Ponderings on a Faith Journey

I was astounded by what I saw and heard in a Beliefnet Video Interview. John McCain is being interviewed and asked about whether America is a Christian nation -- whether the Constitution establishes the nation as a Christian nation -- something 55% of Americans believe, even though there is not one word in the Constitution says this. Well John says, yes he'd agree -- why because the Constitution is founded on Christian principles. Here is a transcript of that response: I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, “I only welcome Christians.” We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles.
John, you've been in the Senate a long time -- go read the thing. The Constitution is based on Enlightenment princ…

This past Monday the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, spoke at Columbia University. There was much opposition to the invitation --and a great deal of protest. The latter is a way of life in America, an example of our freedom to speak (even if what we sometimes say is rather silly or asinine). Columbia President Lee Bollinger -- perhaps feeling some heat for issuing the invitation -- chose to introduce his guest in the rudest of ways. In many ways he showed America at its worst -- as the bully we can often be. The Iranian President -- whose own power is limited -- showed himself to be out of touch (no gays in Iran?) and more. But as he himself noted, if one is invited to speak in Iran (that is of course a big if) one is treated with some respect. Americans seem not to understand the idea of honor/shame which is very prevalent in many cultures -- including most Islamic cultures. The LA Times has offered to op-ed pieces the past two days that address this. First, today, Wil…

If you listen to Harris, Hitchens, and Dawkins religion is not only bad it's dangerous. They don't like liberals and moderates because they supposedly give cover to Fundamentalists. On the flip side they tend to be more literalist than the literalists and declare that only Fundamentalism is true religion and since Fundamentalism is dangerous, Religion is dangerous. The recent protests in Burma suggest otherwise -- that people of faith can be a force for good and for change. They can be the moral conscience -- although one need not be religious to be moral -- of a people. They can also be contributors to violence and hatred. Religion speaks of the divine and seeks to be in sync with the divine, but its practitioners are very human. In an LA Times op-ed piece Ian Buruma reflects on the positive force that Religion can be -- with the Burmese Monks as his focus. He writes: Nevertheless, faith has an important role to play in politics, especially in circumstances in which secular libe…

Scott Thumma and Dave Travis, Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches. Foreword by Rick Warren. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. (HB) xxvii + 224 pp.

Is the mega-church a bane or a blessing for American Protestantism? This is a question that has received much attention in academic, clergy, and lay circles. Everyone seems to have an opinion – with some loving them and others hating them. There are, of course, others – like me – who are somewhat ambivalent. As a Mainline Protestant small church pastor, I have my questions, but I’m willing to learn transferable lessons.

Beyond Megachurch Myths seeks to correct the perception that megachurches are not only bad for the soul; they’re dinosaurs in danger of dying off. As one would expect from a book carrying the imprimatur of Rick Warren, this is at least in part an apologia for the megachurch movement. The authors, Scott Thumma and Dave Travis, believe in megachurches and they believe that they’re here to s…

There is great symbolism in the four empty lecterns that “graced” last evening’s GOP “All American Forum” at Morgan State University. The debate, which was hosted by Tavis Smiley and broadcast by PBS, was announced last February. While the lower tier candidates found time to be there, those empty lecterns represented the four leading candidates for the GOP crown – Rudy Guilialini, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and John McCain – and from the looks of things, its they who count. The absent candidates pleaded busy schedules, but it’s not as if they didn’t know about ahead of time. The debate was announced long before anyone started their campaigns, and besides, schedules can be amended.

So, what does it say to the nation when you must go fundraising (McCain was apparently delivering a foreign policy address) rather than face questions from a non-White panel and audience about issues that face the African American community? And this isn’t the first request that they’ve tur…

I'll write more tomorrow -- both here and at Faithfully Liberal about tonights -- All American Presidential Forum -- hosted by Tavis Smiley. This was a debate that lacked four important candidates -- the top 4. The candidates were asked to speak to why they were there and offer any response to those who chose not to attend. Some said they were embarrassed by the lack of the front runners. Sam Brownback invited African Americans to register GOP and vote for one of those present.

I watched about 50 minutes of the debate to get a sense of things. I'm not a Republican and won't be voting in the GOP primary, so these aren't my candidates. That being said, it's good to see what the other side has to say, even if this is the second tier.

So, Tom Tancredo spoke about immigration, Ron Paul about liberty (get rid of taxes and drug laws -- sort of ), and then there was Alan Keyes (I didn't know he was running).

