Eureka

Eureka, I found it! The answer to our problem with the UCC.

Can you imagine sitting in a Protestant church pew at Sunday worship and hearing your pastor say, “Now to be a member in good standing in this church you must place yourself on this side of the following issues!” He/she then goes on to describe how you must think and act on Abortion, Immigration, Capitol punishment, Gay marriage, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, contraception, the status of women. Etc, etc.

That is not quite how it is done in Protestant churches. Any and ALL arguments on these and a host of controversial issues are topics for discussion and debate but there are no authorities mandating particular stands one must take. No one will take away your membership, deny access to the sacraments or make demands of any sort, except invite you to reason together-discuss-share your views-your life experience in these matters.

Alas, there are those who are commissioned to research and write reports which may or may not end up as resolutions or proclamations which are sometimes voted on in various judicatories like Synods or annual meetings. But there is no mechanism to force agreement on these things.

Welcome to the post Reformation. Thank you very much, Martin Luther.

Welcome to the conversation. Please don’t pout in a corner fuming over the audacity of someone in the church of all places, bringing up how faith may affect these matters. Faith does matter. Your input counts.
Early church history reveals that there were always huge differences on vital matters of their day. The Apostle Paul made a career out of tamping down the ferocity of various Christian groups demanding acceptance of their positions on matters we hardly take note of today.

Extreme examples of fervor resulting in violence and even beheading of opponents are part of our Christian heritage. I have the exact dates when prelates who disagreed with the wording of an important creed lost their heads, Literally! It continued through the ages. Disagreeing with the beloved theologian, John Calvin caused Servatius his life. A common sport was attending the roasting of a dissident at a firery stake.Hopefully, we will not go back to those ways of dealing with those with whom we disagree.

But secular political polarization is fanned to a white hot pitch by those who are handsomely paid to stir us up.Words matter and even today wind up causing violence including murder. How to insulate the church from these appeals to our baser instincts has one important remedy. It is called CIVIL Discourse.

Jesus never shied away from controversy. He often caused it by breaking the Sabbath, affirming outcasts, including women for goodness sake.

He usually was very civil in presenting his arguments. Well, OK, except for turning over a few tables at the Temple and calling religious leaders “hypocrites” once in a while. But that was then. Oops, I think I just lost some of my argument for civil discourse. But Jesus had credentials that we don’t have,OK?