Daily Archives: February 14, 2006

The Mission Problem

Ok–one more quick thought. It’s about mission. One of the key problems that people aren’t owning up to–or, at least, aren’t owning up to well–is the problem that we are not working in anything even vaguely approaching a homogenous mission field. Precisely the thing that some people want and need to hear and to bring them to the Gospel is what will drive someone else away. The unchurched and dechurched people with whom I interact on a daily basis are–let’s face it–disgusted with the notion of instutionalized prejudice. And that’s how most of them see certain Christian attitudes towards women and gay and lesbian people. There are others with whom I interact far less often who are–let’s face it–disgusted with the notion that God approves things like women priests or gay and lesbian couples receiving the Eucharist together.

In a sense the Global South has it easier–their cultures *seem* (to an outsider in any case) to be more homogenous than the Western context. Thus, they know what to say when in order for the Gosple to be heard.

We’re in a much different place. I’d love for the Church to move ahead in mission–but it’s a pushme-pullyou kind of thing, isn’t it?

[And I know some reading this may be thinking–no, it’s not about “casting the message” a certain way, it’s just about bold proclamation and let the chips fall where they may! But let me tell as a teacher of rhetoric and preaching–it doesn’t work that way… Even simply picking up the Bible and reading aloud as an act of proclamation contains a host of rhetocial and theological decisions.]

Who knows–maybe a divided Anglican witness may be able to spread the gospel more effectively than a unified one…though I’d hate to see it come to that.

Theological Isolationism

Ever feel like being a theological isolationist? Like putting up some walls and saying–look, I know y’all don’t like the way me and mine receive and practice our Christian heritage…just let us do our thing in peace. You’re probably not gonna change my mind, mostly you’re just pissin’ me off, and if you *were* trying to change my mind–pissin’ me off sure as hell isn’t the way to do it… (yeah, my country/Southern comes out when I get pissed)

*Sigh* Isolationism just doesn’t work, though. The age of isolationist feasibility ended about seventy years ago and with the digital age there’s no going back. What we need are better filters, I’m afraid. Filters that enable us to talk to those who really do want to talk, to answer questions from the truly questioning, to ask good questions of our own of those from whom we can learn [preposition abuse, anyone?], and to block out those who are interested in none of the above but are just trying to stir up trouble…

Danish Cartoons

Quick note here. This from someone with a Danish last name and soon to be two daughters with quite Scandinavian names… I think that by and large American commentators have missed one of the major presenting issues in the whole international cartoon war.

We’re Americans, so when we think about Muslims our first thoughts tend to be about 9/11 and Iraq. What we miss is the cartoons in their specifically European context. We miss that it’s as much or more a class issue as it is a religion issue. I’ve give you a quick hint–most of the illegal immigrants who do the dirty low-paying jobs and threaten lower and lower-middle class jobs in Europe don’t come from Mexico…

Let’s just say it’s a very complicated issue all around.