Church and Welfare

Some Christian churches have created a "golden age" for the church - some sort of happy village when everyone cared for everyone else. Baloney! That world has never existed. In the Middle Ages, when the church and the state overlapped and the church controlled huge amounts of land, and bishops reaped huge incomes for the diocese from taxation on trade and commerce, with wealthy princes contributing large sums to the church to pay for building, gain penance and purchase indulgences. The church then used money for welfare, not unlike gov't today. The corporate role of the church in the Middle Ages was huge, and, today, has been replaced by gov't. There never was the "happy village" imagined in some Christian circles.

Capital Punishment - a Thought or Two

I am an advocate of life-sentences, without parole. Since there are too many mistakes made in capital cases, and since many capital cases deal with people who can't afford top-notch attorneys, and since it's been demonstrated that prosecutor offices tend to "close" a case too quickly to get a conviction, I opt for prison, rather than the death penalty. Though I remain convinced that a "state" has the right to take a criminal's life - that law and Scripture allow for it. But as Paul noted, just because something is permissible doesn't mean we should do it. Wisdom, as least mine, indicates imprisonment as a safer means of punishment that accomplishes the same as capital punishment (remove the offender from society) without the chance of a mistake. I also believe that capital punishment stains the character of a nation, and all those who participate in it - police, judges and juries, defenders and prosecutors, and the people who finally have to pull the levers.

Applauding for Executions

When Gov. Perry of Texas was questioned about the 234 executions in his state at the September 7 GOP debate at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, the audience broke out into loud applause.

I am stunned by this.

As a Christian, I follow an executed man. 

As I read the story, God choose the worst way to die, the lowest of all means of public shame and abandonment, because Jesus came to all who are abandoned, to be with all who are shamed, with and for all who are lost. Only there on the cross could God's love for all the world be fully demonstrated. In the lowest of all places where a human being might be found, God is there.

I imagine Pilate reporting to Caesar about the number of executions carried out in Galilee under his watch, and I can imagine the Roman Senate breaking out into applause.

I can understand why some would applaud the death of 234 people; yes, there are some who love the smell of blood. But anyone who takes Jesus and his cross seriously, I can't imagine them joining in that applause. 

We must remember what justice means in the Bible - putting things back together again in the right way - restoring the lost - helping the fallen - giving life, offering the second chance and forgiving many times. 

Capital punishment is never justice - because it restores nothing. It might be legal, and I suppose one can make a legal case for it, but capital punishment is vengeance in its final form - there is no going back, life cannot be restored for either the victim or the perpetrator, and vengeance only stains the soul all the more - the soul of those who want it, who make the decisions, who carry out the executions, and the soul of a nation that uses it.

Life imprisonment is the only acceptable alternative of punishment for a capital offense.

I have long stood against capital punishment - I can't imagine Jesus ever approving of it, who himself was the innocent victim of capital punishment. In spite of all our safeguards, too many innocent people die at the hand of the state. 

As a Christian, I cannot support it, and even more, I must do what I can to rid the land of this foul practice.

And, please, don't quote the Bible at me on this one.

I know all the relevant verses, and all the related history.

If you want to live in an eye-for-an-eye, a tooth-for-a-tooth, kind of world, we'll all end up toothless and blind, and what good will that do?

Kindness is always in season!

9/11 Commemoration - for Sunday at Calvary Presbyterian Church

The following statement will be read during a portion of the morning liturgy devoted to the memory of 9/11 ... at Calvary Presbyterian Church, Hawthorne, CA.

We are Christians, above all else.

Our greatest loyalty is to the kingdom of God.

Our highest hopes are anchored in Christ.

Our daily life is built upon the character of God - God at work in all things, in all things for good … because God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

September, 2001 … the church I served at the time, St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Livonia, MI, was geared up to celebrate it’s 50^th anniversary on Sunday, September 16 - people, from far and wide, had planned to attend the festivities and give thanks to God Almighty. 

And then, Tuesday, September 11, a day of national sorrow.

Several former pastors and others were unable to attend because of airline shutdowns. What had been planned as a festival became, as well, a time of mourning and soul-searching. In some parts of the country, churches, synagogues and mosques were filled to overflowing, and for some weeks, and even months, thereafter, people sought hope and solace in God’s love.

Ten years later, our country has been shaken by the mortgage meltdown, massive banking failure, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, political gridlock, high unemployment, world-wide financial distress, the Bernie Madoff scandal, the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, and perplexing questions about our future.

History offers some guidance.

