Religious Roots of Liberal - Progressive Values

John A Buehrens has just written an excellent op-ed article in the Washington Post concerning the comeback of a recognition of the religious roots of liberal and progressive values.

Check it out and celebrate being simultaneously and inextricably religious and progressive!

More on the Texas BOE Curricula Rulings

"While the impact on the actual writing of textbooks may not be that dire the Texas Board of Education is clearly rewriting history to fit a conservative agenda and a Christian dominant worldview." (Religion Dispatches, 4/27/10)

For those who are following this story about the Texas BOE rulings on reconfiguring curricula that cater to a conservative-evangelical Christian perspective, there is a new article written by Lauri Lebo of Religion Dispatches that comments on the issues at stake here. The Texas BOE has went through with major rewriting and editing of critieria for Texas educational textbooks without even a hint of understanding of the 1st Amendment and the fact of prominent religious plurality and diversity in the U.S.

Check out Lebo's essay here.

My Blog Article on TCPC eBulletin

The most recent eBulletin for The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) has published a blog article I wrote about recent findings in evolutionary biology and how these resonate well with religious faith and ethics.

Check out my blog article on my blog page or at TCPC.

The Hutaree Militia

Until the recent news stories broke covering the arrest of the nine members of the Hutaree Militia charged with "seditious conspiracy" (which has a maximum of life in prison, if convicted), I'd totally forgotten about this ultra-conservative, fundamentalist and militant form of Christianity. It seems that I've so surrounded myself in a progressive Christian bubble that, with the exception of the few news stories covered in the media wires I follow, I've been rather blind to these Christian-centric, extra-fervent militia groups.

For those who haven't been able to follow the media coverage, The Christian Soldiers of the Apocalypse (another name for the Hutaree) is an organization that believes that the end of history spoken of in Revelation and elsewhere in the Bible is imminently approaching, along with the appearance of the Anti-Christ who will be the inlet for Satan and the downfall of humanity. Thus, they, as well as all Christians, are obliged to know this and prepare by forming armies for Christ. This is part and parcel of a fear of all government and especially of what has been termed the New World Order, where all nations and peoples are united (and controlled) by a central command (which will eventually be the seat of the aforementioned Anti-Christ). Apparently, their rhetoric and preparation has caught the attention of the U.S. government, which is prepared to crack down this seditious conspiracy to overthrow the current government and establish a purely Christian system of governance, one which harkens back what they call the Colonial Christian Republic before the establishment of the U.S.A. (Source: www.hutaree.com)

This dangerously intolerant and divisive movement is not only an affront and radical distortion and misunderstanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the doctrines and values of the Church since the 1st century, but it's also a manifestation of the changing times we're living in. There have always been radicals (sometimes violent and hateful) on both sides of the spectrum, but it seems to have intensified lately due to the turbulent socio-political and economic situation. To me, this militant Christian movement is in the same categorical camp as militant fundamentalists in Islam or Hinduism or any other religion. Fundamentalism, as a reaction against the cultural changes and progression toward greater tolerance, diversity, pluralism, and equality, is grounded psychologically in fear and theologically in a misappropriation and misinterpretation of the inclusive and forbearing messages of the founders/leaders of the various religious traditions.

It's sad to see these violent and hateful movements develop and influence people toward intolerance of differing others, but the most we can do is to become more informed about the groups and issues, promote dialogue with religious and cultural others, and stand up to injustices, inequalities, and hatred wherever we experience them.

For an informative and thought-provoking essay on the Hutaree, apocalypticism, and fundamentalism see Chip Berlet's article at Religion Dispatches.

Above image from Religion Dispatches website.

Evolution Favoring Religion?

A recent post by Mark Vernon of Religion Dispatches traces some findings of David Sloan Wilson who is a biologist researching and suggesting that the so-called "selfish gene" proposed by evolutionary biologists of the past is a fallacy. Instead, Wilson's research has lead him to posit the idea that we haven't, as humans, evolved toward the ends and purposes only of the self but rather more toward the aims and benefit of the groups in which individuals live.

