Why I need the resurrection

The folks at Patheos.com asked folks to answer the above question in 100 words or less.  Here was my response:

I need the resurrection because around the world today, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons will be persecuted and killed out of hatred and violence birthed from ignorance and fear. I need the resurrection because it demonstrates that the work we do to end heterosexism – and all other sin-filled ‘isms’ - is not in vain but continues to breathe new life and hope into God’s creation. I need the resurrection because it teaches me that violence will never triumph over God’s steadfast love.

Watching what you say

Today I heard a conservative radio host take on the recent court case starring Fred Phelps and his lovely family.  As you are probably aware, Phelps' family chases around the country picketing anything they can link with their hatred of LGBT folks.  Over the last several years, their bizarre actions have led them to demonstrate at the funerals of soldiers, arguing that the deaths are the result of America's permissive attitudes towards LGBT persons.

The father of one soldier took Phelps to court arguing harassment and seeking redress, but Phelps' side won the case on free speech grounds; the father has been ordered to pay $16,500 in legal fees for Phelps.  The commentator argued that Phelps should not be allowed to harass the families of these deceased soldiers, and that their speech was like that of yelling "fire" in a theatre, though he never explained his thought process.

I think Phelps is abominable, but equally abominable to me is that I've never heard conservatives saying that his actions towards LGBT folks were unwarranted.  Until Phelps went after soldiers, I doubt they ever gave him a second thought, yet he and his gang have been creating havoc for LGBT people for years.

Likewise, this commentator would likely not agree that some of the things Palin and the tea-partiers have said seem very dangerous to me.  When Palin talks about "reloading" when it comes to attempts to overturn the health-care reform bill, or shows pictures of legislators who voted for it with gun sights superimposed on their faces, it's hard to imagine that she is not inciting violence.  And like Phelps, some of the tea-party folks have been using the "f" word in talking about folks like Barney Frank, along with tossing out the "n" word to true patriots and statespersons like John Lewis.

Free speech demands responsibility.  If you don't like what Fred Phelps is doing, then be sure you or people you support aren't doing the same thing. 

Easter, anyone?

Arguably the second biggest Christian holiday is about to take place:
Easter.

However, Easter is not CLOSE to being agreed upon based on Barna's research (at the above link), and if we are so divided on the meaning of this Christian holiday, why should we be surprised that we are divided - deeply divided - on other areas of presumed Christian doctrine?

I've been reading from Christians at all spectrums of belief, and have realized, like countless others before me, that we all have a bite at the apple of "truth." The reality is that we all have a taste of truth, and that no one has gathered the fruit of knowledge completely.

The question is whether we are willing to share our visions of truth in service of a larger picture, or whether we will be exclusive in proclaiming a once and only truth - or as Stephen Colbert might explain, a once and only "truthiness."  God help us if 'truthiness' is our goal.

Spiritual Warfare

This morning, in catching up on some reading, I stumbled across a religious movement that is apparently spreading quickly through some conservative Christian circles, a practice known as spiritual mapping.

In this system, geographic locations are mapped based upon presumed demonic activity, activity triggered through the sins that were historically perpetrated in an area. These sins are addressed through prayer and political action in the hope that the demons will be vanquished.

For some reading this, the notion is laugh-out-loud funny. But having grown up in a conservative Christian community, I know that this is very serious work for some well-meaning folks. These people see the problems in their local area, want to fix them, and believe prayer - and political action - can help solve them. Heck, I believe that, too! I even understand the notion that specific areas are in need of different forms of healing. For example, I think Winston Salem is still suffering terribly from its history of racism, a deep, structural wound that has never been properly lanced, so we continue to feel the effects long after losing touch with the presenting problem.

But the devil is always in the details. For example, leaders of this movement have been linked to ideas like overthrowing democracy in favor of theocracy, imprisoning LGBT people on the basis of their being possessed by demons, or assigning "historic sins" in a community to particular groups of people, such as Jewish businesspersons, etc.

I'm going to do a bit more research since the mainstream media doesn't seem to have information on the movement, but probably does have coverage of leaders that might be instructive, particularly if those leaders are influencing politicians - and I would be shocked if they were not. If any readers locate interesting information, please link it back to me via comments.

All politics is local

If you haven't been following the controversy over the Texas Board of Education's recent decisions regarding "history," now would be a good time to Google this situation. The short story is that this board controls, by virtue of Texas' size, such a large proportion of the textbook market that their decisions affect ALL our children. Textbook publishers don't want to produce a book Texas won't buy because it hurts their bottom line so much. The pressure leads them to make changes to textbooks based upon what Texas deems reliable "history." Because of their recent decisions, some are now referring to them not as the Texas School Board, but as the Texas Fool Board.

In the 1990's Ralph Reed, then head of the Christian Coalition, argued that the way conservative Christians could take over the US was through a strategy that asked candidates to run without divulging their religious views so that they could, once they were in office, begin to legislate their views. School boards were a particular target.

We are still seeing the effects of this strategy, particularly in a state like Texas where one board wields so much power. But the same is true all throughout the US, even outside of the outsized Texas influence; local school boards have a lot of power over what happens to your/our children.

People often focus attention only on national political happenings, and as important as that knowledge is, local politics matter to day-to-day lives. If you want to make a difference in your community, serving on local committees and boards is important - I would say critical - to the health of our larger political system. When local people work together, hearing each others' experiences and recognizing common humanity, learning takes place and good things result.

Maybe this need to know each other is why scripture focuses so much attention on our concern for our neighbors - all of our neighbors.

Spring...

Life has been too busy of late. But I allowed myself to at least catch a glimpse of the beginnings of spring as I zoomed down the interstate early this morning. The trees are beginning to show that very slight bit of pink that heralds new growth. Daffodils are edging up and out from the soil still wet from all the snow and rain we've had this winter. The forsythia is building up to a riotous explosion of yellow in about a week.

Ah, spring. I can't wait for more evidence that you are really here. Thank you, God, for the joy of this season when new life finds its way and delights our senses.

Catching Up

Since my blog was not active last year, I thought some of you might appreciate reading the editorial I wrote for our local newspaper last Valentine's Day. Sadly, the material continues to be relevant. You can read the story here.