Empire

On June 8-10, I attended the Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ. The Minnesota Conference has a mission partnership with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, and so a workshop was offered at the Annual Meeting that focused on updates concerning the partner church in the Philippines. I attended this workshop.

Since I came to the Minnesota Conference, I've become only surface-level familiar with what's going on with the Philippines in general, and with the UCC in the Philippines in particular. There are clearly people with much more knowledge about what's going on and who can better express the issues there. But the more I learn about this topic, the more appalled I am. This workshop was no exception.

Although we don't hear much about it in the media, the Philippines was originally intended to be the other "front" in the "War on Terror," in addition to Afghanistan and Iraq. Due to reported activity by Islamic extremists, U.S. money and aid (and perhaps combat troops?) have gone to the Filipino government to fight terrorism. Unfortunately, this aid is being used to accomplish widespread human rights and environmental abuses, including allowing powerful business interests to rape the land; and the detention (without charges, of course), torture, and assassination of many who have raised their voices in protest against these abuses and tactics.

Journalists, trade unionists, and religious leaders are particularly targeted. Moreover, although Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in the country, UCC clergy and activists find themselves the victims of human rights violations (mostly "extra-judicial killings") more than any other denomination, by far.

When anyone suffers from human rights abuses, it should be an abomination to us as Christians, as people of faith, and as simply people. But even more so when our tax money as U.S. citizens goes to commit these horrible acts under the fear-inducing banner of the "War on Terror." As a pastor in the UCC (in the United States), I find it even more disheartening that the U.S. is helping to target and murder my fellow UCC sisters and brothers in the Philippines, in particular.

Church and state coming into conflict is no new thing for Christians to wrestle with. I am enraged over what our government is helping to do all over the world. I believe there are times (many, in fact) when our allegiance to the God we know in Jesus Christ cannot be reconciled with any kind of patriotic allegiance. In Nazi Germany, for example, when the Confessing Church (Nazi resistance) declared "Christ is Lord," it was in opposition to the claims Hitler and the State were making. That was also what "Christ is Lord" meant in the ancient Roman Empire in New Testament times. In the way that power and dominance is exercised across the globe, is the American Empire really all that different from the Empire of Rome? What are we called to do about it? At the workshop, they provided letter-writing and talking-point resources for contacting our representatives and senators. But somehow, it just doesn't seem to be enough. What else should we do?

Hell, I don't know...

The Trinity

In many liturgical churches, this past Sunday was observed as Trinity Sunday--a day to contemplate the doctrine of God as "Three-in-One." In my Trinity Sunday sermon, I suggested many reasons why believing in the Trinity shouldn't be viewed as essential for Christians. (There are many ways that God is named and described in the Bible besides as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the word trinity does not appear in scripture; the church's understanding of the Trinity took centuries to develop; disagreement over how the different members of the Trinity relate to each other contributed to the Schism between Western and Eastern churches in 1054; our monotheistic brothers and sisters in Judaism and Islam see belief in the Trinity as bordering on polytheism; etc.)



Admittedly, the vast majority of mainstream Christian denominations adhere to Trinitarian thought (including my own United Church of Christ). But, with all these reasons to question the Trinity as indispensable doctrine, do you think belief in the Trinity should be a must for Christians?



-Pastor Chris

Season Finale

As you may have heard this morning, today was the season finale of the "Ask the Pastor" radio show. Since our premier in September, we've dealt with many topics and questions of discussion. Which was your favorite?

Atheism

On the May 21 radio show, we tackled the topic of atheism, and more specifically, the writings of Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. As I said on the show, I think these guys are right with most of their criticisms of religion. However, where I part ways with them comes when they characterize "moderates" simply as watered-down versions of "extremists." As I see it, liberal/modern/mainline Christian thought comes from a completely different place in understanding Jesus' teachings and scriptural interpretation than Pat Robertson or (the late) Jerry Falwell. When engaging with Christian scholars such as Marcus Borg or John Dominic Crossan or John Shelby Spong, I don't see how someone can claim that these thinkers are nothing more than less offensive versions of the fundamentalists. There is a clear-cut difference between these modes of thought, from beginning to end.

That being said, Harris and Dawkins provide important food for thought in arguing that religion is harmful. As much as we might want to jump up and down and yell that Robertson or Falwell doesn't speak for us, they are the names that are known in the media, and (like it or not) their voices are heard as the "Christian representatives." So, yes, I have much sympathy with atheism's rejection of religion--if Pat Robertson were an accurate representation of Christianity, I would be an atheist too.

-Pastor Chris

Cults

On the May 13 radio show, we discussed cults, attempting to address the question: what is a cult? As we mentioned, the word "cult" often brings to mind groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Moonies, Mormons, and others. However, I suggested that "cult" is an almost meaningless term, due to its frequent use in rhetoric as a label slapped onto any religious group we don't understand or don't like. On the other hand, there are also groups that I believe are harmful, more specifically destructive, doomsday groups like Heaven's Gate and the Solar Temple. (For a more detailed, well-researched discussion on cults, see http://www.religioustolerance.org/cultmenu.htm.)

In the end, I claimed that any group that expects you to suspend individual thought or suppress questions should be regarded with suspicion.

What do you think of this definition and warning?

Have you ever had any experience with so-called "cults"?

Do you think the word is useful in describing different religious groups?

How would you define "cult"?




Until next time, this is Pastor Chris signing off.