God’s Politics or Bad Theology 10-19-2008 Page 1 of 13

When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues (get angry):

Last week I told you I had the opportunity to attend a concert with my
very favorite singer--Martina McBride.

Well, she sang my favorite song that she frequently performs. It‟s
called—When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues. Have you ever heard of
it?

During my first year at the church I served in Quincy, the youth were
having a “karaoke talent show” and to help the youth feel like I wasn‟t some
old fogy, I volunteered to “lip-sync” a song. I wore a dress and a wig and
high heels, and along with my hairy legs, pretended to sing When God
Fearin’ Women Get the Blues. And despite many requests, never to have
been repeated … although I might have a picture around somewhere …

That title is a misnomer, because it‟s not really about the dangers of
depressed religious women, it‟s about the dangers of angry religious
women! They go on the warpath and as a “God Fearin Man (notice: no
“g”‟s) I want to join them.

I‟m angry. I‟m really sick and tired of the current situation today with
respect to faith and politics! I‟m tired of the religious right being the only
voice of “people of faith”.

Why? Because not only do they trivialize „family values‟—they‟ve got

BAD theology!!!

Bad Theology:
Why should this bother me? I usually just shake my head when I think
people get it wrong because I feel strongly that good Christians CAN and
DO see things differently. There are many different ways to interpret
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specific Biblical passage, many ways of understanding the Bible itself,

many ways of understanding Jesus and the work he did. But sometimes
you‟ve got to put your hand up and say “STOP!”

When is it time? When they get the whole thing wrong! When it‟s so
wrong that it doesn‟t look Christian anymore, THAT‟s when I have to speak
up! The voice of “Christianity” heard on our televisions, read in our
newspapers, and seen on our lawn signs is no longer one that is truly
Christian in its theology! And I‟m tired of it.

We have, in our country today, this pervasive notion that religion is a

„private‟ matter. It‟s true that your choice of religion should be private, no
one (especially a government) should be allowed to tell you what to believe
or what spiritual path to follow. But once you‟ve chosen to follow Christ, to
be a disciple of Jesus, you‟ve agreed that you will form your life around a
“Christian” worldview—a “Christian” understanding of who God is, who we
are, and who we are in relationship with God—THROUGH JESUS.

If you accept this, then you must understand as Jim Wallis so

beautifully says in God‟s Politics “God is personal but not private.” While
our choice of religion is private, our religion is not—because our God is not!

Private means it‟s “just between you and me”. It‟s something you don‟t
show to anyone, something others need not be aware of. Personal means
intimate—touching a deep core in your soul, in a place no one else can go.

As we have often discussed on Communion Sundays: The sacrament

of Holy Communion is a very personal experience. It is an act which bonds
you to God in an intimate way, touching your soul and reaching out to
God‟s Spirit. It is so personal that, at times, it‟s hard to describe. Yet it‟s not
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private! In fact, the United Methodist Church frowns on private or exclusive

communion—it‟s open to all. It‟s something we not only allow others to
know we do, we do it in public with them!

If we treat our religion as a „private‟ matter and think of Christianity as

being “just between me and God”, then we reject everything in the Judeo-
Christian heritage: The Law (the first 5 books of the Bible), all the Prophets,
the Apostles, and even Jesus himself!! The only thing left to us is the “purity
codes” which are not only so outdated that we would think them immoral
(slaves obey your masters, women obey your husbands in every detail,
parents you can kill your child if they disobey you, etc.)

“Personal” is the relationship part, “Public” is the righteousness part!!

Jim Wallis says that “at the heart of prophetic religion (what
Christianity is) is a personal God who demands public justice as an act of
worship!” Jesus twice rebukes the people of his day saying “If you only
knew what this means „I desire mercy and not sacrifice‟…”

If we think of our faith as only “spiritual” or “spirituality” then we lose

the social, unifying, and liberating aspects of biblical faith! God is not a God
of private worship, God is the God of creation and doesn‟t just wallow in our
mushy „poetry of love‟ but demands that if we are his people, that we ACT
like his people—and do justice!

