The Radically
Moderate Christian
Mark 12:28-31
“Abortion stops a beating heart!” “My body, my choice!”
“One man, one woman marriage!” “Civil rights are human rights!”
“Murder by the State is still murder!” “Executing a murderer is justice!”
“Bring our troops home!” “Don’t cut and run!”
“Indecency over the airwaves!” “Wardrobe malfunction!”
We live in a world of extremism. We live in a world where sloganism has replaced thoughtfulness in the arena of moral discourse. We live in a world of 1000 talk radio programs but no true conversation. We live in the world of the information superhighway but where the sharing of that information through true dialogue drives on unpaved county roads.
In this world of extremism, true community is difficult. One of the gifts of this congregation is our ability to stay together even though we disagree with one another about significant topics. I tell new members’ classes that one of our unique characteristics is our great diversity. As you look around, you recognize that we are not all that diverse racially or economically; rather, the diversity to which I refer is a diversity of thought. As a congregation we have people on the extreme right of the social and political spectrum in this congregation and we also have people on the extreme left of the social and political spectrum, yet somehow we are able to love each other anyway! I confess to new members’ classes that this diversity of thought scared me when I first came to be your pastor. I was uncertain whether or not I could minister to so wide a spectrum of belief; it has worked only by God’s grace and your generous faith. However, even in this church, I know of three couples who have left because I am not conservative enough, and I know of two couples who have left because I am not liberal enough. In a world of extremism, true community is difficult.
*****
How is it that we have come to this place where disagreements so easily tear at the fabric of our human community? To be sure, human community has been under attack for millennia; the parable of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 9), after all, is a story of how differences lead to divisions. Indeed, from the most ancient of days humanity has been haunted by tribalism, from extended nomadic families to the ancient city-states to medieval feudal lordships to the modern “sovereign” nation. And throughout all of these epochs, including our modern era, religious tribalism has been pervasive.
Presbyterians have not been immune to differences and divisions. In the United States alone, we have had at least five major controversies that have led to bitter disagreement.
· In the mid-1700’s we had the “Old Side” versus “New Side” controversy in which Gilbert Tenant preached a scathing sermon against the “danger of an unconverted ministry.” Essentially, Old Siders wanted only theologically trained ministers starting new churches, while New Siders wanted to allow minimally trained ministers to start new churches on the frontier, similar to Methodist circuit riders. The Old Side won the debate in that day, which is why there are 11 million Methodists but only 2 million Presbyterians in the U.S. today.
· In the early 1800’s we had the “Old School” versus “New School” controversy which pitted those who adhered to a “pure Calvinism” according to the Westminster Confession (Old School) versus those, most notably Jonathon Edwards, who advocated embracing ecumenism with Congregationalists and even Baptists in order to blend the best of Calvinistic theology with the best of Congregationalist passion. Today, of course, Protestant churches are thoroughly ecumenical and think nothing of having a combined Thanksgiving or Good Friday service with other Christian denominations.
· In the mid-1800’s we fought over slavery, which actually led to schism and the division of the denomination into the “Northern Presbyterians” and the “Southern Presbyterians.” Presbyterians in this country finally decided the Civil War was over a mere 120 years later when, in 1983, we reunited as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
· In the 1920’s and 1930’s we had the “Modernist” versus “Fundamentalist” controversies that pitted proponents of the historical-critical method of biblical scholarship against the literalist method of scholarship. The Modernists wanted to promote biblical scholarship that was in dialogue with the best of the social sciences, even psychology and sociology, as well as the physical sciences of biology, chemistry and physics. Today, of course, most Presbyterians accept the Modernist position in both their jobs and their church.
· Finally, in the 1950’s we had a debate about women’s ordination. Pastor Suzanne, do you remember how that debate turned out? Unfortunately, the debate over women’s ordination also led to schism, with the Presbyterian Church of America being formed as a protest against our affirmation that the Bible bears witness to women leaders among God’s people.
