Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie

Jesus Is Mad And Bill Moyers Is Preaching

Most people know Bill Moyers as the public television broadcaster. A few older folks will remember his Texas roots and staff work for LBJ. Fewer remember that Moyers was a Baptist preacher before he became a special assistant to the president and icon of television integrity. But the man can still preach and in this past year his voice has soared to greater heights than in any other point in his public life. Earlier this month he spoke at Riverside Church.

...let me tell you about a revelation I had here (Riverside Church) just a few weeks ago. We came early for the service and were waiting quietly for the great organ to commence. On an impulse I reached for the Bible in the pew in front of me. It fell open to the Gospel of Matthew where the life of Jesus unfolds chapter by chapter. Glancing at the headings I was reminded of the central events of that brief but intense life and of the great themes of his ministry: There was Jesus being baptized; Jesus tempted in the Wilderness; Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount; speaking in parables; healing the leper, the blind, the cripple; feeding the hungry; choosing his disciples; turning his face to Jerusalem to be greeted by a cheering multitude.

And then – in the 2lst chapter – a change. Something I had missed in my many early readings of this story, even in my seminary studies. Jesus becomes angry. We are told that he “went into the temple and drove out all who were buying and selling in the temple precincts; he upset the tables of the money-changers…and said to them, ‘Scripture says-- My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.’”

Jesus – angry!

I sat there, thinking about this change in the narrative’s tone, in the manner of the man himself: Jesus the healer; Jesus the teacher; Jesus the preacher of forgiveness and love – angry.

I realized: There is a place for anger in this world. It is important to be reminded that some things are worth getting angry about.

Here’s one: On March 10 of this year, on page B8, with a headline that stretched across all six columns, the New York Times reported that tuition in the city’s elite private schools would hit $26,000 for the coming school year – for kindergarten as well as high school. On the same page, under a two-column headline, Michael Winerup wrote about a school in nearby Mount Vernon, the first stop out of the Bronx, with a student body that is 97 percent black. It is the poorest school in the town: nine out of ten children qualify for free lunches; one out of ten lives in a homeless shelter. During Black History month this past February, a sixth grader wanted to write a report on Langston Hughes. There were no books on Langston Hughes in the library – no books about the great poet, nor any of his poems. There is only one book in the library on Frederick Douglass. None on Rosa Parks, Josephine Baker, Leontyne Price, or other giants like them in the modern era. In fact, except for a few Newberry Award books the librarian bought with her own money, the library is mostly old books – largely from the l950s and 60s when the school was all white. A 1960 child’s primer on work begins with a youngster learning how to be a telegraph delivery boy. All the jobs in the book – the dry cleaner, the deliveryman, the cleaning lady – are white. There’s a 1967 book about telephones which says: “when you phone you usually dial the number. But on some new phones you can push buttons.” The newest encyclopedia dates from l991, with two volumes – “b” and “r” – missing. There is no card catalog in the library – no index cards or computer.

Something to get mad about.

Here’s something else: Caroline Payne’s face and gums are distorted because her Medicaid-financed dentures don’t fit. Because they don’t fit, she is continuously turned down for jobs on account of her appearance. Caroline Payne is one of the people in David Shipler’s new book, The Working Poor: Invisible in America. She was born poor, although she once owned her own home and earned a two-year college degree, Caroline Payne has bounced from one poverty-wage job to another all her life, equipped with the will to move up, but not the resources to deal with unexpected and overlapping problems like a mentally handicapped daughter, a broken marriage, a sudden layoff crisis that forced her to sell her few assets, pull up roots and move on. “In the house of the poor,” Shipler writes….” the walls are thin and fragile and troubles seep into one another.”

Here’s something else to get mad about. Some weeks ago, the House of Representatives, the body of Congress owned and operated by the corporate, political, and religious right, approved new tax credits for children. Not for poor children, mind you. But for families earning as much as $309,000 a year—families that already enjoy significant benefits from earlier tax cuts. The editorial page of the Washington Post called this “bad social policy, bad tax policy, and bad fiscal policy. You’d think they’d be embarrassed,” said the Post, “but they’re not.”

And this, too, is something to get mad about: nothing seems to embarrass the political class in Washington today. Not the fact that more children are growing up in poverty in America than in any other industrial nation; not the fact that millions of workers are actually making less money today in real dollars than they did twenty years ago; not the fact that working people are putting in longer and longer hours and still falling behind; not the fact that while we have the most advanced medical care in the world, nearly 44 million Americans – eight out of ten of them in working families—are uninsured and cannot get the basic care they need.

Astonishing as it seems, no one in official Washington seems embarrassed by the fact that the gap between rich and poor is greater than it’s been in 50 years – the worst inequality among all western nations. Or that we are experiencing a shift in poverty. For years we were told that those people down there at the bottom who were single, jobless mothers. For years they were told work, education, and marriage is how they move up the economic ladder. But now poverty is showing up where we didn’t expect it - among families that include two parents, a worker, and a head of the household with more than a high school education. These are the newly poor. Our political, financial and business elites expect them to climb out of poverty on an escalator moving downward.....

.....That’s why Riverside Church finds itself called to a new mission. Your Mobilization 2004 is the vanguard of a new movement. For this hour and this work have you come into the kingdom. Over the past few years, as the poor got poorer, the health care crisis worsened, wealth and media became more and more concentrated, and our political system was bought out from under us, prophetic faith lost its voice. The religious right drowned everyone else out.

And they hijacked Jesus. The very Jesus who stood in Nazareth and proclaimed, “The Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.” The very Jesus who told 5000 hungry people that all of you will be fed, not just some of you. The very Jesus who challenged the religious orthodoxy of the day by feeding the hungry on the Sabbath, who offered kindness to the prostitute and hospitality to the outcast, who said the kingdom of heaven belongs to little children, raised the status of women, and treated even the tax collector like a child of God. The very Jesus who drove the money changers from the temple. This Jesus has been hijacked and turned from a champion of the disposed into a guardian of the privileged. Hijacked, he was made over into a militarist, hedonist, and lobbyist….sent prowling the halls of Congress in Guccis, seeking tax breaks and loopholes for the powerful, costly new weapon systems that don’t work, and punitive public policies.

Let’s get Jesus back.

The Jesus who inspired a Methodist ship-caulker named Edward Rogers to crusade across New England for an eight hour work day. Let’s get back the Jesus who caused Frances William to rise up against the sweatshop. The Jesus who called a young priest named John Ryan to champion child labor laws, unemployment insurance, a minimum wage, and decent housing for the poor – ten years before the New Deal. The Jesus in whose name Dorothy Day challenged the Church to march alongside auto workers in Michigan, fishermen and textile workers in Massachusetts, brewery workers in New York, and marble cutters in Vermont. The Jesus in whose name E.B. McKinney and Owen Whitfield challenged a Mississippi system that kept sharecroppers in servitude and debt. The Jesus in whose name a Presbyterian minister named Eugene Carson Blake - “Ike’s Pastor” - was arrested for protesting racial injustice in Baltimore. The Jesus who led Martin Luther King to Memphis to join sanitation workers in their struggle for a decent wage.

That Jesus has been scourged by his own followers, dragged through the streets by pious crowds, and crucified on a cross of privilege.

Mel Gibson missed that.

Mel Gibson stopped short of the whole story. So obsessed with the gore of the crucifixion – he missed the glory of what followed. He didn’t wait for the resurrection – so he missed the power of the Pentecost. We must pick up the story where Mel Gibson stopped. Our times call out for a new spiritual revolution. Our times cry out for a new politics of justice. This is no partisan issue. It doesn’t matter if you’re a liberal or a conservative, God is neither. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or Republican – God is neither.

To see whose side God is on go to Deuteronomy to read: “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor…Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do…” Go to the Psalms and read: “For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy…From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.” Throughout our sacred text it is the widow and the orphan, the poor and the stranger who are blessed in the eyes of the Lord; it is kindness, relief and mercy that prove the power of faith – and justice that measures the worth of state. Poverty and justice are religious issues. Kings are judged on how the poor fare under their rule; prophets speak to the gap between the rich and the poor as a reason for God’s judgment. And Jesus moves among the disinherited. In one of the greatest sermons ever preached we hear from his own lips: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” Let’s get Jesus back.

Let’s recover the faith that takes on the corruption of power. A faith that challenges complacency at both parties. If you’re a Democrat, you’re called to shake them up. If you’re a Republican, you’re called to shame them. Jesus drove the money changers from the temple of Jerusalem. We must drive them from the temples of democracy.

But let’s do it in love.

I know it can sound banal and facile to say this. The word “love” gets thrown around too casually these days. “Don’t you just love this?” “I loved that movie.” “I’d love to get away for the weekend.” And brute reality can mock the whole idea of loving one another. We’re still living in the shadow of Dachau and Buchenwald. The smoke still rises above Kosovo and Rwanda, Chechnya and East Timor. The walls of Abu Ghraib still shriek of pain. What has love done you ask? Where is there any real milk of human kindness? But the love I mean is the love described by Reinhold Niebuhr in his book of essays, Justice and Mercy, where he writes: “When we talk about love we have to become mature or we will become sentimental. Basically love means…being responsible, responsibility to our family, toward our civilization, and now by the pressures of history, toward the universe of humankind.”

So let us love our country. But let us remember the words of G.K. Chesterton: “To say my country, right or wrong, is something no patriot would say except in dire emergency; it is like saying, ‘my mother, drunk or sober.’”

Let us love our neighbor, but let’s not allow him to poison our well -- from ignorance or intent. Let us love our enemy, even as we resist his aggression. We cannot defeat the terrorists if we become like them. We cannot stand up to the religious right if we imitate them.

Moyers finds fault with both Republicans and Democrats for the mess we find ourselves in. You can read or listen to his full remarks by clicking here. Hopefully, these comments excerpted here will wet your appetite for more.

George W. Bush is a terrible president and there is no way around saying it. But there is something I want to thank him for. His policies have forced people like Moyers to reflect deeply on their faith and to preach more prophetically. I hope we listen. If we follow God the world can be a better and more just place. Preach, Bill.

Happy Halloween

From Hugo and Hazel (and Chuck, Liz, Frances & Katherine)

November 2, 2004

After September 11th, there were few people around who thought George W. Bush could be defeated. John Kerry saw the possible. He took an enormous risk and has shown remarkable personal courage in running a campaign with a message that American can do better. Hopefully, on Tuesday night we’ll be celebrating the election of a new president. We are right on the cusp of defeating another Bush administration.

Try and spend the next 48 hours ignoring the fluctuating polls. Turn off the television. Read a book. Listen to some good music. Pray. Escape the moment. Then get your family, friends, neighbors, and any random voters you might know to the polls on Tuesday. Vote. Then sit back and watch the fireworks. Tuesday could be one of the most memorable nights in American history.

The Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson Turns To Scripture In Fight For Gay Rights

Brenda Bartella Peterson made national headlines this summer when she was named the first religious outreach advisor for the Democratic National Committee. Religious right groups quickly denounced her selection and the DNC, in a terrible move, caved to pressure and allowed Peterson to resign.

The Rev. Peterson didn’t stay down for long. She quickly assumed a position in her home state of Kentucky to fight an anti-gay ballot measure. The Courier-Journal reports:

Peterson said her message in Kentucky is the same as when she worked for the national Democratic Party: Conservatives do not have a monopoly on the religious vote.

While conservatives are organizing on issues such as opposition to abortion and homosexuality, she said, many liberals also draw on their faith to mobilize for such issues as economic equality and gay rights.

"On all these justice issues, we turn to the Scriptures too," she said.

Read about her compelling life story by clicking here.

Related Posts:

Democrats Abandon The Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson

Washington Times, Catholic League Launch Smear Campaign against Brenda Peterson

Democratic National Committee Names The Rev. Brenda Bartella-Peterson To Religion Post

Reading Week Wanderings

We returned today from a week long trip to the Bay Area. Each semester our seminary cancels classes for “Reading Week.” This is a period where we can catch-up on work, write papers, and prepare for exams. We took the opportunity to visit Liz’s family in California. She introduced Katherine and Frances to all their relatives (many of which they had not met yet) while I studied. My biggest dilemma of the week: where do you pack your clothing when your suitcase is full of books? This picture is of Katherine and Frances with their cousins Walter and Harriett (the children of Liz’s sister Sarah and her husband Paul). More pictures will be posted on our homepage when time permits.

Don’t forget to vote!

Praying For Friends

My thoughts are prayers tonight are with my friend Heather Hyland. Shelby Hyland, Heather’s beautiful niece, died in an accident on Thursday afternoon in Woodburn, Oregon. We didn’t learn about the accident until returning today from California. All of the Hyland family members are wonderful and caring people. Please join me in praying for Shelby's parents, Heather, and their extended family during this time of terrible loss. Alexa, Shelby’s friend, also died in the accident and several people were injured. I pray for all of them as well.

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC) has updated their website and added a blog. RAC is the advocacy arm of the Union for Reform Judaism. Be sure to visit their site.

In Times of Great Decision

Tune: AURELIA 7.6.7.6 D ("The Church's One Foundation")
Version of hymn with music, from the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship

A Hymn/Prayer Before Election Day

In times of great decision, Be with us, God, we pray
Give each of us a vision Of Jesus' loving way.
When louder words seem endless And other voices sure,
Remind us of your promise: Your love and truth endure.

O God, whose gifts are countless, You send us bearing peace.
You fill our dreams with justice For all communities.
You give us global neighbors That all may justly live.
May those we choose as leaders Reflect the life you give.

O God, you bridged the distance; You opened wide your door.
You call us by our presence To reach to serve the poor.
You teach us: Welcome strangers Seek justice on the earth
May those we choose as leaders See every person's worth.

You call on every nation To put aside all greed,
To care for your creation And for your ones in need,
To care for those in prison, For children, for the ill.
In times of great decision, may we choose leaders well.

Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864.
Alternate Tune: LLANGLOFFAN ("O God ov Every Nation"). Welsh folk melody.
Text: Copyright © 2004 Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. [email protected]

Hymn Note: "In Times of Great Decision" was inspired by "Christian Principles in an Election Year" by the National Council of Churches USA: http://www.ncccusa.org/electionyearprinciplesguide.pdf Carolyn Winfrey Gillette is co- pastor of the Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware and author of Gifts of Love: New Hymns for Today's Worship (Geneva Press, 2000). A complete list of her hymns, including for the lectionary year, can be found at http://firstpresby.org/hymnlist.htm

Permission for free one-time use is given for a congregational or ecumenical community service. The above copyright and contact information shall be included when reproducing this hymn in worship bulletins. Thank you. People who want to make a donation for using the hymn may do so online to NCC or Church World Service to support their important work. Please share this hymn (with the above copyright and contact information) with other pastors, church musicians and friends in your community and online. Thank you.

California's Proposition 71

Proposition 71 pits actor / governor Arnold Schwarzenegger against actor / director Mel Gibson. If voters approve the measure on Tuesday it would allow state money to be used in stem cell research. Both men are Roman Catholics. The governor’s support of the measure also puts him odds with the Republican Party and George W. Bush.

Brad Pitt, for those wondering, supports the measure.

Only in California would the positions of actors make a difference on an issue with scientific, theological, and economic considerations.

"Proposition 71 authorizes tax-free bonds that will provide $300 per year over 10 years to support stem cell research at Californian medical schools, hospitals, and other research facilities," according the supporters.

A coalition of faith groups support the measure, but there is also deep opposition from some religious voters to all forms of stem cell research.

The United Church of Christ supports stem cell research in general (though I have found no information suggesting the church has endorsed this measure). Much of the dispute about the measure relates to the bonds. California is already borrowing their way out of a financial mess and some voters are concerned the state cannot afford to become involved in stem cell research.

One thing is clear: we do need the research. Hopefully, a new administration in Washington will take office in January that supports new federal spending in this field. I’d vote for this measure if I lived in California, but the federal government should be taking the lead on this and not the states.

The St Louis Cardinals & The Boston Red Sox

It wouldn’t be right to wait for another 24-hour period to go by without congratulating Boston on their victory over the Cardinals. The Red Sox played one amazing game after another. My first professional baseball game was watching the Cardinals, my home team as long as I’m in seminary, and what a treat it was. St. Louis is a town divided on many issues. But that isn’t true when the Cardinals play. When you’re in that arena and the Cardinals are up to bat you know what it means to be part of a city. St. Louis will come back and win again. In the meantime, way to go Boston! Let’s hope the win last week is a sign of things to come on Tuesday for another champion from Boston.

Marian Wright Edelman urges UCC to respond to children

From The United Church of Christ

CLEVELAND—Children's Defense Fund (CDF) founder and president Marian Wright Edelman addressed a group at the UCC Church House in Cleveland, saying, "I fervently believe this is the most important election in our lifetime. People of faith need to have our voices heard, as never before, to protect the integrity of our faith and the future of our children."

Edelman's visit to Cleveland was part of a national mobilization effort, targeting voters in faith and social justice communities.

Full story

The Windsor Report

Since The Episcopal Church named Gene Robinson a bishop there has been great controversy within the world-wide Anglican Communion. The truth of the matter is that the controversy is much older than the debate over Robinson. It all revolves around the issue of homosexuality and the Bible. This past week PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly took a look at how the debate was shaping up after the release of a report calling on US churches not to ordain gay priests or bishops. Click here to read or watch the story.

Catholics for a Free Choice Files IRS Complaint Against Denver Archdiocese

Press Release from Catholics for a Free Choice

Washington, DC—With eight days remaining until Americans will choose their next president, Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC) has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against the Archdiocese of Denver for Archbishop Charles Chaput’s attempts to influence the outcome of the election.

CFFC has called on the IRS to exercise its “immediate action against the Archdiocese of Denver, which has violated its status as a public charity under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) by intervening in campaigns for public office.”

Archbishop Chaput, leader of the Archdiocese of Denver, has repeatedly engaged in voter instruction by explicitly urging Catholics to vote against candidates who support abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research. In fourteen of 28 of his columns in the archdiocese’s weekly newspaper, Archbishop Chaput has repeatedly and continuously urged voters to reject candidates opposed to the organization’s views. This publication has been made widely available through the archdiocese website, as well as through traditional print subscriptions. The archbishop has also attempted to influence voters during public speeches, interviews and on Friday, October 22, in an op-ed in the New York Times.

Click here to read the full press release.

Related post: Justice Department Should Investigate Catholic Church Bishop Ties To Bush Campaign

Protecting God's Creation on November 2

Message from FaithfulAmerica.org.

Some of the most pressing issues facing our nation have yet to make it into the political spotlight.

One of the most important is the environment. After rolling back decades of progress on cleaner air and water, our leaders are not being held accountable. Our sponsoring organization, the National Council of Churches USA, wants to run an interfaith message in major newspapers reminding people of the importance of having political leaders who care for God’s earth. Click below to sign the prayer petition and help place it in the newspapers:

www.faithfulamerica.org/environment.htm

NCC’s message reminds Americans that air pollution is warming our planet, poisoning our air, and triggering asthma in our children. That toxic waste blackens our waters and women worry about mercury contamination in the fish they and their children eat. That no forest, mountain, or flatland is sacred or safe from drilling, bulldozing and development. And that the poor and vulnerable suffer first and most.

Our political leaders must act now to protect God’s good earth for current and future generations. Help voice concern for God’s creation by supporting the publication of this statement across the country:

www.faithfulamerica.org/environment.htm

Related Post: Defend God’s Creation This November

"Religious left tries to regain ground lost to conservatives"

The San Francisco Chronicle published an article today talking about the resurgence of the religious left. The story doesn’t cover any new ground. In fact, the story neglects to mention some of the best know progressive religious voter outreach efforts. It is still a good story, however, and maybe it surprised some San Francisco readers to even learn there was such a thing as the religious left. Click here to read it.

An Open Letter From Religious Leaders to the Citizens of Metropolitan St. Louis On The November Election

This letter appeared on Sunday in The St. Louis Post Dispatch. It will run again on Tuesday. I was glad for the opportunity to add my name to the list of signers.

As religious leaders from congregations in the St. Louis area, we wish to add our voice to the public dialogue about the future of our city, our state and our nation in this election year. As we see it, religion is being frequently used to justify military aggression, to restrict civil liberties, to support economic policies that favor the rich and to encourage fear of “others.” We believe that our religious traditions teach a far different set of values. Study, prayer, experience and dialogue lead us to affirm the following:

 Because God's blessing is pronounced on peacemakers, we look for
political leaders who seek non-violent solutions to conflict and treat war as a last resort.

 Because God calls us to be advocates for those who are most vulnerable in society, we look for political leaders who work for economic justice and attempt to reduce the growing disparity between rich and poor.

 Because each person is created in the image of God and is of infinite worth, we look for political leaders who actively promote racial justice and celebrate this nation's racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity.

 Because the earth belongs to God and is intrinsically good, we look for political leaders who affirm the human responsibility to protect God's creation.

 Because people around the globe are related in God's one human family, we look for political leaders who regard AIDS in Africa, to take only one example, as an urgent concern.

 Because one of God's commandments is to welcome strangers, we look for political leaders who uphold fair immigration policies and speak out against the fear of those who are "different."

