“Concealed Carry” and the Love of Christ

Posted on September 30, 2011 by djgrieser

Among the bills passed by Wisconsin’s legislature and signed into law by Governor Walker, is one permitting “concealed carry” of handguns. It will go into effect in November and has caused consternation in many quarters. Churches and other property owners are permitted to put up signs that state weapons are forbidden to ensure that law-abiding citizens carrying guns will not bring them onto premises. Grace Church already has a published policy (in our employee handbook) that forbids weapons on church property.

There is considerable discussion about how churches should respond. The Wisconsin Council of Churches has produced material to help churches decide and the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee will debate a resolution that recommends forbidding weapons on all property owned by, or held in trust for, the Diocese (which would include all churches and rectories): concealedcarryresolution

There was lively debate about the resolution at yesterday’s clergy day. I am opposed to the law and to any law that increases the possibility of violence in our community. However, I am also mindful of my own experience. When we were living in Tennessee back in the 1990s, I remember the first time I noticed the sign forbidding weapons on the entry doors of the Chattanooga airport. I was relieved to know that weapons were prohibited in the airport (this was years before 9-11) but suddenly I realized the sign meant that people carrying concealed weapons were out on the streets, in stores and restaurants, and the like. Tennessee was then, and undoubtedly remains, a violent state. While we lived there, several local county courthouses were bombed with dynamite by disgruntled citizens.

Signs forbidding weapons in churches remind us that churches are sanctuaries, places of peace, and link us to the long history of churches providing safe havens for people threatened by violence. At the same time, such signs prominently displayed can arouse fear and suspicion.

As churches, we are to offer a message of love and hope, not fear and the question for me is whether chilling signs with handguns prominently displayed that inevitably remind us of the violence inherent in our society, proclaim the love of Christ.

More on Stacy Sauls’ Proposal

Posted on September 28, 2011 by djgrieser

I’m intrigued by the conversation about Bishop Sauls’ proposal to shift money from administration and governance toward ministry and mission. It’s an important conversation and has aroused considerable interest and emotion. Many seem to perceive it as an attack on the laity, particularly on lay governance, in the form of General Convention.

The reality is, things must change. Sauls’ presentation focuses on the financial realities confronting the church. They are real and potentially of enormous impact. But there are other realities, too. The Episcopal Cafe, in the midst of these postings about structural change within the denomination, found time to link to a study that highlights the structural changes taking place in our society and in the religious life of Americans. The full study is available here: Decade of Change Final_0

The Episcopal Lead quotes:

“There is an overall decline in the numbers of faithful in the pews. Median weekly attendance in American congregations was 130 in 2000 and had dropped to 108 by 2010 . . . More disconcerting is the erosion in spiritual vitality. In 2005 about 43% of congregations reported high spiritual vitality and 5 years later this has dropped to 28%. This is paralleled by a decline in financial health in congregations…”

The conversation within the Episcopal Church may be driven by finances. It ought to be driven by this reality, the increase of those who identify themselves as non-religious and the very different ways in which younger cohorts relate to religious institutions than their elders did.

The burning question ought to be: How do we create vital spiritual communities that proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ in this environment? There are thousands of people who are asking this question and experimenting with possibilities both in our denomination throughout American Christianity. It ought to be our top priority as well. If we can’t adapt to this new reality, no amount of restructuring will matter. Nor should it.

Here’s is Bishop Sauls’ slideshow: Sauls’ presentation.

Here’s a link to the text.

The pushback has begun. Jim Naughton’s is publishing a series of posts examining the proposal. The first, examines “the political context.” It is here. It seems there is outcry that the leadership of General Convention were not consulted and there is perception that this may be a powerplay from the House of Bishops to reduce the involvement of laity in governance. The second asks about mission. The third explores other ways of reducing overhead, including merging dioceses and rethinking national church headquarters in Manhattan.

A follow-up article from Episcopal News Service is here.

Mark Harris’ continuing commentary is here.

The Antichrist is back in the news!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by djgrieser

First, an oped in the New York Times.

For some evangelicals, President Obama is troubling. The specious theories about his place of birth, his internationalist tendencies, his measured support for Israel and his Nobel Peace Prize fit their long-held expectations about the Antichrist. So does his commitment to expanding the reach of government in areas like health care.

