I would prefer being fed to the lions over being irrelevant to these vibrant young people.

Diana Bass’ book A People’s History of Christianity tells the story of Anthony who wondered into a local church. Anthony had recently become wealthy because of his parents’ untimely death. There he heard a sermon on the Gospel of Luke 18:18-23 which tells the story of another rich young man.  “A certain ruler asked Jesus, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" “You know the commandments,” Jesus responded, 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"  "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.”

Unlike the rich young man of the Gospel story, Anthony left the church and did just what Jesus asked. He gave all he had to the poor and retired to an ascetic life in the Egyptian desert. When I read the story, it occurred to me that those who read the Bible literally usually don’t give everything they have to the poor and those who read it allegorically think Anthony is a hero!

Such are the ambiguities of Bible study. It’s the genius of the Bible that its inherent contradictions make it difficult property to be claimed by either us liberals or those conservatives. Part of God’s design is that this book is a rather thin reed with which to win an argument. God intended it to be a collection of writings that would cause us to think and reflect rather than argue.

Bass reports on a recent poll of youthful churchgoers. A third of them thought Christians to be boring, exclusive, judgmental, hypocritical and out of touch with the real world. Contrast that with the Romans who fed our ancestors to the lions only because they thought we were naïve! I don’t know about you but I would prefer being fed to the lions over being irrelevant to these vibrant young people.

All of that is my way to interest you in a book study. We are going to have an energetic dialogue about Bass’s book. It begins tonight (March 1^st) at 6PM and will continue March 8^th and conclude March 15^th. Sessions run from 6-8 PM at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne.

Join us as we look for our friends in the early church to teach us how to make friends for the contemporary church.

HB74: Want some revenge? Study the Bible!

Like it or not, read it or not, accept this or not…the Bible just had an impact on your life. If we learn anything from Friday’s single-vote loss in the state senate on HB74, it is that the Bible was more influential than the Constitution. It’s kind of like Malcolm X explained black history. “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us!” In much the same way, we just got thumped by the Bible-thumpers.

Some in the GLBT community and their friends are calling for more political action, singling out legislators who supported the bill and looking to the next election for change. Others may choose cynicism and disengage from the public debate. I have heard a few advocate for educating the community about these issues.

One bold blogger suggested progressive, gay rights advocates move to Wyoming. “If about 40,000 of us progressives moved to Wyoming, we could turn that state, and the US Senate, on its head. Same with Alaska. WY has a population of about 550k, Alaska 680k. An influx of progressive voters could make those states spin 180 degrees.” However, the writer quickly added, “But I'm not willing to move to either outpost.” So much for that strategy!

I have an alternative idea. Study the Bible. Please give me a few more paragraphs before you hit delete. I know the Bible has been the weapon of choice for many of the proponents of gay discrimination laws. Rev. Benhard Kuiper, a former Colorado Springs Presbyterian pastor is famous on the internet for having preached, “It should be made clear that in order to live a Christian life, any Christian must be able to discriminate and hate, because that's what the bible says.”

That is not what the Bible says but throughout history, it has been used to justify the oppression of blacks, women, the poor and now homosexuals. People who take it literally may or may not have actually read it but they haven’t studied it. The same is true of those who use it to sanction discrimination. To those who actually study it, the Bible is no longer a weapon to support marginalization of others. It is a shield against discrimination. This book (actually it is an entire library) is far too authoritative in our culture for us to abandon its stories, its metaphors, its meaning and its authority to those who misquote it in self-serving ways.

The late Henri Nouwen, a Roman Catholic Priest and influential spiritual writer who was thought to have been gay) thought homosexuals have what he called, “a unique vocation in the Christian community.”  That vocation includes seeking to understand before asking to be understood. Carl Jung poignantly observed, “Nothing worse could happen to one than to be completely understood.”

Studying the Bible as the means to the end of understanding those who supported HB74 may be the best revenge we could exact. Any interest?

“I like your Christ but I do not like your Christians!” - Mahatma Gandhi

Even as a Christian minister, I too struggle with what it means to be labeled a “Christian” when we are too often represented in the public square by people like Pat Robertson, Focus on the Family, that Florida preacher who wanted to burn a Quran, and local folks like WyWatch Family Action. On the issue of same sex marriage, legislators report receiving especially unChristian emails from self-identified Christians. When confronted, one blamed it on the Good Book, saying she was “only quoting the Bible”

It’s hard for a lot of us to be lumped in with that crowd.

It comes down to a question of whether you take the Bible literally or seriously. The debate over marriage is an example. According to its website, “WyWatch Family Action believes marriage was intended by God to be a life-long relationship between one man and one woman.”

They may believe that, but there is nothing in the Bible to support it. Search the Bible for something they call “traditional” marriage. You’ll find polygamists, concubines, powerful men mating with slave women and the wives of others, loaning their own wives to other powerful men. But you’ll find nothing that says “marriage was intended by God to be a life-long relationship between one man and one woman.” WyWatch isn’t taking the Bible seriously when they make these self serving claims. They aren’t even taking it literally.

Tolstoy, the 19^th century Russian writer, provided a good idea of what it means for a Christian to take the Bible seriously. After spending the final three decades of his life thinking and writing about Christianity, Tolstoy concluded some Christians have elevated the stories and myths of the Old Testament and Paul’s letters in the New Testament to the same sacred level as the words of Jesus.

Having made that mistake, the faithful must then figure out how to reconcile irreconcilable views of God. For centuries, Christians have been hammering those square pegs into round holes. It’s still not working.

Tolstoy made a choice in his life that perhaps we 21^st century Christians might consider. A person who seeks to reconcile the matter, Tolstoy wrote, “must bring himself (or herself) to understand the teachings of Jesus, his true teachings and not the crude misinterpretations which have been put upon it.”

Could be that is what Jesus meant when he said “all the Law and the Prophets” hang on these the two great commandments, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”