From the get-go, when Cain killed his brother Able, human beings have excelled in the ways of killing. Of all God’s creatures, we are tragically skilled in violence. From Japan’s pillaging of Nanking, Hitler’s Holocaust and the Allied bombing of Dresden - to tens of thousands of starving children around the world amidst the brutal wars of genocide we’ve witnessed in the last 25 years, it is not a pretty picture. We who claim the name of Christ must spend a lot of time on our knees, praying for humanity and praying for the nations, pledging ourselves to be “the children of God,” those who are peacemakers. 

As Christians in America, it’s vital that we remember September 11, but do so with grace and perspective, choosing to live out of our hope and our dreams for a better world.

Ten years after the World Trade Center buildings collapsed into the streets of Manhattan and nearly 3000 people lost their lives in the blink of an eye, we must do several things today:

1. Honor the memory of that tragic day with prayers and hope.
2. Pray for the families who lost loved ones.
3. Pray for the ticket agents, air traffic controllers and air force pilots - the burdens of memory are great!
4. Celebrate the power of human resilience - while the survivors all carry painful memories of that day, so many of them have worked their way through the tragedy to find new life. Their stories of victory and success are a testimony to human courage and an inspiration to us all to never, ever, give up!
5. Recognize the dedication of the first responders - public servants devoted to the public good, who put themselves into harm’s way, because this is their calling, this is their duty, this is their life.
6. Pray for our nation.
7. Pray for all the nations of the world, because God’s love is for all the world, all the nations, and all the peoples.
8. Pray for peace, and devote ourselves to the ideas and behaviors that contribute to peace on all levels of life - family, work, neighborhood, church and school.
9. Remember that we’re a strong nation with deep resources, and we needn’t live in fear. Yes, bad things might happen; no one person, and no nation, is immune to such things. Better to live in courage and trust. Better to know that our lot on earth is far better than many, and that, truly, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
10. Practice forgiveness … and if it has to be raw forgiveness, do it. Forgiveness is always the healing of the soul.
11. Practice what Jesus meant when he said, “Love your enemy” - this is not a sentimental journey, but a decision to do what’s right - to seek reconciliation where possible; to avoid violence and vengeance; to admit wrongs and confess sins; to seek the high road to life.
12. Promise to live for Christ all the more - growing up into the knowledge of God’s purpose and love revealed in Christ - the reconciliation of all the world.
13. Link arms with women and men of faith all around the world - Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus - anyone who does kindness, loves justice, and walks humbly with their God.
14. And with the love of Christ secure in our hearts, love our nation and guide it to the better future.

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address ends with these stirring and noble words:

… that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Dear friends, dear Christian friends, walk in the footsteps of the Master - Go forth into the world in peace; Be of good courage; Hold fast to that which is good. Render to no one evil for evil. Strengthen the faint hearted. Support the weak. Help the afflicted. Honor everyone. Love and serve the Lord.

And to God be the glory. Amen and Amen!

  

Truth-Telling at Calvary Chapel???

In California, powerful right-wing congregations have a troubling history on truth-telling when it comes to social change.

As for me and my house, I happen to think that the church needs to tell the truth, no matter what, because our Lord is the Truth, as well as the Way and the Life.

Where truth is compromised or denied for political purposes, there is no Gospel, and Christ himself is denied.

That Calvary Chapel should use fear-inducing lies is not surprising, given the history of right-wing religious groups in SoCal - please see Darren Dochuk's monumental study:

From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism

Whatever one's persuasion may be on the questions of homosexuality, I think most folks can agree that truth-telling is a virtue, and spreading lies, especially fear-inducing lies, is reprehensible.

For years now, the LGBTQ Community has been the target of the far-right. Christians who stand against Gays and Lesbians always claim to have the Bible on their side and the weight of tradition behind them.

Yet even conservative scholars these days are inclined to admit that the Bible has been mistranslated in several key verses and poorly interpreted with other verses, mostly to suit certain social norms. The same was done, of course, to deny women ordination and to perpetuate slavery and post-emancipation Jim Crow laws - such as laws prohibiting bi-racial marriages.

Another example of fear-inducing lies regards the use of the short-handled hoe in CA agriculture - it's a fascinating story and highlights how fear-of-change grows into a monster that continues to harm. You can read about it HERE.

With regard to SB 48, it's a matter of honesty - honest history, honest teaching and honest recognition of people and causes that have contributed to the well-being of American society.

Is there anyone who doesn't want honesty in these matters?

Here's a letter from Courage Campaign.

Tom

---------------------------

"SB 48 will teach homosexuality to kindergarteners." That was the response my brother got this past Sunday when encountering a signature-gatherer at Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills.

