Categories: uncategorized
Date: 30 April 2005 13:08:25
I am growing increasingly interested in the US, a country that I am increasingly aware is so very different to where I live, yet at times appears so similar.
I am particularly facinated by the links between religion and politics that exist in a country where the seperation of church and state is so important compared to over here where we have an established church but the relationship between "religion" and politics is much clearer & accepted.
The following article from Rolling Stone Magazine makes interesting reading. It is an article I struggle to understand in many ways and at first makes me react in a very unChristian way (summing up much of I have against American evangelicals) and yes it does make me question their faith, but it shouldn't. Not because I should believe they are right, but rather because it is not my place to question their faith as an article on Sojo Net shows, (couldn't get link to article to work - look under news and commentary for relevant type headings)
As the article by Jim Wallis says :"We can get some historical perspective by looking at how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did it - and he was the church leader who did it best. Once after he was arrested, he wrote a very famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," addressed to the white clergy who were opposing him on the issues of racial segregation and violence against black people. Never once did he say that they were not people of faith. He appealed to their faith, challenged their faith, asked them to go deeper with their faith, but he never said they were not real Christians. If Dr. King refused to attack the integrity and faith of his opponents over such a clear gospel issue, how can the Religious Right do it over presidential nominees and a Senate procedural issue known as the filibuster? "
In this country it brings us back to recent debates on the Christian Voice. Whilst I continue to question their actions I realise that I am in no position to question their faith. Also if this is looked at in relation to the debates that have been going on across the net on the subject of the Emergent / Emerging Churches (see The Next Wave for a clear summary) it strengthens the idea that rather than the development of this "them and us" is unhealthy.
Now that is not saying it is easy to find a middle ground but if we are to move forward, on both sides of the Atlantic (& down in Austrailia & New Zealand) we need to stop claiming absolute truth on who has more faith and start to realise we need to work together on the areas we can agree and listen on the areas we don't so that we may be able to learn to step back where we have been too dogmatic and move forward by reasoned debate.
That's not saying we should stand back and say nothing on areas where we believe that need addressing & we believe there is a definate right and wrong stance on, but oh - I don't know. I just feel at the moment the Church general (rather than local) is starting to look to be tearing itself apart because people aren't listening to each other and I find it really sad. I might be wrong & hope I am, but as a bum on a seat who is getting their information solely from the media (including net) it's the picture I'm getting.