This episode is part two of our discussion on Religious Freedom, to wit: Park 51, Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. What we might call, if we wanted to generate hits and trolls, “The Mosque at Ground Zero”.

Are we all moderate Christians? What’s a radicalized Christianity look like to America? Can one be a faithful Christian and be a good American? It is especially important that we parse all those words – radical, faithful, moderate and good – the way we parse them for Muslims.

In this episode we mention:

Their twitter feed.
This blog post on Sarx.
The Roman Virtues
Shane’s Good Friday Protest (pictures here) Drew mentions a video but I don’t find one.

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This conversation is not mentioned in our talk but the participants are discussing what “Moderate Islam” actually means. Give a read.

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You can leave us a message at 716/462-5647

In this episode we discuss Religious Freedom, to wit: Park 51, Cordoba House, a proposed Islamic community center in lower Manhattan. What we might call, if we wanted to generate hits and trolls, “The Mosque at Ground Zero”.

This is the first of a two-part discussion.

In this episode we mention:

Their twitter feed.
This blog post on Sarx.

Be sure to come back next week when we try to radicalize American Christians.

___

Our Facebook group is here…

You can leave us a message at 716/462-5647

In Communist countries the persecution is as bad as it ever was. In the Arab countries, where permission is needed to celebrate the Eucharist, Melkite, Orthodox, Baptist and Anglican communities fellowship freely because there is so much hatred that any priest will do – much to the scandal of Americans who want a “pure” church. Christians in Israel put up with Islamist suicide bombers on the one hand and Jewish people stealing their homes on the other, Jewish Soldiers and Islamists shoot at them. Muslims own the holy sites and adjacent land and Israelis can and do close them at will. And we worry about Christmas trees and manger scenes.

We’re distracted with what Wal*Mart employees get to say or do not say in the “holiday season”, yet we forget to feed the poor, visit the prisoner, to offer hospitality in God’s name. We’re terrified of a new mosque being built in out town or city, yet we put more import on rebuilding “touchdown Jesus” than we do on learning how to love like Jesus. We put more concern behind rebuilding a destroyed Church than evangelizing to fill our empty, but already existing Churches.

We confuse ethnic and political battles (both present, and in recent or ancient history – Byzantium, Russia, Turkey) with God’s promises that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church. And while we daily relive our resentment about those secular battles, we forget to turn the tables ourselves, asking how, as Americans, we benefit from enslaved Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in China and Indonesia and India or how we’ve been stealing land from Natives – and continue to harvest profit form the theft.

We confuse our drive for revenge for wrongs imagined against us – or against our recent and ancient ancestors – with preaching the Gospel in our actions, with our very lives. We forget to forgive, pray for and love those we imagine to be our enemies. Instead of forgiving them, we castigate them in the press and on our blogs. We file lawsuits against them. We demand our RIGHTS! We demand JUSTICE! So we call it but what we want is REVENGE.

We confuse attacks against the country in which we accidentally live with attacks against our God. We confuse secular policy with Christian conduct (ie, same-sex marriage, prayer in schools), yet we only do so when it makes us happy (ie, divorce laws) or gives us pride of place – no one seems to want to begin a football game with the Shahada. We don’t want our baseball players yelling “Allahu AKbar” even if they’re Arab-speaking Christians.

Martyrs had their tongues cut out, their intestines spooled on the masts of ships. Martyrs lost their eyes and their hands and their feet. Martyrs were pierced and stoned and shot at. Martyrs were taken from their families, imprisoned, enslaved. We lament the loss of “freedoms” which do nothing for us but distract us from the Gospel.

We have the freedom to do pretty much anything we want, including to hate our neighbour, to despise our fellow Christians, to abandon the historic faith to the left or right (and still call ourselves Christian) and even the freedom to inflict our moral judgement on our neighbours with, in most cases, the blessing of civil authorities so long as it furthers their own political agenda.

Yet we call this persecution.

