Oops

Christians in America have the ability to effectively promote sexual ethics. To maximize respect for God and each other, sexuality should be limited to the confines of a loving, committed relationship. Such an effort would target promiscuity and adultery as unacceptable behaviors. Instead, too many Christian leaders are focused on condemning same sex couples that want to be in a committed relationship while saying next to nothing about "fooling around." Last time I checked, it was adultery that made God's top ten list of sins. And the biggest threat to the stability of families comes from infidelity rather than homosexuality.

Sexual misconduct has been in the news of late. Some of the highest ranking military officers have been caught with their pants down, including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Investigation into the years of sexual dalliance by Gen. Petraeus also uncovered misconduct by another top general. Adultery is so commonplace at the highest levels of the military that one historian dryly noted that, "marital fidelity was not a requirement of the great commanders in World War II." The only thing that has changed is that affairs by top brass are more likely to become headlines in our media-driven culture.

Sexual promiscuity by military officers is more than just fodder for juicy gossip. It has long been a favorite target for espionage by pillow-talking confidents. This is what first raised eyebrows about the Petraeus case, when emails from his paramour revealed details of his travel plans.

Another less than savory tradition in the military has been sexual harassment and rape of female members of the service. On some bases, a culture of abuse seems to develop where sexual misconduct becomes part of some sickening hazing ritual. The latest scandal at Lackland Air Force Base provides a look at how pervasive such behavior can become.

The scandal at basic training in San Antonio has already cost two commanding officers their jobs, led to charges against 11 military training instructors that resulted in five convictions. One MTI was convicted of rape; others were convicted on charges involving inappropriate relationships with recruits. So far, 25 MTIs are, or have been, under investigation, and the number of possible victims has climbed to 49.

At least one in five female veterans reports being sexually assaulted while serving in uniform. Those numbers may grossly underestimate the problem because many women do not report the attack for fear of further reprisal. Rape, of course, was the last straw for Sodom.

As an organization, the U.S. military prohibits adultery and other forms of misconduct, yet perversely has a culture that wants to look the other way until it attracts disapproval from the larger culture. Having grown up in a military family, I doubt there is anything truly unique about sexual misconduct in the military. It mirrors attitudes found in the larger culture. Power is intoxicating and corrupts the morals of the powerful. Call it the King David Syndrome.

So why do some Christian leaders seem obsessed with homosexuality when adultery is rampant and destroying marriages? Catholic bishops have recently become particularly vocal on homosexuality while looking the other way for decades while their peers sexually abused children. There is nothing about adultery, promiscuity, or pedophilia that can be reconciled with the overarching commandment by Christ to love others as we would wish to be loved. You have to wonder if same-sex marriage is little more than a diversion from addressing sexual conduct that destroys families and degrades people.

It is hard not to question the convoluted messaging on sexual ethics when high profile Christian leaders say things like this about the Petraeus affair:

"She is an extremely good-looking woman," the 82-year-old Robertson gushed. "She is a marathon runner. She runs Iron Man triathlons. So she's out running with him and writing a biography...." 

"The man's off in a foreign land, and he's lonely," Robertson added sympathetically. "And here's a good-looking lady throwing herself at him... I mean... he's a man."

Adding insult and insanity to injury, the Christian Broadcast Network issued a statement defending Pat Robertson's "boys will be boys" nonsense. These people running a multi-million dollar broadcasting empire expect us to believe that his words were taken out of context in an attempt to discredit him. That does not pass a smell test.

And let's not forget the spate of comments by Christian political leaders about rape, claiming that women cannot get pregnant from rape unless they somehow invited or enjoyed the sexual contact. Those comments were not poorly phrased. They reflected condescending attitudes toward women. These were slips of the mind rather than the tongue. Jesus warned that what comes out of your mouth betrays what is in your heart.

As followers of Christ, we have an opportunity to promote sexual ethics based on the hermeneutics of love, discouraging casual sexual contacts and infidelity. That will not happen when the loudest voices are culture warriors who disparage homosexuals that want to be in committed relationships and treat women as the root of all sexual evil among heterosexuals. The culture warriors are part of the problem rather than the solution.

Walking the walk

Proselytization is often confused with evangelism. Talk is cheap. People need to see Christ in you. Let me show you an example of why it matters.

Bob Moore is a very successful businessman and the driving force behind Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods.

In 1978, he started Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, as a small family-run business in Oregon selling stone mill-ground whole grains. The company has since grown into a multi-million dollar business that sells more than 400 whole grain products including flours, hot cereals, and organic and gluten-free products.

