Blog Archives
Why “Good” Friday Still Matters
As a life-long Unitarian Universalist, the premise of Holy week, which begins with Palm Sunday and leads up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday, our denomination has always put a greater emphasis on the miraculous ending rather than the horrible event that led up to Easter. The theology taught in most UU communities, at least from my experiences in church, weighed more heavily on the infinite possibilities of “new life” after a tragedy of such grandeur as the one depicted in the religious texts of Christians. The new life is not necessarily eternal life, but rather a renewed life of hope, dedication, and passion.
Unfortunately, this comes at such a great loss in the Christian historical narrative: the crucifixion of Jesus. I believe an important part of the message of holy week is left out or at least overshadowed by the ultimate focus on the sacrifice made by God and the undeserved reward that all people receive when “it is finished”. This is the brutal reality that the powerful elite, militarily, politically, or otherwise, have and use their power to eliminate perceived threats to their hegemony. And it is for this reason that Good Friday should truly matter to all people and not merely Christians. Read the rest of this entry
“R.I.P. Religious Left: Cause of Death, Silence” – Breaking Through Our Chains of Reticence
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This cannot be the epitaph of the Religious Left. If anything it must be a passionate rallying cry to recommit to our ideals of justice and service in the world. In recent months, as the religious rhetoric of more conservative strains of this country force their way into the spotlight of the public sphere (take the controversial birth control/healthcare debate, as an example), many are wondering: where are those who represent more progressive religious and political ideals?
There are two reasons why this perceived silence of the Religious Left exists. Certainly, this is a perception because in reality the Religious Left is very active and present throughout countless areas of society, related to numerous social issues, including education, health, poverty, hunger, and public policy. The first reason is that the Religious Right, and by that I mean people who are more conservative and traditional in their moral convictions, are louder and more ear-catching than the Religious Left. We are not silent as much as we are being drowned out by the screams of ignorance and acts of arrogance that surround our daily acts of compassion and mercy. Read the rest of this entry
R.I.P. Religious Left: Cause of Death, Silence
Wednesday, November 7th 2012
I eulogize today with a heavy heart of sadness and grief. For some time, it has seemed as if our beloved Religious Left’s longtime struggle with terminal silence was slowly improving, and its emotional recovery and reemergence into the public arena was only a matter of time. Alas, as the shocking election results of last night remain burned into our hearts with pain, so too is the reality that this morning the silence that consumes us is not by agency, but by definition of being deceased.
At solemn times such as these, it is the honorable thing to do to pay our respects and celebrate the life of that shared loss we feel. In truth, the Religious Left lived a very long and productive life. Actual birth records are hard to find, but evidence shows the Religious Left has traveled throughout Europe in Germany and England and across the Atlantic to the United States and to various parts of Latin America, especially Peru, over the last several centuries. Most recently, the Religious Left found its residence mainly in the U.S. due to growing secularism in Europe and religious conservatism in Latin America. It was quite central in the 20th century with proponents of the Social Gospel movement and passionate champions of peace and justice initiatives during the Civil Rights Movements giving life to this dear friend of ours. And, perhaps, the Religious Left’s biggest ally of all time was the young revolutionary from Atlanta, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who, unlike the Religious Left, had such a short time to spread his message on earth. Read the rest of this entry
