Imago Dei

One of the things I like best about this time of the year is the chance to glimpse of the image of God in people. It is there in the careful planning and sheer joy of the parent who calculates how to get the basketball goal up, cemented in the ground before morning without the hopeful child waking. It is there, too, in the ornaments on the tree, some reflecting the joys and sometimes sadness of Christmases past, some telling the story of a creator who chose to reveal himself to his creation through one who began life in a manger and then worked with his hands, embraced the outcasts of society and died on a cross. It is there in gatherings of family and friends, and it will be there in the faces of people at church tonight-some joyful because a son or daughter serving in the military are safe, or better yet, home, some grieving the loss of a loved one since last Christmas, some fearful that their job will not last the new year, some newly in love, some sad for love lost-but all there, together in a caring community of faith. And, it will be there in the people I pass on the way to the church, some of whom will, like the baby Jesus, have no where to lay their heads tonight but may find refuge because faith framed with both hope and humility compels us to do unto the least, the last and the lost as we would to God. In the coming year, may we all become innkeepers.

Merry Christmas!

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Why Would You?

It used to be that if you were planning a run for public office, membership in a large, respected local church was considered not just good for your soul, but a plus for your campaign. These days, not so much-just ask John McCain and Barack Obama. If politicians are going to held accountable for the things their pastors, and even the visiting ministers, say, then joining a church could be high risk activity, politically speaking. Heck, joining the Rotary Club could be a high risk activity.

Today, Barack Obama resigned his twenty year membership in Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He said that he was not a decision that he came by lightly. Obviously, not. The easy thing for Obama to do would have been to disassociate himself from the church the moment he first thought he might run for President. But he didn't. For some people, that might be hard to understand, but if you, like me, grew up in a Southern Baptist Church-or in any tradition that placed the laity on a par with clergy-then maybe you understand.

I grew up in the church my great great grandfather helped build. Many of my family members attended that church, and it's fair to say that the members of that small, country church helped raise me. Whether it was Miss Myrle Biggerstaff who led the singing in the preschool class, or Suzanne Gibson who led the G.A. group, or many, many others-they were family, too. Over the years, we had our share of questionable pastors. I remember a particularly bad episode when I was about ten years old. The church had called a pastor from out of state, and on the Friday before he was to be installed, my father, who was chair of the search committee and chair of the deacon board, got a letter from his former church. They were declining the request for a church letter based on allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of the pastor. I remember my father agonizing over how to deal with the situation. I remember many harsh words in church, and the church ultimately splitting over the pastor's dismissal. But, we didn't leave. We didn't leave, because, in our tradition, we had made a commitment-we were the church. So, I understand why Obama struggled, and I understand why it took him so long to leave. Obama is a shrewd politician. He had to know the risk he was taking by remaining a member of Trinity. But as controversy swirled, he didn't leave. Until now, he didn't leave. His hesitancy to leave, perhaps more than anything else, convinces me that perhaps he is not just another politician.

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Dry Drunk

I grew up in the South, in a dry county, in North Carolina. When I was a child, church was an every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night affair. On Wednesday, we could stop on the way back through town and get cups of cherry vanilla ice cream at Ron and Eddy's restaurant in town, but we couldn't do that-or go out to eat for lunch-on Sunday-because it was the Lord's Day, and my parents thought businesses should be closed. They didn't want to support a business being open on Sunday, so they didn't patronize businesses on Sunday. They also believed that it was wrong to drink alcohol, so they never had any in the house. (Well, with the exception of the homemade muscadine wine the neighbor made, but that was different, just ask my mother.) Now, they never advocated for a ballot measure or for legislation prohibiting business from opening on Sunday or opposing liquor by the drink. It was simple their belief, and they practiced what they preached. (Most of the time... I can remember an occasional Sunday when we might've sinned by going out to lunch-but not many.) My point is this: I don't think that it's a good idea-or even necessary-to codify religious observance, and that's precisely what "blue laws" do. People of faith can practice their beliefs and impact the market place through their personal choices.