Although I haven't delved very deeply into the findings of Wilson, what he's suggesting is quite exciting to me. The notion that we are genetically geared toward doing what's best for the communities in which we work, play, love, live, etc. just makes sense to me from my own personal experience of the world but also from the perspective of evolutionary theory. That is, the maximum potential for survival and sustainability for individual organisms seems best when the larger group of relationships is taken care of primarily. This is because we are, as most if not all life-forms, social beings and thus need the safety, security, and social identity of the community in order for us to survive and prosper as individuals. In other words, the well-being of the group maximizes the well-being of the individual, and not necessarily the other way around.

This lines up quite nicely with the beliefs and practices of most world religions which emphasize the spiritual importance of the community. In Christianity, the Church as the Body of Christ is the community that mystically participates in the love of Christ, carries the good message of liberation from sin, suffering, and death into the world, and supports each other in spiritual growth and transformation through the Spirit of God dwelling in and among its members. Though some Christian denominations emphasize this aspect of community more than others, it was certainly part and parcel of Jesus' message of the Kingdom of God and has historically always been of central significance in the life of the Christian individual. Without the Church, the individual Christian is somehow unfulfilled in the sense that the community of Christ in the Spirit is an essential aspect of the identity and well-being of the Christian. Through the support, loving relationship, and teaching of truth of the Church, the individual Christian finds a home, a family, an identity that shapes their spiritual life. As Thomas Merton has stated in quoting John Donne, "No [hu]man is an island." Amen to that.

To read the whole article, check it out at Religion Dispatches here.

This week on Unity.FM (2.15-19.10)

This week on Unity.FM radio programming there is going to be a wonderful discussion on Rev. Dr. Tom Shepherd's show "Let's Talk About It." The topic of discussion will be religion and humor. Here is Unity.FM's own description of the upcoming show this Friday:

"What’s your favorite religious joke? (Hopefully, it’s something you could repeat from the pulpit on a Sunday morning!) What is the nature of humor, and what places in the Bible is it found? Does God have a sense of humor, or is there too much tragedy in the world for that question not to be offensive? Can we laugh in the face of disaster without seeming airy-faerie or disconnected with reality? This week Dr. Shepherd’s panel will tell some good ones and discuss the nature of humor as a spiritual discipline."

It should be a thoroughly interesting and comical conversation about theology, God, humor, and the human experience.

Tune in this Friday Feb. 19, 2010 at 4pm CST to listen to "Let's Talk About It" on Unity.FM.

U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes

An ABC news investigation has discovered that some US military high-powered rifles have New Testament Bible verses cited on their sights. Trijicon, a Michigan-based company, has sold the US military these sights that essentially make the shooter see a verse like "2 Cor 4:6" as they're aiming to fire the gun.

This is an enormous breach of the US military's policy of remaining religiously neutral and un-biased. Whether or not the military knew about the verses being on the sights, they are still responsible and need to correct the problem and re-state their very explicit rules about religion equality and freedom.

What makes me shudder the most is that when soldiers are preparing to shoot a gun at other humans in battle, they are ironically doing so through a lens that is obviously promoting Christ and Christianity, which are, on my view, about love, equality, justice, compassion, and healing -- not hate, killing, violence, etc.

I would love to hear other people's reactions to this issue. Please feel free to comment on New Testament verses being put on US soldiers' gun sights.

Joseph Rhee, Tahman Bradley and Brian Ross of ABC news have the story at Faith in Public Life.

Video of How Science and Religion Debate is Like Professional Wrestling

"In this multimedia presentation, McCane and Mathewson reveal how the equally toothless performances of New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and creationists like Ken Ham share more with the garish world of Hulk Hogan and the Iron Sheik than with serious scholarship." (Religion Dispatches)

Watch the video here.