 Because every neighbor, as a child of God, deserves opportunity for fullness of life, we look for political leaders who support first-rate public education for all students and promote adequate, affordable health care for all citizens.

 Because God calls the human family to live in community, we look for political leaders who strive to eliminate the violence and despair that erode community life in America's cities.

 Because all persons can be transformed by the power of God's love, we look for political leaders who champion restorative justice, not capital punishment, and who seek to change a penal system that perpetuates oppression of African-Americans.

 Because our traditions admonish us not to bear false witness, we look for political leaders who conduct their campaigns according to principles of fairness, honesty, and integrity.

We offer these affirmations as a basis for conversation and as a possible framework for evaluating candidates and policies in this election season.

Signed,

Jerry Armiri
Meredith Anderson
Heather Arcovitch
Mark Arnold
Peg Atkins
Janice Edwards Barnes
Bernard Becker
Janet Becker
Angela Boyd
Ronice Branding
Brian Brandsmeier
Pastor Ron Brooker
The Rev. Cynthia S. Bumb
Barbara Byorum
The Rev. Tim Carson
The Rev. Dr. Warren E. Crews
Chuck Currie
Helen Davis
Philip Deitch
Mary B. Diboll
The Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer
The Rev. Dr. Martha S. Due
The Rev. Dr. Ron Eslinger
Members of the Ethical Society of St. Louis
Karen Farthing
James Fish
Eric Fistler
Rabbi Randy Fleisher
Carla Leeds Fletcher
Rabbi John A. Franken
Cari Frus
Dorothy Gannon
Virginia Gilbert
Darla Glynn
Paul & Shirley Godt
The Rev. Dr. David M. Greenhaw
The Rev. Jeff Groene
Rabbi Steve Gutow
The Rev. Daniel Handschy
Barbara Hause
The Rev. Dr. Richard Hause
Barbara Henley
Dan Henley
Rita D. Hill
The Rev. Dr. Michael Hoy
Dori Hudson
Craig Jan-McMahon
Don Johnson
Linda Wallace Jones
Richard B. Jones
The Rev. Jerry Keeney
The Rev. Bob Keller
The Rev. Donna Kendrick-Philips
The Rev. January Kiefer
The Rev. Katherine Kinnamon
The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon
Wes Knight
The Rev. Doug Kraus
Laura Law
The Rev. Sue Leary
Josh Longbottom
The Rev. Dr. Joretta L. Marshall
The Rev. Ben C. Martin
Selma Mayer
James McCaffrey
The Rev. Dr. J. Clinton McCann
The Rev. Sarah Fredriksen McCann
Jennifer McCann
Julie McDowell
The Rev. Suzanne Meyer
Jack Michael
Dianne Modrell
Alex Molozaiy
The Rev. Dr. Charles H. Morris
Timothy Murphy
The Rev. Canon Susan K. Nanny
The Rev. Dr. Holly Nelson
Rich Nelson
Keela Neumann
The Rev. Brian Q. Newcomb
Lydia Oberschelp
Chuck Orme-Rogers
The Rev. Gene Ostendorf
Howard F. Park III
The Rev. Robert B. Patterson
The Rev. Margie Pride
Rebecca Ragland
The Rev. Jane Rand
The Rev. David Riebeling
Teacher Kathryn Riebeling
The Rev. Dr. John W. Riggs
Aaron Roberts
The Rev. Dr. Penny Ross-Corona
Jessica Rowley
Joseph Rowley
The Rev. Jason Samuel
The Rev. Ron Serino
The Rev. Dr. Wally M. Shearburn
Rocky Sheneman
Rachael Smith
The Rev. Dr. Marilyn L. Stavenger
The Rev. Carleton Stock
Elizabeth Sublette
The Rev. Dr. George Sublette
Jessica Taft
Rabbi Susan Talve
Dr. Rance Thomas
Fred Tilinski
Frederick Tuttle
The Rev. Michael Vosler
Brenda Waters
The Rev. Dr. Suzanne Webb
The Rev. Gloria Weber
Lora Whitten
The Rev. Dr. Barbara G. Willock
Joanne Wilson
Raleigh Wilson
The Rev. Dr. Diane Windler
The Rev. Charlsi Woodard
Jo Wright
Cathleen Yost
Jeffrey Young

An electronic version of this letter is available at www.eden.edu/WHATSNEW/whatsnew.html.
Additional materials for the election year can be found at www.allgodspeople.us.

Confessing Christ in a World of Violence

Message from Jim Wallis

Because of a deep and growing concern about an emerging "theology of war" in the White House, the increasingly frequent language of "righteous empire," and official claims of "divine appointment" for a nation and president in the "war" on terrorism, I have joined with several theologians and ethicists in writing the following statement. A climate in which violence is too easily accepted, and the roles of God, church, and nation too easily confused calls for a new "confession" of Christ. The statement names five key points of Jesus' teachings, while rejecting false teachings that nullify his message. It has been signed by more than 200 theologians and ethicists - many of them from theologically conservative seminaries and Christian colleges. We share it with you and ask that you send it to friends and present it to your churches if you resonate with its concerns and convictions.

Confessing Christ in a World of Violence

Our world is wracked with violence and war. But Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God" (Matt. 5:9). Innocent people, at home and abroad, are increasingly threatened by terrorist attacks. But Jesus said: "Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). These words, which have never been easy, seem all the more difficult today.

Nevertheless, a time comes when silence is betrayal. How many churches have heard sermons on these texts since the terrorist atrocities of September 11? Where is the serious debate about what it means to confess Christ in a world of violence? Does Christian "realism" mean resigning ourselves to an endless future of "pre-emptive wars"? Does it mean turning a blind eye to torture and massive civilian casualties? Does it mean acting out of fear and resentment rather than intelligence and restraint?

Faithfully confessing Christ is the church's task, and never more so than when its confession is co-opted by militarism and nationalism.

- A "theology of war," emanating from the highest circles of American government, is seeping into our churches as well.

- The language of "righteous empire" is employed with growing frequency.

- The roles of God, church, and nation are confused by talk of an American "mission" and "divine appointment" to "rid the world of evil."

The security issues before our nation allow no easy solutions. No one has a monopoly on the truth. But a policy that rejects the wisdom of international consultation should not be baptized by religiosity. The danger today is political idolatry exacerbated by the politics of fear.

In this time of crisis, we need a new confession of Christ.

1. Jesus Christ, as attested in Holy Scripture, knows no national boundaries. Those who confess his name are found throughout the earth. Our allegiance to Christ takes priority over national identity. Whenever Christianity compromises with empire, the gospel of Christ is discredited.

We reject the false teaching that any nation-state can ever be described with the words, "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." These words, used in scripture, apply only to Christ. No political or religious leader has the right to twist them in the service of war.

2. Christ commits Christians to a strong presumption against war. The wanton destructiveness of modern warfare strengthens this obligation. Standing in the shadow of the Cross, Christians have a responsibility to count the cost, speak out for the victims, and explore every alternative before a nation goes to war. We are committed to international cooperation rather than unilateral policies.

We reject the false teaching that a war on terrorism takes precedence over ethical and legal norms. Some things ought never be done - torture, the deliberate bombing of civilians, the use of indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction - regardless of the consequences.

3. Christ commands us to see not only the splinter in our adversary's eye, but also the beam in our own. The distinction between good and evil does not run between one nation and another, or one group and another. It runs straight through every human heart.

We reject the false teaching that America is a "Christian nation," representing only virtue, while its adversaries are nothing but vicious. We reject the belief that America has nothing to repent of, even as we reject that it represents most of the world's evil. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).

4. Christ shows us that enemy-love is the heart of the gospel. While we were yet enemies, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8, 10). We are to show love to our enemies even as we believe God in Christ has shown love to us and the whole world. Enemy-love does not mean capitulating to hostile agendas or domination. It does mean refusing to demonize any human being created in God's image.

We reject the false teaching that any human being can be defined as outside the law's protection. We reject the demonization of perceived enemies, which only paves the way to abuse; and we reject the mistreatment of prisoners, regardless of supposed benefits to their captors.

5. Christ teaches us that humility is the virtue befitting forgiven sinners. It tempers all political disagreements, and it allows that our own political perceptions, in a complex world, may be wrong.

We reject the false teaching that those who are not for the United States politically are against it or that those who fundamentally question American policies must be with the "evil-doers." Such crude distinctions, especially when used by Christians, are expressions of the Manichaean heresy, in which the world is divided into forces of absolute good and absolute evil.

The Lord Jesus Christ is either authoritative for Christians, or he is not. His Lordship cannot be set aside by any earthly power. His words may not be distorted for propagandistic purposes. No nation-state may usurp the place of God.

We believe that acknowledging these truths is indispensable for followers of Christ. We urge them to remember these principles in making their decisions as citizens. Peacemaking is central to our vocation in a troubled world where Christ is Lord.

Click here for a list of signers.

Related Post: Jim Wallis Visits Eden Theological Seminary

Bush Relatives For Kerry

A few of George W. Bush’s relatives (people I’m thinking won’t be invited to the White House Christmas Party this year) have started a new web site: Bush Relatives For Kerry.

Jeanny House (Wisconsin): I'm voting for John Kerry because I'm a Christian. I know that my second cousin, George Bush, claims that he is the anointed leader of the American people and that God told him to run for office. I believe he may even believe that. I don't.

My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the poor and the marginalized, yet Bush's actions in office have repeatedly cut funding for health care, aid to failing schools, jobs programs, after school programs, Head Start, and many more services that provide real help and hope to those living in poverty. Under the Bush administration, over a million additional people have dropped below the poverty line. 1.2 million more have gone into "deep poverty," which is one-half the $18,810 for a family of four that defines "poverty."

My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the health and welfare of all of God's people, yet 45 million people in this country have no health insurance. The Bush administration, working hard to protect the interests of large, rich insurance companies, has done nothing to address the real health care crisis.

My Christian faith tells me the peacemakers are the blessed ones, yet George Bush wants to resurrect the Crusades, one of the most shameful experiences in Christian history. I fail to understand how lying to the people of the United States about any of the many justifications they have used for going to war in Iraq can be considered in any way, shape, or form a remotely Christian activity. Yes, Jesus once said, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." He was talking about liberating his OWN people from within, not invading an oil-rich country out of purely selfish motives, then claiming it was for the liberation of others. The only true liberation comes when the oppressed claim it for themselves. This is something George Bush and his Imperialist cabal will never understand.

My Christian faith moves toward greater inclusiveness and acceptance, George Bush moves toward punishment, division, and exclusion. My Christian faith seeks to bring people into the circle of decision-making, George Bush seeks to keep them out. My Christian faith seeks to afford equal rights and responsibilities to all, George Bush seeks to reserve more rights for the privileged few.