In comments about the current debate on whether to allow Sunday liquor sales, Sen. Eric Johnson said, "There doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to chip away at the Sabbath." Sunday is the Sabbath in his religious tradition, and in mine, but it is not the Sabbath for all Georgians. Even if it were, it is the responsibility of communities of faith, not the legislature, to encourage their members to observe the Sabbath. That he, as a legislator, couches it in these terms makes it evident that he is not merely trying to legislate morality. He and others, including Lt. Gov. Cagle, are trying to legislate the practices and beliefs of their specific faith and doing so for political gain, believing that their evangelical base will be more likely to vote for them if they oppose Sunday sales. The use of political power to further a specific religious practice in order to maintain political power just doesn't sound all that righteous to me.

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The Huckabee Tapes

What is it with Republicans and tapes? What ever it is, Mike Huckbee seems to have mastered the art of losing or erasing what he doesn't want the public to see.

Huckabee, who is now ahead in Iowa, is an ordained Southern Baptist minister who pastored churches in Arkansas for twelve years. In 1989, at age 34, he became the youngest person to ever serve as President of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention-despite having dropped out of Southwestern Seminary after just one year. It seems that this seminary-the same one that wanted my husband to sign in order for me to enter the M.Div. program in 1985-was becoming a bastion of liberalism. Right.

Yet, despite his fame and success as a minister, according to Mother Jones, neither the churches where he served nor his campaign can manage to provide tapes of his sermons. Imagine that.

From what we do know of Huckabee's public statements during this period, it is clear that the content of his sermons might prove tough for a presidential candidate to defend-especially when it comes to the role of religion in government and rights of women.

You see, the twelve years period when Huckabee pastored coincided with the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, and beginning in 1984, the Convention passed a series of resolutions designed to exclude women from ordained ministry. Ultimately, in 1998, the SBC passed the "Family Amendment" advising women to "graciously submit" to their husbands. Personally, I'd like to know whether Huckabee was a messenger to any of the conventions where these resolutions were presented, and, if so, how did he vote? Did any of the churches he served ordain women to the ministry or as deacons? I think it's a fair question.

A 1998 article in Arkansas Online describes then Gov. Huckabee's startling statements to fellow Baptist ministers who were gathered for a meeting in, where else, Salt Lake City. I find this article compelling because it was written ten years ago before Huckabee planned a run for President. Here are a couple of truly scary quotes:

Huckabee also explained why he left pastoring for politics."I didn't get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn't have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives."He compared his entry into politics to "getting inside the dragon's belly," adding,"There's not one thing we can do in those marbled halls and domed capitols that can equal what's done when Jesus touches the lives of a sinner."

And...

The nation has descended gradually into crisis, Huckabee said, and repairing the damage needs to be gradual, too. He said the solution is simple: faith in Christ.

Strangly foreshadowing Huckabee's race with Romney, those who attended this 1998 meeting left with copies of Mormonism Unmasked by R. Philip Roberts. Let's just say it's not a flattering portrayal of Mormonism.

No wonder self-described Jesus-first conservatives are supporting Mike Huckabee. I'm with Elizabeth Edwards. This guy scares me.

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Will CNN Have the Guts to Ask This One?

Robert Parham, executive director of The Baptist Center for Ethics has submitted this question for the Republican YouTube Debate tonight. I hope they have the guts to ask the candidates this one!

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Eggs at Issue

The traditional "Eggs and Issues" breakfast at the beginning of the legislative session may take on a whole new meaning this year with the "Human Life Amendment" on the table for this session. I posted about this yesterday, and Catherine Morgan over at Political Voices of Women picked it up today with this comment:

My Opinion: This is the kind of thing that really infuriates me. With issues like the war, our broken healthcare system, education, the economy, and so on and so on…Tricking the voting public with wedge issues like this makes me sick. The only thing worse than using a wedge issue to manipulate the voting public, is a wedge issue that will take take away personal rights of women…This is an infuriating story.

This is a national issue for the next election cycle as republicans seek to put this on the ballot in critical states. It's wedge issue politics, and I agree with Catherine: the only thing worse than a wedge is a wedge that tramples on women's most basic rights.

