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A Church Beyond Belief

A Strange Religious Unity

2/24/2015

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More than ever, religion seems to be the source of conflict. Long-standing “culture wars” between conservatives and liberals have become entrenched. Christians, Muslims, Jews, and every major religion have felt the impact. Fault lines have appeared over interpretations of scripture, moral standards, leadership, and doctrine. Bitter division is widespread.

The result has been a readiness to divide and to vilify opponents. Oddly there is a common source for these religious fractures. Liberal or conservative, there is widespread emphasis on religious authenticity, on claims for pure belief and practice. There is also a readiness to condemn those who disagree. The mix of narrow standards and rejection of difference has escalated. Opportunities to reconcile are hard to find.

Authentic religion for some represents literal interpretation of scripture or tenacious loyalty to certain dogmas. Authentic religion for others promises inclusion or emphasis on social justice. But whether strict norms or adaptation to new cultural circumstances are your emphasis, the logic is the same. My side has the authentic faith, yours doesn’t.

Yet there are odd and welcome opportunities for unity. Recently a few Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders from Richmond, Virginia traveled together to the Middle East. It could have been uncomfortable for a rabbi visiting Jordan, and an imam in west Jerusalem.

But there was generous hospitality everywhere. And the group found common ground. There was little reference to doctrine; there was much reference to families and to issues facing central Virginia. We assumed we were moderates, or such a trip would not have worked.

We also assumed each of us intends to be faithful. But by being together we found we could be authentic together without competition. Often we taught each other. More often we laughed and shared experiences. It was not difficult. It was the benefit of being together. “Love of God and love of neighbor” came alive.

William L. Sachs 

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Does Religion Endorse Free Speech? 

1/9/2015

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The horrific murders of French journalists have prompted widespread condemnations by religious leaders. Religion is in the vortex. “Charlie Hebdo,” the magazine where terrorist violence erupted, has tweaked religious sensibilities repeatedly. Islam has been featured but not singled out. The murders apparently reflect offense given to militants.

French Muslim leaders, and Muslims generally, immediately condemned the murders. But on CNN, Fareed Zakaria speculated this was a tepid response. He suggested that mainstream Muslims may diminish their condemnation because of the extent of “Charlie Hebdo’s” satire. The magazine has published cartoon likenesses of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims shun visual depiction of the Prophet and iconography in general.

As a Christian, I mourn another extremist assault, this time on journalists. This is a complete misuse of religion, as well as an assault on free speech. At the same time, I am uncomfortable with mockery of any religion. The lives of believers, in their most profound aspects, are shaped by their faith. Mockery of one’s faith readily provokes indignation. It is an attack on one’s identity, one’s values and worth. No one sits comfortably with being insulted.

But freedom of speech benefits, rather than hinders, religion. It includes my freedom to worship and to announce my convictions publicly. Sensitivities collide because we live in an age of dramatically differing ideals and faiths. One person’s ideal is another’s threat.

The exchange of ideas, including critical challenge, is vital. Religious life cannot be immune; it must be honed in public. If my faith contains truth, it will be enhanced, not tarnished, by debate and even mockery. Religion requires the light of truth.

Religious people must grieve the violent deaths in Paris. We must oppose any attempt to silence. We welcome public debate. We need “Charlie Hebdo.”

William L. Sachs 

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Adversarial Relations

11/5/2014

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The evening soon turned ugly. After the moderator introduced the topic, one speaker after another seized the podium to voice complaints and pleas. With no attention to the thermostat, the room’s temperature rose noticeably. An autumn evening felt like summer.

No one rose above the exchanges. The moderator added barbed comments between speakers. His promise to listen openly faded like the setting sun. Further comments from the floor took his tack. Lines of alienation became firm. When the event concluded, like-minded clusters formed in the hall and the parking lot. Only alienation had been achieved.

Was this a church gathering? The sad fact is that it easily could have been. Instead it was a town meeting debating a development proposal. Likely there were church members in the assembly, but no Christian influence was apparent. Conflict in civic life and in the churches has little to distinguish it. Testy exchanges, rancorous public hearings, recriminations, and eventual recourse to lawyers are common to both. Christians fight like everyone else.

It is not scandalous that Christians disagree. The readiness to stand apart from one another is scandalous. Professions of unity and charity vanish; an urge for vindication triumphs. In the end there are no winners.

Conflict’s sources are easily understood. One element is the extent to which theological, as well as political, correctness is prized. The vindication of one’s ideals is the goal, not common good. Those who disagree are anathema.

The other element, turning church gatherings into combustible mixes, is the presence of difference. American pluralism – religious, cultural, and political – has become extensive and obvious. For many in the churches, the world is foreboding. Difference is threatening.

In every generation the church must recapture its intention. Belief and practice must be gauged not by like-minded purity, but by love of God and love of neighbor.

William L. Sachs 



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Surrendering the Past

10/23/2014

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Two sisters have not spoken to one another for decades. It’s awkward for their friends because the sisters live in the same apartment complex. They encounter each other but avoid speaking. One sister will shun a friend who seems congenial with the other sister. Alienation has spread into the community.

Neighbors have tried to intervene without success, and efforts to get to the bottom of the spat have stumbled. Long ago there was a childhood argument about who should receive a blue dress. The details are shrouded in years of hurt. There is no access to what really happened, but would it matter? Unpacking the past rarely produces results.

Many people believe that reconciliation means reviving and reliving the past. For the sisters this would mean reclaiming life before the blue dress, which is impossible. Yet we often base reconciliation on such a step. We dissect conflict and rehash the past in search of primordial bliss.

Churches are notorious for this assumption. Reconciliation is equated with reviving an imagined past, and the early church holds powerful sway. If we all follow Jesus and his disciples won’t we all get along? Less ancient pasts also creep in. The pictures on church walls feed our fantasies. Smiling leaders, new members, and the church softball team. Surely there once was conviction and consensus. Surely we must recover it.

Reconciliation doesn’t mean reanimating the past. Reconciliation means surrendering the past. We must relinquish the myth of unity and uniformity that never was there. We must learn from the past without enslaving ourselves to it.

Even if the blue dress was significant, it is gone now. What matters is going forward together. Only letting go allows a different future to emerge. Coming together in a better way becomes possible. A future together matters more than a blue dress.

William L. Sachs 


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    William L. Sachs
    Michael S. Bos

    Rethinking the place of belonging and belief 

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