I LOVE MY COUNTRY PASSIONATELY

I love my country passionately; that is why I want to see it do right.  There is a valid place for a sensible patriotism.  But from a Christian point of view, true patriotism acknowledges God's sovereignty over the nations, and holds a healthy respect for God's judgment on the pretensions of any power that seeks to impose its will on others.  There is a place for a sense of destiny as a nation.  But it can be authentically embraced and pursued only if we separate ourselves from the legacy of the combat myth and "enter a long twilight struggle against what is evil in ourselves."*  There is a divine vocation for the United States (and every nation) to perform in human affairs.  But it can perform that task, paradoxically, only by abandoning its messianic zeal and accepting a more limited role within the family of nations.

(Engaging the Powers - Walter Wink, p. 31)

* Captain America and the Crusade Against Evil - Robert Jewett

NATIONALISM BECOME ABSOLUTE

The myth of redemptive violence is nationalism become absolute.  This myth speaks for God; it does not listen for God to speak.  It invokes the sovereignty of God as its own.  It does not entertain the prophetic possibility of radical denunciation and negation by God.  It misappropriates the language, symbols and scriptures of Christianity.  It does not seek God in order to change; it claims God in order to prevent change.  Its God is not the impartial ruler of all nations but a biased and partial tribal god worshiped as an idol.  Its metaphor is not the journey but a fortress.  Its symbol is not a cross but a rod of iron.  Its offer is not forgiveness but victory.  Its good news is not the unconditional love of enemies but their final liquidation.  Its salvation is not a new heart but a successful foreign policy.  It usurps the revelation of God's purposes for humanity in Jesus.  It is blasphemous.  It is idolatrous.

And it is immensely popular.

(Engaging the Powers - Walter Wink, p. 30)

LETTER FROM BISHOP ROB O'NEILL OF THE DIOCESE OF COLORADO

From the Rt. Rev. Rob O'Neill of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado:

For now I write particularly to ask your prayers for those who are most directly affected by these shootings—those who are wounded, those who have died, emergency responders, medical and law enforcement personnel, and your colleagues and communities who are providing immediate pastoral care. The greatest gift we have to offer one another is indeed our collective prayer—not merely kind wishes, not simply good intentions, but deep prayer—the ability to hold, tangibly and intentionally, others in that abundant love that flows freely and gracefully within us and among us. This has substance. This has weight and heft. For it is the source of deep healing and lasting transformation

Please make this your intentional practice, and please invite others to join you in doing the same today and in the days ahead.

Deep peace and many blessings be with you.

Faithfully,

Bishop O'Neill

H/T to Ann Fontaine at The Lead.

IS THERE NO ESCAPE...?

Is there no escape from this myth of redemptive violence?  Yes, there is, but it is difficult.  To face the fear of enemies would finally require us to acknowledge our own inner evil, and that would cost us all our hard-earned self-esteem.  We would have to change, laboriously, struggling daily to transform or redeem our shadow side.  We would have to see ourselves as no different in kind from our enemy (however different we may be in degree).  It would mean seeing God in the enemy as we learn to see God in ourselves - a God who loves and forgives and can transform even the most evil person or society in the world.  Such insight would require conversion from the myth of redemptive violence to the God proclaimed by the prophets and by Jesus.  We would have to abandon our preferential option for violence and replace it with a preferential option for the oppressed.  We could no longer rely on absolute weapons for the utter annihilation of an absolute enemy.  We could no longer justify unchristian means to preserve at all costs the hollow shell of a "Christian civilization" that has, in effect, been filled with the creed of redemptive violence.

(Engaging the Powers - Walter Wink)

KINDRED SPIRITS

You're the strangest person I ever met, 
she said & I said you too & we decided 
we'd know each other a long time.

The illustration for the story is wonderful.  Check it out at StoryPeople.

FIRST WOMAN BISHOP IN AFRICAN ANGLICAN CHURCH

From Anglican Communion News Service:

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) yesterday made history by appointing the first female Anglican bishop on the continent.

The Revd Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya, 61, became the bishop-elect of Swaziland and the first woman bishop in any of the 12 Anglican Provinces in Africa. It is thought she is only the second bishop elected in a mainline church on the continent.

Her election comes as The Anglican Church of Southern Africa -- which also includes Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Lesotho -- commemorates 20 years since the ordination of women to the priesthood as presbyters and bishops. The 1992 synod was, coincidentally, held in Swaziland.

Excellent news!  Women have a long way to go to reach equality in the churches throughout the world, but The Revd Ellinah Ntombi Wamukoya's election is a fine beginning in the Anglican church in Africa.

From Torey Lightcap at The Lead:

The Rev. Canon Petero A. N. Sabune, Africa Partnership officer for the Episcopal Church, writes:

What a glorious day of Joy and wonder for the people of Africa. I was at the Synod in Swaziland in 1992, when the vote was taken to ordain women. The Synod was chaired by The Most Reverend And Metropolitan, Archbishop Mphilo Desmond Tutu and there were tears of joy and thanksgiving. At the Synod last year, Thabo the current Primate lamented on how few dioceses have women priests.

This is the day the Lord has made let us Rejoice and be Glad ! Amen.

Amen!

WHAT STANDARDS?

Tests and other oversight for voucher students will be less stringent than rules for public school students, officials predicted Monday. 

...officials familiar with the issue said they are not expecting White to recommend voucher policies that mirror those governing public schools, including letter grades and high-stakes tests for fourth- and eighth-graders. 

The rules requirement stems from a bill pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, and approved by the Legislature in April, that expands Louisiana’s voucher program statewide, not just in New Orleans. 

