Shopping for God

Back on March 10, Timothy Shriver (yes, of that family) commented on the recently published Lanscape Survey of Religion in America in the "On Faith" section of the online Washington Post. Specifically, he saw the large numbers of Americans who have sitched religious affiliation as a good thing. Shriver wrote that this pointed to an on-going desire for the divine among the people in our country. Those switching were seeking, or "shopping," for something different than they had without abandoning the religious enterprise altogether.

Those who have been in local church ministry for any length of time are quite familiar with the phenomenon quantified by the Pew Center Report. Most ministers, though, don't see it in as positive a light as Mr. Shriver does. Most of us disdainfully dismiss those who treat church affiliation as a buffet line, at which they are free to choose from several different selections and continue to go back and choose again. Many church ministers go so far as to accuse other churches and ministers of "sheep-stealing," as if there is something underhanded or unethical about the tactics used to attract members. That perspective, of course, marks the difference between those who look at the health of religion from the view of a particular church, where the addition or subtraction of members can be a 'life or death situation' for the minister or the church, and those who look at the overall picture of the health of the religious enterprise.

That said, Mr. Shriver decided to do an informal family poll on what those in his family would look for as they "shopped for God." Here is the Timothy Shriver family list of responses:
“I want to feel the kind of joy that I see in great gospel singers. I want the part of God that is full of joy.”
“I can’t pay attention most of the time, and I get distracted easily, and it’s hard to stop my mind from wandering all over the place. If I were shopping for God, I’d want to go to a place where there was some way to help me be peaceful and quiet.”
“I want a community that values how thinking and faith go together. I don’t want to go someplace where I’m told to stop thinking, to disbelieve what science tells us is true, to distort my intelligence.”
“I want a community of love. I’m less interested in what people say they believe and more interested in what people do and feel. And I want to feel love.”
“I want an experience that helps me discover magic and peace and the spirit of the universe. I want to find the common thread. I want guides and people who have a connection to that universe.”
“I want to understand how God makes sense of my daily life—of dealing with my conscience, of the huge problems in the world, of how I fail or succeed in big moral problems.”
“I want God to show me how to make a realistic impact—to be concrete in making a difference in the lives of others. I want to find God in doing things that really matter.”
“I want humor and compassion. I usually don’t like religions because I find them arrogant and many of the people within them are full of themselves. I can’t stand pompous people who claim to know God.”

While he comments, and I concur, where could a person find all of these things, I will ask, as he does, "Should you go shopping for something different in the way of spirituality and religion for what would you look?"

Can we ever move beyond dreaming?

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the famous speech by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, known today as the "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech. It, among other sermons and speeches by Dr. King, is considered a classic of American rhetoric.

That was not Dr. King's intent, of course. He did not give the speech in order to have people later talk about how powerful it is. King's purpose was to galvanize people to change the unjust situation of the sanitation workers in Memphis Tennessee. The closing paragraph of the speech is worth noting here:
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

In the body of his remarks, Dr. King painted a vision of what life in America should be like. He dreamed of a country where people were judged on the basis of their character, not the color of their skin. He dreamed of a country where all who were poor and marginalized would move into the mainstream of the country.

Those were Dr. King's dreams 40 years ago. Of course, we all remember that on the following day, Dr. King was assassinated. How far have we progressed in achieving those dreams since then? It is remarkable that we have a man of African-American descent running for president, another sitting on the Supreme Court, and an African-American woman serving as Secretary of State. Those are good things, but the very fact that these are examples brought forward to highlight our progress in these areas show how little we have actually progressed. It seems to me that, if we had fulfilled the dreams that King had, we would not notice anything remarkable about Senator Obama, Justice Thomas, and Secretary Rice.

In this endless season of campaigns for president filled with glorious promises of what will happen if only we vote for 'the right candidate', wouldn't it be great if someone put forth a clear vision for a just and equitable society for all Americans and have the political courage to effect ways to make it happen. Maybe, some day, we can move beyond dreaming and make it a reality.

Russian Religious News

In February, I did a post on a "new Messiah" to hit the scene who happens to be Russian. Today, I noticed news accounts of a situation involving members of a "doomsday cult" in Russia.

In case you did not see the news, it is a simple story. Followers of self-declared prophet, Pyotr Kuznetsov, had entered a cave in November to await the end of the world. The 35 person group included both adults and children; two children were identified as aged 8 and 14.

Now, however, melting snow is threatening the structural integrity of the cave area with governmental officials concerned about a complete collapse of the cave burying the group. Some of them emerged from the cave on Friday, more left today, and priests from the Russian Orthodox Church and the governmental officials are trying to convince the rest to leave. The story does not indicate whether there was any religious significance of the cave or what they believed would actually happen when the end of the world came.

I wonder about folks who believe so passionately in something I consider so false. But, I imagine some of those with deeply held and passionate beliefs wonder about my lack of belief.

