Friday, September 21, 2007

"Biblically Based." God Approved?

My husband and I are on a road trip this weekend to Tennessee. As you can imagine, eight and a half hours on the road leaves ample time for scanning the radio waves and we've noticed that the farther south you go, the more religious radio stations there are. Around 10 PM last night, we happened upon one of these channels and we noticed that the vast majority of commercials talked about "Biblically based" programs- mental health programs, treatment programs, churches, schools, Chick-fil-a (i'm not kidding).

I have heard of "Biblically based" programs before--and each time (including this time), I've wondered- what does that even mean? Now- you might think that a seminarian would know what the words "Biblically based" mean. Now- I can infer what it means-usually it is a conservative Christian group- and Biblically based is usually code for anti-gay ("pro-family" as they would say), anti-choice (pro-life), and/or usually involves getting "saved". And quite often, the words "Biblically based" are meant to infer- "GOD APPROVED." But for me- the descriptors listed above (anti-gay for example) are NOT God approved...which is what brings me to my point.

If I, a progressive Christian, were to ever use the words "Biblically based" (dare to dream...), then I would mean something more along the lines of pro-love, acceptance, inclusiveness, and forgiveness (and some other stuff). That is a radically different view of what it means for something to be "Biblically based". The Bible means many different things to many different people. Some people believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God. Others believe the Bible is inspired by God, but fallible because it was written by humans. Others believe that the Bible has no worth whatsoever. Still others consider the Bible a story of a people's experience of God and that these stories can inform us about characteristics of God. Whatever your belief- we can agree that when it comes to the Bible- we may literally be speaking different languages. What we privilege in the Bible (because you can find pretty much anything in there: from violence to peace and everything in between)- depends on where we sit. What do we choose to uphold and why?

I think it's important for all of us to ask ourselves these questions. First- what do we believe about our religious texts? Second, why? We all have baggage with our beliefs-- some of these things yield beliefs that uplift, and others leave us with beliefs that destruct. Knowing that, I feel like it serves us all to examine our belief systems and think about the terms that we use to describe them.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Lucy, we've got some atoning to do...

Recently, I signed the United Church of Christ's petition, "100,000 for Peace" which calls on the US government to end the war in Iraq. Today, I listened to a short interview on NPR with Ayub Nuri, an Iraqi freelance journalist who lives and works in the United States but is frequently in contact with family, friends, and citizens in Iraq. In the 4 minute interview, Mr. Nuri discusses his impression of the status of Iraq based on his conversations with Iraq citizens in comparison to the President's report given to the nation on September 13, 2007. While the President highlights that “ordinary life is beginning to return” for Iraqi civilians, Mr. Nuri asserts that most Iraqi’s feel that they cannot leave their homes and neighborhoods and that their country is still sharply divided along sectarian lines.


I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that our reasons for entering Iraq were based on greed; hunger for pure hegemony. And now that we have violated their country and failed at our stated mission- we are seemingly left with two options: to stay or to leave. I believe that this issue, like so many others, is not black and white- rather it is nuanced and can be seen in various shades of gray. For me, it is clear that we must withdrawal militarily. We must, as the UCC declaration states, "acknowledge failure and error, to accept the futility of our current path...". However, a withdrawal militarily must be united with massive humanitarian relief. God calls us to be in right relationship with each other, to honor and uplift each other- and when we, as a country, are the cause of so much suffering, there can be no greater violation of our covenant with God than to abandon “the least of these.” I believe that we should stay in Iraq not because of the victory that President Bush believes is possible, but because we must atone for the humanitarian atrocities that we have committed.

The “100,000 for Peace” petition states that I am signing to "support the ministries of compassion for victims here and in the Middle East" and that I am rededicating "myself as a child of a loving God who gives "light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into a way of peace"." I believe that my signature on the petition is also an outward symbol of my belief that we need to atone for our sins against our sisters and brothers in Iraq.

Do I want the troops out of Iraq? I think so. Do I think we, as a nation should leave Iraq? I think not. This upcoming week, Yom Kippur is being celebrated in the Jewish tradition. Yom Kippur is the day of atonement, a day to confess all the sins that you have committed, knowing that nothing can separate you from God. There is one sin that the day of atonement cannot forgive, and those are sins against other people. Instead, Yom Kippur and the Jewish tradition states that you must first go to the person that you have sinned against and confess what you have done and then ask for their forgiveness. It is only after this reconciliation that you can approach God for atonement. As the day of atonement approaches, we, as a nation, have considerable atoning to do with our brothers and sisters in Iraq. I believe that part of that atonement is of course, the recognition of our wrongdoing, but also the unique and sincere effort to change the course of our sins. Our new relationship must listen to the voices of the Iraqi people and our arrogance as a country must come to an end. Only then can we begin the path of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Successful War?

Throughout the week, the news has been focused largely on the report of General Petraeus to Congress and the progress (or perhaps lack thereof) in Iraq. There has also been considerable discussion regarding how to measure "success" in Iraq. Are we winning the battle?

All of this talk has caused me to reflect considerably on the idea that war can somehow be "successful". Is there such a thing as a successful war? How do we know it when we see it? Who's success is it?

In all cases of war, thousands upon thousands of lives are lost. Human suffering is at its peak. Cruelty is running amuck. Can anything be considered a "success" under such circumstances? Surely, people may say, "Saddaam was murdering his own people." This is true- but wasn't that also a war? A war waged against his citizens.

I wonder- isn't any violence against another person participating in some kind of "war"? It seems that we are always at war with something- the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the war on "illegal immigration", the war on terror. Most of time, I feel like there is even a "war on peace."

At what point do we stop seeing things as an epic battle between good and evil? What is wrong in the world depends on where you sit. From where I sit, the wars that we are fighting seem to have one target: the poor. In the end, aren't the poor the ones who truly experience the brunt of whatever war is being fought? For example, in the war on "poverty", social programs are cut. Instead of a time limit on poverty, there is a time limit on welfare- as if limiting the social program will eliminate unfair wages, racism, and sexism.

God weeps at the wars we are waging because most often- the wars waged are waged in God's name. But the words "war" and "God" do not belong in the same sentence. I choose a God of hope, of possibility. After Virginia Tech's convocation in April, after the tragic day of shooting and mayhem, the campus pastor stated, "Let us cast our lot with hope in defiance of despair." This speaks to me. A theology of hope. Not a theology of despair... and war is a theology of despair.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

In the beginning...

... there was just me and this blank page. We all have to start somewhere, and today, I will start with a fresh post- and the hope that every post after this will continue to be fresh- new, inspiring, and full of promise. Perhaps a hackneyed vision (not very fresh of me...), but a goal worth striving for.

This blog has been designed for a class entitled Public Theology in which we are to comment on current social issues theologically. I have titled the blog "Belief in Context". I chose this title because I find that it is only when our beliefs are placed in context, or in relationship to the world around us, that they true come alive and have meaning. In other words, it's not enough to have a conviction, we must understand that conviction in relationship to the real world.

The Bible is a nuanced book- it has things in it that we LOVE and things in it that we HATE-- but to struggle with those things, and to struggle with them in light of the happenings of our world seems to be a great way to engage our faith. I hope you will join me for that journey.