My Christian faith is not looking for a new Messiah named George Bush.

I am, however, looking for a leader. I believe that leader's name is John Kerry.

Take that, cousin George.

Found via:

worldwide pablo: With friends like this

A Prayer for National Discernment

Written by Neal Christie and published in Christian Social Action

Lord of the past
From one clot of blood you formed every race and culture
And we chose to gather as nations.
But did you ever imagine a life-time election
As priest and prophet in a stateless state:

As the Word who expressed Isaiah’s word,
You were no studied mouthpiece for corporate ballots,
You took no popular polls, admitted no party allegiances,
Danced no inaugural balls,
And held no debates, but spoke truth telling parables.
By the spirit’s triune unction
You became modest enough not to escape the miseries of life,
convicted enough for the poor to save face,
alive enough to outlive Herod’s bloodletting regime
and powerful enough to promise an end to Caesar’s client empire.

Lord of the present, when the White House is our world’s largest gated community,
When we mistake flags for sacraments,
Convention speeches for Scripture,
And illegal wars for leaning on the everlasting arms;
When we prefer mass branding which glues us to telegenic emperors,
When we choose national leaders by corporate proxy,
Who predict Gospel prosperity the plantation size of Walmart;
When we by anything, but value nothing,
And shelve our souls wall to wall in the process –
God, remind us that your yoke is easy and your call without deceit,
To be in friendship with those whom you elected for life –
The poor, the immigrant, the sick, the widowed, the child.

Lord of the future,
May we believe what we sing so well, “Elect from every nation”
And with a relaxed heart commit ourselves to a lifetime of action
As citizens of no one nation,
But only to your ever expanding kin-dom,
Favoring national repentance over calculated remorse,
Vigilance for earth stewardship over stiff-necked ownership,
Health care for all over sugar high promises without cost,
Living wages over weapons of mass destruction,
A new quality of freedom in commitment over myths of national scarcity.

God, give us an election that is not of our own choosing,
In the jubilee path of Mary and Ruth, Esther and Martha.
For your movement of grace reaches farther than your justice,
And your mercy is offered without bias or bounds.

Amen.

(Via bethquick.com)

Another Blog B-Day

The Heretic's Corner, one of my all-time favorite sites, also celebrated one year of blogging today. Karin is an Episcopalian seminary student in the Bay Area. Check her site out.

The Heretic's Corner: They say it's yer birthday

Do Blogs Have Birthdays?

Thank you.

It was a year ago today that I started to publish this blog. No one has been more surprised than me at the reaction. Over 100,000 hits have been registered. Newspapers have commented on it. Bloggers link to it. Some people love this site and others think I’m on crack, doomed to hell, or engaging in same-sex relations.

What I’m actually doing is trying to faithfully articulate a viewpoint absent from a lot of religious dialog these days.

God is good. God is just. God loves those who are poor, rich, oppressed, free, sick, well, suffering, fulfilled, gay, and straight. God is not a Republican (or a Democrat). God doesn’t support George W. Bush’s political campaigns. God doesn’t support preemptive war. God doesn’t support discrimination. God doesn’t support the destruction of God’s creation. God stands with the oppressed over the oppressors. Argue with that if you want.

Being faithful doesn’t always mean you’re correct. Plenty of times I suspect I’ve been wrong. I’d rather try then be silent. God is still speaking.

Thank you to all who visit this site. One year later publishing this (reader supported) blog is still fun.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

- Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

Welcome, Kennedy!

Oregon bloggers Susan and Sheryl had a baby girl (Kennedy!) on Wednesday. I’ve been reading their pregnancy updates over these last many months and we’ve corresponded a few times on baby matters. It is so exciting to hear the news. Our own little ones, Frances and Katherine, send their best to the family. So do their parents. Welcome, little Kennedy!

Progressive Faith Movement Launches GOTV Campaign

Message from The National Council of Churches

October 20, 2004, NEW YORK CITY -- Over two dozen leading moderate and progressive faith organizations and leaders, including the National Council of Churches USA and its General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, launched their first ever coordinated national "Get Out the Vote" campaign today. Thousands of volunteers and 100 phone banks have already been mobilized to call one million newly registered voters before Election Day.

The "Vote ALL Your Values" campaign connects people of faith to a database of millions of low-income, minority, and youth voters. Another 20,000 volunteers have been trained for Get Out the Vote and election monitoring efforts on Election Day.

The "Vote ALL Your Values" message is largely in response to religious groups who have suggested that Americans should vote based on a few hot button values issues, organizers said.

"Vote ALL Your Values is our message to Americans in this time of moral urgency," said Dr. Edgar.B "We can't afford to sacrifice our sacred values of truth, justice and community to a narrow ideological agenda advanced by a few vocal religious groups," he added.

Said Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance, "At stake in this year's elections is the fate of virtually every issue of social-moral-political significance to religious communities - civil rights, foreign policy, fair housing, taxation, religious liberty, economic justice, education, poverty, health care, and the future for our nation's children.B We must not ignore the moral urgency of this moment."

This campaign caps the most intense year in decades for moderate-to-progressive religious activism, highlighted by:

-- $1 million raised to run ads in over 100 newspaper and radio outlets for "God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat," "Life Does Not End at Birth," and Church Folks for a Better America ad campaigns;
-- Over 450,000 voters registered through the National Council of Churches, Center for Community Change, the Gamaliel Foundation and the Interfaith Alliance;
-- A doubling in the membership of moderate-to-progressive online religious advocacy networks to over 400,000 activists - primarily for Sojourners and the launch of FaithfulAmerica.org;
-- Over 1 million voter guides distributed by Catholic, Protestant and evangelical groups;
-- More than 700 major faith gatherings around the country, including a 30-city Bus Tour in October that reached thousands with the message that ending poverty is a religious and political issue, and a 15-city "Let Justice Roll: Faith and Community Voices Against Poverty" campaign June-October.

"The era of the Religious Right's dominance over faith and politics is over," said Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine. "Progressive voices are making themselves heard. We will not allow a conservative partisan minority to tell us how to vote and how to interpret our faith. We will vote on all our values."

"Vote ALL Your Values" is the first non-partisan, virtual get out the vote campaign. It allows faith volunteers anywhere in the country to log into the virtual phone bank, receive phone numbers and scripts, and record responses.

One volunteer, Eric Thal, explained his decision to start making calls: "I believe in a democracy that believes in compassion. We're all children of God and we should have a democracy that works for everyone, not just a few."

The million voter drive officially launched on Wednesday (Oct. 20) at a media event, held at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City, featuring Dr. Bob Edgar (National Council of Churches USA), Jim Wallis (Sojourners and Call to Renewal), Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy (The Interfaith Alliance), Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs (Kol Tivah), Rev. Larry Pickens (United Methodist), Bishop Catherine S. Roskam (Episcopal Diocese of NY), and Sister Arlene Flaherty (Network Catholic Social Justice Lobby).

Institutional sponsors of the campaign include People for the American Way, Progressive Christians United, Let Justice Roll, FaithfulAmerica.org, the Center for American Progress, The Riverside Church and Mobilization 2004, African American Minister Leadership Council, Pax Christi, Lift Every Voice, the People of Faith Network, Catholics for the Common Good, The National Council of Churches USA, Sojourners, Call to Renewal, The Interfaith Alliance, Network Catholic Social Justice Lobby, The Alliance of Baptists, Res Publica, and Kol Tikvah.

"Iran endorses Bush for president"

Iran (charter member of the Axis of Evil) thinks they have an ally in George W. Bush. The Associated Press reports:

TEHRAN, Iran -- The head of Iran's security council said Tuesday that the re-election of President Bush was in Tehran's best interests, despite the administration's "axis of evil" label, accusations that Iran harbors al-Qaida terrorists and threats of sanctions for the country's nuclear ambitions.

Historically, Democrats have harmed Iran more than Republicans, said Hasan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security decision-making body.

"We haven't seen anything good from Democrats," Rowhani told state-run television in remarks that, for the first time in decades, saw Iran openly supporting one U.S. presidential candidate over another.

Though Iran generally does not publicly wade into U.S. presidential politics, it has a history of preferring Republicans over Democrats, who tend to press human rights issues.

"We do not desire to see Democrats take over," Rowhani said when asked whether Iran was supporting Democratic Sen. John Kerry against Bush.

I’m just not at all surprised.

Biblical Witness: How We Understand the Bible Matters

How we read and understand the Bible has great implications for how we view the Christian faith. Those who read the Bible as literal history (those who consider themselves to be fundamentalist Christians) will take away very different meaning from the stories in the Bible than those of us who understand that these stories are in part human theological reflections on who God is and what God wants for God’s creation.

Marcus Borg writes that this conflict in interpretation is “the single greatest issue facing Christians today.”

The conflict about the Bible is most publicly visible in discussion of three issues. First, in some Christian circles, ‘creation versus evolution’ is the primary litmus test of loyalty to the Bible. The second issue is homosexuality: May practicing gays and lesbians be full members of the church? May the unions of gays and lesbian couples be blessed? May gays and lesbians be ordained? This debate is often cast in the form of accepting or rejecting biblical authority.

A third lightning rod for the conflict is contemporary historical Jesus scholarship. For the least decade, the quest for the historical Jesus has attracted widespread media attention and public interest, especially among mainline Christians. But it has generated a strong negative reaction among fundamentalist and conservative-evangelical Christians. From their point of view, questioning the historical factuality of the gospels strikes at the very founds of Christianity.

- Reading The Bible Again For The First Time

Richard D. Nelson writes that the Bible is a form of literature that can be called “historiography” - writing whose function is to “narrate the past and to make judgments about it.” He calls this process of writing “an ideological and interpretative enterprise” and believes there are three levels worth noting in the process of writing such literature:

Selection: Which events and people are worth the reader’s notice? Which incidents made a difference in the course of events? Which may be ignored as inconsequential?

Organization: Historiography characteristically imposes some sort of structure on the past and provides links between events.

Drive To Establish Patterns of Causation: What circumstances and causes brought about the events described? What later events and states of affairs did they produce in return?

Nelson is careful to note that saying the Bible is not literal history is not the same thing as saying the Bible is fiction. Authors putting oral traditions into writing had to work with stories that were familiar with their audiences, Nelson writes. The writer could “not ignore or deform these stories out of recognizable shape.” Walter Brueggemann thinks of it this way: “What we have in the Old Testament, rather than reportage, is a sustained memory that has been filtered through many generations of the interpretative process, with many interpreters imposing certain theological intentionalities on the memory that continues to be reformulated.”