Of the candidates on the stage and really in the GOP primary, ev…

Earlier today I posted a portion of an interview that I did with Steve Kindle, Executive Director of Clergy United for the Equality of Homosexuals. Be sure to read the complete interview at Faithfully Liberal. One thing I didn't ask Steve about in the interview was his essay contest -- a contest he's been advertising in places like the Christian Century. Disciples World, the unofficial magazine of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has a story about the contest on its website. The article quotes Steve and describes the contest: This belief of Kindle’s inspired the topic of the essay contest. Clergy United will award $500 for the winning 2,000-2,500 word essay on why the gay rights movement is the moral equivalent of the Civil Rights movement. In the interest of stirring up discussion, the organization will also award $500 to the winning pro-gay rights essay arguing why the gay rights movement is not the moral equivalent of the Civil Rights movement.Even among Christians…

My good friend, Steve Kindle, is a happily married, straight, Disciples of Christ pastor who has heard a call to advocate for the equality of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons in the church. I did an interview with him for Faithfully Liberal, a blog that I also write for. Here is the beginning of the interview; you may continue reading at Faithfully Liberal. Interview: Rev. Steve Kindle, Executive Director of Clergy United -->

By Pastor Bob Cornwall

The Rev. Steve Kindle has a unique ministry. He is Executive Director of Clergy United for the Equality of Homosexuals , a consulting and education organization focused on the inclusion of homosexuals and transgender persons in the church. Originally ordained in the conservative Churches of Christ, in whose colleges and seminaries he received his theological education, today he has standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. Before founding Clergy United, he served as pastor of tw…

We are witnessing a most powerful and intersting expression of religious life in Burma/Myanmar. Burmese Buddhist monks have taken to the streets, facing soldier's bullets, to defy a repressive regime. As "Faithful Progressive" points out, this expression of nonviolence is proof of religion's value to human life. Here is just a clip from his comments: The events in Myanmar are a classic illustration of why the New Atheists, in general, and Richard Dawkins in particular, are wrong about the value of religious belief in human history and evolution. It's pretty simple: the Buddhist monks have moral authority. It is hard earned. They live a disciplined life that focuses on compassion. They have been politically active, and brutally put down, since the 1930's. But they endure, as do their fellow Buddhists in Burma/Myanmar. Together, the monks and the people are strong; strong and pure like their belief in Buddhism.With these comments are added clips from several …

Regularly someone, usually a good Christian soul who isn't a radical Christian fundamentalist, sends me an email with blatantly untrue and slanderous information about Islam or some other religion (usually Islam these days). They're all quite sure that Muslims are by nature evil people seeking to take over the world and impose Sharia law on us -- or if not that blow us to smithereens. They're quite sure of this. A recent Pew Forum survey on religious understanding shows just how little people know about Islam or other religions. Here is a clip from a LA Times piece -- with key statistics in bold: The survey of 3,002 Americans was conducted last month by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public
Life.

Although 58% of respondents said they knew little or nothing about Islamic practices, 70% of non-Muslims said Islam was very different from their own religious beliefs.

Pew Forum senior fellow John Green said that respondents…

The NLRB trial in Santa Barbara that has focused on whether the Santa Barbara News Press illegally fired reporters for union activities is nearing an end. Featured at the end of this trial has been the testimony of owner-publisher Wendy McCaw. As described this morning in Craig Smith's blog -- what we have running the local paper is an angry frumpy woman who has created a hostile workplace -- especially for any reporter who would write on matters of wildlife. The animal rights activist finds bias in any report that would suggest that her precious feral pigs and coyotes don't deserve the utmost in protection -- even if the pigs are destroying the environment on the Channel Islands.

What we see in the way she runs the paper is first pure hypocrisy and second a demand that the reporting of news follow the lead of the editorial page. In other words -- bias is in the eye of her beholding!

Again, it is too bad that a city like Santa Barbara is left with a daily paper that isn't w…

Every fall for 13 years I suppose, Cheryl and I have gone off to Back to School Night at Santa Barbara High School. First it was to check out the kindergarten class back in Manhattan, Kansas -- Marlatt Elementary. Then every year we would make that pilgrimage and get a sense of what the year would be like. Since Cheryl is a teacher, she has seen this kind of event from both sides of the podium.
Now Brett is off to his senior year and we make our last pilgrimage of this sort. We'll meet teachers -- actually he only has 2 new teachers, the rest he's had before. We'll get the run down about the semester, and begin looking forward to that big day when he walks the plank (I mean across the platform).
It's hard to believe we've come to this point, but it does happen. A senior year is often a turning point in young person's life. They gain a certain confidence from having reached this stage of life. Freshmen look up to them. They walk with a certain swagger. They wear…

In the 1950s it was determined by the Supreme Court that the principle of "separate but equal" wasn't just and therefore unconstitutional. And so desegregation began. The question arises now concerning gay marriage. Some have proposed civil unions rather than marriage for gays -- but in almost all cases the "rights" granted under civil unions -- including tax benefits -- don't benefit gays. So is it fair and just -- the mayor of San Diego, Jerry Sanders, a Republican with a lesbian daughter, has said no. Interesting! Steve Kindle, at his "Open Hearts -- Affirming Pages" blog has taken up this issue along with the corresponding issue of companionship -- the idea that we find in Genesis that it is not good that one should be alone. He writes: Ultimately, the refusal of marriage to same-sex couples is a denial of their humanity. When the church denies marriage to gay couples it is saying that you are not worthy of having your loneliness relieved i…