Yet even with this long, sordid history of debate and division, it seems as if our divisiveness is becoming worse. The fragmentation of society has seemed to both increase and accelerate in our modern and post-modern world. Why is this? Are there root causes to our ever increasing divisiveness? Many sociologists seem to think that our fragmentation is a product of at least several factors: economic globalization, technological sophistication, pervasive mass communications and post-modern philosophical assumptions. Now these are some big words and I have no desire to make this sermon a dissertation, so let me paint us a picture I hope we will all recognize.
What happens to the individual in our world today? Because post-modern assumptions argue for a “my truth” and “your truth” relativism, we may experience the world as one in which there is no moral and ethical foundation upon which to build our lives. Because of the expansion of mass communications we experience the ability to know the world view of a shop keeper in Baghdad or the current events in a village in Indonesia, yet we have no ability to have a conversation with that shop keeper or the villagers devastated by flood waters; we know their views without the ability to discuss their views. Because of the explosion in technological sophistication, much of it welcome, we experience both greater ease as well as less personal contact in doing our daily tasks. Because of the great economic and social forces of globalization we experience increased economic pressure but with decreased ability to do anything to shield ourselves from the ill effects of that pressure. In other words, many people – some may argue most people – experience our world as one in which things happen to us rather than a world in which we can make a difference, as a world in which we are objects acted upon rather than agents of moral choice. For many people, such a world feels out of control.
What is a common, human response to feeling out of control? Well, to want control, of course. And precisely where, in our world today, can one most easily find some control? Not at one’s job. Not in the larger society. But in one’s church. Most congregations are the last bastion of true democracy; the place where one’s voice can and will be heard. To put it indelicately: if so and so wants to make a stink, I, as pastor, have to smell it.
Sociologists suggest that this lack of personal control is a primary cause of the rise of fundamentalism in our world. Often Americans think of the term “fundamentalist” as referring to certain theological and political positions held by the so-called right wing of American Christianity. However, from a sociological perspective, fundamentalism is an attitude and a spirit more than a particular position. Sociologists have noted the rise of fundamentalist movements in every major religion, including Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism as well as Christianity. Moreover, as a pastor I can assure one that fundamentalism is not a position, for there are as many fundamentalists on the left as there are on the right. I contend that it is this fundamentalist spirit that most leads to our fragmentation and divisiveness both as a society and as a church. And while I can empathize with the need to feel as if one has some control over one’s life, I do not believe fundamentalism is the healthiest solution. Rather, I believe that what is needed is for us to learn how to become radically moderate Christians.
*****
What is a radically moderate Christian? I hope you find this phrase to be an oxymoron. When I think of radicalism in our world today I think of the extremists: Wahhabi Muslims, Christians on the right or left who “know” that “they” are right and “others” are wrong. Moderates seem more gentle, even genteel, and therefore out of step with the currents of our time. A radically moderate Christian, then, is one who is fanatically and fervently moderate, who chooses moderation as a spiritual value. Such a choice for moderation requires that one be willing and able to look at situations from all sides, listen to conflicting evidence, and give a fair hearing to the voices in support of and against an issue. Such a choice comes with a price: the extremists will call you soft, wishy-washy. But such a choice bears a gift: you will live in the world – and model for the world – respect, patience, humility and courage in the face of conflict.
Presbyterians are uniquely gifted by our theological tradition – if not our personal practice of that tradition – to become radically moderate Christians. One of our theological slogans says: “God alone is Lord of the conscience and faithful, intelligent Christian will sometimes disagree.” This core belief suggests that our faith tradition recognizes the following spiritual truth: God is a God of majesty and mystery, while we are fallen, sinful vessels; therefore we can never presume to know the full mind of God.
· Job bitterly called God to account for his pain, suffering and loss. But what happened when Job actually encountered God in the whirlwind? Job was made silent before the glory and grandeur of God (Job 42:3).
· Isaiah, lifted up to heaven in a vision, saw the glory of the Lord which filled the Temple and cried out, “Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” (Isaiah 6:5). Before Almighty God Isaiah was brought to silence. As the book of Isaiah continues we read in the prophet this confession: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8).
