Temporal and Spiritual

Began reading "Wrestlin' Jacob," by Erskine Clarke which revisits religion in the old South, particularly Liberty County, Georgia and its surrounding environs. I immediately ran across the following lines which gave me pause as they resonated with the thoughts already rattling around in my head about this deeply important question of church and state relations.

"'We are sensible," they wrote in the Articles of Incorporation, 'to the
advantages of good order and social agreement, among any people, both for
their Civil and Religious Benefit. . .' For theses Puritan setlers, the government of
such a commuinty would consist of two coordinate branches: the Church and
the Society. The church would be governed by the male communing members who would administer spiritual affairs; the Society would be composed of all males who would subscribe to the Articles of Incorporation, whether they were communing members of the Church or not, and would administer temporal affairs. If this
were not a "Holy Commonwealth," it was clearly a Christian Society they wished to establish on the Georgia coast...At the center of this community stood the church." (emphasis added)

I find it instructive that for our Founders, and the society in which they lived and breathed, issues of faith played a central, undeniable role; particularly issues of the Christian faith. You will find this singular fact borne out in the architectural fabric of almost every community in this great land where standing in the midst of the places of law and merchandising are the places of faith and worship.

Can there be any denial that the ground from which the early thoughts about our nation grew was a thoroughly Christian ground?

Questions I Am Pondering...

I enjoyed the unique opportunity to hear Dr. Martin Marty speak earlier this week at Samford University. It has sparked several thoughts in my heart and head, most unresolved but not unimportant. I list a few of them here for initial consideration with the hope that I can flesh these thoughts out in future posts.

1. Dr. Marty states that it is "historically untrue that our laws are "Christian" laws and that the Founders did not set out to create a "Christian" nation. That said there can be no doubt that Christian thought exerted a strong influence on the thinking of the Founders."

My response: Is it possible that though it may not have been the intent it was, however, the inevitable result?

2. Dr. Marty spoke of the harmful result of "privileging" the church citing the example of Finland where the "official" religion is Lutheranism. 94% of the population is Lutheran and only 2% attend services with any regularity.

My response: I think he is on to something significant here.

3. Dr. Marty asked, "Can the church be prophetic if it is privileged?" and then quoted John Leland (I believe) "Whoever takes the King's shekels gets the King's shackles."

My response: I have always been more than a little suspicious of the "Faith-based Initiatives" approach from government. The church can only speak to power when it is clearly not beholden to that power.

4. Dr. Marty speaks of the Deism of Benjamin Franklin and it being a poor example for the religiously passionate.

My response: While I agree that Franklin is, at best, pragmatic in matters of faith I must call to question his commitment to Deism. If I correctly understand the notion of Deism being that of a disinterested Deity, then many of Franklin's statements fly counter to that notion. One cited by Dr. Marty is a fine example, "A super-intending providence...God governs in the affairs of men." (From Franklin's speech to the Continental Congress, June 27th, 1787). This does not sound like a man who would advocate for a God who made the watch, wound it up and left it to run it's course. It sounds suspiciously like someone who believes that somehow God is engaged directly in the comings and goings of the lives of all mankind.

5. Dr. Marty noted that Franklin did indeed propose that prayer be offered at the Continental Congress but that the motion was not acted upon. The reason being that those present recognized the terrible can of worms this would open. Would the prayer be Anglican or Congregational?

My response: This is a cogent point. Though not well remembered, 9 of the 13 colonies had "official" religions. (Always an interesting recollection as they were steadily recreating what so many of them had fled, i.e. religious persecutions.) A similar point I often make in discussions of this nature concerns prayer in the public schools, who will lead the prayer? Here in the Bible belt I have a reasonable assurance that it will be a "Christian" prayer of some sort. In some other part of our nation it might be a Mormon prayer, or a Muslim prayer, or perhaps even Wiccan! Who is to decide and am I willing for others to be teaching my child, or anyone's child, how to pray?

What response do these thoughts spark in your head and heart?

For those of you who happen by here every now and then I thank you for your patience. My time in front of a computer has been limited (not neccessarily a bad thing - just make time for blogging take a back seat) but it seems that may be coming to a close as doors are opening that have the evident finger prints of God. It would seem that prayers for clarity during this time of transition have been answered and it simply remains for us to faithfully follow. I will leave details for a later time but suffice it to say we have a peace about the new day of ministry dawning for us.

For all of you who have prayed, thank you. Please don't stop! Evey anxious moment we have faced in this time of transition has been made easier by the sure knowledge that you were praying for us.

Watch this space for addtional details in the coming weeks.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

by McKinley Cash

Up on the wings of the morning

From the mystic land of Nod!

To greet the day that's borning,

When man drew close to God.

"Love ye one another,"

We heard the Master say,

And one way or the other,

We'll answer that today.

The Lily of the Valley

And Sharon's red, red Rose

Are treasured in the tally

As the heart overflows.

Let's ope the parcels now,

And as we snip each seal,

The woundrous why and how

The content will reveal.

All thoughts are centered home

In Love's own master plan,

For on this day has come

God's greatest gift to man.

(McKinley Cash was my great uncle and this is one of the poems he left for us in his collected work Alabama Folk Tales. A copy of Uncle Cash's work will be available in the Sulligent Public Library in January 2010. I apologize for the lack of spacing, but blogger is not accepting my formatting.)

And the Word Became Flesh

It is my prayer that you and yours take a few moments to consider the magnificent truth of God taking on flesh and blood and coming to live among us. Be blessed during this season when we recall that there was a day when God spoke to us all and said, "I am with you."

Psalm 55

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
from the raging wind and tempest.”

9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11 ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.

12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16 But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.

20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21 His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.

22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.

About the Photo - The Next Big Step

If ever there was a parable in a picture this one would qualify. On a late summer afternoon a longing was fulfilled; a step was taken that had been considered for years but had simply been set aside for reasons of practicality. Maybe it was the testosterone level that was right that day. Maybe it was we knew changes were coming and this might be the last chance for us to do this thing. Maybe it was simply that the light was perfect. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I am now 42 and it had been a whole bunch of years sine I had jumped off a cliff. Or maybe it was the realization that my kids were finally old enough to make up their own minds about doing questionable/dangerous/fun/crazy/memorable things. Whatever the reason we did it.

I jumped first. The fall was exhilarating but my impact with the water was almost debilitating. I pasted a lying smile on my face and groaned out a "Come on! It's great!" My poor entry into the water was no reason to deny others the thrill of leaping from the stony security of the cliff. One after the other they took the leap with a descending "Whooo!," a glorious splash and a concluding fist pumped victoriously into the air with a shout of conquest. It was, and will be forever, a memorable day.

My friend Barry captured this photo of my eldest taking his leap. It is a photo with the potency of poetry. Not only was Jeremy leaping from rock to river, he was also making the leap from family to future. It is his next big step. He seems to be enjoying the journey much like he enjoyed that marvelous day at the river. I hear tales of leaps he's recently taken from a bridge into a river near campus! I suppose that first big step and that first big leap inevitably lead to others quite naturally.

Do I worry? Sure. What parent doesn't? (I can tell you my mother worried enough for all of us on the day the photo was taken!) But my worry is not that he'll get hurt, or that he'll do something stupid - I'm pretty certain that's going to happen along the way. No my worry is, and has always been, that he will be afraid to take the next big step.

So, for Christmas he's getting a framed copy of this perfect parable in a photo to remind him of the joy in taking the next big step. Please don't tell him. I'd like to watch his face as he remembers this unforgettable day.