My church had "consecration Sunday" this past Sunday. Can't say I really know the definition of "consecration." One gets the impression it was about pushing for more money. Without a doubt money is important for the church.
The congregation was asked to go to the public school concert hall instead of our regular building. This is a church in a synod that has views I totally accept. But it seems we're being marginalized more and more. It's unfortunate but perhaps I should just give up the struggle, the struggle of keeping my philosophical and political beliefs consistent with my faith affirmation.
Perhaps the struggle has gotten too hard or strained. Might it be better to just give up Christianity? In this way I might abide by my belief system unimpeded by the guardrails that the main core of Christianity is increasingly putting up.
This is a serious matter. We are supposed to have two political parties in America each worthy of respect. Politics is not supposed to be so embedded in our spiritual sense. Always there has been tension in this regard. At present it seems to have crossed a line. Following the news these days is increasingly "Alice Through the Looking Glass." How many more times must I impress this point?
We have a whole year to go through before getting the opportunity to oust President Trump. But as we follow the news - as we digest the quotes from some very high-profile and at least nominally respected people - we wonder if our culture will hold up.
Christianity even with all its various internal shades and disagreements, has always seemed a basic healthy foundation. Other religions can weave in and make their distinctive contributions. All these faiths, when you strip away the nuances, project an air of goodness and charity. Christianity is traditionally the most powerful force. The numbers spell that. And now we hear prominent people increasingly putting aside the facade of being apolitical.
Rick Perry is a household name. He's a former governor of Texas and he ran for president. He had the rather famous "brain freeze" in a debate, remember? Perry was an actor in helping make "bad lip reading" famous. Somehow he seemed appropriate for that. He has a quirky nature sometimes. (It has been attributed to prescription medications.)
Maybe we all ought to ponder about just how many of the far right or reactionary voices are coming from a particular region. So many come from the South. Think of the states of the old Confederacy. Maybe we need to consider regionalism more. Remember the expression "waving the bloody shirt?" Well maybe you don't because it has become outdated.
Rick Perry recently stated in a TV interview that Donald Trump is "God's chosen one" to lead us. The governor asserts Trump was "sent by God to do great things." Much as there was contentiousness in politics when I was young, I don't recall such an overt movement to connect a political side with God's direct blessing.
Trump does not strike me as the kind of person, in terms of basic character, to win God's blessing and endorsement. But a growing faction of the American political right is making the connection and not in a subtle way. A true Christian must support Donald Trump. Even more dangerous is how these people begin viewing people on the other side. Historically we encourage vigorous political debate without suggesting that a particular side is literally Godless. That tradition is rapidly fading.
Do others share my concerns about this? Can I hold my head up as a citizen if I continue to have my personal views? Do I dare speak openly about supporting the likes of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren? Warren gets stereotyped but she believes in free enterprise, only with provisions that protect the masses of common citizens. Sanders got stiffed by the national media in 2016 when the massive crowds at his rallies didn't receive adequate attention as the phenomenon it was.
But now I'm told by a most famous Christian spokesman, Franklin Graham, that not only am I wrong, I may be influenced by the devil. If that's true, does that mean that I should cease even trying to present myself as a Christian? But it's worse than that. If I criticize Trump or support candidates opposing him and his party, do I have to be stigmatized as being motivated by Satan himself? Really?
Graham is the son of the late Billy Graham, the iconic preacher who boomers like me will remember wowing crowds in the time of Nixon and Vietnam. What would Billy Graham say today? Franklin Graham's words are out there now. Is the impeachment battle really a "spiritual battle?" Franklin says it is. He says of the overall political divide in America that it may grow out of "demonic power."
Graham said "you know and I know, at the heart, it's a spiritual battle." He picked up on Trump language when he says "you know and I know." Do these people think we're stupid? I would plead that I am not stupid. No, Franklin Graham, I will not accept your arguments as being obvious. Do not put words in my mouth. I do not automatically accept your pronouncements just because you're famous and probably have some fancy credentials. Jesus Christ would think nothing of your credentials.
Jesus Christ would probably have been a member of Occupy Wall Street.
Graham does not have credentials of an economist. But he says "we have an economy that is just screaming forward. It's incredible."
Well, I would say "incredible" describes that we are having a new round of quantitative easing imposed by the Federal Reserve. I thought QE was a one-time thing to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Interest rates were supposed to be "normalized" after that. They began a plunge after Trump's pronouncements on the trade war, initially as he spoke about tariffs on Mexico.
The administration has been playing games with the trade war and playing with rhetoric. Interest rates go down and they don't go back up. Inflation proceeds faster than we are being told. I noticed a price hike Monday night with a value meal on the McDonald's menu. A few cents at a time, so we barely notice (like the "boiling frog?"). We pay with plastic so we fail to pay proper attention. In the end we all become aware.
It's important to keep borrowing costs down? Do people use borrowed money to contribute to church? No, they'll probably check their bank account.
The likes of Graham and Perry might see a contributor to an ELCA church as a contributor to the devil. To repeat: maybe the best way to escape from this whole mess is to simply become unchurched. But wait, there's already a big movement in that direction as we speak.
My late mother would be distressed and puzzled at how right wing politics has so unabashedly entered the Christian sphere. Those zealots have the right of free expression. But what matters in the end is the verdict offered by God and Christ.
I prefer Perry saying, as he did in "bad lip reading": "Save a pretzel for the gas jets!"
Point of fact: The economy grew at 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2019 vs. 2.2 percent three years ago.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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