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Is Ellis Using City Resources for Ramadan Event?

The Macon Telegraph is reporting that tomorrow, Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis will help lead a Ramadan forum and feast, and the event will be held at City Hall in Council Chambers. After an informational session, the community is invited to participate in a "feast."

What???

I have no issue with Ellis converting to Islam, but I would have issues with him converting City resources for personal or religious use. This is a religious ceremony, so unless the City intends to make this public property available to other faiths that wish to use the facilities, then this crosses the boundary between the necessary separation of church and state-and maybe this incident makes it a little more clear why such separation is needed.

Here are my questions:

1) Has the Mayor used City resources to advertise this event? Someone obviously sent out a press release, and I know from several sources that council members got an email invitation. Apparently other clergy were also invited. Was this done through his office, during work hours, using city equipment, and done by an employee who was on the city's payroll at the time?

2) Who will be paying for the "feast?" I assume that it is the Macon Islamic Center, but I think it's a question worth asking.

3) Will city employees have to work late to provide security or otherwise "cover" the event? If so, who foots the bill?

It costs something to keep the building open after hours.

The problem here is that this is a slippery slope. I don't know what the current city policy is about groups using City Hall for religious events, but the Mayor may be setting a precedent that Macon will have to live with long after he leaves office.

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For Those of You Who Want to Win....

I encourage you to read the article "Regaining the Rural Vote" in the National Review about what it's going to take to win, not just the Presidency, but seats in Congress in rural America.

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Sex and the Seminary

"I think everybody should own at least one." In 1997, that's what Paige Patterson, President of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary had to say about women. He thought it was a joke, but the fact that he thought it was funny tells you all you need to know about the man. Little wonder that Patterson is now offering a women-only course of undergraduate study with a concentration in homemaking. Apparently, there's a gender-specific way to bake a pie.

Patterson, who is perfectly comfortable with women in the bedroom, kitchen and nursery, gets a little queasy when women appear in at the classroom lectern, let alone the pulpit. For Patterson, the world would be a better place if women stayed at home, submissive to their husbands' role as moral "policemen." Unbelievable.

Not all Baptists subscribe to Patterson's warped world view. Below, listen to Patterson's exchange with Baptist Center for Ethic's Executive Director, Robert Parham, and read more about it here.

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Good Lord: Transplant Tourism?

Prisoners receiving shortened sentences for organ donation? Impoverished Turkish donors traveling to London for to have kidneys harvested for wealthy patients? Robert Parham, over at Ethics Daily, has an editorial about the "systemic corruption in the procurement and trade of human organs."

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Golden Rule Politics

For the last several months, I have been corresponding with Dr. Robert Parham who is with The Baptist Center for Ethics in Tennessee. They are working on a DVD that challenges the idea that is you're a Christian, then you must also be a Republican. Democrats, with the help of people like Jim Wallis, are beginning to talk about the rightful role of faith in politics. For instance, the group Faithful Democrats was founded by Roy Herron, a Tennessee state senator. The Baptist Center for Ethics DVD features both ministers and politicians discussing the topic. I've seen a rough cut, and it is very well done. Here's a tease:




When I had the opportunity to visit with David Westen the other night, he made the point that it is not important that our elected leaders be of a particular faith, but it is important that they be people of good faith. I think that's right.

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Just Politics

Micah 6:8: ‘He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’

What is the rightful role of faith in politics, and why, over the last three decades, have Democrats allowed Republicans to promulgate the myth that GOP stands for "God's Only Party"?

Rick Warren, a Southern Baptist evangelist has said that Christians should decide which candidate to vote for based five "non-negotiable" issues: abortion, euthanasia, stem cell harvesting, gay marriage and human cloning. Those seems like awfully easy choices for him, and in fact, for most people. He will never be pregnant, so he will never face a personal decision about an abortion. Most people do not face personal decisions about stem cell harvesting or human cloning. And, since gays are a minority, most people will never face the pain of not being allowed to marry their partner in life. Humility and sacrifice are core themes of the gospel, but they have no place in the prosperity-laced teaching of the religious right. Just check those five boxes, and you're all good. Easy.

