The conservative Family Research Council has sent a letter to supporters claiming that President Obama wants to pass a law that would “impose homosexuality and silence Christianity in workplaces.” The law in question is the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

First of all, Family Research Council, “impose homosexuality”? You make it sound like the President is planning to force people to be gay.  Secondly, the law doesn’t force employers to hire gay people. It just means you can’t fire or choose not to hire someone solely on the basis of their sexual orientation. If they’re not qualified, by all means, don’t hire them. The law already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion, etc.  You haven’t been forced to hire anyone on the basis of those characteristics recently, have you?  And religious organizations are exempt, so your religious organization is free to continue its bigotry if it wishes to do so.

As for silencing Christianity…ummm…reading…that’s not even in there.  Whether public displays of faith are allowed in the workplace probably depends on where you live and work. Some employers have no problem with it; others might. An Oregon state law going into effect January 1, 2010 says that employers must allow employees to wear religious items at work, except for teachers in public schools (effectively barring some religious groups from teaching in public schools, but that’s another story).

In any case, the Christianity espoused by the Family Research Council does not represent me.  In fact, I think I’m perfectly capable of living out my Christianity in the workplace without being obnoxious about it.  And I’m thinking the Jesus I know would have no problem working side by side with gay people.

Through the River: Understanding Your Assumptions about Truth, by Jon and Mindy Hirst, took me a while to read.  It’s not long, but it’s dense with philosophical thought and information.

The Hirsts describe three basic truth lenses: positivism, instrumentalism, and critical realism, applying them to Christianity and how Christians relate to the world and each other.  They use analogy and story to explain the truth lenses, but reading it still requires work. I found myself taking notes and making outlines to make sense of it all. Here are the basics of the three truth lenses:

Positivists, known in the book as Rock Dwellers, believe that “all truth about us and about our world is knowable, and that it is our job to engage in an active search for that truth, allowing us to expose untruth.”  All truth is objective, regardless of individual viewpoint, culture, etc.

Instrumentalists (Island Dwellers in the book) reject total objectivity, seeing truth as a personal matter. Truth can be different for each person, depending on their background and experience.  Instrumentalists have no problem allowing different systems and theories to co-exist.

Critical Realists, known as Valley Dwellers in the book, is summarized as “the truth you know, and the truth that you are learning.” This lens acknowledges that universal truths exist, but also that the experiences of different people and cultures affect how they perceive and use these truths. Critical realists understand that we can always learn more about truth, and that we can learn from the perspective of others.

Interestingly, these truth lenses can apply regardless of one’s religious and political viewpoints. I can think of people who are liberal and conservative, religious and atheist, who could fit all of these descriptions.  And I can even see all three in myself, at various times in my life and in different situations. I know there are issues on which I’m pretty rock-like, and others in which I’m a good deal more tolerant.

Though it was a difficult read that took a lot of concentration, I did enjoy the book and appreciate what it had to say.  I think it does provide a good explanation of why many people have trouble relating to each other on religious and political issues, and it gives good suggestions for how people can try to relate to each other.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of this book from The Ooze Viral Bloggers program in exchange for this review.

John Wesley was one of the founders of the Methodist movement in the 18th century.  His directions for hymn singing are still printed in the front of the United Methodist Hymnal.  One of his instructions is to sing hymns “exactly as they are printed here.” Yet all too often, in United Methodist Churches and others, congregations sing only the first and last verse of each hymn, in order to save time.

In my opinion, this is so wrong.  The hymns are there for a reason. The words, the music, the act of singing all have much to teach us, and we do not get the full impact by singing  just the first and last verse. Also, I don’t think worshiping God should be kept on a schedule!

Here’s what John Wesley had to say about hymn singing in 1761. We would do well to follow these instructions in the 21st century (although I don’t think I’ve ever sung the songs of Satan).

Directions for Singing

1. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please.
2. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.
3. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a single degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross to you, take it up, and you will find it a blessing.
4. Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, then when you sung the songs of Satan.
5. Sing modestly. Do not bawl, so as to be heard above or distinct from the rest of the congregation, that you may not destroy the harmony; but strive to unite your voices together, so as to make one clear melodious sound.
6. Sing in time. Whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it. Do not run before nor stay behind it; but attend close to the leading voices, and move therewith as exactly as you can; and take care not to sing to slow. This drawling way naturally steals on all who are lazy; and it is high time to drive it out from us, and sing all our tunes just as quick as we did at first.
7. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.

–John Wesley, from John Wesley’s Select Hymns, 1761

First off, I highly recommend this book. It’s overdue from the library right now because I couldn’t give it back yet.

Take This Bread is labeled as both “A Radical Conversion” and “The spiritual memoir of a twenty-first-century Christian.”  Sara Miles was an atheist until she wandered into a neighborhood church and found a home.

She didn’t just find a church home, though (and she didn’t always get along well with others in the church). She became a new kind of church planter.

