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February 3, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
What We Have Seen and Heard, by Patrick D. Odum
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or
teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied,
"Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be
the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have
seen and heard" (Acts 4:18-20 TNIV).
Rick Warren, the senior pastor of what might be America's best-known
church, the Saddleback church, was asked to lead the invocation at
President Obama's inauguration this week. Warren's prayer was probably
about what could reasonably have been expected from an evangelical
pastor. It was an unabashedly Christian prayer in which Warren invoked
the name of Jesus at least four times, and closed with the Lord's
Prayer.
Predictably, some people are horrified that a Christian pastor would
pray a Christian prayer.
Steve Chapman, a columnist for The Chicago Tribune, wrote this in his
online blog of January 21st:
If I were a Christian, I'd have been embarrassed by Rick Warren's
invocation at the Inauguration. It was aggressively evangelical,
serving to exclude everyone who doesn't accept the divinity of
Jesus. He seemed to think he was at a revival rather than a secular
event meant for all -- in a country whose constitution rejects
official sponsorship of any faith.
Mr. Chapman isn't a Christian. He is, in his words "not persuaded of
the existence of the Almighty." He goes on to write, after his
criticism of Warren, of his feeling of gratification that President
Obama included a reference to "nonbelievers" alongside "Christians and
Muslims, Jews and Hindus" in his address, pointing out that he is
probably the first President to expressly mention atheists as making up
part of the nation. He ends his post by writing, "I can only be
grateful to Obama for reminding his audience -- including Rick Warren
-- that nonbelievers are Americans, too."
Mr. Chapman's post is another entry in the ongoing debate that arises
out of the diversity of America. The framers of our Constitution never
envisioned a country of "Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and
nonbelievers." The clause against the formal establishment of an
official religion seems to have been part of an effort to keep the new
country from inheriting the Protestant/Catholic wars of Europe. It's at
best debatable that the clause was ever intended to obliterate all
traces of religion in the public life of the nation. But with
immigrants from all over the world coming to America -- and bringing
their faiths, or lack thereof, with them -- religion in American life
has become increasingly complicated. The recent past demonstrates an
approach that acknowledges a sort of civic, "God bless America" kind of
religion. It acknowledges that faith is important to many of us, and
lets us speak of that faith publicly as long as we do so in agreeably
non-specific terms.
Warren's sin is that he got too specific.
Of course, in asking Warren to lead the invocation and taking in
atheists with his address, President Obama might have signaled an
adjustment in approach. As glad as Mr. Chapman is that atheists were
recognized as Americans, I'm at least that gratified that President
Obama included evangelical Christians. As highly as Mr. Chapman values
his rights as an American to speak out as an atheist, I value my right
to speak out as a believer in Jesus.
If President Obama had asked a Muslim cleric to lead the invocation, no
one should have been surprised to hear that prayer addressed to Allah.
And no one should have been surprised that an evangelical Christian
would invoke the name of Jesus. More than a right given by the
Constitution, speaking in the name of Jesus is an obligation that
springs from who a believer in Jesus is. He claimed to be the salvation
of the world, and embedded in the gospel is a mandate to tell the story
to the world. A Christian literally bears the name of Jesus, and to
speak of who we are is unavoidably to speak of who he is.
Mr. Chapman is understandably comfortable speaking of a "secular"
sphere as opposed to a "sacred" one, because for him there is only a
secular sphere. It's more problematic for a Christian to speak in such
terms, because for us there is only a sacred one. Jesus stakes a claim
to our whole lives; "No one can serve two masters," he reminds us. And
so it would have felt like a betrayal of his faith for Rick Warren to
pray at the Inauguration in any way other than in Jesus' name. What for
Mr. Chapman was a "secular" event was for Christians a sacred one,
because the questions we should be asking at every event and every turn
of our lives is, "What is God up to here?" and "What is my part in it?"
In a regime which did not allow freedom of religious expression, Peter
and John found themselves forced to ignore an official gag order:
"Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? ... As for
us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." And the
fact is that even in a country that allows freedom of religion, we'll
sometimes be called to follow in their footsteps. Our conviction will
at times, for various reasons, make people uncomfortable. We will
occasionally be accused of intolerance, that most unforgivable of
American sins. There will be times in our lives when we'll be asked to
be quiet, or even instructed not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus.
When that happens, as politely and gently and humbly as possible, we'll
have to say along with our spiritual forbears "We cannot help speaking
about what we have seen and heard."
Don't get me wrong: we mustn't be jerks. There's no Christian calling
to bigotry or hatred or intolerance of different beliefs and points of
view. We'll want to choose our words carefully, mindful of context and
situation. There may well be times when we'll suggest that it might be
more appropriate to finish a conversation at a later time. But, neither
should we pretend to be something we're not, or pretend not to be
something we are. If we're believers in Christ, then not speaking about
him is really not an option.
Not speaking about him is really not an option.
That's not because I feel like I have more right than Mr. Chapman to
force my opinion on others, or because I feel that the President should
favor Christians over atheists. It's not about my national identity at
all -- it's about who I am in Christ. It's about the fact that "the
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
I cannot help speaking about what I have seen and heard.
Sorry, Mr. Chapman.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
For further reflection -- from the editor Phil Ware:
For an interesting take on the whole issue of civil public discourse on
faith, one of the great intellects for faith and believing is Os
Guinness. Check out his OP Ed piece in USA Today: Faith and
Inauguration.
For an example of how this was done by the earliest believers, check
out the apostle Paul before the philosophers in Athens and note that he
quotes their own pagan philosophers and poets (Acts 17:16-34).
Let's not be ugly and pigheaded in the public square -- the Internet,
blogs, etc. -- but let's also not be afraid to share the reason for the
hope we have, doing it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15-16).
I'd love for us to continue the discussion on my blog:
http://www.thephilfiles.com
---------
(c) 2009 Patrick D. Odum <p.d.odum@gmail.com>.
RELATED LINKS:
* The Reason for Your Hope
http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=19980310
* The Abandoned Water Jar
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200207/20020731_jar3.html
* Faith and the Inauguration
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/01/faith-and-inaug.html
* Faith Web
http://faithnet.faithsite.com
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200902/20090203_seenandheard.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
BREAKING FREE, by Beth Moore
Moore teaches us to identify--and remove--the spiritual barriers that
hinder our daily freedom in Christ.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?255
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