Bob has always put his customers and employees first. He calls his 209 employees his "second family." Two years ago, he decided to do something truly extraordinary. He gave the company to his employees.

"It's the only business decision that I could make," he said. "I don't think there's anybody worthy to run this company but the people who built it. I have employees with me right now that have been with me for 30 years. They just were committed to staying with me now and they're going to own the company."

It is a story fit for one of Jesus' parables. And Bob has taken the lessons of scripture to heart.

"There's a lot of negative stuff going into business today," he said. "It's a good old basic Bible lesson -- love of money is the root of all evil. And unfortunately, our entire philosophy today is get all the money you can and whatever way you can. It's caused many corporations to bite off more than they can chew. And it causes people to do a lot of things just for money that they feel in their hearts is not the right thing to do."

Two years have come and gone since the story of Bob giving his company to his employees first made the news. The interesting thing is that it is still touching hearts. That includes hearts in places not normally sympathetic to religion.

Here is one:

Now as an agnostic – I do not share the same religious viewpoints, but I find Mr. Moore’s example inspiring. Somehow, someway there has been this conflation between capitalism and religion that merged together to give birth to “Supply-side Jesus” that church going American evangelicals all pray to as they denounce the poor as “takers”; watching this all in real time is very perplexing. So – seeing a real life example of what I envision non-hypocritical Christianity to look like is quite humbling and Mr. Moore’s ability to lead by example is wonderful to watch.

The spectacle of Christian leaders selling politicians, greed, and militarism should perplex and disgust all that love and serve Christ. You have to wonder when people who call themselves evangelicals turn compassionate people off to Christ.

Moore's act of love also found its way to the Daily Kos, a blog portal for liberal politics. The blog post about Moore attracted a great deal of attention. Notice the title, "Compassion side Jesus and Bob's Red Mill Foods." On a site where the mere mention of religion often attracts ridicule, the reaction was uniformly positive.

The fact that this story of faith in action is still making the rounds, often popping up in the strangest of places, is an important lesson. Talking about Christ is useless, even counterproductive, unless you act in love. What was it the Apostle Paul said about love?

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Jesus commanded us to love. Anything less represents a complete failure of hermeneutics. 

It is always the same story

In Mark 10:17-31, Jesus is approached by rich young man. The man wants to add eternal salvation to his trophy case after his life of abundance and privilege. Jesus reminded the man that only God is good and pleasing God starts with following the commandments not to harm others. The rich dude was feeling pretty good about his chances for a mansion in the sky. It was then that the Lord threw him a curve.

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Sell your possessions, give all the money to the poor, and become one of His disciples. Illusion shattered. The poor rich man walked away in a funk because he had no interest in parting with his luxuries. Jesus saw that the man loved material things more than God. He challenged the man to shift his focus from wealth to God. The man refused and they parted ways.

The story is not ambiguous. Jesus calls us to put God first and wealth last. It does raise one question. What would the Lord think about our country with the poor called worthless freeloaders while the rich are exalted? Many Christians are being taught that the poor deserve to suffer and the rich deserve more and more and more. Morality is now limited to matters of sexual intercourse; you are free to worship materialism as long as you toss a few pennies to the poor and pay a tidy tax to your friendly neighborhood church.

If that characterization of America in the 21st century seems unfair, please let me know what I have missed. Be sure to explain things like this:

WASHINGTON -- After bailing out a global financial crisis, enacting a series of major tax cuts for the wealthy and waging two unpaid-for wars, the U.S. government is some $16 trillion in debt. Now, in exchange for paying off a bit of that debt by returning some of the tax rates to their previous levels, Democrats have offered, in a series of high-profile negotiations, to slash trillions in spending, much of it hitting the elderly, the poor and the middle class. This process of tranaferring wealth up the economic ladder is known in Washington as a "grand bargain."

The one thing our elected officials agree on is to sell out the most vulnerable so as not to displease the "job creators." Evangelical Christians cheer loudly for politicians that promise prosperity (for the privileged few chosen ones).

Or how about the CEO that was at the helm when bad business decisions threw a megabanking corporation into insolvency but walked away with his pockets overflowing with cash. It makes you wonder how many Christians believe that God helps those that help themselves to everything. With all the slobbering praise of capitalism, you might be tempted to think that we worship capital, that Jesus missed the mark. He should have fist-pumped the rich man for paying lip service to God while being thankful for all his treasures.

