Taking Back Christianity

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 10:55am

This is a sermon done a week ago during my church's Sunday Eucharist by The Rev'd Canon Lesley Northup. It was one of the most amazing sermons I have ever heard. In it she deals with the religous right, abortion, gay rights, the war in Iraq, torturing of prisoners among other things. It's long but well worth a read. Let me know what you think, even if its contrary.



Today is the feast of Christ the King. This is the sermon I was going to preach. It wasn't bad. All about Christ the King. So what? What has that got to do with our lives today? I don't want to preach about this. I want to preach about something that's really important. I want to preach about Taking Back Christianity. I don't know about you, but I'm embarrassed to death to call myself a Christian these days. And I resent that. The name "Christian" has been hijacked, taken over, and practically patented by a particular sect of Christianity, and it's been stolen right out from under me. How dare they!

I read that this latest election was decided by something called "moral values." That is, specifically, opposition to abortion and to gay marriage. Those were the two moral issues that made all the so-called Christians stand up and be counted. Christian values, Christian morals-we are told that these won out in this election.

Well, they aren't my Christian morals, and I don't want to be that kind of Christian. I don't want a name that implies I think or feel or believe like people who make these their highest values-or fears. There are many Christianities out there-always have been. The Religious Rightwing, the fundamentalists, the zealots, the anti-intellectual evangelicals--have a lot of nerve trying to claim that their very narrow brand of Christianity is the only one.

I say it is time true Christians-and by that I mean people who believe in and follow and actually live the teachings of Jesus-it's time true Christians reclaimed the name "Christian" and stopped being coopted by persons who have little knowledge, understanding, or practical application in their own lives of Christian principles.

Oh, I know we're not supposed to say that. Not polite. Not discrete. Here in the Episcopal Church, we're just coming face-to-face with the fact that the great Anglican sin is not murder or betraying your country or even apostasy, but indiscretion. We've been taught all our lives never to say anything too harsh about religious. Do and say anything for the sake of the mythical ideal of "Unity," so we can keep everyone in the fold, no matter what they believe or do.

Not long ago, we had a good ol' evangelical Archbishop of Canterbury who said and did totally stupid things, but at least you knew where he stood. Now we have a good ol' liberal Archbishop of Canterbury, an intellectual one-one who actually reads books-and he has been so terrified of speaking his conscience that he has allowed a tiny group of African and fringe-nation bishops to dominate the entire Anglican Communion. The fact that these bishops are "people of color" prevents a good liberal from pointing out the truth-that they are poorly educated, theologically unsophisticated, socially regressive, and very happy to very publicly accept expensive gifts and large sums of money from the small but wealthy rear-guard traditionalists of the Episcopal Church in exchange for working everyone into a lather about the consecration of Gene Robinson.

Whoops! We're not supposed to say that either. And Gene Robinson isn't supposed to say that he's gay. It's OK that he is gay-as long he just lies about it as thousands of other gay clergy have over the years. Whatever you do, don't tell the truth! Well, I want to tell the truth. I'm tired of counting the angels dancing on the heads of pins while our culture collapses around us. It's not just the church, as the election proved.

Real Christians have to stand up and say, "Morality? This is what you call morality? You've got to be kidding!" Real Christians have to point out that "Christian" means "someone who follows the example and teachings of Jesus," not "someone who will swallow whatever a preacher will tell them." Real Christians have to take this book that everyone keeps referring to, this Bible, and actually read it and find out what those teachings are.

In the book, Jesus never said a word about abortions. Some Christians oppose aborting a fetus that cannot even live on its own, but this deeply held conviction did not prevent millions of good life-respecting Christians from voting to continue an unprovoked and falsely justified war of aggression that has killed tens of thousands of perfectly innocent people who were already living. I think Jesus probably would not have liked this.

