Unfundamentalist

Above All, Love

The Misuse of Scripture (Southern Baptists seem to lead the way)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Current Events

When our President issued his executive order giving deportation relief to millions of undocumented people in our country, as part of his explanation he quoted Scripture: “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9; also 22:21). This angered a number of conservative Christians who apparently felt they had a monopoly on the Bible.

Mark Coppenger, professor of Christian apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote a piece for the Religion News Service claiming that the President misused Scripture by running “roughshod over context.”

The irony of this is that the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution in 2011 quoting this very Scripture as a basis for compassionate action. The resolution declared: “The Scriptures call us, in imitation of God Himself, to show compassion and justice for the sojourner and alien among us.” Following that declaration the Scripture the President quoted was listed along with several others.

Did Coppenger change his mind or did he never support the SBC resolution to begin with? My purpose here is not to critique Coppenger’s hypocritical hermeneutic. Mainline Biblical interpreters can easily tear his shoddy reasoning apart (see Mark Silk’s excellent critique at the same website).

The question I want to ask is: Could there be some bias at work behind the argument that the President misused Scripture? Could it be a general… [Read more…] about The Misuse of Scripture (Southern Baptists seem to lead the way)

Actual War on Black People Distracting from Fictional War on Christmas

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues, Current Events

I feel sorry for the Fox-News War-On-Christmas crowd.

This is normally the season of the year when they foment anger and offense at perceived slights anytime a city renames a Christmas parade a “holiday parade” or anytime retailers dare to remain inclusive with Season’s Greetings banners.

For them, the failure of anyone to use the word Christmas amounts to a “war,” yet the actual gunning down of statistically large numbers of unarmed black men is no real cause for concern.

It is perhaps the greatest sign of privilege that those who continually parrot a narrative of “Christian persecution” based on nativity scenes and holiday cards will bend over backward to excuse the literal war – the actual systematic killing of civilians by increasingly militarized police forces – being waged on poor black communities in our own country.

So we should feel pity, I guess, for current events ruining their War On Christmas season. Kirk Cameron’s silly Saving Christmas has a dismal 1.3 stars on IMDB, and the exaggerated slights against the holy day have taken a backseat to protests over the latest round of grand jury decisions failing to indict white officers for killing unarmed black men. Jesus, a brown-skinned transient and known practitioner of civil disobedience executed by a brutal police state, is indeed perhaps the reason for the season, just not in the way the War on Christmas crowd wants to talk about.

Instead, many white conservatives, mostly Christians, have been trying… [Read more…] about Actual War on Black People Distracting from Fictional War on Christmas

I'm a racist and you probably are too

by in Current Events

View image | gettyimages.com

Trayvon Martin, Renisha McBride, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner.

Names that white America can safely ignore. Names that will be forgotten all too soon.

If you’re a white American, you don’t have to worry about the fact that black teenage boys are 21 times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white kids of the same age. You don’t have to pay attention to the fact that more than 10 percent of black men ages 20-39 will serve time in prison or jail during a given calendar year.

You can ignore those names and statistics as you go about your life. You can retreat to an insular and self-deluded reality defined by the narrative you’re most comfortable with: that “thugs” get what’s coming to them, that blacks are far more likely to commit crimes than whites or that race isn’t a relevant issue in these tragedies.

But, whether or not you or I or any other white American admits it, race is an issue, and through our actions and inactions we all are complicit in perpetuating racism in America. The truth is that I’m a racist and you probably are too.

Whether you realize it or not, you likely harbor positive associations with whiteness. You likely associate whiteness with education, happiness, well-being, safety and honesty.

Whether you realize it or not, you likely harbor negative associations with blackness. You likely associate blackness with crime, poverty, suspicion, danger and ignorance.

This isn’t… [Read more…] about I'm a racist and you probably are too

A Christmas Play Gone Awry (or maybe not)

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues, Christian Spirituality

One of my favorite Christmas stories is about a little church that traditionally had a Christmas play for all the children and the “adult children” who loved it just as much. There was a ten-year-old boy named Barry who had been a disaster in every Christmas play in which he had been involved. One year his angel wings caught on fire, which nearly burned down the church. The next year, as Herod the Great, he jumped from his throne and, in his usual clumsy way, jerked the carpet out from under the three wise men and dumped them on their heads.