Let us assume it is, just for a moment. The evolution of marriage laws actually is an attack on our faith. The inability to wear a cross to work actually is a martyrdom. The taking down of manger scenes on public land actually is a state-sponsored oppression. OK, lets say all of this and more is true.

Which of the martyrs ever filed a lawsuit for their rights?

Which of the martyrs ever organised a protest march for their freedoms?

Which of the martyrs ever had petition drives?

Which of the martyrs ever demanded anything of the country in which she happened to live other than the chance to glorify God with the loss of her life?

None of them.

Every one of them “made Eucharist in all things” even the bad things. Every one of them gave glory to God for the chance to glorify God in their life or in their death. Even if all they could do was sit quietly and wait for the soldiers to come and kill them. Some of them – perhaps insane to our eyes – even went out and actively sought persecution to make up for their sins.

But we have no sins here.

We’re afraid, pure and simple.
We’re afraid of losing the one thing Jesus never offered us: power.
We’re afraid of giving up the one thing Satan has distracted the Church with for 1600 years: civic position.

We’re afraid that we won’t be special any more in the eyes of the world. Listen to the Pope and the Orthodox bishops talk about Europe – we do the same thing in the USA. We’re whinging over the loss of the one thing we were never to have – a kingdom in this world. We’re the bullies on the block that suddenly has all the kids in the neighborhood fighting back and we’re scared because maybe we deserve it all.

Sadly, like bullies everywhere, we probably won’t learn our lesson and join the human community as equals: we still want to be special.

Russian Orthodox Church embraces gays.

“IS OUTRAGE!” says Fr Vasili, I’m sure: not lamenting the sudden embrace, but rather the misleading headline. Be sure to read the AP story: essentially gay is still bad, but we oppose persecution of gays. This is a huge step in the right direction for a church that was totally silent whilst people with icons in Moscow spat on and kicked gay people in the streets a couple of years ago. This is a huge step in a world-wide denomination that has been totally silent in Uganda where the local hierarchy is either being misrepresented in the press or else supporting the anti0gay law that even forbids counselling gay people in Church.

But the Russian statement – still a huge step – isn’t all that: the UK’s “Pink News” provides a bit of historical context that puts the lie to His Holiness’ statement that “we have repeatedly spoken out against discriminating people for their nontraditional sexual orientation…”

Head of Russian Orthodox Church condemns discrimination against gays.

But it is the interfax article from Russia that presents the fullest version of the Patriarch’s recent statement on the topic.

Patriarch Kirill believes same sex relationship sinful, but speaks against antigay repressions.

“We accept any choice a persons makes, including in the field of sexual orientation. It’s a personal choice. However, it doesn’t change our position on the phenomenon,” the Patriarch said at his meeting with General Secretary of the Council of Europe in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.

Patriarch Kirill reminded, “religious traditions of all nations confirm that homosexuality is a sin as well moral disorientation of a person.”

However, a person with homosexual inclinations “shouldn’t be punished, that’s why we’ve always spoken against any repressions and discrimination of people with different sexual orientation.”

“Considering homosexuality a sin, we are categorically against equaling homosexual relations to natural,” the Patriarch further said.

Hedging His Holiness’ bets a lot there… but “Shouldn’t be punished” is pretty clear, Uganda. Of course the Ugandan church is not a Russian plant.

“‘But the religious right failed. “

I don’t know a thing about the new Mayor’s politics. I tend to imagine she is at least as conservative as the usual dixiecrats ie: a full-on Republican in all but name. I may be wrong there – this story was not even on my radar. But, lo: if Houston, Texas, can withstand a smear campaign from the religious right and elect a partnered Lesbian as mayor, things can’t be all bad.

To be clear: I’m not saying I would have voted for her because she was gay. But I’m damn happy to see the defeat of those who didn’t vote for her for the same reason.

If we are not willing for the answer to be yes, they we just need to stop spending money, stop sending politicians to meetings and stop tying up the internet and the airwaves with our pro- or con- blathering.

If the answer is no – and I think that not even Al Gore is willing to give up his iPhone – then we might as well ride it out and STFU.

Advent continues… there is a real hope.