For any of y’all that missed it, a prominent figure in christian leadership recently wrote a vision of the future four years into Obama’s presidency. It is a bleak picture. As I read the letter, the word “hopeless” came to mind several times. Now, I will seldom begrudge anyone their political opinions, even though I may strongly disagree. That said, I do begrudge the use fear to influence behavior.
In the preface to the original letter, the Apostle Paul is referenced, which led me to seek the words of Paul, myself. Reading some of the most quoted words the apostle ever wrote (1 Corinthians 13:1-15), I was struck by a kind of newness (as often happens with Holy Text).
“For we know in part and we prophesy in part,.. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
A vision of the future is hardly a vision of clarity as it is possibility. Now, the original writer does preface his dark vision, saying “This letter is not “predicting” that all of the imaginative future “events” named in this letter will happen. But it is saying that each one of these changes could happen” But that leads me to the last bit of Paul’s instruction in this area:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
While the greatest of the three remaining principles or ideas is love, hope, nonetheless remains. Hopelessness is not a characteristic of the christian life; nor a christian vision of the future.
There is quite a bit to the letter, so I will post in in parts.
This is part 1:
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Dear friend,
I just got back from singing the National Anthem at the ball-game. Boy, the A’s look really good this year. Trading Chavez looks like the best move Beane has made since picking up Holiday a few years ago.
I get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat every time I sing that song, particularly seeing the way citizens over the past few years have really grown into being “the home of the brave”… taking more and more ownership of their families, communities, neighborhoods and cities; becoming less dependent on political or even religious machinery.
That is perhaps the most striking change since the ’08 election: the level of citizen involvement. Specifically the involvement of large segments of the populace who had previously thought themselves unwanted by or excluded from the process. I’m not just talking about minorities, although that’s a story by itself. What has moved me has been the sheer numbers of young people; college, high-school and even younger, who have committed themselves to social and cultural renewal both globally and locally,… man, it’s hard to paint a picture anywhere near as striking as reality.
Of course, the Dems wants to claim this energy for its own but it had roots far deeper than Obama and the DNC. Admittedly, Obama’s presidency has continued to be a driving force behind public involvement. After the election, Hope In Action clusters formed all over the US, mainly made up of and led by folks who had volunteered on the Obama campaign originally. The service programs Obama’s office offered gave some structure and direction to the energized masses, but the heart to serve had been shaped by much more than peoples’ political orientation.
Same Sex “Marriage”
After the uproar in California over proposition 8, there grew a greater and more tragic divide between the homosexual community and the Church, or at least much of the Church. Court case after court case, protest after protest, the violence (sometimes physical) was embarrassing and damaging to the image of the people of God and to the health of our nation. Much of the same activity continues to make headlines. Even this week, a protest outside one neighborhood church turned ugly. Now, depending on the news source, the story of who started the fighting differs. What is certain is that this was one more example of a method which soon must pass.
There is still so much healing to be done, but we are seeing pockets all over where this healing is starting. The question many started asking from within the Body was “Is there a more compelling way to make the case for marriage? Why does this have to look different than the case we make for any other facet of the christian life?”
The fears of some among us that same-sex marriage would “unravel the fabric of our nation” have gone rather conspicuously unmet to date. Now, while multiple court cases in multiple states have yet to be settled and I am rather certain that this conversation/argument will go on, yet we’ve seen very little evidence that the doomsday scenarios will play out, particularly in public ed, where educators have resisted any suggestion that redefinition of “family” or “marriage” is ever going to be part of the curriculum.
Ultimately, the hope on both “sides” has become the same; that the government would get out of the business of marrying people and dole out “unions” only. I used to think this was only a matter of semantics, but I’ve learned that words carry deep meaning both culturally and spiritually.
One of the harder aspects of the turn America has taken in this area has been the deep disillusionment among christians regarding the State’s concern for religious matters. Few recognized how deeply seeded the nationalist sentiment was in the heart of our faith; how closely we had drawn the parallel identity of “American” with “Christian” and how confused our allegiances had become. It has been painful for many to have that seed removed and among them there are those who have abandoned the faith overall. That said, many have called it an “awakening” of sorts. I tend to agree.
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This is why I love your writing. Geat post!
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I’m pretty sure that visions of the future fall under the category of witchcraft. Expect me to throw a stone at you the next time I see you.
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We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 The Message
I think this kind of says is all, lean left lean right, in the end lean on God . . . trust steadily . . . hope unswervingly . . . love extravagantly . . . its more than i am able, but no less than i aspire to . . . .
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Couldn’t agree more with the tragic approach to manipulate the political process through religious fear. We should be ashamed. This was my take on it…
http://bisgeier.blogspot.com/2008/11/bring-on-new.html
…thank you Justin for attempting to bring the heart of God and the Spirit of the law back to the front & center!
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Justin for President!
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Scary religious fundamentalist here, but late to the conversation. The reeducation of family in the school system is already at work. Hello Massachusetts. Here is one dad’s experience and some others who live in Mass. http://www.massresistance.org/docs/marriage/effects_of_ssm.html
In 2006 the Parkers and Wirthlins filed a federal Civil Rights lawsuit to force the schools to notify parents and allow them to opt-out their elementary-school children when homosexual-related subjects were taught. The federal judges dismissed the case. The judges ruled that because same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, the school actually had a duty to normalize homosexual relationships to children, and that schools have no obligation to notify parents or let them opt-out their children! Acceptance of homosexuality had become a matter of good citizenship!
and
In 2006, in the elementary school where my daughter went to Kindergarten, the parents of a third-grader were forced to take their child out of school because a man undergoing a sex-change operation and cross-dressing was being brought into class to teach the children that there are now “different kinds of families.” School officials told the mother that her complaints to the principal were considered “inappropriate behavior.”
Hello brave new world. We’ll see how it shakes out here in Ct. I’ll keep you posted. But it seems gay “rights” seems to trump parental rights to keep schools from indoctrinating their children with a different religious view. Gay marriage is a religious issue, because marriage is a convention of our religion. When states offer civil unions, gay marriage advocates ask for a religious word attached to it, marriage, which is why conservative religious voters opposed it in California.
I think when you have kids in school your perspective will change. Notice how the Obama’s won’t put their kids in public schools, No one let’s their own rhetoric put their own children at risk.
God is good
jpu
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Though I dissagree with some of what is said, I applaude your willingness to search for hope. I am often guilty of looking at current events through the lens of Revelation (among other scriptures) and seeing a bleek future, however I do believe persocution is coming to the church in America as well as the world. I listen and read some of what you say and wright, and sometimes I feel you believe the church is the cause of much hurt in this nation (and it is). I personally believe the scale tilts much further on the side of good that the church has done rather than throw stones at the vocal minority….
I am sitting here thinking of all the things I would like to say. That may take up more space than the original blog. Couldn’t you choose smaller cans of worms? Perhaps nightcrawlers, there are usually only about a dozen of those….
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John, don’t you think that’s a problem with the public schools? As soon as you entrust the government with the responsibility of educating your children, you’ve lost them. Likewise, what can be said of the moral integrity of a man who turns to the government to affirm his convictions?
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When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service? – Thanks P.S
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Justin Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 1:18 am
Diana,
I’ll find out.
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