrong, but I’ll assume that this is not satire. Therefore, I want to offer some clarification, seek understanding, and invite others into a different vision, using seven points.

  1. To all who share the views of this comment I want to say, “I would miss you.” As a “centrist” (if we must label) I want to be in a church that honors different perspectives on many issues. This keeps us all humble.  It helps us learn how to love with patience and kindness and without arrogance or insisting on our own way (See I Cor 13).  Giving this witness is so much better than withdrawing into like-minded camps.  This witness, however, does not work if some insist on drawing hard lines that exclude others and don’t allow for other perspectives.
  2. I am not the one who called the traditional plan “inquisitional.” That description came from the Judicial Council. I do believe that it captures the spirit of this plan (with reasons given in the previous post). To not resist the draconian measures of this plan is to put one’s own soul in danger.
  3. I did not use the word “bigot” at all. And I have not heard others use it in this way, even though that is a common accusation. I do believe we can all learn from Wesley’s caution against bigotry. It is a part of our doctrinal standards. Bigotry is an “attachment to, or fondness for, our own party, opinion, church, and religion.” Underlying bigotry is always a form of self-righteousness, that causes us to focus on the outward sins of others while conveniently able to overlook the “subtler, but no less destructive, forms of disobedience” within us. Wesley challenges us to be attentive and open to God’s work in others, especially in those who differ from us in religious opinion or practice.  That glorifies God! (See my post – “Bigotry in the Church”)
  4. To the accusation of promoting a “lifestyle” and following culture, let me say that the only “lifestyle” we are called to promote is faithfulness in Christ. We do not promote a secular or political agenda – as some falsely accuse. As a church we ask: “How do we respond faithfully to anyone who desires to live and grow as a follower of Christ and live in relationships where they can grow in faithfulness and love?  Many of us are asking, “Is it faithful to exclude certain people based solely on the way they identify rather than on their character and calling?”  “Do we welcome some but saying they need to change in ways that we don’t ask others to change?” We want to develop a serious sexual ethic based, not on identity, but on the virtues to which we are all called – monogamy, faithfulness, commitment, and all the characteristics defined by the word love. If we want to talk about “abominations” or “giving into culture” or promoting “lifestyles” that are not of Christ, let’s start with attitudes that cause division, with sexual immorality that objectifies others for personal pleasure, and perhaps with the temptation to judge others as “incompatible” as a way to avoid dealing with our own stuff.  We have the opportunity to give a positive witness to the world, based on the things in which we could all find agreement.
  5. The Bible! In my personal quest for faithfulness I have searched the scriptures and have come to the conclusion that my old traditional perspective, on the issue before us, cannot be maintained without proof-texting, selective literalism, and totally ignoring “guiding passages” that help us interpret the whole – passages centered around what it means to love, with Jesus himself saying that is the key to all scripture. Personally, I cannot see how to affirm the perspective in this comment without abusing what I truly believe to be God’s word.  (If you want to share in this journey there is a whole series called “The Way Forward Bible Study”).  
  6. My personal nightmare! I do fear that there will not be enough voices and votes to overturn this plan that does so much harm. Keeping my vows (in baptism, in marriage, in ordination) demands that I speak. Within these vows there is room for principled disobedience. I am reminded that the word “obedience” comes from the Latin, “to listen.” Obedience is not slavery or compliance.  It means to listen in respect and allow this to influence us. Sometimes listening deeply to some vows challenges others. Right now, there is a movement calling us to reflect more deeply on our baptismal vow to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” That vow has gotten my attention of late.
  7. I invite all who hold to positions found in this comment to open your heart to a new movement of the Holy Spirit. It is spreading as sacred fire. This movement is characterized by hearts expanding to make room for all and by the desire to promote unity in love rather than uniformity by law – by judgment and inquisition. In the light of this calling, perspectives are changing by the minute. You are invited to be a part of it. “Holy Spirit, may this post be an instrument of this light.”

Bigotry in the Church (A Very Relevant Word from Wesley)

pic-bigotIt’s a strong word – Bigot – often associated with extreme prejudice. John Wesley actually used this word in direct connection to the church.  He defined bigotry as extreme “attachment to, or fondness for, our own party, opinion, church, and religion.” This is similar to the way he talked about orthodoxy.  Underlying bigotry is a form of self-righteousness, possibly combined with fear, where we focus on the outward sins of others while conveniently overlooking the “subtler, but no less destructive, forms of disobedience” within us.  This leads us to divide the world into “us and them” and causes great harm to our witness.

In the midst of the blessed diversity of perspectives among us, Wesley warns against party zeal and how it can override our call to love.  Wesley challenges us to be attentive to God’s work in others, especially in those who differ from us, even when what seems “efficacious to [another] is horrid to [us].”   If another seems to be bearing good fruit, then who are we to judge?  As Jesus says, “Bless them and do not try to hinder their work.” “Forbid them not” – even if they are only a “lay person,” says Wesley. That certainly says something about an issue of his day.

Wesley gives a personal example regarding preachers.  He points to the book of Acts where people preached before they were ordained.  They demonstrate fruit before given the office.  Building on this, Wesley wonders about a Bishop refusing to ordain them, even if they are bearing good fruit.  Even if the Bishop stands in their way, “I will not,” says Wesley, “I dare not lest I be found even to fight against God.”  That is a strong word of warning.  Echoing Jesus, if we discourage others from using their gifts, even indirectly, then we are bigots by this definition, and possibly in grave risk of working on the side of the devil.

Wesley gives another personal example.  He asks himself, “what if I were to see,” to use his 18th century terms, “a Papist, an Arian, a Socinian casting out devils.  If I did, I could not forbid even them, without convicting myself of bigotry.”  In radical and relevant fashion, Wesley goes on to say the same about a Jew, a Deist, or a Turk (a Muslim).

So what can we do?  According to Wesley, we can give praise and encouragement to whomever God is pleased to employ.  We can work to enlarge their sphere of action. We can focus on manifesting the virtues of Christ – patience, kindness, compassion – rather than judgment and division. That is our witness to Christ, as we stop trying to defend God and start following instead.  Is this not a most relevant word for us today? (See Wesley’s sermon: “A Caution Against Bigotry”)

In a time when theological/political parties are forming within the church, we need to be alert to this danger.  In a time when people are rallying around code words that are too easily perceived as divisive and self-glorifying – progressive, prophetic, evangelical, orthodox, traditional, covenant-keeping, Jesus loving, faithful (some use more self-elevating adjectives than others) — we need those who are willing to rally around what truly maintains “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.”  We definitely need to be cautious of hard line ultimatums which come from those who love self-affirming qualifiers; those so attached to their own party and position that they are unwilling to reflect upon how they might fall short or break covenant, or cause harm by their self-proclaimed faithfulness and rightness.  It comes from all “sides” and does so much harm.

As we turn to Wesley for guidance, he cautions us against this temperament and calls us to meet in the middle with a very different understanding of grace and holiness.  May we heed Wesley’s cautionary word and turn our focus to our common calling to be something other than bigots. Yes, it is a strong word revealing a great weakness within us. May we all guard against building ourselves up by implying that others have less of whatever has hold of our heart.   Does the right thing have hold of our heart?