I don't see it that way. We are a diverse nation, one where the founders ensured our religious liberty by prohibiting the establishment of any religion by the government. My faith does impact my political views, and the values that stem from that faith are the reason I am politically active. But, I don't believe that there is any evidence in the Gospels that Christians are called to a life of ease or of judgement. Instead, we are required to "do justice" and expected to sacrifice in order to help "the least of these." So, my litmus test issues end up being very different from Warren's. Poverty, healthcare, the environment and education top that list, and to address those issues adequately requires sacrifice.

Over the last three decades, the religious right has assisted the wealthiest and most powerful segment of our society by crafting a belief system that makes greed good and justifies ignoring those who suffer, because, after all, they brought it on themselves. The truth is that in the stories of the Old and the New Testament, some who suffer are sinners, some who suffer are saints, and one who suffers is a savior. That complicates things a bit, doesn't it?

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Baptists Challenged to "Outbreed the Mormans"

In Extra, Extra, Breed All About It, Bob Allen of Ethics Daily writes about a strategy for church growth that may keep Southern Baptists in the bed rather than in the pew. Citing a pitifully low birthrate among Southern Baptists, Russell Moore, has urged Baptists to "outbreed the Mormans and out preach the Pentecostals." Moore is the Dean of the School of Procreology, uhm, I mean, Theology at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville. (Yes, that is my Alma Mater, but, trust me, it was taken over by the infidels.)

It seems that when the neo-cons executed the takeover of the SBC in the 1980's, they failed to consider the consequences of changing the demographics of this once blue collar denomination. The influx of wealthy, better educated members has lowered the birthrate among Southern Baptists to less that two children per female 20-44 (1.96 to be exact). Moore, and other Southern Baptists fear the death of the denomination if the congregants don't get busy and start birthing brand new Baptists. Moore moaned that the Baptist birthrate was, "just barely above the Episcopalians and well below the notoriously liberal United Church of Christ." Mormon families had the highest fertility rate (2.69).

As Allen points out, this is hardly one rogue Southern Baptist theologian, but instead, this ridiculous view is reflected among other SBC leaders. Perhaps the need to ensure the next generation of Southern Baptists through procreation explains the need for the new seminary degree in "Christian Homemaking" that includes a seven hour lab in clothing construction. To further this particular effort they may wish to make that "clothing deconstruction."

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God's Only Party?

Please let me introduce you to Dr. Robert Parham, someone I met over the phone last week. Dr. Parham is the executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, and they are doing some amazing work. Their website is Ethics Daily and well worth your attention. Here's a brief introduction:

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Is Your Baby a Bigot? What if You Could Know? What if You Could Do Something About it?

Albert Mohler, the President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY is catching it from all sides after his comments about the potential for dictating a baby's sexual preference. His article, titled, Is Your Baby Gay? What if You Could Know? What if You Could do Something About it? stirred up the radical religious right because of the warning that we may have to accept that homosexuality is biologically based and not a "choice," undercutting a linchpin in the argument that homosexuality is evil, sinful etc.

Not to worry, choice or not, Mohler assures us that it is in fact sin-whether or not God made you that way is an inconvenient detail. He is, however, tickled pink by the prospect that perhaps in-womb interventions will open the door to both knowing a child's orientation prior to birth and changing it. That's the bit that got him into trouble with the rest of us. It has me wondering whether there is, perhaps an in-the-womb fix for bigotry and wishing that there had been when Mohler came along.

A quick scan of Mohler's website and blog make it clear that he is preoccupied with homosexuality. Fascinated, I would say. Not only are there a number of articles on the subject, but, do me a favor: put your Freudian hat on and look at his picture on the left side of this page.
Besides the obvious reasons for outrage, this is personal for me. I was a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1981-1985. Both of my children were born in Louisville during those years. I'm betting that Mohler was a contemporary of mine, though that is about all we would have in common.

The mid-1980's was about the time when the infidels were engaged in their hostile takeover of one of the richest denominations in the world, the SBC, and were poised to use it as the evangelical spearhead of the political movement that gave us George Bush, Tom DeLay, Karl Rove, Ted Haggard et. al.


