A new book: Steeplejacking by United Church of Christ Ministers John Dorhauer and Sheldon Culver.
Secular Democrats are often blamed for marginalizing the religious left. As I'm constantly trying to tell people, that blame is misplaced. It's not secular Democrats who are driving liberal pastors out of their churches and replacing them with hardline Republican-friendly conservatives!Even Jesus would have recognized this as a power grab and would have driven these rightwingers out of the temple along with the moneychangers. This is all about the lust for money and power and ego. These people don't know anything about the love of God.
If the central claims of Steeplejacking are correct, it seems as if the main reason we don't have a more powerful religious left in this country is because of sabotage by the religious right, not hostility from the secular left.
12 comments:
You are right... "Even Jesus would have recognized this as a power grab and would have driven these rightwingers out of the temple along with the moneychangers"... if what Dorhauer said were true.
Over 240 churches have left the UCC in the last two years and the UCC has experienced the greatest loss of members of any mainline church in the last year. I imagine that this would distress Dorhauer and Culver, but it isn't the result of the IRD. I think a large number of those losses come from genuine theological differences. For example, the entire Puerto Rico Conference of the UCC left this past year and it had nothing to do with the IRD, stealing property or converting members into Neo Cons.
And lets not forget, Dorhauer and Culver have a financial stake in this - as more churches leave, less revenue comes into the conference and national office. In this case, it's in Dorhauer and Culver's best interest to throw fear, doubt and uncertainty into local churches that are in conversation about leaving. The IRD makes a pretty good boogey man.
Thank you for your different take on this. I appreciate it and will go Google.
God is still speaking,
isn't she?
Interesting!
It is impossible to convince me that there are not premeditated efforts by the religious right to interfere with liberal religion in America.
For example, a couple of years ago, the office of our state comptroller (yes, a Republican) issued a statement denying a new Unitarian Universalist congregation in Texas a religious tax exemption. This is absurd, of course; before they combined in 1964, both denominations were old enough that we claim several of America's founders among our members in history.
The tax ruling was promptly overturned, of course; it was a blatant First Amendment violation as surely as if it had been done to a new congregation of a longstanding major Christian denomination. But the fact that the ruling was made in the first place is IMHO conclusive proof that the GOP in Texas has a clear bias against religious non-Christians. To them, Christians are religious; we ain't. I don't need to tell you what I think of that.
BTW, it is virtually impossible to take over a UU church in the manner described. From a standpoint of doctrine, any member can believe whatever she wants. And from a standpoint of policy and/or operations, whatever you propose, the church will kindly form a committee of interested members to look into it. Committees-R-Us. :)
Thanks, Steve. Appreciate the info. There has been 'premeditated efforts' to steer religions to the right, what with faith-based initiative bribes and what not. And because we let Bush and his cronies get away with so much for so long, I tend to believe the worst.
Nice to hear that the UU church cannot be taken over like this. You belong to a really good religion, Steve, because other churches following Bush no longer have anything 'Christian' or 'spiritual' about them.
Steve:
I don't doubt what you are saying and I leave open the possibility that it can happen. Specific to the Dorhauer & Culver book, they don't make the case their few examples of churches leaving the UCC constitute a conspiracy by the IRD or any other group. I'm not defending the IRD in any way but from my experience in the UCC, I don't see the connection. Like I said in the earlier post, the entire Puerto Rico conference left the UCC over theological differences, not because of the IRD or a conspiracy.
ellroon, UUs have their positive and negative aspects. One positive aspect is that we make jokes about our negative aspects; google "UU jokes" for a sample. Also see here for "Coffee Coffee Coffee," one of the best fake UU hymns, by a minister named Christopher Raible. First verse:
-----
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee,
Praise the strength of coffee.
Early in the morn we rise with thoughts of only thee.
Served fresh or reheated,
Dark by thee defeated,
Brewed black by perk or drip or instantly.
-----
You gotta love a self-satirical religion. Well, there are people in our great nation who don't see the humor...
Thanks for the first laugh of the day! Any religion that can include self-deprecating jokes rates high on my list!
spiritual retardation is not good.
leadership by fear is just not helpful, nor spiritual.
Grow up, do God things, and God things happen.
Being not grown in the Spirit is the evidence i see in thee, and i speak to the authors, and all who believe that dung!
A steepleSmacking is what these people need!!!
STOP turning good words into evil!!! Evidence of the Evil one...
If the Devil can not stop you from doing the right thing, he will get you to do the right thing the wrong way, in the end God will win, but don't create so much collateral damage along the way; many people need to ravel on this path..
and stop blaming anybody for you own weeknesses.
I've always wanted to ravel on paths...
ellroon
that's it!
in general, i would let that go, as anyone who knows the Truth would know that i meant 'travel'. but maybe i should have said un-ravel, for those who are Left, or more specifically LOST.
i guess i don't understand folk like your self who aren't able to see beyond this world and enjoy the good. just looking for what is not right, is not enough to make you right.
do not be decieved...pointing out the error of my ways, or anyone elses, does not make your way any better, or right for that matter.
Remain Fathful and you will become Welcoming, like God...Isn't that the point here...not my spelling...
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