We were shocked, because we know that SB 48, the FAIR Education Act, simply ensures that California schools include LGBT people and movements in our history books, and yet homophobes are collecting signatures to put the law on the ballot and repeal it. I don't know about you, but I'm not up for another Prop. 8-style campaign and loss, where the other side uses lies and scare tactics to hurt the LGBT community. We have to start NOW to frame this issue, to get the truth out.

We need your help to spread the word. Will you sign up to help make sure this measure stays off the ballot?

What we saw in church yesterday isn't the only example. Yesterday, the "Stop SB 48" campaign sent an email reinforcing the lies about teaching "homosexuality" to young children, on the heels of their video ad last week from Pastor Jack Hibbs at Calvary Chapel. Two choice quotes from Pastor Hibbs's ad:

"The indoctrination of our children regarding gay and lesbian, transgender lifestyles and practices as it relates to state history, as it relates to US history, and as it relates to our own economy...This new teaching, frankly, comes against the very ministry of Jesus Christ, the word of God, and you and I."

"If we don't stop it, this will be the indoctrination of our children, on our watch...There's no opting out for your student, they must take this course, there's no getting away from it."

All SB 48 does is to make sure that the role of LGBT people and the movement for justice are part of American history taught in schools. How many people know that gays and lesbians were jailed simply for being gays and lesbians? Who really knows that even now transgender people are beaten up for being transgender? Did you know that in his first days in office, Dwight Eisenhower signed an executive order that not only banned gays and lesbians from public service, but from working for government contractors? That's our history. If we don't know what happened, we are indeed doomed to repeat it, if not for LGBT people then for other minorities.

America is made stronger by telling the story of all Americans: black, Latino, gay, straight, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. We are all part of the powerful fabric that builds our nation. Pretending that some of us don't exist is not the American way. I'm a proud straight ally and I support making our history more inclusive of people who deserve respect.

But we need your help to tell that story. Please sign up for Courage Campaign's efforts to defend the FAIR Education Act and keep their homophobia off the ballot.

Thanks for all you're doing,

Arisha Hatch, National Field Director, Courage Campaign

Chip in today to fight back against the Stop SB 48 campaign!

The Truth about Texas???

LA Times, 8.11.11 - Letter to the Editor:

August 11, 2011

Texas, taxes and jobs

Re "Amazon stumps outside stores," Business, Aug. 6

I am a visitor to California and a lifelong Texan. Imagine my surprise to encounter an anti-tax signature collector in San Diego arguing that California will lose jobs to Texas if taxes increase.

We Texans have already got all the minimum-wage, no-benefit jobs we can handle, along with lousy roads, a 19th century school system, a high poverty rate, hunger, lack of medical care and the highest rate of uninsured people in the nation. Our education system is declining, and much of the new jobs pay minimum wage. Texas is becoming third-world.

California has so much of what Texas lacks. Be happy to pay your taxes because you are getting so much for them. Tighten your belt and preserve the California you have while you can. Don't destroy California; you will regret it later.

Kathleen Bombach

El Paso

I don't know who Ms. Bombach is, but I'm grateful for her letter, because from other sources, as well, we're learning that the Texas "success" story is more like "A Nightmare on Elm Street." Things are going down more quickly in Texas than the proverbial goose on a June Bug. The GOP strategy for prosperity is an illusion, if not a lie. The only prosperity they have in mind is the welfare of the Royalty. 

Kathleen Bombach, whoever you are, thank you!

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/

Assigning Blame????

 I cannot in good conscience assign blame equally. The Bible doesn't either. When the prophets rail against Israel's sin, it's the Priests and the Kings who are faulted - folks with power, the power to change things for the better, but who choose to change things to suit their own interests and feed their own appetites. 


When Jesus over-turns a table or two, it's in the Temple, the bastion of religious power. Jesus clearly speaks to all, but his harshest words are directed, not to the people, but to the powerful. 


Jesus would not tell a poor single Mom living in South LA to spend a little less, and not put anything on a credit card. 


No. Jesus would speak to the system that keeps her unemployed or underemployed; a system that fails to provide public transportation; child-care; health-care; good schools; clean water and air; healthy food. A system designed and managed by the powerful during the last 50 years, for the sake of the powerful; a system sucking the life out of millions. 


To speak of an equality of responsibility is biblically impossible - Jesus said it well: "Those to whom much has been given, much is expected." Responsibility for building a just and life-inducing world belongs to the powerful. In their failure, they are condemned ("hard for a rich man to make it" - parable of rich man and Lazarus), and in their success (e.g.Zacchaeus), be blessed.