For those of us who came late to the presentation it would help to know: What is “the wound that Karl Barth inflicted almost 100 years ago”? Barth was, in the minds of many, one of the great theologians of last century. Among other things, we learned it is necessary to shine the light of the Bible on the events of the 20th century. Perhaps such a thing would be helpful in the 21st century as well.
I was troubled by your characterizations of the Liberal Left until it occurred to me that you are as much a victim of characterizations of the Liberal Left as the left is of the Evangelical Right. When was the last time you graced the doors of a liberal church? If you were to attend such a place, you might discover that rather than preaching a different gospel, we are simply placing the em-PHAS-is on a different syl-LA-ble. That is entirely biblical. The problem is the Evangelical Right has decided, against repeated decisions to the contrary, to insist that there is only one proper interpretation of Scripture.
The first decision to have a multifaceted interpretation of the faith occurred as early as the first Council of Jerusalem, after Peter baptized Cornelius and his family. The Holy Spirit pushed them to consider a broader appeal by including Gentiles in the church – even though they were not Jews and had no intention of becoming Jews. In fact, the elders wisely did not insist they become Jews and obey the Law first. They understood that there are many ways to be faithful to the one God. They also realized that those many ways were important to the overall health and faithfulness of the growing church.
Paul’s analogy of the body further emphasizes that decision to a church that was at odds with itself — just as are we. One body, many parts, all of them are essential for the health and effective work it is commissioned to do. Why is that so hard for the Right to grasp?
The emphasis of the Right is salvation. The emphasis of the Left is sanctification. Are they mutually exclusive? Hardly, Paul and James occupy the same canon.
Your criticism of the Left, that it has proclaimed a Jesus who is a friend of sin, would be amusing if it were not for the fact that it ignores the obvious. That is, according to the Right there are only one or two sins of consequence — homosexuality and abortion. Unfortunately, the world being what it is, there are a plethora of other sins significantly more important, more compelling. Does the Evangelical Right ever speak against these sins?
For example, where is the voice of the Right on such issues as homelessness, hunger, and disease? Where are you on such things as child abuse? Why have you only recently begun to add your voice to the cry against the abuse of the environment? Are we not all stewards of the earth, Right and Left? Why have you not raised your united voice against such things as lying and stealing, gluttony, avarice, or selfish-self-serving? Where have you been for just the past eight years amidst the pillaging of basic human rights by our nation? Why have you not lent your love-of-the-fight to standing against an unjust war and torture?
You proudly claim that the fighting you have been engaged in for the past 50 years is “fun.” You call it a “blood sport.” Very well, you want to fight? Why not fight FOR something rather than against the church, which, according to your vows of ordination, you have promised to work for its peace, unity, and purity? You promised to be friends to your colleagues in ministry. When do you propose to begin to live up to these vows?
As it is, you have been diligently fighting to disassemble the very entity that birthed your faith; moreover, you have done a good job. General Assembly has been gutted, as have the middle governing bodies. The empty halls of G.A. ache for the sound of the faithful who labored thanklessly there. Unfortunately, many of the faithful men and women who gave their lives to the mission of the church were thrown out on the street. With them have gone hundreds of years of experience and skills that we cannot replace in this generation.
Congregations continue to withhold mission dollars because they disagree with decisions made by a representative majority. This increasingly hinders our efforts to carry on an effective mission at any level in this country and around the world.
With the reduction of funds has come the increased inability to help fragile congregations who struggle to survive. We have fewer members. Fewer members contribute to an on-going spiral of blame and loss. We never get to seriously discuss the reasons for the losses let alone how to address them.
One factor that the Evangelical Right refuses to see is the profound damage it has done to the church. It used to be that people would look at Christians and say, “See how they love one another!” They were amazed. They were drawn into the fellowship because of the compelling example they saw of those who professed Christ. Today people look at us and say, “If that is what it means to be a Christian, I don’t want any part of it.”
The arguments, the fights, and all of the wrangling that have been the watchword for the past century is not about faithfulness to Christ — who is and who is not. It is not about who interprets the gospel more faithfully. In simple truth, it is about power — who has it, who wields it, and how do they keep it.
Perhaps the Right and Left can confess this and then, in an effort to receive the forgiveness God promised, we can meet each other in the middle to begin to find ways to work together for the glory of God.
N. Scott Cupp is designated pastor of Howlett Hill Church in Camillus, N.Y.