In the book, Jesus never said one word about homosexuality. It probably never even crossed his mind. As a matter of fact, Jesus very seldom talked about "thou shalt nots"-about terrible things you weren't supposed to do. His morality was about what you were supposed to do. He was crystal clear about "thou shalts." Here is what morality is, according to Jesus: Feed the poor (there are about 12 million people in our country who worry daily about whether they will have food); comfort the prisoners (probably includes not torturing or shooting them); accept the outcast (the queer, the single mother, the street person, the Muslim); shelter the homeless (and stop creating more of them); be good stewards and shepherds (stop raping the environment); depend on God, not on wealth (and don't collect it at the expense of the poor); treat others as you would have them treat you. And FIGHT for justice.

This is the morality Jesus taught. This is Christian morality. This is what "good" Christians endeavor to do. Everything else is self-righteous prooftexting of the old Hebrew Scriptures and unworthy of the adjective "Christian." Morality? Murder and violent aggression are immoral. Allowing people to wallow in poverty is immoral. Raising children to hate others for any reason is immoral. Rewarding the rich and greedy is immoral. Lying is immoral. Suspending basic human rights is immoral. Torturing prisoners is immoral. How dare the supporters of a list of atrocities like these claim to be voting for morality?

I'll tell you why they claim it. They think they're "moral" because their priests and pastors and preachers tell them they are. These insecure and often power-hungry leaders feed on people's basest fears, they prey on the weak, they threaten true believers with hell on earth and hell afterward. Now, that's immoral! It doesn't matter that most of it is lies. It doesn't matter that the preachers and priests have proven themselves a dismally badly behaved bunch themselves. It doesn't matter that the churches are temples to greed and self-indulgence and self-righteousness.

These people have been allowed to claim the title "Christian" because we have done nothing to stop them. We good Episcopalians and other liberals-yes, I'm using the dreaded "L" word-have chosen good manners over fighting for justice, and now we have to face the fact that we have lost Christianity. We have handed it over, lock, stock and barrel.

It's time to take it back! And to do that we're going to have to "get real." A small example: There isn't one of you here at St. Stephen's who doesn't know, like, respect, appreciate someone who's homosexual. I was going to ask everyone gay here to stand up, but I guess I won't do that. I'll stand here, though, and anyone who wants to join me can. Look around you. Gay people cook your picnics and wear your vestments and sing your music and raise your money and run your outreach and sit on your vestry (and guess what? even your school board!)

How could any of you-our brothers and sisters--morally have voted for a candidate who used homophobia to mobilize votes, who spread and encouraged hatred of gay people, who would deny gays such simple civil rights as being able to visit a partner in the hospital, and who used Christianity to support that position? Get real-these are your friends you voted against. But maybe that issue wasn't as important to you as it was to the "moral majority."

So, let's get real--we act viscerally, we are easily swayed, we don't want to look too closely at the consequences of our actions. We find it hard to really follow Jesus' commands. We pick and choose our moral positions to make ourselves most comfortable. But since there's one thing we're always moral about-being polite--we don't speak out against the theft of Christianity, we don't want to tell the harsh truth about the hijackers of morality, we don't dare mention that the emperor has no clothes. We think we have taken the high road by doing this. What we have taken is a dead-end to nowhere.

Get real. Read the book. Listen to what Jesus says. Do the right thing. And speak out. Rise up and take back Christianity, so that we can be proud to be Christians again. Talk loudly and often about real Christian morals. Practice them conspicuously. Refuse to be intimidated when bigotry and fear and power-hunger drape themselves in the robe of morality. Apply your morality to your life and your votes. It is not just an election at stake here-it is the future of Christianity, and the ethical face of tomorrow's world. If we don't stand up and take back Christianity, we can hardly expect our children to do it. The time is now. Get real. Get Christian.

