🏷️ religion

Ours can.

Is available at this link.



I wish I had written this. When I get permission, I will probably adapt this for the elmwoodjesus.org website.

Today is the most fun day of the Christian calendar. Here's how I am celebrating.

Right now: Drinking coffee and making sure everything is ready for worship.

9:20am: Meeting with the people that will join Lafayette Church today, to get them ready. (Six of them! W00t!)

10 am: Worship begins: special music, special flowers, new members join, everybody dresses up, we share communion, and even have a u2 song (plus there will be more people than usual!)

11:30: Coffee with people, Easter egg hunt, and then go home

12pm: start making burritos

1pm: Easter burritos with friends!

Is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright racist?

He has been proclaimed to be such.

Today, my hometown Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I read a column comparing Obama's association with Rev. Wright and Trinity UCC with George Bush choosing to speak at Bob Jones University, when it had some racist positions (interracial dating was illegal, for example).

She also reacted against Wright's teaching of a black Jesus.

She then told us, quite plainly, that Jesus was Jewish.

Which, of course, is true.

But she did not take time to understand what Wright meant by "black Jesus."

Black theology teaches that Jesus is black in a number of ways. For example:

a. Jesus had dark skin. To many white people, this makes you black. To many white supremacists, every non-WASP is black. By their definition, Jesus is black.

b. The "one drop" rule. This is related to the first case. In many Southern states and colonized nation, the children of white and black parents presented a problem. What were these children? According to the "one drop rule," one drop of "black blood" made a person black.

Now, if all of humanity is redeemed in Christ (which orthodox Christianity affirms) then Christ is at least "one drop" black.

c. Finally, as a Galilean Jew, Jesus was politically, socially, and economically disadvantaged. While this does not make him black, ethnically speaking, it does connect him to the black experience in the US. Jesus is black in the way that Bill Clinton was "the first black president," or the way a bunch of Irish soul singers are in "the commitments."

(I couldn't find the video, but here's the quote:

"Jimmy Rabbitte: Do you not get it, lads? The Irish are the blacks of Europe. And Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland. And the Northside Dubliners are the blacks of Dublin. So say it once, say it loud: I'm black and I'm proud.

Dean Fay: I'm black and I'm proud. )

With any one of these explanations, it is easy to see that Jesus was, in one way or another, black.

So many columnists, however, don't bother to ask these questions.

Instead, they skip directly to Wright's sermon in which he replied, "God Damn America."

Now I do not share his sentiment, but he has not been the only person to say as much. Robertson and Falwell have also preached that 9/11 was a judgment on America.

Here's a question that ought to make us uncomfortable.

Could God rightly judge America?

Now, I'm not saying that God has done so, but couldn't the enslavement of one people group and the near extinction of another qualify a nation for judgment? Wouldn't that earn it?

And, even if it isn't good to do so, couldn't you understand a member of the group that was enslaved still reacting against the nation that has treated him unjustly? Rev. Wright, I'm sure, has experienced real racism.

Is he called to forgive? Absolutely. But start with yourself before coming down on somebody else. How many of those calling for Wright to forgive America have forgiven America's enemies?

There is a big difference between associating one's self with Bob Jones and with Jeremiah Wright. Yes, both have taken a stand based on race. One however, is associated with power over a race, and another has encouraged blacks to stand up together against that power.

Wright's theology isn't perfect. Nobody's is--we cannot fully understand God, and every theology is incomplete.

But he is not a racist. And he does not deserve to be attacked as he has been recently. He has spent a lifetime thinking about what it means to be black, American, and Christian, and now he is being dismissed in a soundbite. Let's seek to understand where he comes from before we attack him for where he is.

James told me that if I prayed for him, to my God, he would pray to his gods and rats and Wiccans might show up in my house.

I'm not going to start, so I think we will have peace. But it did remind me of a dramatic prayer showdown from scripture.

For your reading pleasure:

Kings 18:21-40
21 Elijah challenged the people: "How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it's Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!" Nobody said a word; nobody made a move. 22 Then Elijah said, "I'm the only prophet of God left in Israel; and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. 23 Let the Baal prophets bring up two oxen; let them pick one, butcher it, and lay it out on an altar on firewood - but don't ignite it. I'll take the other ox, cut it up, and lay it on the wood. But neither will I light the fire. 2

4 Then you pray to your gods and I'll pray to God. The god who answers with fire will prove to be, in fact, God." All the people agreed: "A good plan - do it!"

25 Elijah told the Baal prophets, "Choose your ox and prepare it. You go first, you're the majority. Then pray to your god, but don't light the fire." 26 So they took the ox he had given them, prepared it for the altar, then prayed to Baal. They prayed all morning long, "O Baal, answer us!" But nothing happened - not so much as a whisper of breeze. Desperate, they jumped and stomped on the altar they had made. 27 By noon, Elijah had started making fun of them, taunting, "Call a little louder - he is a god, after all. Maybe he's off meditating somewhere or other, or maybe he's gotten involved in a project, or maybe he's on vacation. You don't suppose he's overslept, do you, and needs to be waked up?"

28 They prayed louder and louder, cutting themselves with swords and knives - a ritual common to them - until they were covered with blood. 29 This went on until well past noon. They used every religious trick and strategy they knew to make something happen on the altar, but nothing happened - not so much as a whisper, not a flicker of response.

30 Then Elijah told the people, "Enough of that - it's my turn. Gather around." And they gathered. He then put the altar back together for by now it was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of Jacob, the same Jacob to whom God had said, "From now on your name is Israel." 32 He built the stones into the altar in honor of God. Then Elijah dug a fairly wide trench around the altar. 33 He laid firewood on the altar, cut up the ox, put it on the wood, and said, "Fill four buckets with water and drench both the ox and the firewood." 34 Then he said, "Do it again," and they did it. Then he said, "Do it a third time," 35 and they did it a third time.