You have to admire the chutzpah of being able to call "transferring wealth up the economic ladder" a "grand bargain" for the greater good. I wonder how many Christians could recognize Jesus if He appeared among them. Something tells me that the Lord can spot hypocrisy from a mile away.

Now is the chance for followers of Jesus to remind others that you cannot serve God and Mammon. If they have any doubt, just tell them that Jesus said it was impossible. It is their loss if they do not believe you.

Clueless

The reaction of Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, to the 2012 election in America is telling. He thinks it was a catastrophe of biblical proportions, yet his focus is breathtakingly narrow.

We are rightly and deeply concerned. We must pray that God will change President Obama’s heart on a host of issues, ranging from the sanctity of unborn life to the integrity of marriage. We must push back against his contraception mandate that tramples upon religious liberty. Given the trajectory of his first term in office, we are urgently concerned about a second term, knowing that the President will never again face the electorate.

It is all about sexual politics. No one is being forced to terminate a pregnancy, use contraception, or marry someone of the same sex. Instead, Mohler and other culture warriors are angry that people are allowed to make those choices of conscience for themselves. He wants the power to regulate sex and reproduction, but dresses it up as religious liberty.

We live in a society filled with greed, materialism, and violence. The wealth of the nation is being sucked into the hands of a few. The rich throw billions of dollars into buying politicians and elections rather than creating products of value, paying living wages to their employees, and paying taxes to support the common good. People go without food, shelter, and medical care while politicians spend trillions on war and the tools of death. There is no way to reconcile any of this with commandments to love others and pursue God that serve as the foundation of the New Testament. Never mind the dust. These are the logs in our eye as a society.

What requires reform in Mohler's eyes are regulating sexuality, the secularization of the electorate, and the inability of the Republican Party to appeal to a broader spectrum of our society. That agenda does not seem all that Christ-like. A little less lust for power by Christian leaders and lot more love for others would go a long way to convince younger generations that following Christ will give their lives meaning, purpose, and spiritual wealth. 

Thankful for an end to the election season

Anyone who has ever been active in a political campaign understands that it is the work of Mammon rather than God. Everything is spun in ways that make a mockery of the commandment not to bear false witness. Empathy for people on the other side goes out the window. Loving others as you would wish to be loved is replaced with do unto others before they can do unto you. Your emotions are dominated by fear, anger, and disgust. Politics is a figurative blood sport even in the most civilized of societies and a blood bath when the rule of law fails. And the endgame is one of Mammon's biggest prizes - power.

Religion and politics do not mix because the temptation to claim God is on one side is too great. One does not have to look particularly hard to find people of faith that all but claim that God endorses a candidate, political party, or ideology. Those claims never serve God. Never. It is blasphemy because God's name is being dragged into the mud of politics with all the lies, dirty tricks, money, and lust for power. 

For Christians, we hear too often the hiss of 'who would Jesus vote for.' It should be apparent that Jesus never calls us to put aside our obligation to love each other and pretend to be Christian soldiers in the political arena. The introjection of Christ into politics is a major factor in younger generations rejecting organized religion in America. Yet, instead of taking stock of those trends, some Christian leaders have doubled down on the politics and God talk. 

One renowned Christian culture warrior spun the movement of younger generations away from the church this way:

In a Gospel perspective, this is a healthy development. It is good that non-believers know that they are, in fact, not believers. Cultural Christianity is not Christianity, and no one will find salvation through merely identifying as Christian. The disappearance of cultural Christianity will weaken the culture, but it should strengthen the church.

According to the recent Pew Forum survey, younger generations are walking away from the church because they dislike the mixture of religion and politics, the focus on money and power among the religious, and the bellicose promotion of a narrow definition of morality instead of celebrating God's love and creating compassionate communities. Rather than listen to those concerns, the culture warrior claims to represent the true believers and celebrates the fact that younger generations see Mammon rather than Christ in organized religion in America.

Some Christian leaders have even gone so far as to betray Christ by claiming that God's grace depends on how you vote.

“To vote for someone in favor of these positions means that you could be morally ‘complicit’ with these choices which are intrinsically evil. This could put your own soul in jeopardy.”

It is not how you vote that puts your soul in jeopardy but rather how you live. Love God and love others. Period. God does not count your vote. As Christians, our loyalty to Christ matters, not our obedience to religious leaders with a political ax to grind.

Now that the work of Caesar in the political arena is finished, I hope and pray we can come together to lift the crosses of those that suffer and share the good news of God's love. God have mercy on us if we fail to do that.

