(Ir)religiosity

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…truth be told…I am too.

…by refusing to participate in mass consumption. Today — buy nothing. Instead….Give. Imagine. Create. Be.

Click to enlarge (Original here)

Original here.

These words from Simon & Garfunkel are haunting to me.  I’m not sure what to do with them…I just let them sit…and simmer.

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.”
And whisper’d in the sounds of silence.

In 1786, near the end of his life, John Wesley wrote a retrospective essay on the Methodist movement he founded. In it, he admitted his fear that Methodists would “…only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.”¹

Many have interpreted this to mean a loss of “evangelical fervor,” that is a failure to “win souls” or “convert new people” to Christiniaty.  I’ve read a fair amount of Wesley’s work and I can’t help but wonder if he was speaking of something much more pressing than escape from present problems, something much more important than the possibility of an orgy of eternal bliss.

In chapter called “Good News to the Poor,” in Theology and Evangelism in the Wesleyan Heritage, Ted Jennings suggests the same.

When do we have the form without the power of religion?

When we develop church growth strategies that target the middle class instead of the poor and marginalized, then we have the form without the power.

When we spend more of our resources on constructing and maintaining Church buildings and property than we do on feeding the hungry, then we have the form without the power.

When we spend more on pastor’s salaries, benefits, and pensions, than we do on clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless, then we have the form without the power.

When we turn stewardship into financial campaigns for the Church, rather than sacrifice for the poor, then we have the form but not the power.

When we blame poverty on the sloth of the poor rather than the avarice of the prosperous and the indifference of the comfortable, then we have the form but not the power.

When we furnish our sanctuaries and social halls in such a way as to make the prosperous comfortable rather than make the indigent welcome, then we have the form but not the power.

When we dedicate Methodist institutions like universities and hospitals and retirement homes to the needs of the affluent rather than the needs of the impoverished, then we have the form but not the power.

When we preach a grace which saves us without changing us, then we have the form but not the power.

Above all whenever and however we make of Methodism a preferential option for the middle class, we have the form but not the power of religion.

As the financial institutions in which have, until now, placed all our trust and hope are crumbling around us and as we see the effects of unrestrained consumer-capitalism unfold before our very eyes, I find these words to be especially poignant.  And convicting.

1. http://deeplycommitted.wordpress.com/2007/06/26/john-wesleys-thoughts-upon-methodism/ [↩]

I am a political schitzophrenic.  Browsing through my posts on politics will prove it.  I’m happy that Obama got elected and I’m trying really hard not to be overly cynical about everything too quickly.  I do hope that things change — seriously change.  But part of me knows that he is just another politician and a member of the rich power elite who will likely maintain the general status quo.  I live with the tension.  And it causes me much grief.

Obama’s rhetoric has been inspiring, but if actions mean anything, then his recent appointments should indicate the general direction his administration will go.  So far he has enlisted help from the establishment, mainly old Clintonites who represent politics as usual.

I know.  The guy hasn’t even been sworn in yet.  I really am trying to remain positive.

BUT — I do have a random list of non-negotiables that will send me back into realm of dissent and criticism quicker than anything.  Here they are in no particular order.

1. Immediately close Gutanamo Bay
2. Seriously end the occupation of Iraq (and by seriously, I don’t mean moving troops around or reducing their number.  I mean seriously, like getting rid of some of those permanent military bases)
3. Repeal the Patriot At
4. Try George Bush and Dick Cheney for war crimes and crimes against humanity
5. Begin a serious health care reform (serious = a new system)
6. Enact a plausible energy policy that will eliminate our addiction to limited resources
7. Scrap No Child Left Behind and start over
8. Get on board with Kyoto
9. Make the executive office more transparent
10. Scrap the BCS system for college football (!!!)

This list is by no means complete and I realize that all of these cannot be accomplished as quickly as I’d like.  However, if several of them aren’t in process by or before the midterms I will be very, very disappointed.  If none of them are, then Obama has blatantly lied.

What are your non-negotiables?

“How long? Not long! Because no lie can live forever.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.

I’ve posted on homosexuality before, but I think some of that sentiment bears repeating.

I am a white, married, heterosexual male who attended one private institution for undergraduate work and is now attending another private institution for graduate school.  I was born into and continue to occupy a position of overwhelming privilege.  Simply the mere fact that I have both the time and the money to “blog” rests the case.

I don’t have the slightest idea what it feels like to be oppressed, subjugated, or marginalized.  I don’t know what it feels like to have fundamental rights stripped from me nor do I know the feeling of being told I cannot marry my partner.

That being noted, I feel that the least I can do is speak the truth as I see it and to stand in solidarity with those who struggle.  For me, silence is simply a ghastly affirmation of the status quo.  The written and spoken word are the tools of my trade so I feel that the least I can do is use them to raise my voice in opposition.  It is with that in mind that I wrote this post, because to not speak out would be dishonest on my part.

November 4 was a bittersweet night for me.  I was happy that Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States, but at the same time I was deeply saddened to learn that Proposition 8 was passed in California.  Propositions banning same-sex marriage were put to vote in four states this year: Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California.  To be honest, I expected the first three to pass by a wide margin. What I didn’t expect was the outcome in California, where Prop 8 passed 52% to 48%.  I assumed that a state like California, with a high gay population, would maintain it’s open and progressive policy.  But it did not.  It’s one thing to deny a person or group their rights outright, it’s another to strip those rights from them after the fact. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m really looking forward to this movie.

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United Methodist bishops sent a letter to President-elect Obama today:

We applaud your willingness to articulate a vision of change for the United States that is based on hope for all the people, especially those who are disinherited and disenfranchised. We are also encouraged by your desire to construct a landscape for the United States that is inclusive of all people. We affirm your desire for a more peaceful and just world.

Here’s to hoping that holds true.