I know that it is hard to believe, but when I was a student there, Southern was widely respected as the most scholarly and liberal of all the Southern Baptist seminaries, though at that time all of the SBC seminaries were protective of academic freedom, a cornerstone of Baptist history. (I know, it's hard to believe, but it is true. Baptist's colleges were the first in the New World to embrace academic freedom. Those who are persecuted often end up thinking that freedom is a good thing.) I loved what that school once was, a place where scholarship mattered and hard questions were confronted without the expectation that there would be an easy, politically correct answer. All that is left now are the buildings.

In 1984, I remember sitting in Paul Simmons' Christian Ethics class at Southern and hearing him argue that the Bible did not, in fact, support the notion that homosexuality is sin. Of course, he was one of the professors they were out to get. You see, part of the plot to take over the SBC hinged on taking over the boards of the seminaries, and that was accomplished largely by engaging in a McCarthy-style witch hunt aimed at 'exposing' "heretical" faculty. Men in cars with cash sent students into classes to tape lectures of the targeted professors. As a result, great minds like Simmons, Frank Tupper, Andrew Lester and others moved on to teach and serve in other places. Now, seeing someone like Mohler at the helm of what was once a great institution is a bit like seeing George Bush in the White House. In fact, it is just like that.

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The Religious Right Now

From the prosperity gospel that provides the underpinning for poverty-fueling economic policies, to timely confessions from conservative stalwarts like Newt Gingrich and Ted Haggard, the GOP is increasingly dependent on their unholy matrimony with the Religious Right Now, a marriage that may ultimately be the death of neo-conservatism.

These are not simply conservative Christians who value the Bible as Word of God; the Religious Right Now are political power-brokers who embrace a guilt-free gospel of immediate entitlement. Wealth is good, and forgiveness is treated as a political commodity, available not in humility at the foot of the cross, but instead in carefully orchestrated reality television dramas with cameras rolling, talking points memorized and spin-masters ready to become the talking heads on the news programs to follow. And none of it happens, of course, until the issue is polled to measure how potential voters are likely to react. The goal is not saving a soul, but instead saving a political career, and the broker's access to power.

The problem for the GOP is that this "Right Now" gospel carries a scent of hypocrisy that taints people like Gingrich, Haggard, and ultimately the Party that has embraced them. There's the sense that they have more in common with the money changers in the temple than with Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps they will now share their fate.

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Lies, Manipulation and Common Ground

This is a story about one of the worst things and one of the best things that is happening in the battle over abortion. Asheville, NC is my old stomping ground-an hour from where I grew up and twenty minutes from where I went to college. Last year, I visited Asheville for the first time in many years and fell in love all over again. Now, Asheville finds itself in the spotlight. An abortion clinic that was once bombed, a 'crisis pregnancy center' that may sometimes slant the truth, and a church, all near Asheville, are focal points. So, here's the good...and the bad.

The Good

Despite bitter disagreements, representatives from the church, the clinic and the center in Asheville have begun to meet at the aptly named "Blue Moon Cafe." Somehow, as with many issues, when your enemy has a face, and you share a meal and conversation, the questions get harder and the answers more complex. That's what has happened in Asheville. Consider what Rev. Hutchinson, one of the participants in the discussion, had to say:

"Once you've come to know your adversaries personally, once the cartoon villains are brushed away, the conversation becomes more complicated--and more useful. "When we talk, we really have to examine our own beliefs and why we do what we do," Lorrie says. "Abortion is a reality. For me, I feel it can be a lifesaving choice for a woman. But decreasing abortion is a goal we all strive for." As for Hutchinson, "I still keep the 'choice' of abortion off the menu. But I hadn't thought through how difficult a choice it is. I'd been pretty simplistic. I just think a lot more about the pregnant woman herself now than I had before." On issues of such weight, making the questions harder for people is the first step toward finding some answers."

Amen. That formula works for a lot of tough issues.