As if to prove Sutton’s point, a heckler calls President Obama the antichrist: http://youtu.be/9cP-FTX5tVg

A review of Richard Landes’ new book on secular apocalypticism:

Despite the lack of subtlety in his treatment of Islam, Landes’ arguments are convincing: that by diminishing the milennialist influence, viewing it through a narrow Enlightenment-centric lens, or ignoring it altogether, the “bats” overlook a dangerous historical force; and second, that we need to better understand how such ideas shift from the fringes to the center. Above all, Heaven on Earth convinces the reader that secular movements are often far more religious than we tend to acknowledge.

Another Reason to Oppose the “New Atheists”

Posted on September 26, 2011 by djgrieser

They’re sexist. Among others quoted in the article, our neighbor down the street, Annie Laurie Gaylor.

“Episcopal, but not religious”

Posted on September 25, 2011 by djgrieser

From the Episcopal Church’s latest branding guidelines:

For those looking for more meaning and deepened spirituality, The Episcopal Church offers honest and unconditional acceptance, which removes barriers to Jesus Christ and permits belonging to an authentic church community.

I’m not sure what I don’t like about it, but my reaction is visceral. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been thinking about Philippians 2:

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus

who, though he was in the form of God,: did not regard equality with God; as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,: taking the form of a slave,; being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,: he humbled himself; and became obedient to the point of death–; even death on a cross.”

To translate that into “honest and unconditional acceptance that removes barriers to Jesus Christ” seems empty of theological content or the possibility of personal transformation. But perhaps that’s just me.

I’m reminded of the “spiritual but not religious” debate I’ve been linking to.

More on the “Spiritual but not religious” dust-up

Posted on September 25, 2011 by djgrieser

Jim Burklo: http://tcpc.blogs.com/musings/2011/09/celebrating-sbnr-remembering-jim-adams.html

Here’s another way to view the SBNR phenomenon: religiously unaffiliated but spiritually engaged people are in fact encountering God in real human communities that don’t look like traditional congregations, so why not celebrate that?

Diana Butler Bass:

Maybe the SBNR are pointing the way toward a different kind of church or a new kind of Christianity, if only those of us who still care about old denominations and traditions can receive the criticism of their absence and learn from it, even as it comes with a sting.

Kate Blanchard, who teaches religious studies, on the airplane conversation (and her own journey):

If all of this makes me boring to the confidently religious, I guess I can live with that. But I am actually quite fascinated by someone who takes the time to say, “I’m spiritual but not religious,” when they could simply have said, “Hmmm, interesting,” and put in their ear buds. It makes me feel less alone as I wander in my current religious wilderness. I am actually energized and encouraged by the quests of those who are seeking something true, even if they don’t know anything other than that it’s not religion.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus: A Sermon for Proper 21, Year A

Posted on September 25, 2011 by djgrieser

September 25, 2011

I wonder when, if ever, there were that many clergy in clerical collars, at a meeting of Madison’s City Council. I didn’t count the total Tuesday night, but I’m guessing there were at least ten. Why were we wearing collars? As a show of piety? No, of course not. We were wearing them to identify our selves and also to make clear what our offices were and what the nature of our authority was. Clergy aren’t the only ones who do that sort of thing, even if we are particularly prone to it. Most of us on occasion like to assert our authority, to make clear that we have power, and that we deserve to be heard. Continue reading →

Atheism, Belief, and Intuition

Posted on September 24, 2011 by djgrieser

Brad Hirschfeld, “When Atheism turns Ugly”

Fanatical atheism is no worse and no better than fanatical religion, though it may be more bitterly ironic. There is something pretty odd, dare I say hypocritical, about a bunch of people who call themselves “freethinkers” and “humanists” not only verbally abusing people of faith, but actually tearing up verses from the Bible as an act of protest, as they did on a pier in Huntington Beach, California Saturday morning.

Evidence of a more measured approach:

Jonathan Ree on the “varieties of irreligious experience”

Opponents of religion – anti-clericals, humanists, rationalists or whatever we want to call ourselves – ought to recognise that religion is a complicated box of tricks, containing much wisdom as well as folly, along with diversity, dynamism and disagreement. And we need to realise that many modern believers have moved a long way from the positions of their predecessors

Gary Gutting on Phillip Kutcher’s analysis of the spiritual experiences underlying belief:

Your religious beliefs typically depend on the community in which you were raised or live. The spiritual experiences of people in ancient Greece, medieval Japan or 21st-century Saudi Arabia do not lead to belief in Christianity. It seems, therefore, that religious belief very likely tracks not truth but social conditioning. This “cultural relativism” argument is an old one, but Kitcher shows that it is still a serious challenge.

Finally, “Why are intuitive thinkers more likely to believe in God than reflective thinkers?“