Our God is the God of Justice! NOT, the God of Judgment (that‟s a
different God entirely). God wants humanity to act like it was created to
act—loving toward each other and in honest relationship with God! God
wants “shalom” in the world—not just peace, but a fullness of life that
includes peace, harmony, and deep joy. When we don‟t do as Micah says
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“do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” then
we must answer to GOD!

If you don‟t believe me—listen to the prophets! Any one of them will
do! They all speak to power—indicting them when their management of the
community allows injustice, poverty, oppression, and war to reign. As an
example, let‟s hear just ONE oracle from Isaiah (which has 66 chapters and
is one of 15 books of the bible devoted to the prophets!)… Isaiah 1:11-25

Did we not listen to the longest public speech Jesus ever gave? It‟s the
one we read earlier… lots of stuff about public action, not a whit about
personal purity!

Faith should inform and shape our politics:

Our Christian faith should inform and shape our politics. Our God
demands it!

BUT, our God doesn‟t say that everyone has to choose to be a

Christian (remember “choice” is, indeed, private)… but if we choose Christ,
then we are commanded to care for others—not only to care for them but to
work to transform our world and to bring about the Kingdom (or in some
churches you drop the g and call it the KIN-dom) of God. That “kindom” is a
place of shalom—a transformed community wherein everyone lives, loves,
and thrives… EVERYONE!

And when we start worrying only about our own well-being and stop
worrying about the well-being of others, then we reject all that our religion
means! And, as we saw in Isaiah, God gets mad!
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Again, God doesn‟t say “everyone must be a Christian, or have

Christian ideals—but if you ARE a Christian, then here are the rules…
DO JUSTICE, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY.

Politics of Fear:
What amazes me about the Religious Right‟s warped “Christianity” is
that they SOOOO buy into a politics of fear! Doesn‟t Jesus say “do not be
afraid?” Does the Bible not say “perfect love cast OUT fear?”

The prophetic Christian voice would be saying “don‟t be afraid of the

terrorists, be afraid of letting God down!!” (remember Isaiah‟s rendition of
God‟s wrath?)

If you don‟t believe me, believe Jesus—the true Prophet—when he

says

(Matt 10:28) “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot
kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and
body in hell.”

BUT, that‟s not really the point… FEAR is not a tactic appropriate to
followers of Jesus. And they don‟t just run away from trouble… they run
toward a vision of another type of world, a world where God‟s shalom
rules!!

Our faith should inform OUR politics. We should be active in our

communities in ways that non-Christians might not feel obliged to. We
should be actively working to transform our community, our county, and our
culture. But we should be doing so from a place of peace and working
TOWARD God‟s vision.

Example of Bad Theology entering politics (Amendment 2)

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We have the perfect example in front of us this November:

Amendment 2. This amendment (the so-called „marriage protection
amendment‟) was, ostensibly, brought before us by (quote) “people of
faith”—as a permanent change in Florida‟s Constitution that governs our
state (not just a law) suggested because it promotes our “religious values”
(i.e. that oft-heard phrase “that the practice of homosexuality is
incompatible with Christian teaching”).

This is an example of “public faith” gone bad!! It‟s bad theology all the
way around—wrong image of God, wrong focus of righteousness, wrong
motivation!

It doesn‟t matter how you feel about gay marriage—gay marriage is a

moot point because it‟s already illegal in Florida with 3 state laws
prohibiting it! No, this amendment is taking a „private‟ view of Christianity
(i.e. the only thing that really matters is whether we‟re „sinning‟ or not, so
we should then legislate our version of „pure‟) and forcing it,
inappropriately, into the public arena.