Biblical Witness is a small movement in the United Church of Christ that is concerned with what they see as “the UCC’s theological surrender to the moral and spiritual confusion of contemporary culture.” They reject modern biblical scholarship and suggest that churches within their movement seek ministers trained in more conservative seminaries outside of the UCC tradition. They feel so strongly about their beliefs that they seek with intention to undermine the UCC through their actions. The work of Biblical Witness is a clear example of how interpreting the Bible can create radically different theological world views. It also illustrates how important it is to make modern scholarship accessible to lay people that do not have the benefit of formal theological training.

Sinclair Broadcasting Company Curtails Anti-Kerry Program. Sort Of.

With their stock falling the Sinclair Broadcasting Company is curtailing plans to show a “news documentary” that attacks John Kerry. The media mega-corporation has been under pressure from watch dog groups and campaign finance reform advocates since announcing their intention to air the anti-Kerry film "Stolen Honor." Last week their chief Washington, DC correspondent was fired after publicly criticizing his company for planning to run such a partisan program under the guise of news.

Blog for America reports on today’s developments:

As you know, the Sinclair Broadcasting Company has recently allowed the political aspirations of its executives to override sound corporate policy. The decision has been reflected by their falling stock prices over the last week, growing shareholder anger (reflected by a group demand underwritten by Media Matters), and unwanted attention from the press... including from their own Washington bureau chief, who called the decision to air an anti-Kerry film "biased political propaganda."

Today, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, under intense internal pressure, Sinclair has caved on its decision to air the 45-minute propaganda feature. The bad news is that it will still be featured in an hour-long segment entitled A POW Story: Politics, Pressure, and the Media.

In their press release, they say that "the news special will focus in part on the use of documentaries and other media to influence voting"... an autobiographical piece perhaps? Despite the obvious hypocracy, they come off as indignant.

Visit Blog for America for more and to see how you can keep up the pressure on Sinclair. There is still more work to be done.

Blog for America

Related Post: Sinclair Broadcast Group: A Republican Partisan Business Attacking John Kerry and Demeaning The Electoral Process.

Tony Campolo: "Speaking My Mind"

Evangelical Christian Tony Campolo has a new book out. I heard him preach once at a conference in Washington, DC. and this afternoon picked up a copy of Speaking My Mind. Campolo was interviewed by Beliefnet.com recently about why he wrote this new book:

My purpose in writing the book was to communicate loud and clear that I felt that evangelical Christianity had been hijacked.

When did it become anti-feminist? When did evangelical Christianity become anti-gay? When did it become supportive of capital punishment? Pro-war? When did it become so negative towards other religious groups?

There are a group of evangelicals who would say, "Wait a minute. We’re evangelicals but we want to respect Islam. We don’t want to call its prophet evil. We don’t want to call the religion evil. We believe that we have got to learn to live in the same world with our Islamic brothers and sisters and we want to be friends. We do not want to be in some kind of a holy war."

We also raise some very serious questions about the support of policies that have been detrimental to the poor. When I read the voter guide of a group like the Christian Coalition, I find that they are allied with the National Rifle Association and are very anxious to protect the rights of people to buy even assault weapons. But they don’t seem to be very supportive of concerns for the poor, concerns for trade relations, for canceling Third World debts.

Campolo is one of those evangelical Christians who will be voting for John Kerry next month. He wants a president more concerned about the needs of the poor and the environment. So do I.

"How Bush goes beyond the Bible to create his own reality"

Jeff Sharlet, editor of The Revealer, has his own take on The New York Times Magazine article by Ron Suskind on George W. Bush’s faith. His conclusion: Bush isn’t a Christian; he’s a New Age Mystic.

If God Can Change God's Mind Why Can't Bush Change His?

One difference between God and George W. Bush (and this is among multitudes of differences) is that God is willing to change God’s mind and the president makes no mistakes and sees no reason to change course even when the world is burning around him.

Ron Suskind illustrates the faith-inspired stubborn streak that Bush maintains in an article published this weekend in The New York Times Magazine. “Without a Doubt” doesn’t break a lot of new ground. Bush’s faith is well documented. But this article has some good stories to tell.

Bush employs a theology in which he believes that he personally is an instrument of God sent to lead the free word. Bush speaks for God. In office, Suskind writes, this belief has allowed him to grow more isolated:

On Feb. 1, 2002, Jim Wallis of the Sojourners stood in the Roosevelt Room for the introduction of Jim Towey as head of the president's faith-based and community initiative. John DiIulio, the original head, had left the job feeling that the initiative was not about ''compassionate conservatism,'' as originally promised, but rather a political giveaway to the Christian right, a way to consolidate and energize that part of the base.

Moments after the ceremony, Bush saw Wallis. He bounded over and grabbed the cheeks of his face, one in each hand, and squeezed. ''Jim, how ya doin', how ya doin'!'' he exclaimed. Wallis was taken aback. Bush excitedly said that his massage therapist had given him Wallis's book, ''Faith Works.'' His joy at seeing Wallis, as Wallis and others remember it, was palpable -- a president, wrestling with faith and its role at a time of peril, seeing that rare bird: an independent counselor. Wallis recalls telling Bush he was doing fine, '''but in the State of the Union address a few days before, you said that unless we devote all our energies, our focus, our resources on this war on terrorism, we're going to lose.' I said, 'Mr. President, if we don't devote our energy, our focus and our time on also overcoming global poverty and desperation, we will lose not only the war on poverty, but we'll lose the war on terrorism.''' Bush replied that that was why America needed the leadership of Wallis and other members of the clergy.

''No, Mr. President,'' Wallis says he told Bush, ''We need your leadership on this question, and all of us will then commit to support you. Unless we drain the swamp of injustice in which the mosquitoes of terrorism breed, we'll never defeat the threat of terrorism.''

Bush looked quizzically at the minister, Wallis recalls. They never spoke again after that.

''When I was first with Bush in Austin, what I saw was a self-help Methodist, very open, seeking,'' Wallis says now. ''What I started to see at this point was the man that would emerge over the next year -- a messianic American Calvinist. He doesn't want to hear from anyone who doubts him.''

The roll-call of problems faced by our country is enormous. The war in Iraq is going very poorly. Millions of Americans have lost their health insurance under the Bush Administration. Poverty rates are increasing after nearly a decade of steady declines. And this President has such strong faith in himself that he cannot admit to one mistake while in office. Maybe he could learn something from the Bible.

After the slaves had been freed from bondage in Egypt they began their long journey to the Promised Land. At one point the people became concerned when Moses was delayed returning from the mountain with God. They turned to Aaaron for leadership. Aaaron quickly had the people build an image of a golden calf to worship. God was not happy that the people he had just spent freeing from slavery were so quick to turn away. The next thing you know God is so angry that God is planning on destroying the people.

11 But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12Why should the Egyptians say, It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

- Exodus 32:11-14 (NRSV)

Yes, confronted with evidence even God is willing to change God’s mind. This is a Bible study lesson someone should try and teach the president before his ill-placed faith leads to even more disaster. This is a message for us all.

(Thanks to Besty at My Whim Is Law for sending along the NYT artilce and for her post on the subject)

This Blog Is Under Attack From The Free Republic Discussion Board

This post has been updated

Participants with in The Free Republic discussion board are apparently working on a plan to flood my site with comments – relevant or not – to disrupt service on my blog. They’re apparently mad about my post from yesterday that showed the The Institute on Religion and Democracy is really a political front group for ultra-conservative Richard Mellon Scaife and others. I suppose if these folks cannot argue the truth they have to resort to internet terrorism of a limited sort. Well, I’ve put up with worse. Let them come. I know how to delete.

UPDATE: Make sure you read their comments.

United Methodists Upset With Bush / Cheney Want Them To Repent Or Leave Church

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are both members of the United Methodist Church. The policies they advocate have some United Methodists claiming that the president and vice-president are working against church teaching. A group of them are circulating a “Letter of Complaint” to UMC officials demanding that Bush and Cheney either repent or leave the church:

We, the undersigned, do hold that George W. Bush, a member of Park Hill United Methodist Church (UMC) in Dallas, Texas, and Dick Cheney (local membership unknown) are undeniably guilty of at least four chargeable offenses for lay members as listed in 2702.3 of the 2000 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. These offenses are: crime, immorality, disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The UMC, and dissemination of doctrine contrary to the established standards of doctrine of The UMC. For these offenses, we the undersigned call for an immediate and public act of repentance by the respondents. If the respondents do not reply with sincere and public repentance for their crimes, we demand that their membership in the United Methodist Church be revoked until such time that they sincerely and publicly repent.

Click here to read a list of charges. United Methodists are asked to sign the letter.

Standing Up And Being Counted

The crisis in the Sudan only draws sporadic media attention. Genocide is going on there and few people are stepping up to the plate to help.

You can’t say that about the United Church of Christ of Petaluma in Califorina. Timothy Nonn, one of their members, wrote today to tell me about how their church is working to draw attention to the crisis. Their fall forum focuses on the genocide, local high school students are being invited to take part in an essay contest, and the church is asking people to donate money to Church World Service.

God is Still Speaking at the United Church of Christ of Petaluma.

Update: The Institute on Religion and Democracy Funded By Far Right Political Groups

The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), the organization that recently released a report charging mainline churches of anti-Semitism for their advocacy efforts lifting up justice issues in the Middle East, turns out to be a political group that receives funding from some of the most far-right political extremists in the country.

The charge of anti-Semitism was carried by the mainstream media in publications like The Washington Post and US News and World Report. But do Americans fully understand the political nature of the IRD? It doesn't appear that the media does.

The Rev. Andrew Weaver writes in an article on the University of Chicago Divinity School web site that:

The political right-wing, operating in the guise of a gaggle of so-called "renewal groups," particularly one named the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD), has acquired the money and political will to target three mainline American denominations: The United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Episcopal Church. The IRD was created and is sustained by money from right-wing foundations and has spent millions of dollars over 20 years attacking mainline denominations. The IRD's conservative social-policy goals include increasing military spending and foreign interventions, opposing environmental protection efforts, and eliminating social welfare programs.

In a document entitled "Reforming America's Churches Project 2001-2004," the IRD states that its aim is to change the "permanent governing structure" of mainline churches "so they can help renew the wider culture of our nation." In other words, its goal extends beyond the spiritual and includes a political takeover financed by the likes of Richard Mellon Scaife, Adolph Coors, the John M. Olin Foundation, and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee.

For example, the Scaife Family Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation (promoters and benefactors of the "Ken Starr Courts") made disbursements to the IRD totaling $1.6 million between 1985 and 2001 according to information found at www.mediatransparency.org. According to the Scaife websites, the IRD received $225,000 from the Sarah Scaife Foundation in 2002.

