ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
August 9, 2022
This past Sunday, as I continued the series: The Disciples In A Nutshell, the sermon focused on Alexander Campbell and his strong support of free public education. Alongside it, I talked about his opposition to school-sanctioned prayer in public schools. I feel confident in saying that it was a surprise to some people. You may also find it interesting that Baptists, early in this country’s history, were the strongest in their belief in the separation of church and state. It was fine for someone to vote his/her beliefs, but it was not right for any religion to force itself on the government or for the government to support any specific expression of religion. That was one of the areas of agreement that at one time brought the Disciples and Baptists into conversation. We even did a hymnal together (Hymns and Songs of the Spirit).
For Campbell, the opposition to school-sanctioned prayer (not opposed to young people praying in school) was not political, but theological. How is the Gospel shared? Is it by any means? By legal means? Or if it is truly the Gospel, is it Gospel means? Of course, I would suggest it is Gospel means, and I would understand that to mean the Gospel of God’s unconditional and relentless love made real in Jesus can only be shared in ways that fully demonstrate God’s unconditional and relentless love. The moment someone is not provided a genuine choice, especially a child, is the moment it has moved from love to manipulation, from Gospel to coercion. We’ve done that before! Of course, by “we,” I mean the history of Christianity, which has had some very sad and ugly moments in which war, torture, threats, and deception were used in the name of Jesus and for the sake of Jesus. The only problem was that Jesus did not sign off on any of those approaches.
Right now, I think Christians are scared about the future of our faith, and we are looking for reasons and people to blame. Trying to hold others accountable for why Christianity is on the decline in the U.S. is only a symptom of why Christianity is on the decline.
Center me in your Gospel, O God whose love was enfleshed in Jesus of Nazareth. Bring me again to your Good News of a love that is beyond measure or imagination. Make it both the goal of my life and pathway to that goal. Amen.
