“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.” – Anne Lamott
The quote by Anne Lamott probably gives me away.
But, I have to admit I don’t get it.
I take them at their word, but I don’t understand the anger and the angst felt by those who feel their religious liberties are being infringed upon either by the LGBT community demanding acceptance or by the emerge of diverse religious/spiritual voices now finding a place in our country. I do understand that the culture in which I grew up has changed and is no more. And, I do understand that is hard and scary and for those of us in the Church because what we once knew and cherished is no more…at least in the way we remember it.
But, if this is really about faith more than it is about politics and power, isn’t our understanding of God bigger than that? I happen to think God is more inclusive and welcoming and loving than I am and probably ever can or will be. But even if I imagine God in the more traditional sense of my childhood, isn’t that understanding of God also big enough and broad enough to temper our anger and angst and our hurtful rhetoric? If a change in our understanding of marriage goes against our understanding of the intent of God, is our best response to legislate morality or to provide a compelling enough witness though how we both live and speak that space is created for those others who do not think as we do to enter into a conversation with us about what we believe and why we believe it?
Right now, it seems to me, that all we are doing is pushing people away.
They are turning their backs to us rather than turning to talk.
George Fernandez says
February 27, 2014 at 6:43 pmI recall a vivid time not too long ago when I found myself in the pews at my local church. I hadn’t been in awhile and was at a crossroad in my life. Not for sexual orientation, but for job choices and whether or not to value money over profession. I was in search for a group of people to derive meaning and guidance from.
I came to the church seeking answers, but what I discovered was a reflection more on the modern church than myself. I entered the church during a weekday mass. It wasn’t crowded. Everyone spread themselves out amongst the pews giving an illusion of a full church. When the priest told everyone to shake hands with your neighbor and give the classic “Peace be with you” all of my apparent neighbors were not an arms length away. Each person essentially turned around and nodded their head to each other.
At that point I knew the church of my childhood that was supposed to bring people together spiritually and physically had changed. It now was a church where individuals came looking for personal help for a personal God with their own personal problems. The sense of community I once sought for in my church had vanished.
I kept looking for that sense of community since then. Fortunately, friends, colleagues and family have since filled that void that once had a place for the church. I now find the absence of any specific church for this and other reasons.