(She recieved a standing 5 minute ovation at the end - generally applause at the end of a sermon is never done) Updated On: 12/8/04 at 10:55 AM

[Jess1483]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 11:03am

What an amazing sermon. That's exactly how I feel. I'll comment more when I get back from class.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 11:11am

well now.. broadwayguy2 certainly approves.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 12:18pm

She's an amazing lady. My favorite part was "In the book, Jesus never said a word about abortions. Some Christians oppose aborting a fetus that cannot even live on its own, but this deeply held conviction did not prevent millions of good life-respecting Christians from voting to continue an unprovoked and falsely justified war of aggression that has killed tens of thousands of perfectly innocent people who were already living. I think Jesus probably would not have liked this."

[2day4u9704301]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 12:21pm

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing that!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 12:35pm

That was brilliant. I'm going to forward that to my uncle. He's an Episcopalian priest currently in Cyprus. I know he'll enjoy it.

[HeartinNYC]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 12:54pm

Thanks for sharing that, Marc! WONDERFUL!

I work for a very liberal Christian Church, part of the United Church of Christ. We embrace all, perform same-sex unions, and focus on what Jesus SAID, not what his "followers" say... If you want to check out the national site, you can do so at www.stillspeaking.com. The slogan is "God is still speaking" - and that's to EVERYONE! :)

[mominator]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 2:08pm

Thank you for sharing that Marc. It was needed on this snowy Monday!

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 2:42pm

Thank you so much for sharing this - its one of the best reads I've had in ages.

[DaysOfWine&Roses]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 2:59pm

A-MEN!!!!

I have some problems with God right now, but I have even bigger problems with Christians. Christians are enough to make you not want to be Christian.

Thank you for posting that.

If you are feeling brave, perhaps the most active Christian message board on the net is at www.cmcentral.com

and you could post it there. They'll get their feathers in a big ruffel because they almost all think like that.

Again, thanks for sharing. Sometimes I think am I the only sane Christian left in this country? That sermon gave me some hope that there's other sane Christians out there, I just have to find them.

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 3:03pm

Thank you very much for sharing that- that was one of the most amazing sermons I've ever read!

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 3:34pm

The church I belong to is an interesting one. It is a high Episcopal Church, incense and all. On average there are about 200 people in the congregation, not counting choir and clergy. We have a large outreach program, including a large AIDS ministry. There are usually about 5 clergy on the altar every Sunday: 2 paid, the rest non stipendiary. The congregation is comprised of a wide variety of people, including a lot of families with young children.

There are a couple of interesting things that happened during the sermon. When she finished the part about some Christians who are against abortion but have no problem with the war, a couple (who were not members of the congregation) stood up and stormed out. As they reached the door Lesley loudly asked if anyone else wanted to leave. They shot her a nasty look and then left.


When she got to "I was going to ask everyone gay here to stand up, but I guess I won't do that. I'll stand here, though, and anyone who wants to join me can." at that point I stood up (I was thurifer that Sunday so I was on the altar) followed by ten other members of our congregation and more than half of the choir in the choir loft. We have a few more gay and lesbian members, but the night before a lot of us had volunteered to work the White Party in Miami - so that more of the proceeds could go to Aids Resource - consequently a lot of people didn't make it to church the next morning.

I think the standing ovation she recieved at the end of her sermon really surprised her. She is an amazing speaker, all of her sermons are direct and hold nothing back.

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 3:59pm

That definitely deserves a standing ovation. Cheers!

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/6/04 at 6:51pm

[Anne5122]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 2:49pm

Ok, I'm going to be the only naysayer and say that I did not agree with the message. I appreciate the thought and logic process that went into it and to each his own, but I did not agree. I would be one of those labeled in the message as a follower instead of a true Christian. I don't agree that I'm a follower and have read the Bible as the pastor exhorted her congregation to do and I have different conclusions than the ones that she had. But I'm not going to argue, but I had to stick my nose in and say nay. But thanks for sharing.

[Greg_in_FLA]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 3:16pm

Marc, you guys are truly blessed to have someone as enlightened as her leading your Church. I am so impressed by her sermon that I am going to link your post here from my blog so that folks who don't normally visit BWW will have an opportunity to read this wonderful sermon. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 5:03pm

Actually Lesley is not the pastor of our church, just one of the non-stipendiary priests who help us celebrate mass every Sunday. Our Rector , instead of insisting on celebrating and preaching every week , shares the work, consequently we get a wide range of styles preaching on different Sundays. I might add that all of the preists at our church are just as good.


