An End to Calls for Violence

We know violence here in Oklahoma City. Saturday, April 19, will mark the thirteenth anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building. Planners of the recent “Denouncing Violence in the Name of God: The Case of Islam” conference noted the location for the event (Oklahoma City University) and the topic discussed. “The topic of this conference is so profound and sobering because of its time and location. We are in Oklahoma City and it is April,” said Loye Ashton, chairman o religious studies department at the Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi.

Various speakers at the conference noted terrorism intends to undermine democracy rather than further a particular religion. Media often makes the connection in such a way readers/listeners come to believe the work of terrorism to be a tool to further a religion, in most cases Islam.

Imagine my own surprise when I read Martin Marty’s piece “Rod Parsley on Islam.”
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Free Burma

Free Burma 

“Caught in the Middle” gets quoted …

Glad to read the ABP piece in which my brother Paul is quoted.

“I’m conflicted because I am part of an American evangelical Christianity that is almost entirely and uncritically in bed with the Republican Party, who will support them as long as they support capitalism and oppose abortion and homosexual marriage. Do that, and we’ll vote for  you, we’ll go to war with you, we’ll let you spend the country into oblivion, and we’ll be silent when you make sexual advances toward minor pages. And I don’t go for any of that stuff.”

Jesus Land - surviving racism and both sexual and spiritual abuse

Jesus Land: A Memoir

I recall a Joel Barker video, “The Power of Vision.” In the video Mr. Barker relayed the story of Victor Frankl who wrote, Man’s Search for Meaning. If I recall correctly, the mental image of seeing his daughter again fueled his imagination and helped Frankl to survive life in a Nazi concentration camp.

Florida played somewhat the same role for Julia and David. Suffering racism and the spiritual abuse of their parents they often talked of reaching Florida, the beach and “freedom.” Periodically Julia would  tell David something like, “Remember Florida.” After a series of events in their late teens the two were sent away. Once exiled to Escuela Caribe they relied on their relationship and the promise of “Florida” to weather continued racism and the spiritual abuse of houseparents, teachers and workers in the “reform school.”

Julia Scheeres wrote a memoir chronicling a period of life with her adopted brother, David. Dreams of going home live and die and find new meaning as the two learn the necessity of deep human relationships.

I  often winced while reading the story. At other times I wanted to shout out loud, “YES!” Discouraging. Inspiring. Infuriating. Triumphant. Depressing. Hopeful. Too many stories are written to resolve in hopeful ways. When I glanced ahead to the first paragraph of the Epilogue I realized this story did not resolve so easily, if at all. Florida, even “Florida,” never came.

People need each other. You get the feeling Julia or David left alone may have succumbed to the horrors and wilted under their weight. Reading of the “look” and the development of “code” at Escuela Caribe illustrates the value of “together.” Powerful connections transcend words. Read the story. Be saddened by the reality of racism. Be appalled by the spiritual abuse. Be enraged by the sexual abuse. Be inspired to invest deeply in others. Come away ready to fight injustice - end racism, our sexual predators and expose spiritual abuse. Read it and not be moved … don’t bother reading.

Quote for the day …

Reading the June 20 Aidan Readings in Celtic Daily Prayer I found the following attributed to Abba John the Little,

We have abandoned a light burden, namely self-criticism, and taken up a heavy burden, namely self-justification.

Listening Past Each Other … Keeps us Talking Past Each Other … When Talking Heads Get in the Way …

Reading over at the BHT led me to this article in The Christian Century by Richard Mouw, President of Fuller Theological Seminary. Quite a conversation broke out after the posting of the link to this piece. For some time I have been convinced we do not hear what it said in many controversial conversations. For example, I was reading the other day and the writer summarily dismissed someone for "sounding" like they had read Barth. Rather than listen to what is said and engage the person on conversation the accuser dismissed his would be conversation partner out of hand. I felt this way when my friend Spencer attempted a conversation with D.A. Carson over Carson’s remarks in Becoming Conversant with Emergent.

We tend to process what we hear in ways that work within the bounds of our own categories. So as Mouw’s piece attempts to point out it may be we do have significant disagreements, but it sure helps to be sure we are talking about the same thing. Evidently Mouw got the picture even clearer when those who read the piece began to take him apart over its assertion. He wades back in to clarify with another illustration.  I appreciated the attempt to help paint an even clearer picture.  I was left thinking we too often listen past each other and that keeps us talking past each other. Maybe we can be like the two ministers at the end of the illustration. We may still disagree but at least we will disagree about the same subjects rather than talking about different things because our "buttons" were pushed over a given topic.

Weeds and rants …

It always sneaks up on me. I look at those flower beds and they look like just a few weeds need to be pulled. Six inches of rain mixed with plenty of sun and those few weeds multiplied. In the middle of a number of projects I am trying to get some seeds in the ground - Thanks to Micah and Kristen.

Working in the yard always gives me time to think. Sometimes flashes of inspiration long for my Moleskine. Other occasions bring notions worth ranting about. This evening’s weed pulling conjured a rant. You would think weeds would always lead to rants.

Ideally when I pull weeds in the spring I want them never to return. I have put forth the effort. Taken time from other things I would much rather be doing. Pulling these pesky plants up by the roots should certainly put an end to their return. Remnants remain. If I give into my idealism I would immediately quit pulling weeds. In fact, I would pull the flowers, not plant the vegetables and throw grass seed in its place. Why bother? Forget the beauty of the flowers and the flavor of those home grown vegetables. These kinds of thoughts remind me of babies and bathwater. But, I have it in my mind it should be this way. Nothing can change my mind.

