September 2009 Archives

Chris Broughton, 28, made national news when he showed up to protest a speech by President Barack Obama in Phoenix, Arizona with an AR-15 automatic rifle slung over his shoulder and a handgun. While Broughton claims that his (apparently legal) actions were not meant to threaten the president, there was more to the story than a single citizen's dubious actions and pronouncements. Local print and television coverage in Phoenix, and bloggers all over the country, have led the way on an interesting and important story of religion and politics that has been almost entirely ignored by the traditional media.
Here is what they missed.

The night before Broughton's fifteen minutes of fame, he attended a fiery Sunday sermon by his pastor, Rev. Steven L. Anderson, at Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. Rev. Anderson, also 28, explained not only "Why I Hate Barack Obama," but also why he and God both want the president dead. "When I go to bed tonight," Broughton's pastor declared, "Steven L. Anderson is going to pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell." He even goes so far as to claim that:
God appointed [Obama] to destroy this country for the wickedness of the United States of America. God appointed him because that's what our country has turned into. That's who we deserve as a president.

And yet, even though we may deserve Obama, Anderson urges his congregation to pray for the president's death, issuing imprecatory prayers and repeatedly asking God to kill the president. Most dramatically, and in an interesting shift to the passive voice, he said Obama "ought to be aborted" because the president is pro-choice, and therefore a "murderer." Despite all this Anderson has insisted to reporters that he was not calling for vigilante violence. Ditto for Broughton, who told a reporter for the Phoenix New Times: "I don't care how God does it, I'm not going into further detail than that," said Broughton. "It would be better now than later."

"However it happens, I'm going be happy that it happens," he continued. "I'm gonna be a happy man... I would rejoice."

Senator Inhofe is known for his denial of climate change by relying on an ever dwindling number of scientists who believe that our present global warming is part of a cyclical warming and cooling, and insist that human produced pollution has no affect on this cycle.   The important policy implications of this belief is that it paints efforts to curb and reduce such pollution as futile, and certainly not worth the economic hardship they may cost.   The fact that scientists overwhelmingly agree that human pollution is affecting climate change by warming the earth is not convincing to Sen. Inhofe.  When the great majority of scientists agree, generally you can believe them, but, of course, the Senator is right -scientists can be wrong.   Why anyone would want to go down in history as the one who was against reducing pollution is a bit beyond me but he is entitled to his opinion.   I disagree with Sen. Inhofe and the few scientists that he can still cite to support him, but where I know he is wrong is when he brings God into it.

In a video on C-Span, Sen. Inhofe attempts to calm what he clearly views as overly concerned environmentalists and hysterical politicians by graciously reminding us that "God is still up there."  By this, I am sure, he means God is in heaven (up there) and that God is in control and we don't have to worry about climate change because it's out of our hands and safely in the hands of God.  But in his theologizing he is omitting the Christian proposition  that God can be in control even as we exercise our free will disobey God and to  sin against God and our fellow humans.   If one is to speak in theological terms about the environment then one should recognize that God gave humans the privilege and burden of stewardship of the earth and all its resources.   When we squander our resources, destroy the earth's beauty, and jeopardize the health of God's creation then we are sinning and the wages of sin are death. 

If Senator Inhofe is to truly acknowledge the God up there then he should be the first to get on his knees and join with the rest of us to repent of our recklessness with the environment.   It is not too late for us to act in a way that is worthy of the trust that God placed with humans to care for the world.  But time is running out, and so might God's patience.  Yes, God is up there - and God is pissed.

ABC's Nightline has been running a series on the Ten Commandments in which they explore the issues and dimensions of each commandment in contemporary society.   Tonight's commandment:  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

The series is interesting and, in many ways, inclusive.  After all, the Ten Commandments form the ethical basis of the world's three great monotheistic religions.  Jews, Christians, and Muslims draw inspiration from them and, throughout history, developed the insights of the commandments in theological, moral, social, and legal arenas.  They are very important spiritually, morally, intellectually, and culturally.

But for all their inclusiveness, their interpretation is often the source of division.  It is one thing to say, "Thou shalt not...." and it is often a completely different thing to figure out how the "shalt nots" relate to human experience.  For, despite the moral idealism of the commandments, everyone knows that human beings actually do the "shalt nots."

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" is a good example of the problem with the commandments.  Martial fidelity is a practical way of honoring and respecting one's partner.  To be faithful--even when one might not "feel" like it--is a fundamental way of respecting another human being by taking into their feelings, emotions, and commitments before simply acting on one's personal inclinations.  To stop and think about the effects of one's actions on a larger community (in the case of adultery, thinking about a spouse and children) often inhibits bad choices.  That's a big part of morality--to reflect on one's actions in advance and to consider the communal consequences of behavior.  Moral frameworks--like the Ten Commandments--provide guidelines for such reflection.  And, as such, they form a vision for what constitutes the good society--a society that honors God and neighbor.

The problem comes with the obvious fact that human beings--even reflective and caring ones--don't always act in a way that honors God and neighbor.  We both flaunt and break the commandments on a regular basis.  So, what does society do with the violators?

Throughout history, religious groups have tried to enforce the Ten Commandments through legal means.  We might all agree that theft and murder are wrong and that thieves and murderers should go to prison.  But what about the "lesser" commandments--like adultery?  In Jesus' day, women caught in adultery could be stoned--and that is still the case in many countries around the world.  In early American history, adulterers could be whipped, jailed, divorced with their permission, or forced (as in The Scarlet Letter) to wear a public mark of shame. 