Ann - Could you be more specific, what are your exact problems with the sermon. What are your "different conclusions"?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 5:21pm

Marc,

How long have you been attending Mass at this church? How did you find out about it?

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 6:55pm

wow what an amazing sermon. I wish my pastor preached like that it would actually help me to get to church. My pastor knows I am gay and has no problem with it and she herself is very libearl but her sermons tend to be more moderate and it makes it hard to go to church.

[B.B. Wolf]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 7:23pm

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of this sermon. Wonderful stuff! Comparing abortion to the war in Iraq was kind of a humongous leap though. A bit of a blatant liberal partisan stretch. But that's okay. I agree overwhelmingly that the name Christian has been dragged through the mud by this presidency and am thoroughly disgusted by it. As the woman said, read the book! Come to your own conclusions about what Jesus was saying. What most of us find is that there isn't much of a "hidden meaning" in it. Jesus was a pretty straight forward kind of guy.
"'Love the Lord your God...' and the second is like unto it "Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Pretty straight-forward, indeed.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 10:18pm

B.B.,
it is no more extreme or more of a stetch than many of the hate mongering lines used by the religious right... in fact, I find it LESS extreme and less of a stretch.

[nobizlikeshobiz]

Posted: 12/7/04 at 10:28pm

I had to go to a lecture on marality yesterday for my confirmation, and the deacon who was talking said that it's evil and a sin to say that the church's veiws on homosexuality are "mean-spirited and narrow-minded", which made me really mad. He also said that if a newspaper which belongs to your sister is burning up in your room, and could kill people and destroy valuables, it would be a sin to touch it because it doesn't belong to you. hmmm, ok then. I wish my church was more like yours!

[broadway geek]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 7:02am

"In the book, Jesus never said one word about homosexuality. It probably never even crossed his mind."

No, put the apostle Paul did. Romasn 1:26-26.

"26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

In my view, that certainly talks about homosexuality. And although you may attack me for being intolerant. I believe that homosexuality is a sin.

Also, I believe that good sermons have Bible passages to back up what they say. Sorry, I had to get that out.

[HeartinNYC]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 8:50am

This passage from Romans, written by Paul, is frequently misinterpreted. The pastor of my church is a theology professor who studied original ancient biblical texts AT LENGTH at Yale Divinity School for many years, and he is a very learned man. He is a staunch heterosexual, and as mainstream as you get. But, he explained to me this biblical passage:

In the original Greek writing, when Paul is addressing Rome and highlighting that "even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones...in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another...men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion", Paul is referring to the fact that these people were practicing SEX ACTS WITHOUT LOVE AND COMMITMENT. He is talking about the TOTAL ABANDONMENT of real, caring relationships, and NOT about the sexual orientation. This passage had NOTHING to do with sexual orientation per se. This passage has been singled out and used for centuries to use as bigotry against gay persons.

Now, unless you are a student of and understand the nuances of ancient Greek, or Aramaic, you cannot possibly interpret Biblical text correctly. It also states in the same books that woman should not braid their hair, people should not wear gold, and that no one should eat shellfish. Again, obviously, all cultural references - just like the other passage. Is wearing a gold watch a sin? Well, if you interpret being gay as a sin, then you'd better get rid of all your gold jewelry. It's the same concept.

Obviously, Jesus emphasized embracing and loving ALL people. He never commented on homosexuality. I do think that if it was that important, he would have discussed it!!

And if you "need good Bible passages to back up a sermon", make sure you understand the original meanings and intents of those passages - or they are worthless.

Updated On: 12/8/04 at 08:50 AM

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 12/8/04 at 9:01am

HeartinNYC - Hallelujah! You said it, friend!