A World of Hate

The Southern Poverty Law Center (www.splcenter.org) does an annual survey of groups in America that preach hate toward others. They recently issued their analysis for the year 2007. I realize that some folks look askance at Morris Dees - one of the founders of SPLC - and the work of the center, but I tend to give the group a lot of credibility.

The report was not very encouraging. In 2000, SPLC identified 602 such groups in America. In 2007, there were 888. That, as you can tell, is a substantial increase. These groups include the KKK and the Black Separatists as well as NeoNazis and NeoConfederates.

SPLC also provides a map showing the number of such groups on a state by state basis. California has the most with 80, and Texas is second on the list with 67 such groups. Some of the next states may not surprise you, but a few will. Following the two leaders are Florida (49), South Carolina (45), Georgia (42), Tennessee (38), New Jersey (34), Virginia (34), Pennsylvania (33), Missouri (29), Ohio (28), North Carolina (28), Michigan (26), New York (26), Alabama (24), Illinois (23), Louisiana (22) and Washington (20).

I always think of Virginia as a bastion of civilization and gentility. Why do so many groups find a hospitable home in Virginia? Why so many on the east coast, from among the original 13 colonies? Why so many from the heartland of our country?

The New York Times, I believe (though I cannot find it again), provided a graphic showing areas of concentration of particular hate groups in the United States. I found it interesting, for example, to note that Texas (20), Mississippi (11), and Tennessee (12) had the largest number of KKK groups with California, Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio each having 6-10 KKK organizations. I can understand the KKK being plentiful in California - I suspect a researcher could find a lot of anything in California - and in the Southern States. Why, though, are there that many KKK groups in Indiana and Ohio?

This report was particularly sobering to me. We Americans are quick to identify and castigate groups world-wide that preach hate against Jews, for instance, but seem to be willing to ignore the reality that such groups - and more - exist here as well. I realize the principles of freedom in our country allow the opportunity for many groups with different perspectives to exist, but what does the presence of such groups that call for the elimination of people on the basis of religion or ethnic background in our country say about us as a nation? Why is the number of such groups increasing every year?

In a world of hate, what does it say about us as a people that many in our communities are part of it?

A List of Sins By Any Other Name ...

Reading the major news outlets for the last week would lead one to believe that the Vatican has discovered new sins that could send a person to Hell. That is, I think, an incorrect interpretation of what happened.

The traditional list of mortal sins includes such things as: pride, lust, envy, and greed. Put forward about 1500 years ago, the traditional list focuses on individual attitudes and actions. What Bishop Gianfranco Girotti spoke of last week were more social, or communion, sins, such as: environmental pollution, accumulating excessive wealth, and inflicting poverty.

Therefore, it is not correct to say that the Vatican has just discovered pollution as a problem. Rather, the Roman Catholic Church seems to want to remind people that there are other dimensions of human actions that have an impact on others and on our own spiritual condition. People of faith should realize that living a life of greed is not good, and neither is contibuting to the damage of the environment.

While I have played with a lot of different things to add to this posting, such as discussing some of the 613 commandments to be followed by people of faith as found in Jewish scripture or thinking about Jesus' radical redefinition of sin as found in the Sermon on the Mount, I will stay with my original intent and ask one simple question. What actions or attitudes do you think should be included on a list of sins for the 21st century? (Canny people will discern that I am making another effort to generate some commentary.)

Consider your list and share it with me.

The Geographic Cure

This is a chapter title in a book I just finished reading, Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole by Dr. Jerri Nielsen with Maryanne Vollers. This is the second of two books loaned to the Chittum family by good friend, Barbara Steinhaus, and tells the story of Dr. Nielsen’s battle with cancer as she served as the only doctor to the 40 people who stayed over the winter of 1999 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station.

Shortly after the onset of winter at the Pole, when the station is absolutely isolated because no flights can land there for about 8 months due to the extreme weather conditions, Dr. Nielsen discovered a lump in her breast and suspected cancer. She was forced to perform a needle biopsy on herself in order to get tissue to verify diagnosis and to administer chemotherapy to herself, with the help of others on base whom she trained, in order to begin treatment until she could leave.