· The apostle Paul, surely one of the more confident of all Christian theologians, yet confessed his own limitations to understanding the full mind of God: “Where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part…Now we see but a poor reflection as through a glass dimly…Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (I Corinthians 13:9, 12).
John Calvin held a doctrine of condescension; that is, Calvin understood that God condescends to our limited, human understanding. In the same way a parent will condescend to his or her toddler to help them understand about life’s rules or dangers, so God condescends to us. We, like the toddler, may understand everything that our Divine Parent is telling us, but that does not mean that we, like the toddler, know everything there is to know. According to Calvin, everything that can be known about God is found in Christ, but that does not mean that we know everything about God.
A second theological gift that Presbyterians bring as an offering toward our becoming radically moderate Christians is our understanding that the Gospels place greater emphasis on relationship than policy. The Gospels are notorious for being abused by politicians of both the left and the right; however both misread the words and actions of Jesus. Rather than lobby for any specific policy, the Gospels are more faithfully read as a call to humble, compassionate relationship with God and one another.
· The greatest ethical teaching in the Gospels is the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit murder,’ but I say unto you, ‘You shall not be angry with your brother or sister…or call them fool’” (Matthew 5:22). Or again: “You have heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ but I say unto you, ‘Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery already’” (Matthew 5:27-28). These new interpretations of the commandments orient the believer toward relationship: the “other” is not to be objectified or demeaned in any way, but rather his or her humanity and inherent dignity is to be honored.
· The most influential social policy found in the Gospels is either the command to love one’s enemies (Matthew 5:47) or to forgive seven times seventy (Matthew 18:22). Surely either of these social policies must be understood as a call to humble, compassionate relationship. To the extent Jesus articulated a specific “social program” he did so in Luke 4:18-19 where, at the beginning of his ministry, he outlined a desire to be in relationship with the poor, the prisoners and the oppressed.
· The parables of Jesus are simply littered with the call to humble, compassionate relationship. What is the point of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)? We are to love even our enemy and anyone in need. What is the point of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Sons (Luke 15)? God loves us with an extravagant love and desires reconciliation and relationship. What is the point of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13)? We are to do nothing to limit our relationships merely because someone may be evil; to exclude another is not our business but God’s decision. What is the point of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25)? We will be judged, finally, by the quality of our relationships with “the least” of our brothers and sisters.
Jesus makes a very important point in Mark 12:28-31. When questioned about the very heart of his ethical teaching, the core of the covenant between God and his people, Jesus answered: “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” In other words, according to Lord Jesus, the most important thing any of us does is to be in humble, compassionate relationship with God and one another.
*****
What does all this have to do with abortion and homosexuality and immigration and the war in Iraq? Am I saying that we should not discuss, debate and decide about these issues? No! Especially in the midst of difficult disagreements we are called, nevertheless, to seek God’s will, therefore we must discuss, debate and decide, yet we must do so with patient forbearance and humble mutuality as befits brothers and sisters of the one Lord and Christ, Jesus.
Jesus never said that the only view his followers could have on abortion was to be against it in all circumstances; nor did he say that to restrict abortion rights was to oppress women. What Jesus said was love one another.
Jesus never said that a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman would enhance the kingdom of God; nor did he say that gay rights was a matter of justice. What Jesus said was love one another.
Jesus never said that the appeals process for death row inmates takes simply too long; nor did he say that Florida’s use of lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. What Jesus said was love one another.
Jesus never said that the escalation of troops in Iraq will prove a long term benefit to U.S. interests in the region; nor did he say that we need to have a time table to bring our troops home from Iraq. What Jesus said was love one another.
Jesus not only never said, but probably never even conceived the possibility of the phrase “wardrobe malfunction.” But Jesus did say, and did conceive the possibility, that his followers would love one another. I invite you to join me on a journey along the road less traveled, a journey into the land of respect, the land of kindness, the land of humility, the land of compassion, the land where open minds and open hearts join together in true communion before God and in true community with one another, the land where is found what this world desperately needs to see: the radically moderate Christian.