Though I'm not much of a professional wrestling fan, this presentation not only brought me further insight into the science and religion "debate" it also shed a new light on the creativity and artistic quality of professional wrestling that I surely never had thought of before.

Evangelicals and Atheists...Good Bedfellows?

The most recent show topic on Interfaith Voices radio program is entitled "Evangelicals and Atheists...Good Bedfellows?" Maureen Fiedler interviews Frank Schaeffer who has written a book called Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (Or Atheism).

In the past, Schaeffer helped build up the religious right and was part of this movement until he discovered it was full of fanatics. After leaving the religious right movement he has argued that the religious fundamentalists and the extremist atheists in our culture have a whole lot in common.

Listen to the program at Interfaith Voices.

New Study Shows Vitality of Religious Left

A new study from the University of Florida dispels some common fictions about the political power and presence of the religiously liberal and progressive in the U.S.

The study essentially states that, despite the lack of religiously liberal voices portrayed in the media, there is a burgeoning leftist religious population in the U.S. and dispels the known "God gap" theory that white Christians are conservative and most likely to vote Republican. Kenneth Wald of the U of Florida states: "We are able to uncover considerable evidence of a religious left among Christians, and the big news is that it matters electorally...Having a strong communitarian view of faith is associated with voting for Democratic candidates. Because of favorable political circumstances, we're in an age where we're likely to see a flowering of the religious left." (U of Florida press release)

Candace Chellew-Hodge says more at Religion Dispatches.

Music Topic on Unity.FM: Music as Worship and Theology

For those who are musically minded like myself, Rev. Dr. Thomas Shepherd's program on Unity.FM called "Let's Talk About It" will host the topic Make a Joyful Noise: Music as Worship, Theology, and Celebration.

This is an excellent topic for theological discussion within and outside of the Unity community. Indeed, music has been a central part of religious life in Christianity and other world religions. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors danced around fires and sang about the success of the hunt and to the Sacred for future successes. Hindu Vedic priests chanted the intricately prescribed Sanskrit words in elaborate rituals believed to appease the gods and bring about favor in human life. In the early Christian churches Christians gathered before dawn and sang hymns with each other to Christ, the Son of God and Savior of humanity.

In medieval Christendom, the Mass as a musical composition became a central component in worship, which not only set the time and organization for the service but also served as an aesthetic masterpiece of expression offered to the God of all creation.

However, music has sometimes become a "going-through-the-motions" with no gusto or spiritual fervor. This malady has been noticed and addressed in recent years with new musical movements that re-capture and re-conceive of music as an elemental part of spiritual expression, worship, and theological discourse. We can see this renaissance occurring not just in New Thought churches (in which it has had a profound impact) but also mainline and evangelical Protestant churches as well as Catholic and Eastern Orthodox congregations.

Check out this week's edition of "Let's Talk About It" on Friday Nov. 6 at 4pm CST at Unity.FM.

Humanist and Atheist Chaplaincy

"The nonreligious population is exploding, and somebody has to minister to them. Harvard’s humanist chaplain is on the road, sharing a vision of the common good, hoping his message will resonate with theists and atheists alike." (Religion Dispatches, Oct. 30, 2009)

With millions of people identifying as "non-religious" or "non-theist" in the U.S. there is a growing and often unrecognized need for spiritual or emotional counseling of those that fall into this group. Greg Epstein is one who has stepped up. He is a "humanist chaplain" at Harvard University who has recently published a book called Good Without God: What a Billion Non-religious People Do Believe (William Morrow, 2009) which discusses the reality of an atheistic spirituality.

I've been curious about this relatively new distinction people oftentimes make between 'religion' and 'spirituality.' When I ask people about the difference between the meaning of the two terms they usually retort that religion has something to do with institutions, social gathering, doctrine, dogma, etc. whereas spirituality has more to do with a personal, individual pursuit of meaning and truth. Thus, on this distinction, the notion of an atheistic spirituality would make sense, I suppose. Atheists can consider themselves spiritual but not religious; they have a personal quest for meaning and truth but not one that involves a particular institutional affiliation, doctrine, or belief about God, deity, divinity, or the like.