Students who have attended schools rated C, D and F by the state, and who meet income requirements, can apply for state-funded vouchers to offset most costs to attend private and parochial schools. 

So.  If your child attended a public school rated C, D, or F by the state, and you meet the income requirements, Louisiana will pay your child's tuition in a private school, which will not be held to the same standards as public schools and will not be graded by letter grades.

Michael Falk, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, has met with White in small groups of superintendents to discuss the issue.

He said Monday he does not expect White to require voucher students to face high-stakes tests, which means they have to pass them to move to the next grade.

Under current rules, fourth- and eighth-graders at public schools have to pass a skills test called LEAP to move to the next grade.

I have my reservations about the LEAP tests, which so often result in teaching to the tests, but how will we know if the private schools do a better job of educating students?  With our state money going to private schools, it would seem only fair to hold the schools to the same standards as public schools, whose already depleted coffers are being emptied further by funds going to private schools.

Last month U. S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said private and parochial schools that accept voucher students should get letter grades from the state.

The senator is right.

Critics contend that any such grade would be distorted, mostly because voucher students will make up a small percentage of any school’s population.

I'm afraid I have to call BS on that excuse.

All too often, the Louisiana Legislature and the governor, especially this governor, seem not to have thoroughly thought through to the consequences of the legislation they passed and signed into law.  And the full effects of lower standards will not be seen until far in the future, when the damage to the students may have already been done.

I wonder how much governing Jindal can do from afar, since he spends a good part of his time traveling around the country campaigning, supposedly for Republican candidates.  Or is he campaigning for the position as Romney's vice-presidential candidate?   Or for a major position in the Romney administration?  What makes Bobby run? One sure thing, if Romney is looking for someone with even less charisma than himself, so as not to outshine him in the personality contest, then Jindal is his man.

MY WEEKLY REMINDER

Sometime before the election in November, I hope to have not only Bobby Jindal say Obamneycare but Romney himself say Obamneycare.

SUPERHERO BOSCO NEEDS HELP!

Everyone to the rescue!  Superhero Bosco Peters has digital troubles!

A little help. Please....

My RSS Feed stopped. Google stopped putting me on its search results. Twitter has excluded me from its search (including the hashtags). Etc.

I’ve managed to fix, and thanks to others who have helped to fix, most (but not all) of the issues.

Bosco wants you to do stuff to help him out.  Check out his post, and do what he tells you to do.

Hey!  I thought superheros were to save us.

POSTCARDS FROM MY FRIENDS - FAIR AND ACCURATE

It seems that everyone (except me) has posted about Ross Douthat's opinion piece in the New York Times and Jay Akasie's thoroughly mean-spirited column in the Wall Street Journal.

From Akasie:

General Convention is also notable for its sheer ostentation and carnival atmosphere. For seven straight nights, lavish cocktail parties spilled into pricey steakhouses, where bishops could use their diocesan funds to order bottles of the finest wines.

I was in Anaheim for GC2009, and I was obviously not on the A-list for an invitation to the parties.  Akasie says he is Episcopalian, and I'd like to know which Episcopal church he attends.

Others have said that Ross Douthat's column in the NYT was thoughtful and reasonable, but I can't agree.  True, he was not as nasty as Akasie, but still...  Not that TEC is above criticism - I've been critical - but neither columnist paints a fair or accurate picture of the church.  I didn't have the heart to take on either of the columnists, but others did, many others.  Scroll though the posts at The Lead to find the responses.

I'd like to point to posts by a pair of friends of mine, not because the two are my friends, but because I like what Doug Blanchard and Elizabeth Kaeton say about The Episcopal Church, my church.  My friends paint a much more realistic picture of the church I love than either of the writers in major media outlets.

In his post titled "What Ever To Do About the Episcopal Church", Doug says:

September of this year will mark the thirtieth anniversary of my confirmation into the Episcopal Church.  I've joined or participated in congregations in Missouri, Texas, Michigan, Italy, Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.  In those three decades, I've been pleased to be part of congregations that were never large, but were full of people happy to be there, people from many different generations and classes.  Religious life was always a serious matter of education and prayer with Sunday school, adult education, Bible classes, pastoral training for laity, hospital partnerships, prison ministries, food pantries, hot meal programs, programs for homeless kids, Benedictine spiritual groups, prayer groups, house congregations, etc.  These congregations were always busy and full of life.  Most striking about all of them is that the majority of their members, including the clergy, were converts.

'Tis true; 'tis true.  Many of the members of my congregation also chose to be members of the Episcopal Church.  Read it all.

Next Elizabeth's post titled  "Postcard from Nineveh".  Already, I like the title.

The main thesis of the recent attacks have to do with holding up the recent actions of the General Convention of The Episcopal Church - authorizing liturgical blessings for the covenants made between people of the same sex, changing our canons to disallow discrimination based on gender identity and expression, etc. - as an example of why Christianity is in decline.

Elizabeth paints a picture of the church of the future, which I believe is spot on.

I don't think the church of the future is going to look anything like it does now.

I suspect it's going to look smaller, less bound to buildings and structures, more directed to caring for others than maintaining ourselves, more committed to following an unknown path to the future than cherishing dusty old maps that lead us over and over again to the past.

Of course, you should read the entire post.

UPDATE: And if you want even more on Ross Douthat, Paul (A.) says...

Our friend Slacktivist has posts on Douthat responses here, here, and here. The second of these posts posits an interesting proposition: Automobile-shaped development has produced an automobile-shaped ecclesiology. All are worth perusing.