The children begged the director not to let Barry ruin another Christmas play: “Please, teacher, could you leave Barry out this year?”

But how could she reject a little boy who tried his best and loved Jesus with all his heart, even if he was a bit clumsy? She was able to convince the other children that Barry couldn’t do any real damage by playing the innkeeper of Bethlehem. He just opened and closed a door and spoke one short line. What damage could he possibly do?

Barry made it through all the rehearsals and the dress rehearsal perfectly. Then, the big night arrived, when all the mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends and loved ones gathered to relive the Christmas story with their children. Barry was given a chance to redeem himself from all his previous mishaps. He opened the door of the inn and looked straight into the face of Mary and Joseph. Mary, very sad and pale, sat on a little donkey, which they had never… [Read more…] about A Christmas Play Gone Awry (or maybe not)

Last night our President sounded like Jesus

by Chuck Queen in Christian Issues

View image | gettyimages.com

Last night our President stretched his executive powers to the limit by providing deportation relief for several million undocumented people who have been living in the shadows in fear of deportation and separation from loved ones. And he never sounded more like Jesus. (Click here for the full text of his speech.)

4.4 million undocumented immigrants can now apply for permits that will allow them to work (and pay taxes) without fear of deportation.

There is no question that our current deportation laws are unjust, inhumane, and have inflicted great suffering on families by splitting them apart. So why would anyone with an ounce of compassion and concern for the common good not be pleased with the President’s executive order?

I was astonished at how angry and uncaring the Republican opposition appeared in their responses to the President’s speech. Rep. Lamar Smith from Texas, for instance, went so far to say, “I believe the President is actually declaring war on the American people and our democracy.”

I’m recalling some of stories in the Gospels where the religious gatekeepers of the time were infuriated with Jesus for violating the law against healing on the Sabbath.

On one such occasion, there was a man with a withered hand in the synagogue where Jesus had come to worship. The religious leaders watched Jesus like a hawk “to see if he would cure the man.”

Feeling their hatred for him, and their total lack of compassion for the suffering… [Read more…] about Last night our President sounded like Jesus

Chiseling away: Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser's "Splitting an Order"

by in Book Reviews

“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it,” says a quote attributed to Michelangelo. Translated for the task of writing poetry, it might say, “Every detail of life contains a poem, it is the task of the poet to discover it.“

This is the work of Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser: to chisel away at the stone of everyday life and discover the poetry already hiding inside. Kooser’s new collection, Splitting an Order (Copper Canyon Press, $23), does just that: Kooser’s careful observations of objects, animals, people and places reveal the beauty that exists everywhere around us.

Kooser’s credentials are imposing, but his poetry is not. His verses are soft, gentle and sometimes melancholy descriptions of the minutiae of life. These poems aren’t merely descriptive, they’re also quiet ruminations on change, longing, and the bittersweet passage of time.

The poem from which the collection draws its title is about a man sharing a roast beef sandwich with his wife: “I like to watch an old man cutting a sandwich in half, / maybe an ordinary cold roast beef on whole wheat bread.” But this entire collection of poems also functions as an extended invitation to split an order. Kooser carefully divides up the moments of life and asks us to partake in their restrained beauty.

… Today, on a bench
in a dark garage it’s upside down,
a miniature galvanized tub adrift
on time, and in it two survivors,
a… [Read more…] about Chiseling away: Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser's "Splitting an Order"

Being and Becoming Children of God

by Chuck Queen in Christian Spirituality

I grew up with a theology that said all children are children of God—that is, until they reach the age of accountability. I was also indoctrinated into a belief in total depravity: that we are all born sinners and inherit a sinful nature. Somehow we had to harmonize these two positions, and the way we did it was by postulating an age of accountability. It’s kind of ironic because we prided ourselves in being Bible believers, yet there are no biblical texts that mention an age of accountability.

We believed that a child was a child of God until that child reached a kind of semi-adulthood. When the child reached the age of accountability (and nobody really knowing when that was certainly made for a useful loophole), then he or she was no longer a child of God, and had to believe certain things and do certain things in order to become … well, a child of God. In other words, we believed that the child had to be “born again” in order to become a member of God’s family.

I have since evolved in my thinking about what it means to be a child of God, and what it means to be “born again.” I know many reading this post have as well.