The first chapter of the book, the one entitled “The Geographic Cure”, details what led to Dr. Nielsen’s decision to serve at the South Pole. Nielsen states, “I believe in geographic cures – they allow you to throw all your cards in the air and see where they land, then pick them back up and deal them again. I was ready for a new deal.”

That feeling she expressed struck a chord with me. There have been times in my life when I felt the same thing. I would hope for a chance to throw my cards in the air just to see in what new place they would land. Sometimes I resisted; other times I did not and grabbed for the new.

Have you ever felt that way? How did you deal with it? Did you succumb to the siren call of the new and different? Or, did you stay where you were?

I never thought I would see this.

Both CNN.com and the New York Times website carried stories of a new declaration on the environment from a group of 44 influential leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. According to the news reports - I have not yet located a copy of the declaration itself, so I have to rely on the articles - the leaders wrote, '“We believe our current denominational engagement with these issues has often been too timid, failing to produce a unified moral voice,” the church leaders wrote in their new declaration.' (from the NY Times story by Neela Banerjee).

This is significant for several reasons. First, these leaders in the SBC, who include the current President of the Convention and two past Presidents, seem to be contradicting a resolution passed at the 2007 annual meeting of the SBC, which took a more skeptical stance about global warming and humanity's role in it. Second, this is the first time that any leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention have spoken out about environmental issues. Again relying on the NYT article for the quote, Jonathan Merritt, a seminary student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, said, "I learned that God reveals himself through Scripture and in general through his creation, and when we destroy God’s creation, it’s similar to ripping pages from the Bible." Third, this flies in the face of the criticism that many conservative evangelical leaders have made of Rev. Cizik's (he of the National Association of Evangelicals) call for responsible environmental action on the part of the church.

It will be interesting to see how this declaration is received by others within the SBC and the broader conservative evangelical community. It will be even more interesting to see whether SBC churches are motivated to take any action because of it.

How do you prove ... that you are anything?

Last Sunday's New York Times magazine had a feature story on the plight of young Israelis, many of whom were born in America and some of whom were converts to Judaism, wanting to get married in Israel and being forced to prove they were actually Jewish to the satisfaction of the religious authorities in charge of issuing the requisite legal documents. In Israel, marriage is solely the provenance of the religious. There is no comparable state alternative that is available in America, so this issue becomes a big deal.

That sparked a train of thoughts in my head. How successful would I be, would any of us be, if we had to prove our religious bona fides?

When Vicki and I came to Georgia, we had to present various proofs before we were allowed to get a Georgia driver's license. For example, we had to prove American citizenship. This was a first for us, since the last time we moved intra-state was in 1997 when we went to Wichita, Kansas. Now, I guess in response to various Department of Homeland Security rules or concerns about illegal immigratioon, the state of Georgia asks for more definitive proof; luckily, we had passports. Then, we had to show that we had established residence in Georgia. This was a little more tricky, since Demorest uses Post Office boxes, and we had to verify a physical location as our residence.

This process was frustrating, but only because we were unaware of all of the rules and regulations before we went to the DMV. We have had to prove our identity before for various governmental entities. We have always found that one set of papers from a recognized authority could be obtained to satisy the requirements for another level of authority.

But, what do I have that proves that I am a particular religion? Unlike countries such as Egypt that stamps a religious designation on identity papers, America leaves that whole question to the individual. So, could I prove that I am a Christian; could I prove that I am a Congregationalist; could I prove that I used to be a Baptist? And, what would it mean for me to be able to prove any of that?

Once again, charging ahead to generate thought and provoke comment, I ask of you who will read this: Whatever you are religiously speaking, could you prove it? And, what would it mean if you could prove whatever you are? Looking forward to responses.

There Is No Me Without You

This is the title of a book written by Melissa Fay Greene that tells the story of Haregewoin Teferra, an Ethiopian widow who found herself in the position of being asked initially to help take of one child who was orphaned because of AIDS and ultimately cared for scores. Ms Teferra's story is the story of one person who found herself in the position to make a difference, even with the odds stacked against her, and did.

The author also uses this intimate portrait to tell the tragic story of a continent ravaged by disease. All of us now should be aware of the millions in Africa who have died from AIDS, and who may still die, and of the many, many millions of children who were left without parents or grandparents or other family because of the disease.