Since atheists do often consider themselves spiritual persons, then it is crucial that the spiritual service of chaplaincy address their particular needs as well. Thus, we must have chaplains that are trained and prepared to meet the emotional and spiritual needs of atheistic worldviews and lives, chaplains that can make that modern/post-modern distincition between religion and spirituality when working with atheist persons.

I like the idea of the work that Greg Epstein is doing. This kind of activity needs more public attention. This is an area of chaplaincy that is not much talked about but is crucial for servicing the spiritual needs of a now significant population of the U.S. and the world.

Read a review article of Epstein's new book at Religion Dispatches.

(Above image from Religion Dispatches.)

A Couple Essays on Government and Religion

Recently on Religion Dispatches there are two essays that give interesting progressive religious perspectives on the relationship between the state/government and religion/spirituality.

The first is Bruce Ledewitz's report on a panel discussion about the role of religious language in government. "Can government use religious language while remaining neutral in matters of religion?"

The second is Cady, Clarkson, and Ledewitz's article giving a good dialogue dealing with whether to reaffirm a division or separation in the relationship between religion and the state based on the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or allow some religious language in the public sphere. "Is it time for progressives, religious and nonreligious, to move toward a strategic acceptance of religious language in the public square? Or should efforts be focused on adding bricks to the wall of church/state separation?"

See more articles and essays at Religion Dispatches.

Religion and Science: Toward a Postmodern Truce

In a recent article for Religion Dispatches Philip Clayton argues that, despite the apparent oppositional relationship between religion and science, these two systems searching for truth are actually heading toward a "truce" via our present postmodern sensibilities.

It's an interesting article for those who keep up with the religion and science dialogue. Read the essay at Religion Dispatches.

"Ethics of Being a Theologian" Article in Chronicle of Higher Ed.

My good friend and colleague Danny Fisher over at his blog has mentioned an important article in the Chronicle of Higher Education delineating the relationship between the academic disciplines of of theology and religious studies. Danny quotes a significant part of the article that hones in on the important distinction:

The best theologians are scholars who have immersed themselves in many of the same academic disciplines favored by religion researchers. Like good religion research, good theology is generated by the application of sound reasoning to empirical evidence. But there is a crucial difference. The religion researcher evaluates that evidence from within a tradition of secular, academic "wisdom." The theologian evaluates the same evidence from within a tradition of sacred, esoteric "wisdom."

The import of this differentiation between the religion scholar and the theologian is that they are both employing the same methodology of using critical thinking to evaluate evidence that can be observed, discerned, and understood by the senses and the mind. However, their contexts are very disparate. The religion scholar is attempting to place her/his self within the traditions of the secular sciences, especially the "softer" sciences like history, sociology, anthropology, as well as the discipline of philosophy. Theologians draw from all of these secular disciplines, but are seeking answers from within a particular religious tradition, doing their work within and for the advancement of the tradition with which they are affiliated.

This distinction between theology and religious studies should not be glossed over and ought to be a more present aspect of public discourse. (Even though critical discussion of religious issues is largely absent from the public sphere in the U.S. I refer those interested to Stephen Prothero's book Religious Literacy).

I did find the article to be a bit overly critical of theologians and the purpose of theological endeavor. The author, K.L. Noll, tends to view theology as less sound and more wishy-washy than religious studies. Nonetheless, it's certainly an essay worth reading for it's insighful distinction between these two important areas of study.

Check out Danny's post.

Do Animals Have Religion?

"If animals can communicate, not only with one another but with us, haven’t they transcended their own condition? And, as we know, transcendence is key to religious experience..." (RD, 7.22.09)

S. Brent Plate writes on a fascinating subject for Religion Dispatches: animals and the possibility that they might practice religion.