Sara Miles decided to start a food pantry at her church. But it wasn’t just a food pantry. It became a church service of a kind itself, and a new congregation.  And her food pantry has gone on to help plant other food pantries. To Miles, giving away food is Holy Communion, every bit as much as handing out wafers or bread in a traditional service.

The food pantry has had its own problems. This isn’t a story of perfect miracles. In fact, Miles makes some disturbing statements about Russian and Chinese people in San Francisco.  But it’s an incredible story, well worth reading, especially for anyone who has been disillusioned by the institutional church.

Yesterday I attended a memorial service for a great lady who had been married for 58 years. At her request, her husband got up to speak at the end about their 58 years of marriage.

“About 58 years of marriage – what I’m going to talk about is the anger.”

What?

He went on to say that in 58 years of marriage, there is plenty of anger. But over the last three weeks of her life, there was only love. And that there will be times of anger in any marriage, but that’s OK.

I know that sometimes a marriage really does need to end. But for most of us, this is real wisdom.

Bonus: Read 1 Corinthians 13

I had a hard time with this book. Barna divides (based on research, polling, etc.) the American people into seven faith tribes: Casual Christians, Captive Christians, American Jews, Mormons, Pantheists, Muslims, and Skeptics.

I really dislike making generalizations about people, so the first part of the book, in which he explains the characteristics of each faith tribe, was difficult to read.  Also, I felt like implication was always that the Captive Christians were the ones who got it right.

However, later in the book Barna does compile a list of values that the faith tribes do have in common, and suggests that it would be beneficial to our country for the faith tribes to do all they can to instill and encourage these values.

My husband read this book first, and kept telling me that while the first part would make me mad, the last part would make up for it. I didn’t quite feel that way — I still felt like Barna was pushing a Captive Christian worldview.  So I can’t say that this was a book I liked, or that I felt was important information.

It is the result of a great deal of research, though, and it was interesting to look at the data comparisons and research methods in the appendices.

Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for a review via http://viralbloggers.com.

We went to church this evening, because an online friend invited us, and because my husband wanted to find out more about this particular church.

I’m not going to critique or review the church, because I think I have no business doing that! However, if it’s 95 degress outside and you’re meeting in a non-airconditioned gym with no outside doors or windows, for the love of God and his people, please set up a couple of fans!

Despite that, it was a pretty good service — good music and a lively message that used clips from movies and tv shows as illustrations.  And being in a church again, after a long absence, made me think.

You see, there are certain beliefs sometimes taught in churches that are dealbreakers for me. If these things are being taught in a particular church, I know I’m not interested in being part of it.

For me, those things are literal creationism (the earth was created 6005 years ago in six days) and the belief that homosexuality is evil. (Quick note — I’m not saying that these are necessarily the beliefs of the church we attended. I don’t know enough about that church and its beliefs to assume anything.)

I know that for some people, my non-belief in those items would be dealbreakers. And some people have completely different dealbreaker issues.

Throughout the history of Christianity, when people have dealbreaker issues with each other, they split into separate groups.  That’s why we have Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches. And that’s why we have so many Protestant denominations.

But is that really how it should be? You go your way, and I’ll go mine? That doesn’t really fit well with what Jesus taught (Love one another as I have loved you?).

So what are the alternatives?

Some churches choose to avoid the divisive issues and focus on the more important beliefs that draw us together. After all, the Nicene Creed doesn’t require us to believe in literal creationism and says nothing about homosexuality. Jesus also had nothing to say about those issues.

But this isn’t done universally. So I, at least, continue to avoid churches teaching those things. And I feel guilty about it, because I’m not loving the people in those churches, and because I know that we are not in accord with each other.

Another option might be to openly acknowledge and discuss our differences, lovingly recognizing that we do hold different points of view.

Some people can handle this, but some are absolutely certain that they are right and can’t tolerate another point of view. And I’m pretty close to that myself. I’m pretty darned certain that science shows the earth wasn’t created 6005 years ago in six days, and I don’t understand why anyone insists on arguing that position.  And to me, painting homosexuality as evil is bigotry.  But I’m mostly willing to let people believe what they believe as long as they don’t insist that others follow their beliefs, too.

So where does this leave us? As usual, with much imperfection. I don’t know how to reconcile my strongly held beliefs with the strongly held beliefs of other Christians.

I do know that with God, we can do all things. So I can call on God for love and patience when interacting with people from different viewpoints.

In this book, Chole writes about her journey from adamant atheist (she used to deliberately antagonize her Christian friends in high school) to ardent believer. It’s an interesting read. Chole keeps some suspense going throughout the book, leading up to the moment, the encounter that made her a believer (which I found anti-climactic, but sometimes real life is anti-climactic).

The book is also an apologetic, or an explanation of why the Christian faith is true.  A lot of this does make sense and matches my own experiences, but some of it irked me.

For instance, Chole says that she’s grateful for “the privilege of learning from Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Christian friends.”  However, she also implies that pluralism (the idea that other faiths are equally good roads to God) is wrong, and that Christianity is the only correct faith.  I wonder how her Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh friends feel about that?