In the story that the author weaves is the inescapable point of how the Western powers - America, Germany, Britain, France - and the pharmaceutical companies in these countries were more concerned with protecting profits for the drug companies than in making medicines available to the poor in Africa who were in need. Greene discusses many of the excuses that were offered for why the drugs were not used on a widespread basis and dismisses them as just that - excuses - with no real basis in fact. That deliberate choice to sacrifice a generation of people so drug companies could sell medicines - most of which were developed in government laboratories by government paid research scientists funded by the citizens of the country - at the highest possible prices is barbaric and immoral.

This, to me, is an issue where people of faith ought to be involved. We religious types talk a lot about acting as God's people and making certain our country makes decisions based on God's principles. It seems that I remember reading something about justice, mercy, and loving kindness in the Biblical text. Are these just words or should we act, and encourage our elected officials to act, in ways that would truly bring justice and mercy to all in need?

The title of this book, which was loaned to the Chittum family by our good friend, Piedmont colleague, and member of Covenant Church, Barbara Steinhaus, is a reference to a song that was popular in Ethiopia. As Greene writes in reference to the tune, "A child cannot live without a mother or father. A mother or father cannot live without the child." There is no me without you. I am defined by those with whom I am in relationship. I am diminished when there is no you. May we act to preserve that.

Reflection on Faith

At the core of the religious journey is a sense of faith. Unfortunately, too often, folks seem to reduce their understanding of faith to some mishmash of long ago learned words that have little meaning to them and no impact upon them. That reductionism is detrimental to spiritual health.

At the end of February, when Vicki and I were in Athens for the first annual Piedmont Conference on Religion and the Liberal Arts, we went to the local Borders bookstore. While there, I came across a new book by Brad Hirschfield entitled, You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right. From his title, you can tell that Hirschfield speaks against the current intolerance he sees in religion.

I, of course, did not have time to read the entire book, but a quote on the nature of faith early in the book caught my eye. Hirschfield wrote, "When faith simplifies things that need to remain complex, instead of giving us strength to live with complexity, when it gives answers where none exists, instead of helping us appreciate the sacredness of living with questions, when it offers certainty when there needs to be doubt and when it tells us that we have arrived when we should still be searching – then there is a problem with that faith." (page 9)

His description of an "appropriate" faith certainly seems to go against the dominant trend of the understanding of faith in many American churches. Most folks I have met want a "simple to express" faith and an "I have all the answers" faith. For them, a faith as described by Hirschfield is no faith at all.

When I was a young person, I was nurtured in a Southern Baptist church. The good people of the Fort Sanders Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee taught me Bible stories during Sunday School and Training Union classes. They invested themselves in my life and showed me love so that I could begin to catch a glimpse of God's love. The faith that grew inside me was a simple one - one that could be grasped by a 6 year old. I embraced that faith and allowed it to embrace me.

Yet, this faith was based on a "zero sum" understanding of truth. By that I mean, I was taught that my group had the truth, and, if some group who taught something differently from us was also acknowledged as having truth, then, somehow our truth was diminished. As a Baptist, I was taught to be quite skeptical, dismissive even, of every other religious group's teaching, including other Christian churches. The old joke about Baptists thinking they will be the only ones in heaven is more accurate than joking.

As I journeyed in my faith pilgrimage, I began to ask questions of the scripture and of my teachers and ministers that were not considered "proper to ask." I have been chided for engaging in "foolish disputations" more than once. But, I could not help myself. I wanted to know more, and the answers I had been given were not sufficient to deal with my questions.

So, my faith, especially since seminary days, has been one of complexity and questions and on-going pilgrimage. Paul Tillich, in his book Dynamics of Faith, wrote "Faith is certain in so far as it is an experience of the holy. But faith is uncertain in so far as the infinite to which it is related is received by a finite being." I recognize my finiteness as I struggle in faith to comprehend the infinite.

I would suppose that some of the migration from one religious denomination to another taking place in America (see the earlier post on the Pew Center American Religious Survey) might reflect people's search for an expression of faith in church that goes beyond the simple.