My mind soon wandered to the connections with what I do - pastor. A recent series of posts have gone around the blogs I read. John Frye kicked it off with a post titled - The People Formerly Known As the Pastor (TPFKA"TP"). Too many could identify with much of what John wrote. His friend Mark and I have had conversations about their time in ministry together. Jason noted the sentiment of this post was why he was "ready to leave." Undoubtedly he is not alone.

Personally something gnaws at me. Thinking through the many points of agreement with John’s post left me thinking there is something more going on. I  often wonder if my tendency to temper my own idealism reveals something of a softness or a desire to "protect" myself. I want to think the one thing that keeps me from bailing beyond the sense of doing what I am "called to" is the realization many of we are who pastor cannot ignore our own complicity in the situation. Bailing often leads to an us vs. them blame sort of game.

Today I was sent a link to a new twist on the series of TPFKATP and TPFKATC. John gives us some thoughts from Dan who is working on getting his own blog. John notes on his blog an interest in encouraging and mentoring young pastors. The balance he offers even when much of his original post represents his own personal experiences gives me hope one day we will all return to stumbling together rather than assuming anyone has arrived at just the right place.

If it does not rain tomorrow evening, I will be back out pulling weeds …

Thoughtufl reflections on hospitality … working through “all” …

And when a church takes a stand to allow "whosoever will" to come into
the church because they believe it is what Jesus would want, then it
must be prepared to work through the consequences of such a stance.

Head over and read Ben Witherington on - "Should Pederasts be in the pews?"

Culture warring … iMonk does it well …

For some time I have been reading Michael Spencer at both Internetmonk.com and the BHT. I once sent an e-mail asking that if i ever had the opportunity to choose a speaker for one of our state events would Michael come. I think his reply was something like, "You’ve got to be kidding," as in no one would ask me. Well I would. One of the reasons is pieces just like this -

Jesus Has Left the Room: Pharisees, Zealots and Culture Warrior Youth Ministry

(HT: Mark)

Jack Bauer and Political Theology …

Jerome Eric Copulsky, Assistant Professor and Director of Judaic Studies at Virginia Tech, submitted an article to "Sightings", published by the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School, titled, "King of Pain: The Political Theologies of "24."" At issue is the moral conundrums Bauer faces. His decisions often place him outside of "protocol." Those who question his tactics face either "trust me" or are made to feel they just don’t understand and hear, "I will explain it later." The matter is one of moral decision making and the "sovereign self."

Along with Copulsky I am a 24 nut. We took in five seasons since Thanksgiving weekend last year thanks to Blockbuster and then Charlie who found it cheaper to buy the seasons rather than rent them. Most of our musings have been on the surface with questions like, "When does Jack stop for a restroom break?" "How is it that is cell phone never dies, except at the most inopportune moment?" "How is it that in the same weekly episode Jack is near death and then gathers enough Sampson like strength, along with a deft eye and handy gun, and disposes of his captors?"

Copulsky probes deeper. He points out the "sovereign" Jack becomes episode in and out." He, Copulsky,  uses the piece to work through what he asserts is the show’s secret, controversial jurist and political theories of Carl Schmitt. He quotes from Political Theology, Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty (translated by George Schwab (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005), "Sovereign is he who decides upon the exception."  Copulsky offers something of a summary of Schmitt’s "illiberal concept of sovereignty,"

To have this power to stand outside the law, to decide upon the state of exception, when normal rules do not apply. If we follow Schmitt’s claim that "significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts," the human sovereign is the political analogue of the omnipotent God.

Schmitt wrote Political Theology in 1922. Could we look further back to the concept of "inalienable rights" granted by our Creator? The problem seems to come when we "sovereigns" come into conflict. Whose rights’ trump? In developed communities rights must be subjugated at some point.

It has been too long since I took a couple of political history courses in college. Admittedly some will wonder what a pastor is doing thinking about secularized theological concepts. Reading this piece, I began to wonder about faith communities and "rights." How often does conflict arise out of the exercise of the "sovereign self" wherein one asserts the exception beyond the norms of the community. We tend to assert the role of romanticized individualism the culprit. What are the connections between these two - the "sovereign" as noted by Schmitt and the intensity of the individual often referred to as "rugged individualism?" Do we come to think of ourselves as the analogue to an omnipotent God? Just how is it we are to navigate authority when it comes to shared life in the community when any person moves sovereignly above the community suggesting the need either for trust or an explanation to come later?

Willard seems to be helpful here when he notes the conflict between the kingdom of the self and the Kingdom of God. Our attempts at sovereignty, ruling our own lives, do seem problematic. We lose sight of the ethic of love central to the Kingdom and replace it with an ethic resembling selfishness. We then become the framework for understanding and our perspective then turns myopic. The way of Jesus does seem to run "countercultural" to the sovereign self as well as the rugged individual. Witness Jesus who illustrates the norm in the Kingdom over against those who think they have the norm of God’s Kingdom in both mind and hand.

Copulsky closes with,

It’s not necessarily a bad thing to detect the strains of political theory or to be confronted with somewhat heavy-handed religious symbolism in a popular television series. But after we spend an hour in the thrall of Jack Bauer, Schmittian sovereign and secular savior, we should be sure to remind ourselves that entertainment which exploits our fears and strokes our hopes of simple solutions will not provide the means to our salvation, political or otherwise.

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