Chole explains four filters she uses to determine whether a faith is a valid one:

• Is it consistent at its core?
• Is it livable and not just quotable?
• Is it sustainable through life-size pain?
• Is it transferable to others (will it work for people in other cultures, economic situations, etc.)?

She makes a good case that Christianity passes these filters, but I suspect that devout people of other religions could make a strong case for their faith passing as well.

I did like Chole’s statements that God is not bothered by questions about faith, and that it’s OK to question.

“Believing does not mean that you will no longer have questions.  Believing does not mean that you will turn off your brain.”

And another good quote:

“God neither dilutes discrepancy nor ignores complexity.  God does not conveniently edit out the uncomfortable.”

Although this book irked me at times, it was an interesting read. I’m not sure it’s the kind of book an atheist would be willing to read, but it will be interesting to believers, and maybe to people on the edge of faith.

Disclosure: I received this book free in exchange for a review via http://viralbloggers.com

On May 21 this year, a tweet or a blog post (I don’t remember which) reminded me that it was Ascension Day, the traditional celebration of the day that Jesus, following his crucifixion and resurrection, returned to heaven.  The most detailed of the biblical accounts (Acts 1:1-12) says that “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9, NIV)

Naturally, many scholars (and average believers) now question whether this is what literally happened. For me, the reminder about Ascension day led me to ask what Ascension Day means to me, regardless of its factual status.

I had trouble with this idea at first. I read over the various accounts of the Ascension, along with traditional Christian teachings and creedal statements, and discovered that most of it meant nothing to me!  The Incarnation is important to me; that Jesus lived as a human among humans.  His death is meaningful to me (see previous post).  The Resurrection tells me that Jesus is still with us; that he defeated death, and it did not separate him from us.

In contrast, the Ascension does seem to separate Jesus from us.  “He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right and of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” (The Nicene Creed)  He left us, returned to heaven, and someday he’ll be back.  He’s not with us any more.

But wait!  Jesus also said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20, NIV)  And that’s been my experience — that he is with us and accessible, not separated from us until some future glorious event.

So how can a believing follower of Jesus reconcile this with the Ascension?

Strangely enough, there is a traditional belief that helps.  It’s more common in the Eastern Orthodox church, according to Wikipedia (although sadly I can’t find a source that clearly verifies this).  Jesus’ ascension “consummated the union of God and man.”  Or, as Grace of Kingdom Grace puts it, “Because of the bodily ascension of Christ, we are now lifted into and included in the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Spirit.”

Rather than a separation, the Ascension represents a joining of God and humans.  Once again, it says that God is with us, now and always, Emanuel.

It’s beautiful in Portland today, so I went for a walk.  When I’m walking, I often imagine dialogues in my head.  Here’s one on why I no longer belong to a local church.

“Do you go to church?” she asked, stepping over a branch lying across the bark-chip path.

I laughed.  “No, not any more.  I do meet with some people for a bible study, but I don’t belong to a church any more.”

“Well, why not?” she asked.

“It’s kind of a long story…” I demurred.

“We’re still walking,” she reminded me.

“All right, then.” I paused to pick up a candy wrapper and stash it in my pocket.

“Well, I definitely believe in God.  I’m convinced, based on personal experience, that there is something bigger than us, that binds us together.  You can call it God, the Force, whatever, it’s there.

“And I do believe that there was a man called Jesus, and that he was God-Made-Manifest.  This is one of God’s greatest gifts to us – that he came to us, and lived among us, and fully experienced what it was to be human.  We have a God who truly knows what it is to be one of us!

“He also taught us how to live life in the Kingdom of God.  He taught that we should love one another always, even those we call enemies, and that we should always be ready to help one another.  He reminded us that we should care for the last, the least and the lost.

“And I believe that he died for us, but not in a tit-for-tat way, like he died in my place so that I can get into heaven someday.  I think he died for two reasons: first, to show how much God loves us, even to the point of dying for us, as a parent might die to protect a child.

“Second, to teach us about the way of love.  He showed us that the way of love is more powerful than fighting back with violence.”

“You believe all of that and don’t go to church?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Absolutely.  You see, that’s what the church should be about, and often these are things the church talks about, but it’s not what most institutional churches really do.

“I do appreciate the church.  It nurtured me, both as a child and a younger adult, and taught me a great deal.  But eventually, membership in the church became a routine of trying to get enough money to keep the institution going and trying to get more members so that my kids weren’t the only ones in the Sunday School classes I taught (and so that those members could bring in more money).  And that’s not the true  work that God calls us to.”

“But aren’t Christians supposed to convert other people?” she asked.

I smiled. “We are supposed to share the Good News of Jesus, just as I might share some great news about my family with you, or I might share a really cool discovery, which is what this is – it’s a really cool discovery about something that could change your life!

“But Jesus never said we should add people to membership rolls and have them give money to keep up a church building and get them to volunteer on committees.

“So I’m still looking for a different way to follow Jesus, without the institutional church baggage.  For now, I’m just seeking to follow his commands: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)