With everyone excited about the new Batman movie, it is interesting to see Heath Ledger in the news again. His death was certainly unexpected and the way we mourn a public figure reveals our tendency to feel like we know a person that we've never actually met.
I've never actually met the group that attend the Westboro Baptist Church. Their website is http://www.godhatesfags.com/ and they picketed Heath Ledger's funeral because he played a gay man in Brokeback Mountain. These are the fine Christians that protest at fallen soldier's funerals too, calling out hate filled phrases during services while families bury their sons. I went to their site this morning and, rotating in the corner next to a sign that says "God hates you," are three things to be thankful for 1) Thank God for wildfires. God hates California 2) Thank God for dead Iowa teens 3) Thank God for muskrats (a reference to the levees that broke creating the terrible flooding along the Mississippi River). According to these dear Baptists, God apparently has favorites, and they're it.
Okay, okay, they are an extreme case, I agree. But so often Christians are unkind and it is thought to be justified because we are RIGHT. Again, that nagging little idea that it's better to be right than righteous. One of the problems seems to be our individual interpretations of the Bible. Westboro Baptist calls it "where we have rightly divided the word of truth in our generati
on" and they support their bad behavior with Bible quotes. It is the same thing that James Dobson claimed when he called Obama a fruitcake last week for his comments about Scripture (well, "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution") and we all know that NOBODY likes fruitcake.
on" and they support their bad behavior with Bible quotes. It is the same thing that James Dobson claimed when he called Obama a fruitcake last week for his comments about Scripture (well, "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution") and we all know that NOBODY likes fruitcake. What Obama said, and I'm not necessarily on his side in this, was very interesting, though. Talking about leading a Christian nation, he said, "Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" Yeah, who's right?
Now, in order to become a pastor, I had to study the Bible. I have had so many discussions - theological and otherwise - about Scripture that I cannot even recall them all. I have debated very bright people who I respect immensely. I have Bible commentaries and multiple copies of The Book itself, and after all this time there is one thing I know for sure. The word "Christian" contains the word Christ. Did you notice that?
One of the biggest mistakes that the conservative Christian church has made is that its basic goal has been to get people into heaven instead of heaven into people. This creates a group of people who are really ready to die, but not even close to ready to live. And many of them are a pain in the rear, too.
I know these are incomplete thoughts. What are yours?
2 comments:
I heard Dobson being interviewed about Obama's comments. Dobson seemed to be personally wounded because he interpreted Obama's use of Dobson's name in the same sentence as Al Sharpton's as though Obama was saying they were in the same camp or had the same values. He went on to say that he has no link to Al Sharpton and he is not a pastor so he was confused as to why Obama would use his name to denote a form a Christianity. I think Dobson's interpretation of Obama's comments missed the mark - Obama was not saying Dobson and Sharpton were similar, but rather opposite ends of the spectrum, However, I do think that Obama's comments are a reflection of the relativism that is creeping into our society. You know the idea that there is no absolute truth only what is true for you so don't try to push your values on society. It is as if Obama is saying that since there are theological distinctions within Christianity, we cannot promote judeo-christian values within our society. That I do not agree with. We should not be ashamed of the intent of our forefathers in creating a society based on judeo-christian values - it is what will unite us if we let it. We must be careful not to let our society slip into humanism.
Ditto. We need more of heaven and Christ on earth.
Steve
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