Justice Sunday
Perhaps that was a real "Justice" Sunday. With so many of faith speaking out against what they see as, to say the worst - blasphemy, or to say the least - improper use of the pulpit, it is heartening to think that some who had previously bought into the verbiage of the Religious Right may now be hearing the falsehoods hidden in the words.
A fantastic video of Jim Wallis from the "Freedom and Faith" service held in the same town on the same day came to me via email subscription to sojomail (go to sojo.net if you are interested in this provocative commentary). If you use RealPlayer this is the link: rtsp://real.faithandvalues.com/streaming/sojourners/050424_wallis.rm or if you use Windows Media Player this is the link: mms://real.faithandvalues.com/streaming/sojourners/050424_wallis.wmv
Jim says it better than I can, he really gets it, but the gist of it is that if you see and hear what the GOP neocons are doing as wrong, it's time to take the fight to the streets, to stand up and speak your mind, to seek opportunities to tell others within and without the church how you feel.
There is no Biblical basis for attaching God to any political party. My sense is that God wouldn't support any one political party anyway - He's not that kind of entity. We are all His children and we all, depending on the moment, either horribly embarrass Him or provide Him with great joy. I think the Justice Sunday telecast was an embarrassment to all of us, and to God. Just my opinion, my understanding, my personal theology.
The good that came from Justice Sunday, however, is in the embarrassment that I think some in the room and watching on TV or the web must have felt. Even the staunchest listener had to wonder at some point - "Would God exclude any person of faith from His kingdom for their political opinion?" And the simple answer, and the absolute answer is "No." God is not political, although He probably enjoys it when we get it right in His eyes. God, through Jesus Christ His Son, is about forgiveness through faith. Forgiveness trumps all of our mistakes, or sins, whatever they may be. Forgiveness alone is available through faith alone, politics don't matter.
Faith, however, does. Through faith alone we are forgiven. Through faith and baptism we ask the God through the Holy Spirit to enfuse us with the ability to lead better lives, to please God as we walk and talk, and yes, to forgive us as we forgive others.
So - we are left with the responsibility to forgive Senator Frist and those religious leaders for the harm we see them doing to our country, for their extremist spouting of their interpretation of The Word driving non-believers further from The Truth, for the lies we hear them speak. I find grounds for me to personally forgive them based in not knowing what leads them to these conclusions, what their life experiences were like, and in accepting that people, all people, make stupid mistakes. And gosh, do I see those as some stupid theological mistakes they made in their "Justice Sunday."
My forgiveness of them, however, has nothing to do with my desires to strongly oppose them at any opportunity, to spread The Word as I understand it, to work towards an America and a world that will bring God greater joy.
Going somewhere that I am even less learned - isn't it against tax laws to speak politics from the pulpit? My understanding is that a church, being a non-taxed entity for religious reasons, and for the separation of church and state, cannot promote one political ideology over another. If so, can we get those churches non-taxable positions revoked, please?
A fantastic video of Jim Wallis from the "Freedom and Faith" service held in the same town on the same day came to me via email subscription to sojomail (go to sojo.net if you are interested in this provocative commentary). If you use RealPlayer this is the link: rtsp://real.faithandvalues.com/streaming/sojourners/050424_wallis.rm or if you use Windows Media Player this is the link: mms://real.faithandvalues.com/streaming/sojourners/050424_wallis.wmv
Jim says it better than I can, he really gets it, but the gist of it is that if you see and hear what the GOP neocons are doing as wrong, it's time to take the fight to the streets, to stand up and speak your mind, to seek opportunities to tell others within and without the church how you feel.
There is no Biblical basis for attaching God to any political party. My sense is that God wouldn't support any one political party anyway - He's not that kind of entity. We are all His children and we all, depending on the moment, either horribly embarrass Him or provide Him with great joy. I think the Justice Sunday telecast was an embarrassment to all of us, and to God. Just my opinion, my understanding, my personal theology.
The good that came from Justice Sunday, however, is in the embarrassment that I think some in the room and watching on TV or the web must have felt. Even the staunchest listener had to wonder at some point - "Would God exclude any person of faith from His kingdom for their political opinion?" And the simple answer, and the absolute answer is "No." God is not political, although He probably enjoys it when we get it right in His eyes. God, through Jesus Christ His Son, is about forgiveness through faith. Forgiveness trumps all of our mistakes, or sins, whatever they may be. Forgiveness alone is available through faith alone, politics don't matter.
Faith, however, does. Through faith alone we are forgiven. Through faith and baptism we ask the God through the Holy Spirit to enfuse us with the ability to lead better lives, to please God as we walk and talk, and yes, to forgive us as we forgive others.
So - we are left with the responsibility to forgive Senator Frist and those religious leaders for the harm we see them doing to our country, for their extremist spouting of their interpretation of The Word driving non-believers further from The Truth, for the lies we hear them speak. I find grounds for me to personally forgive them based in not knowing what leads them to these conclusions, what their life experiences were like, and in accepting that people, all people, make stupid mistakes. And gosh, do I see those as some stupid theological mistakes they made in their "Justice Sunday."
My forgiveness of them, however, has nothing to do with my desires to strongly oppose them at any opportunity, to spread The Word as I understand it, to work towards an America and a world that will bring God greater joy.
Going somewhere that I am even less learned - isn't it against tax laws to speak politics from the pulpit? My understanding is that a church, being a non-taxed entity for religious reasons, and for the separation of church and state, cannot promote one political ideology over another. If so, can we get those churches non-taxable positions revoked, please?