This not only reverses the relationship with God by exchanging

“personal” with “private” (taking a definition of righteousness that includes
justice & mercy and making it all about moral purity). It not only flies in the
face of God‟s justice by actively oppressing a group of people, but it
disregards care of many of the most vulnerable people in our
communities—children and the elderly! (“widows and orphans”—how many
times have you heard that mandate from the Bible?) And worst of all, it
comes from a dark place of fear—homophobia.

Science has determined, without a doubt, that homosexuality is not a

mental disease. AND science is quickly coming to the conclusion that it is
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not even a „choice‟ for many, it‟s genetic! This group is being punished for
living! The moral codes that condemn them are, like many in the Bible,
culturally outdated and even cruel—in a day and age when we don‟t need
to bear children to survive, especially on a planet that is already over-
populated. You can believe that homosexual practice is a sin—that‟s fine.
But you cannot force someone else‟s “private” faith choice (which
determines what offends God) onto them—God doesn‟t expect everyone to
follow.

Not only does this political proposal officially oppress this group—
because it takes away their civil rights. If this amendment passes, then the
groups most likely to pay the price (remember gay marriage is already
illegal)—to actually lose financial support and emotional well-being—are
our elderly population and children. Our elders, many of who are widowed
and feel they were married “in the eyes of God” to their partner who died,
are left with a financial arrangement that would severely limit their income
and benefits should they marry again; these folks want and need love and
companionship as much as any generation (maybe even more). Under this
arrangement, their life partner at the end of their life, will no longer be able
to help make health care decisions, they may not be able to receive
benefits through them, and if forced to marry them—they may lose
everything!

And what about the thousands of children born into, or cared for in,
relationships that are not legally „marriage‟? (couples with kids who aren‟t
married—gay or straight) For many of these kids, their health insurance
comes from the “parental figure” that is NOT their legal parent. They, too,
will be financially hindered and lose benefits. AND, if that non-legal parent
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happens to be an abusive male—they could easily lose their mother! That‟s

because our domestic violence laws are based on extending the rights of
marriage to other relationships (which would be unconstitutional if this
passes). No kidding, this defense has already been used in Ohio where a
similar amendment passed.

Not only have we seen all these exact same injustices in states that
have already passed amendments like this, but the potential damage goes
on and on and on: hitting hard our unionized laborers of many stripes-
particularly including our 1st responders. Why? Because many of these
unions have fought to include domestic partner benefits in their contracts
and I‟ve been told by a part-time part time labor lobbyist in Tallahassee that
if this passes then because 1 piece of the contract would be considered
unconstitutional, then their entire labor contract could be thrown out—
forcing them to renegotiate every item in the contract!

But most of all, this “religious” proposal is motivated by fear… fear

Jesus tells us NOT to let into our hearts! Homosexuality can seem very
strange to many. It can even be very scary, if you think you might be gay
(or at least attracted to some of the opposite sex). The “homosexual
lifestyle” is largely unknown to many of those people actively seeking this
legislation. I understand they have fear—but it need not be… Homosexuals
are just like everyone else: they have jobs, they have loves, they have fun,
they hurt, they have faith…. Maybe we could try loving them and getting to
know them and then see if our fear subsides?

Folks, marriage is not threatened by allowing others to have

relationships that look like marriage. It‟s not threatened by someone else
being able to claim their own loving committed relationships as such.
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Marriage has been defined in many ways throughout the ages

(including throughout most of the bible, polygamy—do you remember that
Solomon had something like 700 wives and over 300 concumbines?),
women as property—do you remember these words which used to be
spoken at weddings:

“If any man can show just cause why they may not
lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else
hereafter forever hold his peace” or maybe some
contemporary version of “Who giveth this woman to be
married to this man?”

Marriage was actually like a real estate closing including the posting
of notices on the proverbial courthouse door—it was the transfer of the
woman as property to the man and since, the woman usually wasn‟t worth
enough, a dowry from the woman‟s family had to also be attached.

Or maybe marriage was just simply to provide the means of

childbearing.

Currently, our own definition begins with 2 people in love (I find it

pretty interesting that marriage for love is a relatively NEW concept in our
world!)

