overDub

My uncles response is below. I sincerely hope to someday understand the world, and faith, the way he does…

Number one: I don’t think less of you for sharing your honest thoughts! Ever.

Number two: Man, there’s a lot to respond to here! I may not cover it all, but will try. If I don’t respond to something, shoot it back my way.

Re: your pastor’s political opinion- a wise man once said, “be careful when the politician’s start talking religion and when preacher’s start talking politics.” I think that it’s OK to disagree with your Pastor’s opinion on things like the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. I would too, probably. But, on the other hand, I have strong negative opinions about the Tea Party movement. I would not use the pulpit to voice my objections, because I don’t think that the church should be co-opted by a political movement on either side. However, the church does have something to say about the poor, justice, and peace. While you may disagree with your Pastor on political things because you have strong feelings about national health insurance (for example) does not necessarily mean that you shouldn’t remain a faithful member of the church. It would probably be a good thing to have a face to face discussion with your Pastor and raise some of your objections. Sometimes we Pastor’s state things more strongly than we really feel (because people like dramatic statements from the pulpit). At least with the conversation you could more honestly acknowledge your different understanding than his. This might be helpful to him as it offers him a chance to think through things too.

Re: church. Not a perfect one anywhere because it’s made up of sinful people. Like me and you. So, a lot of tolerance and understanding is in order. If you feel good in the community of faith, warmly accepted and loved, that’s worth a lot. So, don’t throw it out for the sake of passing political fads and opinions. 10 years from now people probably won’t care about either the Occupy Wall Street or the Tea Party movements. People will still care about fairness, justice and peace. Let the bigger issues be your guide.

Almost 30 guns? Really! What for? Are you planning an armed uprising?

I think you’re absolutely right to fight for health care for Joanne and people like her. People at the top don’t know, or have forgotten, the struggle for life’s basics. It’s a justice issue.

Regrettably, the church can be a source of intolerance too. Would Jesus relate to, and love, a Muslim praying for peace? I think so. Xenophobia is a fear of people that are different than we are. I think there is ample evidence in the Gospels that Jesus was not in favor of Xenophobia! I agree with you: if what is being expressed is in line with the kingdom of God, it matters not so much the instrument (Cyrus the Persian was the instrument of God to liberate the people from the Babylonian Empire; Paul the apostle went to the ‘Gentiles,’ etc. I think we Christians shoot ourselves in the foot with our unwillingness to relate to other people in a positive manner. I also believe God loves all of the people he created.

Neither Corporation, Nor Government, Nor Church is immune from corruption. Do the best you can to be faithful. However, you will not escape Corporation, Government (or Church!) if you want to be involved in life larger than your immediate family. The challenge is to remain as faithful as you can while realizing that all of our human organizations are “fallen” in the sense of original sin. Expect perfection here and you will reap disappointment.
Corporations chasing the bottom line and engaging in unethical practices have forgotten their basic purpose, which is to serve human life in some specific ways. Banks, while needing to be profitable, also should never forget that they are offering people a chance to gain capital for business, etc. which provide something useful or necessary for a better life. If a Corporation becomes unethical (all will be unethical to a certain extent - like there’s no perfect church) to the point that your personal moral sense is violated consistently, look for another job. Your integrity matters.

Love means forgiveness and tolerance. Even of other Christians (the misguided ones, of course J) and of Pastors.
I too, sometimes wish I could have God and not the church! However, the Bible seems to support the notion that God wants to be involved with communities of people (nation of Israel in the OT and the church in the NT). In fact, I believe that God calls us to be in community with each other. Messy! Church would be OK if it weren’t for the people! Yet, those are the very folks God loves and asks us to love in the same way God loves us. Tough to do, but is there any other way to be faithful? If you can think of one, let me know!

Be wise in your faith as well as discerning in your actions. I think I agree with Christie: be as widely tolerant as you can honestly be of other people’s (misguided) opinions (including your Pastor’s - although I would still encourage you to take him to lunch and share where you disagree). And, hope that the other people in your church will be widely tolerant of your (perhaps misguided) opinions. It’s called Grace and it’s at the heart of the Gospel.

Love you!

Richard