The Lynde and Harry Bradley foundation, a family foundation with ties to the John Birch Society, gave $1.3 million between 1985 and 2001 to IRD efforts. The overall objective of the Bradley Foundation is to return the U.S. to the days before government regulation of business, before corporations were forced to make concessions to an organized labor force. In other words, capitalism with the gloves off.

A more complete list of IRD's political backers can be found here.

The Right Web has information on their site that exposes ties between IRD and right-wing groups like Concerned Women for America, "Project for the New American Century (PNAC), Institute on Religion and Public Life (IRPL), Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), and American Enterprise Institute (AEI), as well as links to the conservative publications First Things, Christianity Today, and The Weekly Standard."

Weaver is a United Methodist minister concerned about efforts coordinated by IRD to destabilize the United Methodist Church. IRD hopes that their supporters will take over the United Methodist Church in the same way conservatives took over the Southern Baptist Church during the 1970s. They lay out plans for “reforming” liberal seminaries and kicking out social justice leaders from the church. This is all on the IRD web site.

Richard Mellon Scaife provided nearly all the funding needed to wage an eight-year campaign against Bill and Hillary Clinton. The investigations into Whitewater and MonicaGate were made possible because of the millions of dollars given by Scaife to dig up dirt on the First Family.

Scaife himself remained out of the public spotlight until the 1990s when he directed his attention against governor and later president Bill Clinton. He was the major backer of The American Spectator, whose Arkansas Project set out to find embarassing facts about Clinton and in which Paula Jones' accusations of sexual harassment against Clinton were first widely publicized. The project not only accused Clinton of financial and sexual indiscretions but gave root to conspiratorial notions that the Clintons collaborated with the CIA to run a drug smuggling operation out of the town of Mena, Arkansas, and that he had arranged for the murder of White House aide Vince Foster as part of a coverup of the Whitewater scandal. The possibility that money from the project had been given to former Clinton associate David Hale, a witness in the Whitewater investigation, led to the appointment of Michael J. Shaheen as a special investigator. Shaheen subpoenaed Scaife, who testified before a federal grand jury in the matter.

- Wikipedia

It is clear that mainline churches have now become the target of a growing political crusade to shutdown voices of faith opposed to the far-right political agenda. IRD is Scaife’s vehicle for waging this campaign. They receive help from a small number of web sites and bloggers who share the conservative desire to reform their own denominations. These internet sites help spread the propaganda developed by Scaife’s IRD. We now know that the Institute on Religious Democracy is operated and funded by some of the most extremist political operatives in the nation.

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George W. Bush Doesn’t Support United Methodist Positions

The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society has released a document comparing positions taken by the United Methodist Church and the candidates for president. George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and John Edwards are United Methodists. John Kerry is Roman Catholic.

Bush comes out on the opposite side of several important issues supported by the United Methodist Church. He opposes the positions (in full or in part) taken by the church on abortion, bioethics, civil rights, the death plenty, support for public education, energy resources, environmental protections, the needs of gays and lesbians, social security, taxation, trade, and the war on terror. Kerry’s positions are closer to those adopted by the United Methodists.

Visit:

The United Methodist Church and the 2004 Election: Comparing the Issues.

Steven Curtis Chapman's Fans Are Mad At Me. Who Is Steven Curtis Chapman?

A few fans of Christian signer Steven Curtis Chapman are mad about a post on my blog. Check out their discussion board.

Portland's First United Methodist Church: No On 36

Portland’s First United Methodist Church recently adopted a resolution calling for the defeat of Oregon’s Ballot Measure 36. This is the congregation I served as director of community outreach before coming to seminary. FUMC is a Reconciling Congregation and was given the “Profile in Courage” award from Basic Rights Oregon in 2000. Below you will find an article from their newsletter The Circuit Rider that contains the resolution they adopted and their explanation for doing so:

Beginning last spring and continuing through the past month, First UMC has sponsored forums on the topic of same-sex marriage, with the aim of engaging our congregation in dialogue (or as John Wesley might put it, "holy conferencing") on a timely issue that also commands our attention in November's election.

Last spring, a general session on the same-sex marriage garnered a large attendance. Just a few weeks ago we revisited the issue with a more specific presentation about the pros and cons of Ballot Measure 36 (which qualified for November's ballot after our spring forum). Then on September 19 members of First UMC gathered for a time of prayer and spiritual reflection, engaging in the discipline of spiritual discernment to ask the question: “What is God's will for our congregation on this topic?”

Reflecting on these events and the outcomes of the discernment process, the Leadership Council at its September 22 meeting approved this resolution:

We are United Methodists who believe that our Christian faith demands social justice and equality. We confess that as a body we are not of one mind on the right to marry or the definition of marriage, and we seek to discern God's will for us and our human relationships. However, we oppose any state or federal constitutional amendments or laws that would deny equal protections, equal rights, the enumerated privileges or immunities guaranteed by the constitution to citizens regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Therefore, we recommend a No vote on Ballot Measure 36, which seeks to amend the Oregon Constitution by defining legal marriage as being only between a man and a woman.

This resolution was considered and voted upon after considerable dialogue and prayer. Key to the Leadership Council's action was, first, an acknowledgment of First UMC's historic and longstanding support of civil rights. And at the same time, the Leadership Council also recognized that this question engenders other opinions, varying and also valid. Reconciling these two points of views resulted in the language you read above. Briefly, here's how to understand the Leadership Council's action on behalf of our congregation: We endorse equal civil rights for everyone. We are not yet of one mind on the question of same-sex marriage. We turn to God to discern God's will for us. In the meantime, we reject the human measures that would interfere with our discernment. We earnestly seek to continue our
prayer and study.

Such a result likely will not surprise most United Methodists. After all, John Wesley pretty much suggested as much: On essential matters of Christian belief, he preached, Methodists are united; but on non-essential matters, he added, Methodists “think, and let think.” And, he said, they pray. Even today, as we attend to current issues and headlines, our heritage of relying on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience continues to be relevant, it thrives, and it indwells still in our every act.

Hear what Spirit is saying to the Church: Thanks be to God. Amen!

The God of Jesus

The Arizona Republic reports this week on a visit to Phoenix by The Rev. Dr. Stephen Patterson, a professor from Eden Theological Seminary (where I attend). Dr. Patterson was in Phoenix to give a presentation on his work with the Jesus Seminar.

Stephen Patterson of Eden Theological Seminary in suburban St. Louis, said the Jesus Seminar has concluded that the Bible is closer to a sermon than to history.

"The Gospels' primary interest was to interpret Jesus to the community," said Patterson, a professor of the New Testament….

Patterson said that almost all Christians, from biblical literalists to Christian liberals, share the same underlying assumptions.

"There is an enormous gap between what scholars know and assume and what lay people know and assume," Patterson said. "Most people, not just conservative Christians, assume that what the Bible says happened actually happened."

Understanding the Bible from a scholar's point of view can result in a whole new approach not just to religion, but to life, he said.

"When you take your blinders off and don't assume the Bible is history, you begin to look for the meaning of the story," Patterson said. "You begin to ask about the meaning of life and the meaning of life before God."

The meaning can be found in basic human qualities, not possessions or wealth, he said.

"Jesus asks people to realize that most of what passes for an acceptable, respectable life is foolishness," Patterson said. "Striving for status, convenience, money and things seems trivial. What really counts is the experience of love and care that comes from authentic human relationships, and openness to things that really make us human."

Click here to read the full article.

In these comments Dr. Patterson is articulating a theological viewpoint shared by many on the Eden campus. How we view the Bible has obvious implications for how we view the world today. We are fortunate to have such notable scholars on our faculty.

Dr. Patterson’s book The God of Jesus: The Historical Jesus & the Search for Meaning is a must read for those seeking to make sense of the Christian faith in the post-modern world.

NCC’s Edgar Blasts U.S. News & World Report For ‘Smear’ of Protestant Churches’ Activism

Message from the National Council of Churches

Calling it a case of "journalistic malpractice," National Council of Churches General Secretary Bob Edgar Thursday challenged the content and conclusions of a U.S. News & World Report columnist who had suggested the Council's criticisms of the government of Israel were "anti-Semitic." Edgar, in a letter to the magazine's editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman, pointed out that columnist John Leo, in the October 18 U.S. News edition now on newsstands, had wrongly attacked as biased criticism by four American Protestant churches and two ecumenical bodies (the NCC and World Council of Churches) of human rights actions by both Israeli and U.S. governments. Leo had obtained his information from a conservative political group, the Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD), but no one called the NCC -- nor, apparently, the other bodies' leaders -- to check the accuracy of the IRD's "findings," which Edgar called "grievously off the mark." Read more.

Read the US News & World Report's tirade

Related Post: Institute on Religion and Democracy: Just Another Right-Wing Group Working to Malign Christians Working For Peace and Justice

In Debate Bush Says He Wants “Culture Of Life” But Abortions Are Increasing Under His Leadership

George W. Bush said tonight that he wanted to create a “culture of life” in America. That is his way of saying he wants to outlaw the practice of abortion. No one, not even Roe v Wade supporters, want abortion to be a common practice. Unfortunately, under the Bush Administration abortions have increased.

Dr. Glen Stassen is the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and the co-author of Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, Christianity Today's Book of the Year in theology or ethics. In an e-mail sent out today by Sojourners Magazine he wrote:

I am a Christian ethicist, and trained in statistical analysis. I am consistently pro-life. My son David is one witness. For my family, "pro-life" is personal. My wife caught rubella in the eighth week of her pregnancy. We decided not to terminate, to love and raise our baby. David is legally blind and severely handicapped; he also is a blessing to us and to the world.

I look at the fruits of political policies more than words. I analyzed the data on abortion during the George W. Bush presidency. There is no single source for this information - federal reports go only to 2000, and many states do not report - but I found enough data to identify trends. My findings are counterintuitive and disturbing.

Abortion was decreasing. When President Bush took office, the nation's abortion rates were at a 24-year low, after a 17.4% decline during the 1990s. This was an average decrease of 1.7% per year, mostly during the latter part of the decade. (This data comes from Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life using the Guttmacher Institute's studies).

Enter George W. Bush in 2001. One would expect the abortion rate to continue its consistent course downward, if not plunge. Instead, the opposite happened.

I found three states that have posted multi-year statistics through 2003, and abortion rates have risen in all three: Kentucky's increased by 3.2% from 2000 to 2003. Michigan's increased by 11.3% from 2000 to 2003. Pennsylvania's increased by 1.9% from 1999 to 2002. I found 13 additional states that reported statistics for 2001 and 2002. Eight states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6% average increase), and five saw a decrease (4.3% average decrease).

