We need a Ptolemaic shift to see that the church isn’t the center of anybody’s universe any more. And it probably never will be again. An article and an NPR segment drifted my way today. The article reminded me of a recent study of those who state that they have no religious affiliation. That is nearly half of Americans under 30. The major point was that these individuals may well regard themselves as spiritual, and indeed intensely interested in issues... Read more
I just received an announcement for an upcoming event in Dallas. Here it is in part. “If you support tolerance, you should be part of this event. Period. It is isn’t about being Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Atheist, etc – it is about being unified under the concept that everyone has a right to exist, to practice their religion as they see fit, and the fact, the small miracle, that different groups with different beliefs, can work and live together in... Read more
My last blog got a lot of response from atheists who felt I had misunderstood them, and misunderstood the law. Four things seemed to emerge in their responses (although not all responded in the same way.) I’ll list them and you can check my accuracy: 1. atheism is not a religion. It is the denial that a god or gods exist, or it is the absence of a religion. 2. courts have already established the limits of freedom of expression... Read more
As a nation we need to recognize the vast difference between religiously plural, and religiously empty, public spaces. The first is possible, the second an illusion. On October 5th the New York Times covered a story from East Texas. It is about cheerleaders whose banners bear Biblical messages and their conflict with a school administration that fears displaying such banners is unconstitutional. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/us/in-texas-cheerleaders-signs-of-faith-at-issue.html. Four themes jump out of the story, and demonstrate (whatever the ultimate ruling in law) how strange... Read more
“I also want to say that Islam, beyond the exaggerations, points the finger at something real: under the guise of freedom, in the West we tend to ridicule religion. In the days of his visit in Lebanon, the Pope spoke of violence in words and in deeds. If we want to free the world from violence, we must also free ourselves from the violence of words, from this strong way of offending religion. Unfortunately, the Christians of the West are... Read more
The two political conventions are behind us. Americans and the world have heard what hope Republicans and Democrats offer for the future of our nation. And they offered about the same thing. Jobs. Economic prosperity for all, but especially the middle class. And of course a restoration, resuscitation, rediscovery, or just re-tread of a laundry list of American values that each party believes the other has squandered, ignored, attacked, or otherwise diminished. With 60 days, more or less, until the... Read more
In my last blog I suggested that the classical understanding of Christ as prophet, priest, and ruler might guide our reflections on new ways of understanding pastoral ministry in a post-Christian/pre-Christian society. The “facilitation” model I was taught in the 1970’s simply doesn’t work any more. There is an alternative. By the early 1980’s I was meeting pastors who told young clergy that we needed to see ourselves as CEOs. After all, we worked with boards (deacon, elders, trustees, etc.),... Read more
When I was in seminary between 1977 and 1982 the model of pastoral ministry could be summed up in one word: facilitator. Through Rogerian counseling we facilitated people who were capable of discovering their problems and the solutions. Facilitating endless council and committee meetings allowed us to allow lay people to lead the congregation in its program of ministry. And facilitating Bible study aided lay people in their own search for the personal meaning of the text. With regard to... Read more
So lets review the recent news. A man with neo-Nazi sympathies goes to a Sikh Gurdwara and kills six people. He may have thought they were Muslims, or he may not have cared. Hatred is a blunt instrument. Recent reports shows 88 attacks on US mosques since 2010, with burnings and vandalism increasing across the U.S. Since I began this blog three days ago there have been three more attacks on mosques. A student reports to me from a city... Read more
Somewhere in Dallas. A conference room. A worship committee. Hot words about “competition” between traditional and contemporary worship. Worried members, vested interests, no resolution. The worship wars go on. But I wonder if we realize that in the end both sides may have lost. For most of Christian history worship involved the systematic movement of a congregation, under the leadership of a priest, through a well defined liturgy. The word “traditional” wasn’t applied to worship because, in the end, the... Read more
Robert Hunt: Interfaith Encounters
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