This does raise interesting questions. Was the government right to intervene? Do the members of the group feel that their eternal salvation is now compromised because they left the cave? If they were not going to harm anyone else, should the government have acted at all? Should one's religious beliefs trump any other consideration? Think hard before answering these questions because they could apply to you someday.

Appropriately chastened

I was greatly affected and chastened by the stories in the current issus of WorldArk, the publication of the Heifer Project. Our family has been involved with the Heifer Project at some level for a while now. I successfully lobbied for the Heifer Project to be one of the mission recipients for funds from Plymouth Congregational Church. Adam did a stint working at the Projects farm in Arkansas.

Perhaps it is because the gospel story for the coming Sunday is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who see the risen Christ as he offers blessings over the shared meal and breaks the bread to give to them that made me particularly susceptible to stories of global need. Among the themes of this familiar story from Luke's gospel are ones of food, of the sharing of food, and of the ministry of hospitality in a shared meal.

At any rate, here are some factoids that ought to chasten you as well.
-- 42% of children under 5 in South Asia are moderately or severely underweight.
-- After-tax income for the top 1% of US households increased by $180,000 in 2005.
-- Some scientists believe that obesity-related diseases will surpass malnutrition as the leading cause of death for the poor because of their limited access to fresh, healthy food.
-- The current USDA W.I.C subsidies for fruits and vegetables is $8.00 per adult per month.
-- Due to a number of factors, including increased subsidies for biofuel production and greater amounts of land dedicated to raise livestock to meet a soaring worldwide demand for meat, the cost of vegetable oil, which is a critical source of calories for the very poor, is increasing.

Again, I believe that the Christian community in America could become - should become - a strong voice in calling for just and ethical policies in trade, in the application of food subsidies, and in the administration of governmental programs, and in committing to the sharing of "excess" wealth, so that we can make a difference in the live of those most needy and marginalized. Wouldn't it be wonderful for this to happen?

The Power of the Question

Over the weekend, Vicki and I kept life very low key and got 3 rentals from The Movie Gallery. From one of them, Goya's Ghost, came the provocation for this post.

The movie is set in Spain from the end of the 18th into the beginning of the 19th century, looking at life through the ending phase of the Inquisition and the beginning of the Napoleonic conquest. The linchpin of the movie is the noted Spanish painter, Francisco Goya, though a Catholic monk, Brother Lorenzo, and a young Spanish woman who is a model for Goya, Ines, dominate the narrative of the movie.

In an early scene, Lorenzo is shown exhorting his comrades in the church of the need to return to the days when religion and the Roman Catholic Church were taken seriously. The monk feels that the people have grown too lax in their religious duties. Worse, he believes that too many people have fallen into apostasy, with many of them being secret Jews. So, he instructs the faithful Catholics to be aware of behaviors that could signal this secret theological heresy.

Two of his minions were having dinner at a tavern when they noticed the young girl, Ines, refusing to eat pork. That was sufficient to justify a summons from the Inquisition. After the court questions her about the reason why she did not eat the pork - she claimed she did not like the taste - and does not not believe her, they moved her into the prison to question her more strenulously. They chained her hands behind her back, attached the chain to a wheel, and raised her arms until her entire body was lifted off the floor. After enduring this excruciatingly painful treatment as long as she could, Ines was willing to confess to anything, in the hope of having the nightmare end, and she did confess.

So, before questioniong her, the officials of the Inquisition were convinced that she was guilty of being a secret Jew and tortured her until she confessed to just that. Thus, the court justified everything they had done to her because she was guilty after all. In the Spanish slang of the day, as portrayed in the movie, she was asked "The Question."

Her parents enlisted Goya's help in seeking her release from prison. He, in turn, asked Brother Lorenzo to meet Ines' family for dinner and hear their request. At the table, Ines' father stated that he believed anyone would confess anything under sufficiently painful treatment. Lorenzo countered with the argument of the church that, if you were innocent, God would give you the strength to resist the Question. In case anyone wants to watch the movie, I will not reveal the plot twists, but I will say that Ines' father proves how stupid such a belief on the part of the Church was.

This movie provoked me on different levels. First, in light of the national debate in America over what is and is not torture in questioning detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib and the effectiveness of such techniques, I believe Ines' father was right. Anyone can be made to confess anything under sufficiently prolonged painful treatment, unless it kills them first. Second, I am appalled that any religion ever felt justified in utilizing the kind of interrogation techniques as was practiced in the Inquisition. How anyone could operate with the smug self-assurance that this kind of barbaric behavior is what God would desire is beyond me. Unfortunately, similar beliefs are held by religious folks today.

What can we do? We as part of the America people and we as part of a religious people must make our voices heard. There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein that seems apropos: "The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." Then, there is another more well-known one attributed to Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Just as there is power in "The Question," so must there be power in our answer to it.