The altar was drenched and the trench was filled with water. 36 When it was time for the sacrifice to be offered, Elijah the prophet came up and prayed, "O God, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make it known right now that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I'm doing what I'm doing under your orders. 37 Answer me, God; O answer me and reveal to this people that you are God, the true God, and that you are giving these people another chance at repentance."

38 Immediately the fire of God fell and burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dirt, and even the water in the trench. 39 All the people saw it happen and fell on their faces in awed worship, exclaiming, "God is the true God! God is the true God!"

40 Elijah told them, "Grab the Baal prophets! Don't let one get away!" They grabbed them. Elijah had them taken down to the Brook Kishon and they massacred the lot.

to all you question answerers, be they by post, comment, or email. (See previous post)

I guess the one thing that I did learn is that some people don't want to be prayed for. Part of me want to do spiritual vandalism and do so anyway, but I think that's just me being a jerk. (for the record, I haven't done it for those that didn't want it, and I have for those that have).

The other thing is that the church does a lousy job of being what it is supposed to be about. There are so many things that people think of when they here "church," that have so little to do with the message of Jesus.

Also, there have been so many bad inviting experiences. I want the Lafayette people to invite, but I also want to make sure we have our stuff together, so that we don't contribute to more bad experiences.

(It reminds me of a conversation I had with an improv guy that knew he was giving bad shows, but didn't think it would effect his future audience when the group got better? But how many people go back to the restaurant that made them sick?)

Anyway, thanks again--I do appreciate all of you sharing.

Janelle and I are taking/leading a class about talking to people that don't have faith about faith, and one of the things that the book tells us is that we don't get it. People that go to church, according to the book, don't understand what people that don't go to church think. So the book asked us to interview somebody that doesn't go, so that we could understand somebody else's perspective.

If anybody wants to answer these questions in person, coffee/beer is on me. If anybody wants to answer them on estrip, comment below.

The questions:

1. What pops into your mind when you hear the word "church?"

2. Has anyone ever invited you to their church? What did you think when they asked you? Did you go? How did it feel? If you didn't go, why not?

3. Have you ever had a sense of God or Jesus communicating with you? What was it like?

4. If you had one question you could ask God and knew you would get an answer, what would it be?

5. Would you like prayer for anything?


Thanks in advance! If anybody wants to answer these in person, the best time for me is Wednesday night, after 8 (homework is due Thursday)

If you don't want people reading your responses, sending me an email is fine, too.

I don't always like lent (a season of fasting to prepare for Easter), but I do like Isaiah 58, which gets a lot of reading during the season. Here it is (verses 6-9), from the message translation.

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am."

Do this and your lives will turn around at once. Wow. Too bad so few people (and I include myself and a million other Christians actually choose to try it.)

This year, for lent, I am going to memorize this, and try to live it.

Too bad (for you) none of you owe me money--because it's debt canceling season!

I'll have to talk with Janelle about inviting the homeless poor into our home, but maybe we can find a way.

Wow.

Paul, you clearly showed how religion can be a key ingredient to a whole host of problems. Sadly, this is not the first time I have heard a story like this. I have a friend who basically shared my values, but would never go to church with me because it caused her to have panic attacks. Another friend avoids church because during a bi-polar break she talked to God in a way that was not healthy at all.

Enknot, I would love to hear more of your story--maybe over coffee instead of through the internets, that way we don't have to worry about what other people might read. At the very least, maybe I can help you find the Bible stories that you wish to find. Probably the best story to teach honesty is the story of Annias and Saphira, who lied to the apostles and were struck dead, but that's not exactly the kind of thing we want to share with kids.

One of my favorite theologians once said, "You know we've gone and messed up Christianity when we started thinking it's someihing good for our kids."

I think what he meant by that is that the Bible isn't really the best way to get kids to grow up in the way that the American dream teaches people to grow up. To "succeed" in the the US, you have to go along with the ways and values of our empire. But Christ taught a way of life that values entirely different things. So Christians are called to love justice, and to find it, not through violence, but through love. When we seek justice instead of power and accolades and stuff, the ways of the empire seem insignificant. But the whole world lives according to the ways of the empire--this is why Jesus and so many of the first Christians were killed.

Do you want to raise a kid to believe something so radical and dangerous? I think it is a fair question, and because of it, it is important that parents think twice before they baptize their kid.

On the other hand, if this new way of living is good and better (and I obviously believe that it is) then it is worth sharing with your kids. And while I appreciate the sentiment of waiting until they are old enough to choose, remember that not everyone else will wait. If your kid watches tv, they are going to be hit with thousands of images that tell them that stuff will make them happy. If they grow up in the U.S., the news will show them that the way to peace and security is through violence (or the threat of it). If they play video games, they will learn that consequences aren't real--a simple reset button will let them start over easily (and while I love video games, I have found that this is not the case in real life. For all the cops I might shoot in Grand Theft Auto, I would only get the chance to shoot one in real life--note: I have not and will not shoot cops, this is just an example :) )

I guess what I am saying is that if you want if you want your kids to be different than the average kid (and I think the average kid is messed up), than you have to work on him/her from the start. Yes, it can have bad effects (see Paul's post), but so can doing nothing.

I wish I had more time these upcoming days to explore this further. I think I will be away from a computer until Wednesday night, but if I can get a hold of a laptop, I will check in. Until then, please forgive any lack of further response.

And I promise I will never quote Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young again.

Every white Christian should read "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" regularly. It still makes me shiver. This quote seems to have been downright prophetic:

So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.