Under President Bush, the decade-long trend of declining abortion rates appears to have reversed. Given the trends of the 1990s, 52,000 more abortions occurred in the United States in 2002 than would have been expected before this change of direction.

How could this be? I see three contributing factors:

First, two thirds of women who abort say they cannot afford a child (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Web site). In the past three years, unemployment rates increased half again. Not since Hoover had there been a net loss of jobs during a presidency until the current administration. Average real incomes decreased, and for seven years the minimum wage has not been raised to match inflation. With less income, many prospective mothers fear another mouth to feed.

Second, half of all women who abort say they do not have a reliable mate (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). Men who are jobless usually do not marry. Only three of the 16 states had more marriages in 2002 than in 2001, and in those states abortion rates decreased. In the 16 states overall, there were 16,392 fewer marriages than the year before, and 7,869 more abortions. As male unemployment increases, marriages fall and abortion rises.

Third, women worry about health care for themselves and their children. Since 5.2 million more people have no health insurance now than before this presidency - with women of childbearing age overrepresented in those 5.2 million - abortion increases.

The U.S. Catholic Bishops warned of this likely outcome if support for families with children was cut back. My wife and I know - as does my son David - that doctors, nurses, hospitals, medical insurance, special schooling, and parental employment are crucial for a special child. David attended the Kentucky School for the Blind, as well as several schools for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. He was mainstreamed in public schools as well. We have two other sons and five grandchildren, and we know that every mother, father, and child needs public and family support.

What does this tell us? Economic policy and abortion are not separate issues; they form one moral imperative. Rhetoric is hollow, mere tinkling brass, without health care, health insurance, jobs, child care, and a living wage. Pro-life in deed, not merely in word, means we need policies that provide jobs and health insurance and support for prospective mothers.

Don’t think for a minute that Fuller Theological Seminary is a liberal institution. They train some of the best know conservative evangelical pastors in the country. Professors there are required to sign a statement of faith that puts them at the very conservative end of the American theological spectrum. Yet I share the concern that Dr. Stassen has raised.

Under the Clinton years we saw fewer abortions, less teen pregnancy, lower drug use rates, and a decrease in poverty. That is the same world view that John Kerry articulated in all three debates. The truth is that Senator Kerry offers a fundamentally stronger pro-life agenda than the man who claims to want a “culture of life.”

Republicans Under Investigation In Oregon & Nevada For Destroying Voter Registration Cards

This post has been updated

Oregon voter (and longtime friend) Heather Hyland e-mailed today with this bit of news:

A group funded by the Republican National Committee is under investigation in Nevada and Oregon for allegedly destroying voter registration cards completed by new voters who registered as democrats.

Oregon blogger The One True b!X's has the story:

The One True b!X's PORTLAND COMMUNIQUE: The Convoluted Story On Voter Registration Fraud

UPDATE: Heather Hyland also sent an e-mail to the Oregon Secretary of State's office to inquire about this issue. She received the following response:

Dear Heather,

We have received complaints and we are conducting a full investigation with the Attorney General's office into the allegations of voter fraud.

Unfortunately, we do not know the extent of the problem. Because this is a criminal investigation, we are not permitted to discuss the details.

Please understand that we take the issues of voter fraud and voter registration very seriously, and we will do everything we can to assure the public that their right to vote is protected.

Sincerely,
Anne Martens
Chief of Communications
Oregon Secretary of State

KGW.com also has information posted on their web site regarding this story.

Pastors at the Polls

Message from Clergy Network for National Leadership Change

Election Day is nearly here, a day of critical public choice. The one focus now is voting, progressive religious people voting, everybody eligible voting. It's called "Voter Mobilization."

Just a few weeks back, the focus was "Voter Registration." Now, it is "Voter Mobilization." Religious communities can play a crucial voting role. Our initiative "PASTORS AT THE POLLS" is all about Voter Mobilization.

Pastors - and religious leaders by other designations -- can make a definite difference. Pastors can lead, urge, influence and teach. Pastors lead best by an active example. The example in our initiative is simple, available and clear: Pastors who spend Election Day at the Polls.

Pastors at the Polls is strictly nonpartisan, inclusive of all religious leaders, both ordained and lay, who want to take part and grounded in a basic American ideal: democracy works best when all free citizens who are eligible actually get to the voting booth and cast a secure and private ballot.

Pastors at the Polls is not about participating as an election official. Some may want to do that, and we can point you in the right direction. But if you serve as an election official, you will have to leave your Pastors at the Polls lapel pin behind.

Pastors at the Polls is a simple public witness that every pastor and every religious leader can undertake. By telling your congregation or religious community in advance that you are spending Election Day at the voting places, you underscore the importance of voting. Your urging them to vote can then take the form of an invitation to meet you there: "See you on November 2!"

Pastors at the Polls can welcome and commend those arriving to vote. Some are timid, some intimidated, some confused. A pastoral word of suppport can help.

Pastors at the Polls is a silent reminder to voting officials that they are mandated to conduct a clear, clean, inclusive and accurate voting operation. Pastors symbolize moral integrity, which reminds public officials of ethical accountability, beyond government requirements.. 'A pastor watching' continues to be powerful.

Let's be clear what Pastors at the Polls is not: no 'politicking!' No, strictly and absolutely. It would be pastorally compromising, and it is normally illegal! The purpose is not influencing; it is encouraging. Incidentally any pastor seeking to influence or instruct voters at the voting place, especially from the Christian Right, is out of place, can be challenged and should be reported to election supervision officials.

No intrusion into the polling place or inside the limits set for non-voters. No distribution of campaign materials for any candidates. No wearing of any campaign pins or clothing. Pastors need to respect the election laws absolutely.

Let's put this simple plan in context: is it worth doing? Here are the facts: Progressive religious people, largely moderate and not caught up in either political extreme, actually outnumber extremists by an enormous margin, even as much as 3 to 1. The problem is that they have not voted! Progressive religious communities have preached and even pontificated but neither organized nor led on the side of actual voting. This is the year for progressive religious people to take voting very seriously. Pastors at the Polls can make such voting happen.

If you would like to be a part of PASTORS AT THE POLLS, here is how:

- Contact Clergy Network immediately: [email protected] or [email protected], or by phone: (202) 554-2121

- Record your name and address. Both clergy and lay religious leaders are welcome to take part. Those not ordained can be a 'pastor for a day!'

- Request "Pastors at the Polls" materials to be mailed to you. No charge, gifts welcomed. For your lapel button, indicate Pastor, Rabbi or Religious Leader.

- Publicize your participation. Use your newsletter, worship bulletin or bulletin board in your own religious community. Give the story of pastors present at the polls on Election Day to your local newspaper or religion editor or radio and TV media journalists. Urge other pastors to join you. Help the message to reach your whole community.

And when Election Day is over, keep your lapel button as a remembrance of having played a part.

Justice Department Should Investigate Catholic Church Bishop Ties To Bush Campaign

The New York Times reports today on the growing partisan political involvement of Roman Catholic bishops who are using their church offices to organize efforts to support George W. Bush:

For Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, the highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate in Colorado, there is only one way for a faithful Catholic to vote in this presidential election, for President Bush and against Senator John Kerry.

"The church says abortion is a foundational issue,'' the archbishop explained to a group of Catholic college students gathered in a sports bar here in this swing state on Friday night. He stopped short of telling them whom to vote for, but he reminded them of Mr. Kerry's support for abortion rights. And he pointed out the potential impact his re-election could have on Roe v. Wade…..

Catholic prelates have publicly clashed with Catholic Democrats like former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo of New York and Geraldine A. Ferraro, the former representative and vice-presidential candidate.

But never before have so many bishops so explicitly warned Catholics so close to an election that to vote a certain way was to commit a sin.

Less than two weeks ago, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis issued just such a statement. Bishop Michael J. Sheridan of Colorado Springs and Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark have both recently declared that the obligation to oppose abortion outweighs any other issue.

Not all Catholics agree and polls have shown that Catholic voters, like the rest of the country, are nearly evenly divided between the two candidates.

Liberal Catholics contend that the church has traditionally left weighing the issues to the individual conscience. Late in the campaign, these Catholics have begun to mount a counterattack, belatedly and with far fewer resources.

In diocesan newspapers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, they are buying advertisements with the slogan "Life Does Not End at Birth." Organizers of the campaign say it is supported by 200 Catholic organizations, among them orders of nuns and brothers.

"We are looking at a broader picture, a more global picture," said Bishop Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles who is president of Pax Christi USA, a Catholic peace group that initiated the statement. "If you look at the totality of issues as a matter of conscience, someone could come to the decision to vote for either candidate."

Pax Christi USA is not an official body of the Roman Catholic Church. Many of their members are certainly pro-life but they are asking voters to consider all the issues. That is appropriate and good advice.

This picture is one that I took outside of John Kerry’s rally here in St. Louis after the last presidential debate. It shows seminary students protesting Kerry’s position on abortion. I’m the last person who would ever criticize the right of religious leaders to express their own personal political beliefs. However, separation of church and state is a fundamentally important Constitutional principle and churches (like all non-profits) are prohibited from engaging in partisan political campaigns. It seems clear that some Catholic leaders are doing just that on behalf of Bush and that church resources are being used to pay for it. You have to ask why only pro-choice democrats are being targeted while pro-choice republicans are ignored. A Justice Department investigation would seem to be in order. Unfortunately, we have an attorney general who clearly doesn’t hold the Constitution in high regard.

Christopher Reeve

Hearing the news about Christopher Reeve was really disheartening. He was one of my real first movie heros and posters of Superman littered the walls of my boyhood bedroom. Reeve showed amazing courage after his accident and became a powerful advocate for stem-cell research. He was a Unitarian-Universalist and his faith grew with his experience of being disabled. Lots of people go the other direction and understandably loose their faith during such times. Make sure you visit his foundation web site to learn how you might support his work. John Kerry was also a friend of Reeve’s (he actually mentioned him during the last debate) and the senator has a good statement up on his web site about Superman’s passing.

Luke 17:11-19: He was a Samaritan

On Sunday, I preached three services where I'm doing my field placement this year. You can download the sermon if you're interested. Please note that I didn't treat this as a research paper - so you might find typos, etc. along the way. Just ignore those. Feedback is welcomed.

Does George W. Bush Think He's A Prophet From God?

David Domke and Kevin Coe have written an important essay on The Revealer web site comparing theological statements made by George W. Bush and other presidents.

Presidents since Franklin Roosevelt have spoken as petitioners of God, seeking blessing and guidance; this president positions himself as a prophet, issuing declarations of divine desires for the nation and world. Most fundamentally, Bush’s language suggests that he speaks not only of God and to God, but also for God. Among modern presidents, only Ronald Reagan has spoken in a similar manner -- and he did so far less frequently than has Bush.