The Bad
As you can see in the shocking photo on the cover, TIME is reporting on a new and growing front in the abortion war, a front that relies on lies, guilt and emotional manipulation to compel women seeking an abortion to instead continue their pregnancy. "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" have been around for a long time, but an infusion of federal funds through abstinence education grants and faith-based funding have turned the once typical counseling room into what looks a lot more like your ob's exam room, complete with ultrasound equipment courtesy of Focus on the Family Option Ultrasound Initiative. (Once again proving that Georgia Republicans rarely have an original idea.) The problem is that these are not really medical offices, and the information provided is often inaccurate, sometime intentionally. This is done with the goal of getting the women to change her mind about abortion and is a situation where an "ends justifies the means" mentality can be especially dangerous. I dare say that if a quasi-medical clinic were set up that offered similarly manipulative and inaccurate information about any other issue, federal money would not be invested and the doors would close, quickly.

Half of all women at some point face an unplanned pregnancy. Of course, for all their talk about abortion, these clinics do nothing to educate women about birth control. Married women who ask are referred to their doctors, and unmarried women are told not to have sex. That's effective. (Some people do not realize that only about 10% of women who contact Planned Parenthood seek information about abortion. The great majority seek information about birth control, and access to birth control is also under attack. A quick scan of some the legislation filed last session in Georgia shows that this is true.)

Surely we can all agree that when these women seek information, they deserve the truth. Surely we can agree that if tax dollars are involved, the least we should expect is accuracy. But that is often not the case. For example, according to TIME, one study found that 20 of 23 such centers tested provided inaccurate information. That's unacceptable. Public dollars should not be invested in dis-information campaigns. Inaccurate information is a threat to women's health.

The Common Ground

The "Blue Moon" group has found some common ground. It took more than a year of talking to agree on four basic principles. They agree to work to: decrease abortions, relieve the social and economic conditions that lead women to consider abortion, make adoption easier, condemn violence and keep talking. The last point, to keep talking, may be the most vital.

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Watch Out for the Washington Taliban

Department of Justice is pursuing the enforcement of religious freedom. In other words, eliminating the separation of church and state.

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Can Republicans Reign in Their Fringe?

At least 40% of Georgians define themselves as moderates who vote for the person rather than for the party. That block of voters includes some "issue"voters, but for the most part, they are folks who profess weariness with the "radical fringe" of either political party. Today, in Georgia and nationally, the party that is having the most difficulty with "radical fringe" is not Democrats. It's Republicans. They know it, and they are in the middle of their own intra-party war to control the bleeding. As of now, they have been largely unsuccessful, as candidate after candidate on the national scene kisses the hem of the radical religious/political right.

More and more, Georgia Democrats are successfully looking smart, caring and reasonable, while Georgia Republicans are looking extreme, reactionary and welded to the radical, far-right, religious elements to whom they have sold their souls to gain political power. The question for Georgia Republicans is whether they can reign in their fringe and thus appeal to the majority of voters. Those prospects are looking pretty dim.

For instance, when the legislative session begins with a hearing on a bill to make abortion illegal in this state, and that hearing turns in to a virtual circus of the religious-so-far-right-we're-off-the-island, and then that gets blogged in real time, even Republican bloggers begin to cringe.

Likewise, when Republicans cave to the "Sadie Fields Foot Soldiers" and pass out of committee a bill that would require ultrasounds before abortions, even for victims of rape and incest, moderate Republicans must cringe along with the rest of us.

The capstone this week was Rep. Bridges' anti-Semitic rant. With one statement, he condemned both Jews and science. He made both himself and his party look like bigots and neanderthals.

Add to this the Republican's struggles on the national scene, where their most viable candidate for President, Rudolph Giuliani will probably not make it through their primary because of the political clout they allow their radical fringe to wield.

Republicans built a political juggernaut by forging a coalition between "values voters" and traditional fiscally conservative Republicans. The problem is that the two groups actually had little in common, and now that ship is breaking apart, run aground on the War in Iraq and the moral bankruptcy of those who pledged to carry the 'values" standard. The truth is that they would've gotten in anyone's boat as long as it took them to power.

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