HOW SHORT DO WE FALL?
“In every major city, the homeless sit hungry at the doorsteps of greatest wealth. Many of the children of privilege find their existence so unbearable that they seek self-destructive escape through drugs. We finance the maiming of children by various semisecret operatives in far-off countries in pursuit of goals no one can quite explain. Other societies in the modern world, to be sure, are just as bad, and some are a great deal worse—we should never lose sight of that. Still, measured by the standard of the gospel, we fall desperately short.”
William C. Placher. Unapologetic Theology. 1989
COMMENT
I do not do justice to Placher’s book, Unapologetic Theology: A Christian Voice in a Pluralistic Conversation, through this short quotation, which comes at the very end of a meticulously well-reasoned work of scholarship and insight. Nonetheless, his historical perspective and his prescience come through in that brief passage. Today a pluralistic conversation has become even more difficult. In this most religious of nations, why do we fail to live the message delivered by the one whose cross graces the skyline of every hamlet and metropolis? Does our inability to hold constructive conversations stem from our willful ignorance of the life and work of the Christ? Or are those still seeking to converse simply giving away the game? Both, I’d say. The intolerant consume the tolerant who, in the name of tolerance, allow intolerance to thrive.
CS
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A Lectionary Reading and an Early Word on Religious Freedom
CANTICLE READING FOR EPIPHANY FROM THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
Psalm 72:1-7
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
A BAPTIST LEADER’S PROPOSAL TO KING JAMES I OF ENGLAND
"If the King's people be obedient and true subjects, obeying all humane lawes made by the King, our Lord the King can require no more: for men’s religion to God is betwixt God and themselves; the King shall not answer for it, neither may the King be judge between God and man."
Thomas Helwys. A Short Declaration on the Mystery of Iniquity. 1612
OBSERVATIONS
Thomas Helwys, one of the founders of the Baptist movement in England, upon returning from exile in Holland sought to persuade King James of the benefits of religious tolerance. His gift to James of his freshly publish book A Short Declaration on the Mystery of Iniquity did not amuse the Keeper of the Faith. James answered by having Helwys imprisoned at Newgate, where he died four years later. Helwys no doubt understood the risk he undertook. In April of 1612, the year of Helwys’s return from Holland, English religious Separatist Edward Wightman had been burned at the stake for heresy. Apparently his example stirred popular sympathy, putting an end to the the Crown's use of such harsh measures for dealing with religions dissent.
The King James Version or Authorized Version of the Holy Bible was first published in 1611 and remains in use as the standard biblical text among many Christians, including many Baptists.
CS
Link to Amazon:
Psalm 72:1-7
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
A BAPTIST LEADER’S PROPOSAL TO KING JAMES I OF ENGLAND
"If the King's people be obedient and true subjects, obeying all humane lawes made by the King, our Lord the King can require no more: for men’s religion to God is betwixt God and themselves; the King shall not answer for it, neither may the King be judge between God and man."
Thomas Helwys. A Short Declaration on the Mystery of Iniquity. 1612
OBSERVATIONS
Thomas Helwys, one of the founders of the Baptist movement in England, upon returning from exile in Holland sought to persuade King James of the benefits of religious tolerance. His gift to James of his freshly publish book A Short Declaration on the Mystery of Iniquity did not amuse the Keeper of the Faith. James answered by having Helwys imprisoned at Newgate, where he died four years later. Helwys no doubt understood the risk he undertook. In April of 1612, the year of Helwys’s return from Holland, English religious Separatist Edward Wightman had been burned at the stake for heresy. Apparently his example stirred popular sympathy, putting an end to the the Crown's use of such harsh measures for dealing with religions dissent.
The King James Version or Authorized Version of the Holy Bible was first published in 1611 and remains in use as the standard biblical text among many Christians, including many Baptists.
CS
Link to Amazon:
Friday, January 5, 2007
Science, Religion, and Democracy
A FREETHINKER’S LOGIC
“The attack on science is a prime secularist issue not because religion and science are incompatible but because particular forms of religious belief—those that claim to have found the one true answer to the origins and ultimate purpose of human life—are incompatible not only with science but with democracy. Those who rely on the perfect hand of the Almighty for political guidance, whether on biomedical research or capital punishment, are really saying that such issues can never be a matter of imperfect human opinion. If the hand of the Almighty explains and rules the workings of nature, it can hardly fail to rule the workings of the American political system.”
Susan Jacoby. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. 2004*
COMMENT
In the depths of reflection unburdened by self-criticism, I often wonder how the true-believers among us—and here I refer to true believers of any persuasion—can manage to miss the mark on so many issues. In fact, it seems the case that on every issue of consequence do the true believers get it wrong. Well, Jacoby gives us a hint here, doesn’t she? I would move a step beyond her focus on fundamentalist Christianity and assert that adherence to any literalist system will lead to authoritarian political views and a skewed scientific method designed to support the agenda of the state.
CS
* Link to Amazon:
“The attack on science is a prime secularist issue not because religion and science are incompatible but because particular forms of religious belief—those that claim to have found the one true answer to the origins and ultimate purpose of human life—are incompatible not only with science but with democracy. Those who rely on the perfect hand of the Almighty for political guidance, whether on biomedical research or capital punishment, are really saying that such issues can never be a matter of imperfect human opinion. If the hand of the Almighty explains and rules the workings of nature, it can hardly fail to rule the workings of the American political system.”
Susan Jacoby. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. 2004*
COMMENT
In the depths of reflection unburdened by self-criticism, I often wonder how the true-believers among us—and here I refer to true believers of any persuasion—can manage to miss the mark on so many issues. In fact, it seems the case that on every issue of consequence do the true believers get it wrong. Well, Jacoby gives us a hint here, doesn’t she? I would move a step beyond her focus on fundamentalist Christianity and assert that adherence to any literalist system will lead to authoritarian political views and a skewed scientific method designed to support the agenda of the state.
CS
* Link to Amazon:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)