Current Events

Politics Aside: Addressing the Dignity of Women

October 11, 2016 by Sarah Anderson in Current Events

Most nights growing up, we had the television on during dinner for the first part of the nightly news. It was turned off after the major stories were covered. But on most evenings for most of my childhood, the happenings in the country and the world were pretty consistently the background noise to our mealtime conversation.

That changed in 1998.

1998 was the year that the Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton sex scandal broke and, given the content of the topics covered and the sexually explicit terms, the television was quickly turned off by my disgusted—and embarrassed—parents.

Nearly two decades later, and now I’m the parent. We don’t eat to the hum of the talking heads reporting the news, but you can bet I am extra careful these days to keep my 6-year old and 4-year old away from the television when it’s on. Like 1998, it’s a complicated time to be a parent, and a dangerous time to be a kid.

I think what was most disappointing to me in the hours and days that followed the breaking story of Donald Trump and his own explicit and degrading comments about women was how much this was all about politics. Still.

How there was talk of Trump handing over the nomination due to his brazen and offensive language.

How there was mention of Bill Clinton’s own sordid past and Hillary’s complicit involvement.

How it was all, “Yeah, what he said was terrible, but let’s not forget how bad Bill was and Hillary’s own questionable actions!”

And, “Yeah, but Bill’s not running for… [Read more…] about Politics Aside: Addressing the Dignity of Women

Lost in Translation

October 9, 2016 by Christina Krost in Current Events

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg–I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

Luke 16:1-9

I was asked to prepare a children’s message on the above scripture recently. I realized it would be a tough and nuanced concept to try to explain to kids (and maybe even adults) in a 10-minute time slot. As I got down to business, I realized there was a major… [Read more…] about Lost in Translation

It’s time to trump the Trump with the Jesus card

September 23, 2016 by Chuck Queen in Current Events

I have had to break a vow. Several months ago I made a commitment to not be partisan. I said I would talk about political issues without naming political candidates. I would focus on policy, not people. This was before Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president. Now, I am committed to do everything within my power (as small and limited as that may be) to keep Trump out of the White House.

I agree with Adam Gopnik writing in the New Yorker,

If Trump came to power, there is a decent chance that the American experiment would be over. This is not a hyperbolic prediction; it is not a hysterical prediction; it is simply a candid reading of what history tells us happens in countries with leaders like Trump. Countries don’t really recover from being taken over by unstable authoritarian nationalists of any political bent, left or right–not by Peróns or Castros or Putins or Francos or Lenins or fill in the blanks. The nation may survive, but the wound to hope and order will never fully heal. Ask Argentinians or Chileans or Venezuelans or Russians or Italians–or Germans. The national psyche never gets over learning that its institutions are that fragile and their ability to resist a dictator that weak. If he can rout the Republican Party in a week by having effectively secured the nomination, ask yourself what Trump could do with the American government if he had a mandate.

I don’t for one minute believe the above assessment is sensationalism. I have been… [Read more…] about It’s time to trump the Trump with the Jesus card

White people. It’s not our call!

September 15, 2016 by Chuck Queen in Current Events

Embed from Getty Images

By now, all of us have heard the uproar evoked by Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest social injustice and the injustice in our criminal justice system by kneeling during the National Anthem.

Being an NFL football fan (Who Dey! Go Bengals!), it upset me to hear commentator Trent Dilfer on the Monday night pregame show judge Kaepernick’s actions as selfish.

I thought Kaepernick’s response was right on the money:
“I think that’s one of the most ridiculous comments I’ve heard … I would ask him to really have a conversation with the families of people that have been murdered and see if he still feels that way. Because I bet that he doesn’t, because he hasn’t experienced that type of oppression.”

Kaepernick makes a great point that all white people should heed. African Americans have been enslaved and oppressed by white people in this country, and while we have made a lot of progress, it should be clear to all that injustice continues. The police shootings of recent days, racial profiling, and sentences handed out to people of color in disproportion to the crime while far lesser sentences are given to white people for the same offense all highlight the ongoing blight of racism and the oppressive misuse of power by the white establishment.