After reflecting on a New York Times Magazine article, Plate asks a provoking question that we ought to seriously entertain: "If animals like non-human primates ... and cetaceans have shown themselves to have highly developed communication skills (possibly higher than homo sapiens), self-awareness, tool use, a refined memory apparatus, and even dreams, can they also have religion?" Religion, as with culture and language, is predicated on such abilities.

I appreciate that Plate expresses the necessity to define or re-define terms like "religion," "transcendence," and perhaps even "self," particularly when it comes to thinking about animals and the prospect of them practicing what we call religion. All of these terms are difficult enough to define when we're dealing with the plurality, diversity, and ambiguity of humanity; even more so when we tread into the realm of non-human animals. It's a truly treacherous arena of linguistic employment.

Nonetheless, as an animal lover, the matter is intriguing to me. Does my Jack Russel Terrier (Bandit) have self-transcending thoughts or experiences? Does he have his own kind of religious praxis? I could probably spend hours upon hours or days entertaining such ideas and they certainly should be pursued critically and analytically by someone. But, alas, for me, I must focus on that whole PhD dissertation thing.

Read Plate's thought-provoking essay at Religion Dispatches.

Do Atheists Borrow Religion's Morality?

Here is an interesting and thought-provoking essay addressing the issue of the new Atheistic movement and to what extent these individuals are influenced by the morality espoused by religions.

This is my favorite part of the piece:

"... if [atheists are] right (and in a raw, pure and absolutist form atheism is unpalatable to most people), then that might be an indication that there is something to all this “religion stuff” besides the temporary emotional analgesic he describes. Maybe, if wanting meaning is the way people are, and we are part of nature, then those feelings—however they express themselves—might indicate something true about the reality of nature and the way it actually is, rather than just signaling an emotional need for religious therapy."

I believe this to be a decent argument for the ligitimacy for religious belief and practice. Since most people naturally desire meaning in the form of religious and spiritual practice rather than nihilistic atheism, and this want is part and parcel of the nature of the world (since we're part and parcel of the nature of the world), then this quest for meaning via religion and religious morality may say something true about us as human beings.

Read the entire article for more.

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly Interviews Jazz Musician Dave Brubeck

Bob Faw of PBS's Religion and Ethics Newsweekly traveled to Washington, D.C., for an enlightening interview with jazz icon Dave Brubeck. Known for his widely inventive, often revolutionary time signatures, what is less known by even jazz listeners is that Brubeck has also composed religious scores for much of his career.

For Dave Brubeck, jazz not only embraces and encompasses but also enhances and augments religion. Raised Presbyterian by a Christian Scientist mother, the 88-year-old Brubeck always strives to convey the same message in his music: love your enemies.

Check out the show on Friday, July 10, 2009 at Religion and Ethics Newsweekly.

Teaching the Dalai Lama's Monks: Better Religion Through Science

"A scientist/professor in an experimental program teaching science to the Dalai Lama's monks explains why this project is so much bigger than this one program, bigger even than working to reconcile religion and science." (RD 7.1.09)

These interactions between Tibetan monks and scientists are very important in the increased understanding between religious practitioners and scientists through dialogue. However, we must keep in mind that it's not simply religion that must be open to learning from science but also science drawing insight from religion as well (which I haven't seen as often). It's important that the religion-science conversation is truly two-sided -- a real dialogue rather than two disconnected monologues.

Arri Eisen has the story at Religion Dispatches.

Purpose-Dirven Atheism

Frank Schaeffer writes an article in Religion Dispatches about the new anti-religion movement forwarded by self-avowed atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. The piece poses the question as to what extent these positions are just as fundamentalistic as the religious views they critique. Schaeffer suggests that Dawkins, Harris, etc. are indeed extremist and radical versions of fundamentalism, only from the opposite side of the spectrum from that of the religious type.

Read the entire article here.

(Image courtesy of flikr user 18romaire via Religion Dispatches)