Bush has twisted the message of the Bible into a partisan political cause where the wealthy are lifted above the poor, where war is fought to build empire, and where God’s creation is simply a resource to be plundered for the cause of amassing wealth. He has turned the teachings of Jesus around and perverted them.

Make sure you read this story.

And if you’re in the mood for more but would like it to be a little more humorous take a look at The Gospel of George Bush by Denise Giardina. Funny stuff.

Sinclair Broadcast Group: A Republican Partisan Business Attacking John Kerry and Demeaning The Electoral Process

This post has been updated

Sinclair Broadcast Group is a television conglomerate that John McCain once called unpatriotic for their decision to pull an ABC news program that chronicled the lives of soldiers killed in Iraq (see related post). The company said to air the show would do damage to the war effort. Sinclair’s owners are big time political contributors to George W. Bush.

Now the broadcast company has ordered their local affiliates to pre-empt regular programming the week before the November elections to run an anti-Kerry program. UPI reports:

Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its 62 stations to preempt regular programming during primetime to air "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal," the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

The film, funded by Pennsylvania veterans and produced by a veteran and former Washington Times reporter, features former POWs accusing Kerry -- a decorated U.S. Navy veteran who later protested the war -- of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the conflict.

The Kerry campaign blasted Sinclair for what it says is strong arming its stations into broadcasting lies to influence the political process, the Times said.

"It's beyond yellow journalism," said Kerry spokesman David Wade. "It's a smear bankrolled by Republican money, and I don't think Americans will stand for it."

David Brook of Media Matters has written to Sinclair asking that they cancel their plans:

October 10, 2004

David D. Smith
President and Chief Executive Officer
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.
10706 Beaver Dam Road
Hunt Valley, Maryland 21030

Dear Mr. Smith:

I'm writing to ask you to cancel plans, reported in the October 9 edition of the Los Angeles Times, to force Sinclair Broadcasting Group stations to preempt regular programming and broadcast a film attacking Senator John Kerry between now and the November 2 presidential election.

According to the Times, the film, Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, "features former POWs accusing Kerry -- a decorated Navy veteran turned war protester -- of worsening their ordeal by prolonging the war." The Times reported that the maker of the film, former Washington Times reporter (and former Bush administration official) Carlton Sherwood, tells viewers on the film's website: "Intended or not, Lt. Kerry painted a depraved portrait of Vietnam veterans, literally creating the images of those who served in combat as deranged, drug-addicted psychopaths, baby killers" that has endured for 30 years.

I don't have to remind you, as the Times pointed out, that "Sinclair stations are spread throughout the country, in major markets that include Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas. ... Fourteen of the 62 stations the company either owns or programs are in the key political swing stations of Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where the presidential election is being closely fought."

As described by the Times, Sinclair's plan to air the film raises questions about whether Sinclair would be running afoul of federal regulations "requiring broadcasters to provide equal time to major candidates in an election campaign ..." Provisions of the McCain-Feingold law would also appear to be at issue in your decision. The reported effort by Sinclair executives to instruct station managers to classify the film as "news," thus skirting these political broadcasting regulations, would be a charade given its blatant anti-Kerry slant.

I trust that in light of these concerns, you will reconsider your company's apparent decision to air "Stolen Honor."

Sincerely,
David Brock
President and CEO
Media Matters for America

You can reach the Sinclair bigwigs directly at:

Sinclair CEO: [email protected]

VP of Programming and Promotions: [email protected]

Tell them to stop their partisan witch-hunt.

UPDATE: Click here to contact the local Sinclair station in your area and to file a complaint with the FCC over Sinclair's actions.

Right-Wing Radio Talk Show Host John Stokes Call Me An “Internet Idiot”

I wrote a post in mid-September about a story run on PBS’ Religion and Ethics Newsweekly that chronicled the power of “hate radio” in rural America. The original post can be found here. PBS had profiled talk-show host John Stokes of KGEZ 600 AM in Kalispell, Montana as part of their story. Just today Stokes wrote me personally to complain about my blog entry:

On your web site you print the following.

"Stokes isn't just making right-wing political statements. He is opposed to dialog with those he disagrees with. And he is willing on air to advocate that people be killed."

Who? What people? Your simply an Internet idiot. Any twit with half a brain knows advocating violence or death is a a crime. I am regulated by the FCC, and the laws of this nation, and no way have I ever or would I advocate harm to any one. Including a leftist puke like yourself. It is leftist propagandist like yourself that indeed incite people to violence with your rhetoric. You fail to mention members of the association of churches, harass businesses, individuals, incite people to do actual reported violence against myself and family. Fact. They consist of only nine tiny organizations of leftist extremists, masquerading as churches, in a state that has over 20,000 churches. These so called victims have provided written death threats to me and printed maps to my residence to burn my house and family. Fact. If you believe in GOD, tell the truth. Cite to me the name of the person(s) and the date of the broadcast whereas you state I advocate on air that people be killed. Otherwise you should retract the statement, issue an apology. FYI you little fat $%&* my sister was murdered and I resent and abhor violence. But then again you just repeated lies without checking your facts. I guess you forgot to have a "dialog".

Let me respond in three short ways:

First, the PBS article quotes Stokes as stating (regarding environmentalists):

This hue and cry now that you're starting to hear from the environmentalists, the Green Nazis: "We need have a dialogue. We need to sit down and understand each other." Don't. We need to finish them off and make sure they don't have babies.

That sounds like incitement to violence and killing if you ask me. PBS also reports he held a rally where protesters shot guns at the United Nations Flag. Clearly, Stokes is trying to send a message that violence is acceptable.

Second, I hope that no one responds in kind to Stokes by making threats. Violence begets violence and I pray the atmosphere of violence that Stokes has helped to inflame doesn’t engulf him.

Finally, in his e-mail to me I see someone who is very out of touch with the world around him. We can best serve him by offering our prayers that he accepts the message of the Prince of Peace. At the same time, we need to work to make sure that his message of hate is exposed as we work for a more tolerant and just society.

Make sure you also read the PBS story.

Reader Supported Blogging

This post has been updated

A recent post on this site made mention that Religion News Service had distributed an article profiling religious bloggers covering political topics. My blog was one of those profiled. The article has now appeared in several papers, including The Washington Post, but because of an agreement with RNS it hasn't been published in any online papers. Until now. Florida’s The Ledger has the full story on their web site. Click here to read it.

Reader Supported Blogging: This blog has really taken off during the last several months. There hasn’t been a day in the last two months where this site has received less than 1500 hits. And check out this bandwidth allotment dilemma:

Your actual diskspace usage: 52.884 megabytes (26.44%)

Your bandwidth allotment: 5 gigabytes per month

Actual bandwidth usage this month: 3.42183 gigabytes (68.44%)

Projected bandwidth usage this month: 11.7863 gigabytes (235.73%)

I’m almost over my allotment and we’re only nine days into the new month. My hope is that this site can continue to grow over time and become self-sufficient financially.

Gifts can now be made online to support this venture in progressive religious activism. There are few sites quite like it on the web and I hope you find it plays a valuable role.

Click here to see how you can make a secure gift to show your support.

UPDATE: Another copy of the article is available online in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (free registration required).

Report From St. Louis On The Debate & Kerry Rally

We learned a few new things about George W. Bush in his debate this evening with John Kerry. Bush, for example, promised not to appoint any Supreme Court justices that support slavery (if that’s his bottom line we’re in real trouble). We also saw his sensitive side. When asked if he could come up with any mistakes he’d made he said maybe one or two in his appointments (I bet he meant Donald Rumsfeld) but that he couldn’t say in public for fear of hurting someone’s feelings. Bush also tells us that he sees himself as a good steward of the earth (I was thinking nearly the same thing last week). Let’s just leave that conversation between God and the president when the time is right.

John Kerry had a good debate. He didn’t let the president off the hook for one second. Take this one moment from a question on Iraq:

KERRY: We're going to build alliances. We're not going to go unilaterally. We're not going to go alone like this president did.

GIBSON: Mr. President, let's extend for a minute...

BUSH: Let me just -- I've got to answer this.

GIBSON: Exactly. And with Reservists being held on duty...

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Let me answer what he just said, about around the world.

GIBSON: Well, I want to get into the issue of the back-door draft...

BUSH: You tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Tony Blair we're going alone. Tell Silvio Berlusconi we're going alone. Tell Aleksander Kwasniewski of Poland we're going alone.

There are 30 countries there. It denigrates an alliance to say we're going alone, to discount their sacrifices. You cannot lead an alliance if you say, you know, you're going alone. And people listen. They're sacrificing with us.

GIBSON: Senator?

KERRY: Mr. President, countries are leaving the coalition, not joining. Eight countries have left it.

If Missouri, just given the number of people from Missouri who are in the military over there today, were a country, it would be the third largest country in the coalition, behind Great Britain and the United States. That's not a grand coalition.

Ninety percent of the casualties are American. Ninety percent of the costs are coming out of your pockets.

I could do a better job. My plan does a better job. And that's why I'll be a better commander in chief.

My hope was that there would have been more questions about domestic issues and less about foreign policy in this forum. However, I thought Kerry did a great job.

The picture at the top of this post is of Kerry and his wife at the after-debate rally that Liz and I attended with the babies. Frances and Katherine were decked out in red white and blue for their big evening out. We joined several thousand others at the America Center to watch the debate on large screens. Kerry joined us about an hour after the debate ended. St. Louis Congressional candidate Russ Carnahan came by to say hello to us and to meet the twins. Liz volunteered on his successful primary campaign. Carnahan is running for the seat vacated by Dick Gephardt.

We also ran into a couple of friends from Eden Theological Seminary. Wes Knight was there volunteering for the campaign (and looking very official for this picture). Our friend Tony Clark was also there. The crowd was huge and fiercely proud of Kerry’s performance. It was announced that the Kerry campaign – which had all but given up on Missouri – would start airing campaign commercials again here next week. That means this Midwest state is back in play.

Entertainment at the rally came from the band Better Than Ezra. They played a long set before the debate started and then kept their crowd dancing as we waited for Kerry to arrive. It was a little loud for the tiny ears of Frances and Katherine, but we still think the entire night will make a great story for them to tell when they get older.

We're Taking The Family To John Kerry's Post Debate Rally In St. Louis

Tonight is the second presidential debate and we’ve decided to take advantage of being here in St. Louis to attend the official Kerry – Edwards debate watch party and a post-debate rally with John Kerry himself. This is all assuming Frances and Katherine can make it through the excitement of the evening without falling into full meltdown mode. Come back and visit this site later for pictures and analysis.