Kaepernick is utilizing his constitutional right (thank God we have these) to highlight such injustice. And whatever you think about his approach, it has worked. Here we are talking about it.

Regardless of what… [Read more…] about White people. It’s not our call!

Can a Christian Vote for Donald Trump?

July 21, 2016 by Spencer Klavan in Christian Issues, Current Events

Among the most perplexing features of Donald Trump’s surge to victory has been the enthusiastic support of evangelical Christians for a man who can barely name any books of the Bible. Now that Trump’s nomination has forced me to consider soberly the real possibility of casting a vote for that man, I’m finding the Christian groundswell behind Trump ever more mystifying. One of my most pressing objections to voting for Trump is that I can’t see a way to do so as a Christian. I’m starting to think Trump’s ideology might represent the actual opposite of Christianity.

Here’s what I don’t mean by that. I don’t mean that Trump is such a meanie and my sweet, precious Jesus would never tolerate all that yelling. Reports of Christ’s niceness have been greatly exaggerated. Flip through the gospels and you’ll find a much rougher, scrappier character than you may have been led to expect–upending tables, talking back to his mother, fiercely vituperating his best friends. The use of the term “Christian” to mean “cuddly” is one of the more distasteful banalizations of that word in American popular culture. “Unchristian” isn’t a synonym for “uncouth.”

No, my problem is that Trump’s worldview is pretty much diametrically opposed to the one inherent in Jesus’ life story. By his own gleeful admission, Trump is all about “winning, winning, winning.” This means that from the bedroom to the electoral college, he defines human value in terms of material and worldly success. Who’s got the hottest… [Read more…] about Can a Christian Vote for Donald Trump?

A Prayer of Lament (Alton Sterling, Philando Castile)

July 8, 2016 by Ian Simkins in Current Events

This guest post is by Ian Simkins.

For the times we have been too distracted to feel deeply and respond fully to injustice.
O LORD, FORGIVE US

For the times our own hearts fill with hatred and malice for those who inflict pain.
O LORD, FORGIVE US

For the times we have failed to feel fully the breaking of your own heart.
O LORD, FORGIVE US

For the ways we have not invited you into our own suffering.
O LORD, FORGIVE US

For the ways we have caused you and others pain.
O LORD, FORGIVE US

God of comfort, grant us peace: Our hearts are broken, our souls heavy. Our sorrow is a weight around our necks–sinking our feet deep into the mire of despair. Deliver those buried this moment under a burden of misery.

God of justice, grant us hope: We proclaim that Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, yet we confess that the sin and brokenness we see around us is a bitter reminder of a Kingdom not yet fully come. May we be agents of your justice in every crack and crevice of our lives.

God of power, grant us strength: We know that the same force that spoke the universe into existence is alive in each of us, yet our spirits are so very weary. How long, oh Lord, must communities be torn and fractured by senseless violence? How we are desperate for your vitality and courage.

A Bolt of Hatred

June 23, 2016 by Joe Kay in Christian Issues, Current Events

This guest post is by Joe Kay.

One of my roommates in college was gay. He confided in me about his sexual preference, knowing I’d respect his confidence. Back then, gay people were openly ridiculed, rejected, and attacked.

I wish I could say this was no longer true, but obviously I can’t. We’ve come a long way, but what happened in Orlando and the reaction to it provide harsh reminders of how people hate those who are different from them in some way.

Still so much hatred.

I’m the associate minister at an open and affirming United Church of Christ church. We accept everyone just as they are. I’ve heard many stories about how members of my church family have been treated horrifically by their families, their former “Christian” churches, and co-workers because of their sexual orientation.

Their openness touches me. Their courage inspires me. Their stories remind me how I enjoy a sort of “straight” privilege. Nobody has ever threatened me because I was holding a girl’s hand, or refused to rent me an apartment because I was dating a woman. Nobody has ever refused to bake me a cake because I’m straight.

I have never had to worry that my sexual identity was going to get me killed.

