God in America
by: Rev. DanUnbelievable… but yet, so very believable:
During the presidential election last year, Chandler [Pastor Chan Chandler from East Waynesville Baptist Church] told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), should either leave the church or repent, former member Lorene Sutton said.
(from here)
And, you’ve gotta love this:
Bishop Leonard Blair sent a letter to diocesan priests this week stating that Senate Bill 17 [which is a bill to extend the statute of limitations for victims of abuse]”should be of serious concern to all of us,” and urged them to contact their state representatives to voice opposition to the legislation.
(from here)
It’s as though he’s saying “don’t tie up the church in legislation… we want to rape and abuse with inpunity. God’s work needs to continue to be done.”
Church is not about God anymore, it’s about politics. Churches need to be treated as what they are… political organizations who do not merit tax exempt status. I’d like to think that the silent majority is still silent, but c’mon.
Thanks to AMERICAblog for the links.
I’m convinced that silent Christian progressives abound–but if you’re in the middle of the religious right world, it can be scary to voice dissent.
I’m hoping conversations about the East Waynesville case will become opportunities for progressive people in religious right congregations to begin breaking the silence.
Meg
I agree with Meg that there are a host of good people who are not f’n idiots (Meg calls them progressives). I am glad to see them on this blog and sprouting up in the blosphere. But, I’m not so sure that progressives within the religious right will ever “break the silence” or make any kind of change within the system. They will beak the silence by leaving the “right” and doing something different. For the “twilight zone” that they face when they leave an evangelical church they are suspended in our world, one whihc we have started calling the “outchurch.” If Meg breaks the silence, she’ll get her ass kicked and end up outchurched and pissed; if she keeps it bottled up inside, she’ll end up leaving in disenchantment.
Maybe when the outchurched population reaches a critical mass, there will be a new forum for community; a new hope for putting ourselves together for the sake of the Kingdom, and to make a difference in the world. Until then, we should keep the dialog open, honest and allow the freeflow of thought and occasional expletives.
What do you call people or churches who insist the church has no business getting involved in worldly politics, while at the same time sticking to ancient Christian tradition & scriptural interpretation? Surely the old school folks cannot be cast as “progressive.” Still I’ve seen churches like this. They’ll tell you abortion is wrong, and also tell you that how you vote is none of the church’s business.