To point up the problem with adultery is only the beginning.  What of those who swear, lie, or worship other gods?  Should society make swearing a crime?  Idolatry?  Being angry at your parents?  Where does this end?  In some sort of Taliban-style legalism where the religion police enforce a literal interpretation of each of these Ten Commandments?  Do we rank the commandments in order of importance?  The bad ones get the most punishment?  The minor ones get overlooked?  The Ten Commandments--for all their moral grandeur--quickly descend into an ethical quagmire of angels dancing on the head of pins. 

The answer is obvious:  Very few people take the Ten Commandments literally.  We contextualize them, trying to discern the origin, intent, and purpose of these commandments in order to create a way of life that demonstrates the deeper wisdom of these teachings.  And we recognize the human disposition toward breaking them--and, to a greater or lesser degree, we offer forgiveness, understanding, and reconciliation toward one another in regard to the Ten Commandments.  And religious communities argue about how much forgiveness, understanding, and reconciliation is appropriate in any given denomination or tradition.   

Taking the Commandments out of context is spiritually and politically dangerous.  To hold up these ten commandments--in Hebrew they aren't even called "commandments;" rather, the Hebrew word is "terms"--to hold up these ten terms of the moral law without reference to the larger intent of the words leads to legalism, violence, and repression.  God intended for the Law to be joyful, a pathway for a way of life of devotion and respect for one other, a blessing and not a curse. Indeed, Jesus--a rabbi himself--made this point.  When asked what was the most important of the commandments, he replied:  "Love God and love your neighbor as yourself." 

That is the summary--the intended wisdom--of the Ten Commandments.  The ten terms of the law should bring us to the basis for a good life:  love.   Is it loving to murder, steal, curse, violate our vows, lie, envy or demean another?  That should be the first question of morality--and it is what the Ten Commandments teach.  

Praying for peace is not as easy as it sounds.  Praying for peace requires two separate but related beliefs.  The first belief is that prayer 'works' and that our meditations and/or petitions to God can affect the material world and can change our individual and collective lives.  The second conviction is that peace is worthy of the effort of prayer, that peace should be a goal for each person, and not to rest on the more realist (cynical) view that war and conflict are inevitable.  

Today is the International Day of Prayer for Peace and it is a day of hope mixed with...desperation.  Prayer becomes most urgent  in moments when we don't know where else to turn both in our personal lives and, as in the case with this day of peace, in our world. I am involved with an organization called Fellowship in Prayer that was founded 60 years as a response to the urgent crisis posed by the atom bomb which held (and still holds) the possibility of destroying all life on the planet.  Fellowship in Prayer called upon people of goodwill, across all religious traditions, 'East and West,' to come together to pray for peace.  For the last sixty years people in Fellowship in Prayer have been praying for peace, and one could say successfully, as the world has so far avoided nuclear destruction.  Yet given the seemingly intractable conflicts that continue around the world, the need for prayer, and those dedicated to prayer, seems  greater today than ever before.  

On this day many groups from across the religious spectrum are praying for Peace. And even if it is not easy, you too should pray for peace today and every day. Praying for Peace means you are making a spiritual statement that yes, what I do with my spiritual practice matters, that my meditations can change myself, but also have the power to change the world.  Or for me, as a Christian, praying for peace is a faith statement that God does hear our prayers in the hour of our deepest need, that God has a hand in this world, that God can change me, and that God can transform the world - and that God wants peace.  

Praying for peace is one of the most faithful acts one can make.  Jesus said, that those who make and pray for peace will be called the Children of God.  Even if it is not easy - pray for peace!

Here is a prayer that I wrote for those working in International Relations and Statecraft.  It was included in the book Prayers for the New Social Awakening.  And below that you will see the original advertisement for the Fellowship in Prayer from 1949. 

A Prayer for Those Working in International Relations and Statecraft

Sovereign Lord,

We pray for the people who are charged with safeguarding our nation as they bridge culture, race and religion to painstakingly negotiate terms of trade and forge alliances of security.  May they view their task as sacred and be filled with hope, creativity and endurance as they develop bonds among nations that are mutually beneficial and will produce lasting peace and respect among all peoples. Lord, help our leaders to look beyond grand palaces and corporate offices to carefully consider the effects that the policies they are creating will have upon the humble homes of the average citizen around the world.  May America be girded by the spirit of cooperation and generosity that recognizes the needs of others alongside our own so that the entire world might enjoy a common wealth of food, drink, shelter, education and recreation

Lord, may America not succumb to the sin of imperial temptation, rather tether us to our religious commitment of servanthood.  May we use our power in concert with the international community so that we might collectively bring in a new era marked by justice and peace.  Let restraint and compassion stay the cruel hand of war that slays the young and leaves societies broken and bloody.  May cool minds prevail in seasons hot with destructive cycles of revenge.  In combating the evils of this day let us not become what we despise.  Rather hold us fast to our conviction that living without intimidation or deprivation is a human right in our own country as well in others.

God of the Universe, may we forsake the hubris of claiming you as our private possession, but rather may you claim us as we work for reconciliation and the common good.   Lord, may none use religion as a rallying call for national militarism, territorial expansion or terror based on dangerous readings of sacred texts. Rather let us recognize the sacred in other human beings from every nation, class, race or religion.  Help us to love both you and our neighbor and thereby fulfilling the great commandment of your Son Jesus Christ, so that through our efforts for peace we might be known as your children. 

May America and the entire world be blessed by your continued providence in our time and for generations in the future.  May Thy kingdom come, thy will be done throughout the earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Fellowship in Prayer's Original New York Times Ad in December 12, 1949