One thing about the reaction to Orlando troubles me greatly. People who have said so many hateful and harmful things about LBGT people are now trying to distance themselves from what happened. They’re trying to frame it as merely another instance of extremism by different people from a… [Read more…] about A Bolt of Hatred

power in the blood

June 19, 2016 by Jill Crainshaw in Current Events, Poetry

Embed from Getty Images

I have been searching for what to say or even think about the Orlando massacre. All words fail. The story of the hundreds of donors who gave blood for those who were wounded inspired this poetic response:

power in the blood

aunt gertrude played the antique upright in church every sunday
sometimes by ear
sometimes the old-timey way
reading notes shaped like diamonds or triangles
but the hymn she cherished most
her fingers knew by heart

power in the blood
wonder-working power

as much as i loved to hear gospel favorites
spilling from Aunt Gertrude’s fingers
blood hymns troubled my soul
too violent
too brutal
i knew even as a kid
how much life and hope
the old old story had bled out over the years

early that vicious sunday morning
shots rang out
precious blood
wonder-working blood
spilled out
on the dance floor
in the streets
spattering shoes
dancers
doctors
nurses
police officers
lovers
friends

as we gathered for church that day
several states away
in orlando they did it the old-timey way
by heart
for those too often discarded
discounted
disremembered now dismembered
a mile-long vein opened up
friends and strangers enfleshing care
until a flood of plasma pulsated through the city
into wounded souls
and as my little group of worshipers
lined up at the communion table
to eat the bread
drink the cup
share the holy body
i remembered that old hymn flowing out from
aunt gertrude’s hands and… [Read more…] about power in the blood

What if the Orlando shooter was gay?

June 16, 2016 by Franziska Garner in Current Events, LGBT

Who was Omar Mateen?

The evidence is getting stronger. The Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was frequently seen at the Pulse nightclub in the months before the attack. He also had profiles on gay dating websites and his (more or less intimate) contact with gay men reaches back at least ten years. On at least one occasion he expressed the desire to date another man.[1]

Nevertheless, he was married to women twice. His first wife divorced him after only four months claiming he was unstable and abusive. His second wife mentioned that he was not very religious. Allegedly, he called 911 during his attack, pledged allegiance to ISIS, and spoke about being inspired by the Al-Nusra Front. The two organizations are enemies. It is therefore highly questionable why someone who really sides with one of them would be supportive of both.

Scripture Abuse

Omar Mateen was raised in a Muslim home. Islam does, just like Christianity, condemn homosexuality–at least as long as we don’t look too closely. In the Bible, Genesis 19:1-29 tells about Sodom and Gomorrah. The story speaks about two cities that were destroyed by God for a very grave sin–allegedly homosexuality. This passage is often used to demonstrate God’s treatment of and disgust with homosexual people.

A reference to the very same story is given in the Quran, stating that yes, God does not like LGBT people and will punish them horribly:

“And [We had sent] Lot when he said to his people, “Do you commit such immorality as no one has… [Read more…] about What if the Orlando shooter was gay?

Orlando: A Hopeful Lament

June 13, 2016 by Franziska Garner in Current Events

The undisturbed surface of the communion wine forms concentric circles when hit by a single tear. The symbol for the blood of Jesus Christ himself—blood that was given in an act of radical love for the everlasting unity between us and God—trembles with shock on this Sunday morning. It wasn’t the only tear.

Making sense of the senseless

We are at a Metropolitan Community Church, a congregation with a specific outreach to the LGBT community. Most people in the room identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

The younger ones in the church, those who believed that winning the right to marry ended a decade-old gay civil rights movement, are shocked into helpless rage and sickening grief. Their tears flow bitterly and with the sudden fear of a child who understands for the first time that they are not loved by everyone.

Then, there are the older congregants who have been through so much more than the young ones can imagine. Seasoned warriors who have been thrown into jail for dancing with someone of the same sex. Who, during the AIDS crisis, had to take care of the bodies of their dear friends themselves because even hospitals would turn them away. They shed tears, too.

These tears, however, are strangely different. There is a certain resignation in them, almost a routine. Witnessing another vicious crime against their siblings opens old wounds, triggers old memories, and reminds them what being victimized feels like. It is a familiar feeling to all of them.