The distinction I like to make at this point in my spiritual journey is that the distinction to be made here is between being and becoming. I’m convinced that we are all children of God all the time, and that there is nothing we can do, or believe, or fail to do or believe, that can change this fundamental truth about every single… [Read more…] about Being and Becoming Children of God

Mary Curran Hackett's novel provides "Proof of Angels"

by in Book Reviews

Despite its title, Mary Curran Hacket’s just released book doesn’t offer empirical evidence for the existence of supernatural beings from Heaven. Instead, her novel, Proof of Angels (William Morrow, $14.99), tells a feel-good tale of redemption and personal growth that touches on important social and spiritual issues.

Proof of Angels tells the story of Sean Magee, a Los Angeles firefighter who, after having been forced to jump from the third story of a burning house, must negotiate physical, emotional and spiritual recovery as he works to rebuild the broken pieces of his life. Through his journey of healing and self-discovery, Sean comes to understand that the true angels in life are not supernatural beings — though the novel leaves open that possibility as well — but are the people around him. For Sean, these real-life angels include his brother-in-law, the trainer of his new service dog, and his physical therapist, who all are also seeking to recover from the injuries life has dealt them. This cast of characters, through their love and sacrifices, provide Sean with “proof” of angels.

Proof of Angels is a novel about appreciating the people in our lives, about the importance of friendship and about our need for one another in the midst of hardship. Much of Christianity (and religion as a whole) focuses on supernatural escapism and the distant hope of a future Heaven. While still recognizing the importance of religious spirituality, Proof of… [Read more…] about Mary Curran Hackett's novel provides "Proof of Angels"

What the hell is Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler fired up about now?

by Don M. Burrows in Christian Issues, Fundamentalism

My friend John Shore sure stirred a hornets’ nest when he dared to imagine a Christianity without hell in in his recent post What Christianity without hell looks like.

Actually, to be more accurate, he stirred a nest of Southern Baptists, specifically the one feathered by Al Mohler, the denomination’s go-to pseudo-intellectual on, well, everything.

I’ve written before about Mohler’s penchant for having no clue what he’s talking about. Many times.[1] Anyone possessing a dollop of critical thought is capable of spotting the glaring problems in his arguments.

Mohler’s shtick is really just a variation of the Southern Baptists’ favorite creedal theme: If you doubt or question any part of what we teach, you might as well flush all of Christianity down the basement drain in the fellowship hall.

Mohler’s biggest fret, of course, is over “Biblical authority,” which is a doctrine, and not, in fact, a reasonable conclusion arrived at by those who have studied the Bible academically. For Mohler, “Biblical authority” consists of “being faithful to the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture,” which is, again, a doctrine — a doctrine that Southern Baptists and other conservative evangelicals care very much about, but not one believed by the vast majority of Christians worldwide.

Mohler takes Mr. Shore to task for his “hermeneutic,” and explains for his readers that “hermeneutics” are “the science or the discipline of interpreting the Scripture.” Related… [Read more…] about What the hell is Southern Baptist leader Al Mohler fired up about now?

Atheist and Christian argue about hell. Guess who wins?

by in Christian Issues

(While sitting at Starbucks yesterday I overheard the following conversation between two men I’ll call Christian and Tom. Christian was trying to evangelize to Tom.)

Tom: But what you’re saying simply doesn’t make any sense.

Christian: What doesn’t?

Tom: That if I don’t believe in the reality of the same God that you just told me loves me, then that God will condemn me to hell for all eternity. How could God love me and do that to me?

Christian: Because God loves you enough to let you decide your own fate.

Tom: But that doesn’t change the fact that if I choose to not believe in God, God could, if he wanted, still not send me to hell. He could commute my sentence. He could forgive me for the mistaken choice I made. God has that power, right? Because he’s all-powerful?

Christian: God can do anything.

Tom: Which means he can certainly choose not to send me to hell. And that can only mean that if I do end up in hell, it was God’s will that made that happen. Ultimately God wanted me in hell—so that’s where I ended up. God actively chose hell for me.

Christian: You chose hell for yourself by refusing to accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior.

Tom: That I made that mistake doesn’t alter the fact that God has chosen to… [Read more…] about Atheist and Christian argue about hell. Guess who wins?