— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
Caution: this meditation may cause dissent….
I am in the US. Pondering topics for my meditation, I considered the rebirth of spring and the beauty of God’s creation. The promise that comes every year and replenishes our souls with reassurance of God’s goodness.
I considered discussing the blessings of reconnecting with family and friends.
But want I really want, really NEED to talk about is my concern for, fear of and often disconnect with other Christians here in this country.
On Sunday it was my suggestion and choice to accompany a good friend to her church. I am familiar with this church, a so-called “Mega” church, enviously counting several thousand members, three church services and a school. People filling the amphitheater that is the worship room with families of many backgrounds, colors, ages. Particularly attractive was the large number of young people attending. It seemed as if they were almost on dates. Admirable.
Then began the notices and we were encouraged to protest a local library that had invited a “drag queen” to speak. The minister, beginning his sermon “In the beginning” – I was informed that the previous week, he had “finished off” Revelations” – spent the following half hour denouncing scientists and preaching politics from the pulpit. The term “they” consistently flew. I wondered, (but not really), who were these “they ‘s”. “They” would have you believe…”they” want to…
It is my belief that my God would embrace that “Drag queen”, that He welcomes everyone who loves Him. And yet here in this environment, I felt that there was little wiggle-room. Either I believe in Creation in 6 days (not saying here if I do or don’t), or I’m one of “them”. It is the “they” vs. we, the “them” vs. us that frightens me.
Yet another TV preacher shouted from his pulpit, “Any Dems here (ah, the “they’s”)? Get out of my church, you demon!”
Quoting Bill McKibben from his article “A Christian’s Thoughts on the Problem of Christian Nationalism” in The New Yorker, April 18, 2023, “this combination of nationalism and fundamentalism is fairly common. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has used Hindu nationalism to tighten his control on a nation that is about to become the world’s most populous. In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has managed to turn the secular nationalism of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk into an Islamic force, modelled on the Ottoman Empire. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israel is now torn apart by strife and operationally in the grip of Jewish nationalists, whose understanding of their faith excludes even many Americans who thought they were co-religionists. In Russia, Vladimir Putin has made the defense of Orthodoxy a bulwark of his politics; at Orthodox Christmas, he said that the Church had prioritized “supporting our warriors taking part in the special military operation” in Ukraine. His annual address to the Russian parliament, in February, included remarks that could have been delivered by some Maga politicians in this country:
Look at the holy scripture and the main books of other world religions. They say it all, including that family is the union of a man and a woman, but these sacred texts are now being questioned. Reportedly, the Anglican Church is planning to, just planning to, explore the idea of gender-neutral God. What is there to say? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
OK, I don’t know if that is true. But I stand with my Anglican Church in its endeavor to be inclusive, to welcome all into the fold.
According to the site, “Christianity Today”, [American] “Christian nationalism tends to treat other Americans as second-class citizens. If it were fully implemented, it would not respect the full religious liberty of all Americans. Empowering the state through “morals legislation” to regulate conduct always carries the risk of overreaching, setting a bad precedent, and creating governing powers that could be used later against Christians. Additionally, Christian nationalism is an ideology held overwhelmingly by white Americans, and it thus tends to exacerbate racial and ethnic cleavages. In recent years, the movement has grown increasingly characterized by fear and by a belief that Christians are victims of persecution. Some are beginning to argue that American Christians need to prepare to fight, physically, to preserve America’s identity, an argument that played into the January 6 riot.”
McKibben goes on to say “…In fact, Christ—the central focus of Christianity—is not a king, and not a fighter, but an advocate for the downtrodden. His ministry has no apparent interest in nationalism—indeed, welcoming strangers is one of its hallmarks. He is insistently nonviolent, and almost every gesture he makes is one of compassion. (His crime policy states that if someone takes your shirt, you should also give him your cloak.) His chief commandment is to love your neighbor. The four gospels are radical, rich, and deep, but they’re not complicated. If you read them and come away saying, “I’d like an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle,” you’ve read them wrong.”
Christian nationalism is, I believe, not only a threat to cultural diversity and the rule of the government, it also threatens the message of the Gospel.
Christianity Today: “Christian nationalism takes the name of Christ for a worldly political agenda, proclaiming that its program is the political program for every true believer. That is wrong in principle, no matter what the agenda is, because only the church is authorized to proclaim the name of Jesus and carry his standard into the world. It is even worse with a political movement that champions some causes that are unjust, which is the case with Christian nationalism and its attendant illiberalism. In that case, Christian nationalism is calling evil good and good evil; it is taking the name of Christ as a fig leaf to cover its political program, treating the message of Jesus as a tool of political propaganda and the church as the handmaiden and cheerleader of the state.”
Fighting words indeed, but such is, regrettably, the climate here.
I try to remember that we worship the same God, that He loves all of us. I’m just finding it difficult to embrace “them” here on earth. Thoughts?
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 