Category Archives: Ecumenical & Interfaith

Is 45 Making Jesus Great Again?

For a long time I’ve felt that much of the deepest internal struggles in American culture have religious roots.
Sure, there’s also politics, class, race, gender and empire involved as well. But take off your Bubble-colored glasses and look closer, and religion pops up in most of these contexts too.
Further, one passage, Romans 13:1-7, has long been close to the center of these conflicts. It equates worldly rulers, and their use of “the sword”, with God’s divine order. and has long been used to support whichever ruler a preacher most favors.
Blogger Doug Muder, who on most Mondays puts out “The Weekly Sift,” reviewing the past week, has an excellent brief summary of the current version of this larger struggle, summed up in the question: “Is Trumpism Becoming a New Religion?”
In technical terms, my initial answer to Muder’s query has to be “No.” That’s because whatever it is, this new cult is definitely not “new.”
But on Muder’s main point, if there’s a religious character to what we face, and a struggle between gods, or at least idols, my answer is not just “Yes,” but “Hell, yes.”

Slavery, The Bible, Southern Baptists & Irony

The Southern Baptist Convention just adopted a resolution condemning the view that the Bible supports slavery, which was the main premise on which the SBC was founded back in 1845. To back up this new view, it cites Bible verses used by 18th Century abolitionists to condemn slavery, which the early SBC long & steadfastly denounced as heretical, subversive, etc. That’s Irony #1.
Irony #2 is that the abolitionists were wrong & the early SBCers were correct: the Bible DOES support slavery, in numerous texts; and Jesus, who spoke of slaves often, never said a negative word about the practice.

“Quaker Education”: A Rare Peek Behind the Curtain

On Monday, February 6, 2017 announcements of Professor Atshan’s Friday talk were posted, and a morning announcement of the talk was read during homeroom. Upper School Principal Hall checked in with Plaintiff Eure to inform her that one parent had called with concerns but that the call seemed to go well.

26. That same day at 3:44 p.m., Mr. Hall sent Plaintiffs the following email captioned “A new development around Friday”, containing the following content: “Ariel & Layla: I need to speak with you about Friday’s invited guest. I do not want to divulge too much in an email, so I will catch up with you both tomorrow, if l don’t see you later today.”

27. Within 30 minutes of the receipt of above-referenced email, Plaintiff Eure spoke with Mr. Hall and was told that a number of parents had voiced their opposition to Professor Atshan’s speaking at FCS. Mr. Hall instructed them to cancel the speaker. At the same time, as part of his plan to divest himself of any responsibility, he branded the action as being “not fair and not right.” He assured Plaintiffs that he had told Defendant Sellers that Plaintiffs had been acting appropriately. At the same time, he said that he could not let the speech happen. Mr. Hall specifically left it to Plaintiffs to contact Professor Atshan and notify him of the administration’s decision.

28. On Tuesday February 7, Plaintiffs informed the club members of the decision to cancel Professor Atshan’s speech. The students revealed to Plaintiffs that they intended to walk out of Meeting for Worship the following day. This information was, in turn, relayed by Plaintiffs to the FCS administration. Mr. Hall specifically signified his approval of the action, as long as it was done in the spirit of Meeting for Worship, saying that it was not fair and not right for there not to have dialogue.

The Embassy, the White House & the Bigots: Tears For Jerusalem.

Jeffress is, sadly, right that religious bigotry is not unique to him: lots of people share it. But there’s a difference between murderous bigotry and dissent: after all, I happen to think there’s stuff that’s both nutty and dangerous in Mormon doctrine & theology; I also have serious doubts about various tenets in Islam, and others in some Jewish subgroups. (And did I mention my quarrels with much of so-called “Christianity”?) Jeffress’s theology represents some of the worst of all (Speaking of “heresies from the pit of hell . . .”) and seeing him put by the White House front and center in a U.S. embassy anywhere, and especially in such a critical and hazardous spot, is way beyond belief.

Except that it’s true.