The sanctity of marriage is not threatened by new descriptions… The

sanctity of my marriage is not threatened by someone else‟s relationship.
The only persons who can threaten the sanctity of a marriage are the
spouses in it!!!

Bad theology… bad theology…

How do you change a society? Change the wind

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So how DO we practice our personal faith publicly? We work to

change what is, into what can be!!

Many politicians are suspected of “blowing with the wind”—this

means that wherever the popular culture is going, they go—without regard
to what is “right”.

Jim Wallis states “people motivated by spiritual values that give them
a real vision for change are not like those with their fingers up in the air
(checking the direction of the wind). They already know the direction to
head, and they lead by example.”

We know what direction to head—the same direction the “RUAH” (the

breath/wind of God) is blowing—toward the Kindom of God, a world of
shalom! How cool is it to think that the God who loves justice, commands
us to practice mercy, and who created and is re-creating the wholeness of
shalom, is creating the “wind in our sails”!

I love this image—of us in a boat being pushed along by God,

blowing „wind‟ in our sails!!!

Folks, the backers of Amendment 2 are NOT motivated by personal

“spiritual values,” they are motivated by private “moral fear”. They aren‟t
sensing the direction of the breath God is blowing, they are huffing and
puffing about creating their own „hot air‟!!

I am angry!!
So I‟m angry!! I‟m angry that the faith I love so much, the religion I
have devoted my life to, is being so warped that the non-Christians around
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us could think that the concerns of God can be so petty, so oppressive, so

ugly, so hateful, so fearful!

I‟m angry that the people of faith who agree with me are largely being
silent.

I‟m angry at our loss of faith, our cowering in church rather than
shouting in the streets (not like those John 3:16 folks holding up signs at
baseball games or public parades, but) rallying around a public outcry that
would force our government to follow our vision, God‟s vision of
transformation.

So, I‟m going to vote. But I‟m not just going to vote. I‟m going to talk—
yes, even PREACH! I hope you understand that the interpretation of the US
First Amendment is that while Churches and Pastors are not allowed to
speak about or endorse candidates, there is no prohibition about taking
stands about political issues that are on the ballot.

I‟m going to speak to as many people as possible about what is

important in our political process—what SHOULD be critically important to
all Jews and Christians. I intend to speak to power, as in the tradition of the
prophets, and I encourage you to do the same.

I pray you will vote this year, in this critical election. Vote, allowing
your faith in the personal God we meet in the Bible and in the Risen Christ
to lead you. Choose your presidential candidate based on who is following
the wind of God‟s breath, not the wind of popular ideology. We may
disagree as to who that candidate is, and that is FINE. It‟s the natural
diversity of interpretation.
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And… I invite you to join me, and hundreds of other people of faith to
make OUR theological voices known at a rally just a few blocks from our
church, next Sunday October 26th, from 4 - 6pm at the Lowry Park
Bandshell—the same place we share in our community—the raising of the
SON early on Easter morning. A rally entitled “Standing On the Side of
Love” in opposition to Amendment 2.
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Steadfast Hope: you ask us to empty them,

when we want so we can become
to make all the rules servants of hope.
so we can win every game,
you call us to your side, Crafter of Faith:
put your arm around us when others judge us on
and whisper, 'play fair!' our backgrounds, education,
When we tremble in fear, looks,
worried that our lives you teach us how
are about to crash to the bottom, to treat all people as equal,
you place us in to welcome each person
the hollow of your heart, as our sister or brother.
and give us safety. When we wonder how
our needs, our hopes, our lives
Word of Joy: will be made known to God,
when we would follow you mention us, by name,
those who pretend in all your prayers.
to be our saviors
to achieve their own ends, God in Community, Holy in One,
you remind us that we have been we know you as
chosen Glory, Grace, Goodness,
to be examples of faith to others. and lift our prayer to you, saying,
When we would Our Father . . .
fill our pockets with
the treasures of temptation,