Saturday Night Theologian
11 April 2010

Acts 5:27-32 (first published 18 April 2004)

"You're so stupid with your comments and web page about progressive theology. You don't have progressive theology; you have perverted theology." This was the comment that greeted me when I opened my e-mailbox a couple of weeks ago. I imagine that Peter and the other early Christians had many similar insults directed at them as they sought to preach the good news of Jesus Christ to their fellow citizens. The religious authorities said to them, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching!" Peter's reply was, "We must obey God rather than any human authority" (according to the NRSV; what it lacks in rhetorical flourish, it makes up for in non-sexism!). Progressive Christians are definitely a minority in today's Christian community, as evidenced by the growth of megachurches, which usually offer a very conservative theology, and the sales of books like the Left Behind series, which takes as its starting point both premillennial dispensationalism and biblical inerrancy. Fundamentalists are good at publicizing their theological positions, and they have every right to do so. Progressives can learn from fundamentalists and emulate their methods, where they are consistent with our own beliefs and values. In particular, we need to learn to express our opinions with boldness (as well as with love). A Kudzu cartoon from a few years ago features a debate between a fundamentalist preacher (modeled on Jerry Falwell) and a secular humanist. The fundamentalist's opening remark is, "Mr. Goodvibes, as a confessed secular humanist you're a godless commie and a pantywaist, am I right?" To which Mr. Goodvibes replies, "I suppose, Reverend Fallout, that would depend on your definition of 'pantywaist.'" The moderator, the Rev. Will B. Dunn's comment is, "The 'Jerry Fallouts' of the world always mop up the 'Mr. Goodvibes.'" Progressive Christians may have a natural tendency, like Mr. Goodvibes, to look for common ground and be accommodating rather than confrontational, but we should never be afraid to state our beliefs in a straightforward way, especially when confronted with those with different opinions. Maybe we will convince others of the validity of our positions, and maybe we won't, but in either case, we must obey God in all we do and say.

Psalm 118:14-29

That's Incredible was a TV series in the 1980s hosted by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton, and Cathy Lee Crosby. A forerunner of contemporary reality shows, it featured people performing incredible stunts, sometimes live, sometimes on film. One episode featured a man who could catch a bullet fired from a gun in his teeth. Some critics doubted the veracity of some of the stunts--and many doubted the sanity of some of the people doing the stunts--but it was a phenomenon in its time. The psalmist describes an event that was similarly phenomenal, bordering on impossible to believe. "The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." Originally a reference to God's redemption of the nation of Israel, the early Christian community saw in this passage a description of God's saving acts in Jesus Christ. Rejected by the religious and political leaders of his day, Jesus was accepted by a small number of people as a teacher and prophet, and he came to be accepted as God's promised messiah as well. Today Christianity is very much mainstream in the U.S. In fact, in some locales a politician has no chance of getting elected to office unless he or she professes faith in Christ. Christianity is certainly a popular brand, but the contents of that brand have changed over the years in the eyes of many. Whereas Jesus himself stood for peace, followers of the Christian brand often glorify warfare. Some leading political figures this week strongly criticized President Obama for signing a nuclear arms deal with Russia that will reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world. These "leaders," almost all of whom self-identify as Christians, opposed reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal, a move that is clearly in keeping with some of Jesus' most notable teachings. Another teaching of Jesus, that his followers should care for the poor, is regularly flaunted by followers of the Christian brand who call themselves patriots, or minutemen, or simply concerned citizens. They oppose the entry into the country of the poor from other countries who simply want the same opportunities to make better lives for themselves and their families that those born in the U.S. have. Jesus healed and ate with and ministered to the poor, even the poor who were of different ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. It seems that some followers of the Christian brand have traded their citizenship in heaven for a U.S. passport. In his lifetime, Jesus opposed the structures of his society that propped up the rich and oppressed the poor--this is the meaning of his actions overturning the tables of the moneylenders in the temple during the last week of his life--but many followers of brand Jesus are rich and powerful themselves, and they want to keep it that way. Their theory is that if they're rich it's because God wants it that way, and if they have to manipulated the tax codes (or buy a willing Congressman to do so), use their political influence to steer contracts their way, or stick it to the poor in any of a number of ways, so be it. It must be God's will. Except that it flies in the face of Jesus' teachings about Christian responsibility towards the poor. The stone that the builders rejected is still being rejected today, even by many who claim the name Christian. It is up to Christians who take seriously the message and example of Jesus to do all we can to build on the foundation of stone that was laid two thousand years ago in Palestine.

Revelation 1:4-8 (first published 18 April 2004)

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was a faithful martyr, as were Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rachel Corrie, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and many others who have died for righteous causes, such as peace and justice. But Mother Theresa, Albert Schweitzer, Nelson Mandela, and Jimmy Carter are faithful martyrs as well, at least according to the original meaning of the word. "Martyr" comes from the Greek word martus, which means "witness." It is the word the author uses to describe Jesus in verse five of today's reading from Revelation: Jesus Christ is the "faithful witness." We usually use the word "witness" today to describe someone who has seen something, as in a witness to an auto accident. However, martus here and elsewhere in the New Testament means someone whose life bears testimony to something remarkable. Like Jesus, we are all called to be witnesses to a remarkable God who has done amazing things for us. Most of us will not be called upon to give up our lives, though that's possible. Many of us, however, will be called upon to sacrifice our time, our money, our comfort, or our anonymity to be a faithful witness to God's good news. If we are aware of many who have gone before who have paid the ultimate price to testify to the truth, can we shirk our responsibility to be witnesses as well?

John 20:19-31 (first published 18 April 2004)

A popular card game sometimes goes by the polite name "I Doubt It" (although it usually goes by a less polite name referring to the excrement of a male bovine). The idea of the game is to get rid of all your cards before the other players by placing them a few at a time face-down in a pile in the middle of the table while saying what you've played, as in "one six," or "three queens." If another player doubts that you're telling the truth about what you've discarded, she can say "I doubt it"; if she's right and you were lying, you have to take all the cards in the stack, but if you were telling the truth, she has to take all of them. Thomas doubted the other disciples when they told him they had seen the resurrected Jesus. Their story was just too fantastic to believe. But Thomas had to eat his words and admit he was wrong when he himself had an encounter with Christ. Thomas is often criticized for doubting, but is being overly gullible better than being somewhat mistrustful? What do we think about people who have sold all their possessions and gone to sit on a hill waiting for Christ to return on a particular day? Is our role model the person who blindly follows the teachings of a religious leader, despite his better judgment? Do we believe everything we hear on television or read in e-mail chain letters? Skepticism is a good thing, as long as it doesn't push us too far into cynicism. God gave us brains and God wants us to use them. Of course, God also gave us the capacity to believe, even when we don't know all the details. Being proven wrong in our doubts increases our faith, but when we're overly gullible and the things we've been told turn out not to be true, we begin to lose faith. God wants us to be rigorous thinkers--about matters of religion, about our worldview, about ethics, and about politics. We need to learn to sniff out lies when we hear them. We shouldn't be too quick to believe the fantastic, though we should always be willing to admit we were wrong, too. Thomas was a thinker, a skeptic, and a believer. We would do well to emulate him.