She prayed for a miracle

I ran across Sunny Carney when my son's doctors first mentioned the possibility of neuroendocrine cancer. Sunny suffered from the disease and described her battles with brutal honesty. Beyond her tireless advocacy, two things stood out for me about Sunny. One was her incredible love of life, even in the face of pain and discomfort. The other was her love of God. Her faith was vibrant and echoed throughout her writings.

A little over a week ago, Sunny posted this on her blog.

Many of you who follow my blog know the happens of me physically. I will somehow keep you somewhat posted but I don't want to focus on the negative. I am asking that everyone pray for a miracle. Please pray that some new treatment comes up. I'm currently taking chemo that is really strong and making me really sick. So we need to watch me on it. The kids hate seeing me suffer but they are begging me not to stop. So we are taking things one happy day at a time. It's ok to cry as long as you wipe the tears and laugh with me too. So let's do that. Happy times will keep me here. Cry when you see me then hug me and laugh. Let's have fun. Now enough cancer talk. Enough feeling bad for me. Have fun with me and treat me like the old Sunny.

Sunny went on to tell everyone to find ways of filling the empty spaces in our hearts with love. She closed her message with "I love you all."

Sunny died a week later. Thanks to social media, news of her death spread quickly among the neuroendocrine cancer community.

Those who reject God like to take unanswered prayers for miracles as proof that faith is superstition. They often joke that God cannot (or will not) heal the blind, regenerate amputated limbs, and cure disease. Yet, even if all suffering were cease, these same people would still demand concrete evidence. Without that proof, the concept of God adds no meaning to their existence.

Having faith simply means accepting the invitation to enter into a relationship with God. It does not mean snapping your fingers and having every wish and whim granted. The temptation to believe God is the cosmic equivalent of Santa Claus is considerable. That temptation brings out the wolves in sheep's clothing. Many so-called religious leaders do promise health and prosperity if your faith is strong enough. The test of that faith is usually giving them money and following their commands. If you do not receive your heart's desire, you only have the weakness of your faith to blame.

Sunny Carney's walk of faith gave her the strength to comfort others even as she suffered. Her love for God and others did not waver in the face of life's storms. As she put it, "everyone has some kind of cancer in their life." For some, that cancer is abnormal cell growth or other diseases in their body. Others struggle with poverty or other social injustices as their cancer. For too many in America, it is lust for power, money, and other trappings of materialism.

Yes, Sunny asked that we pray for a miracle. Rather than a new treatment, the answer to those prayers seems to be an end to her suffering. Perhaps the real miracle is all the people who learned to count each day as a blessing because of Sunny, who now draw strength from her courage. Cancer never had the power to shake her faith or diminish her love.

I pray for God's love to comfort Sunny's family and friends as they mourn the loss of her physical presence. I also give thanks for her courageous walk of faith.

Small voices

I spoke to my father on the phone yesterday. His memory and word-finding difficulties were out in force. It was painful to hear him struggle. Perhaps it is a blessing that he does not appear to be aware of how much his brain is failing him. Perhaps he wonders why there are more family members and strangers around the house. I wish I knew.

Hanging up, I had one of those strange coincidences. I am was struggling to find the right words to pray. Do I pray for a miraculous recovery or a rapid end to his suffering? I have no idea what would be best for him and for those that love him.

As I struggled with what I should offer in prayer, a strange thing happened. The Grateful Dead's "Box of Rain" came up in the playlist on the stereo. One verse stood out:

Walk into splintered sunlight, 

Inch your way through dead dreams to another land. 

Maybe you're tired and broken,

Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear

What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?

A box of rain will ease the pain, and love will see you through.

It works as a prayer for what I was feeling at that moment. All I want to know is what I can do to see him through. Somehow praying for what I want or he might want seems presumptuous and a tad arrogant. I have no clue what is truly best for him. Doing what I can to ease this time for him is all I really need. No remorse over things not said or not done.

Be it ever so irrational, that just seems to be the way the Holy Spirit speaks to us. The words we need to hear suddenly appear and there is a moment of near perfect clarity.

All too often, it was not the answer I had hoped for. It is not the easy path. On the contrary, more often than not, it is the path filled with hairpin curves, rocks, and thorns. It is also the path that makes you feel most alive.

It boils down to the difference between superstition and faith. Superstition is thinking you have control over the actions of God. Faith is about learning to listen to God. Less about controlling the universe and more about it understanding it.