Christian Cliches with Rev. Adam Hamilton

The other night I was humbled to be sitting in a fancy room with other United Methodists in Dallas in order to hear Rev. Adam Hamilton share a few words on his book set for release in the spring of 2016 entitled Half Truths. I don't think that I am giving anything away when I say that it is a book that is addresses five different cliches that Christians say that are half true (at best). The five half truths in the book are:

• Everything happens for a reason
• God helps those those who help themselves
• God does not give you more than you can handle
• God said it, I believe it, that settles it 
• Love the sinner, hate the sin

The lecture he gave addressed the first and the last half truth listed above with most of the time going to "everything happens for a reason". It was a fine lecture mostly dedicated to the older debate between Calvin and Arminius. Since the room was full of United Methodists (of the Armenian influence) the lecture was an easy sell. 

While the lecture was fine and logical, it is clear to me that these half truths are here to stay, they are a part of the lexicon of many Christians and to logically talk them out of using them will be a difficult thing to do. It is in part because these cliches are so sticky that is what makes them difficult to remove from our vocabulary.

While I appreciate the contribution Rev. Adam Hamilton is making in helping us all see the theological limitations of these half truths, I do not believe that it will help remove these half truths from our culture. As Andy Crouch said in his book Culture Making you cannot eradicate culture you can only make new culture. We cannot eradicate the poor language, we have to make new language. 

For instance, instead of saying, "everything happens for a reason" what about "everything happens and sometimes there a reason." Or, as Rev. Hamilton stated, "I love the sinner despite I sin."

Stop Doing Invocations

Every three months the city council meets and puts "Pastor Valendy" on the agenda next to the "invocation", which comes after the two pledges. So right away you know there is a lot going on with this. First of all, we don't have a clean separation of Church and State. Secondly, I am not sure there are any other religions other than Christian to give the "invocation". And in case you are not living in Texas you may not know that in Texas we have a pledge of allegiance to the American flag then we have another pledge to the Texas flag. The irony of having two pledges of allegiance is not lost on me.

Every time I attend this meeting I am always asked to come and "do the invocation." And every time I sort of wince because of what is being asked of me is not what I am able to do. The idea of an invocation carries with it this idea that the priest/shaman/clergy/ordained person somehow has the magic words to invoke the divine to be present at the gathering.

No one is that powerful to make god appear. Additionally, and more to the point, invoking god to be present is not even necessary. God is already here, there and everywhere. God was there before we gathered and God will be there once we dismiss. 

So let's all stop doing invocations. Rather, if you desire a clergy person to "do" something, invite the clergy person to help the gathered body to become aware of the presence of the divine that has been there all along.

A case for the stumbling block

They are called Stolperstein and I had never heard of them. Granted I never have been to any of the 18 European countries which you can find one of nearly 50,000 stolperstein, but still. I feel like I should know about one of the largest memorials in the world. Fourtantly, I am friends with Rev. Nancy Allen who is much more learned and traveled that I am so she hipped me to the stolperstein.

These are stones that are laid in the ground with names of people who were killed in the Holocaust. What I have come to understand as well is the stolperstein are not markers like a gravestone, but in fact tributes to those who were a 'stumbling block' (which is what stolperstein means in German) to the Nazi cause. 

What is additionally interesting to me is the art of redemption that you find in the medium of the stumbling block. 

In the Christian tradition, there are a handful of verses in the Bible about stumbling blocks. All of them cast a shadow over the stumbling block. Warnings to not be a stumbling block and even condemning those who are stumbling blocks to others. In my religious tradition, stumbling blocks are not associated with anything redemptive. 

That is what makes the stolperstein so interesting. The stolperstein exposes the redemptive quality of the demonized stumbling block. The stolperstein invite/challenge us to all @@be a stumbling block to hate and trip up evil.@@ To be a barrier to destruction. 

It is not easy to be a stumbling block, which is why it is worth remember those who were.

Finding the redemptive quality of the stumbling block is much like what God does in this world. God is the force that is able to find the redemptive quality in all things. Even those things we think are beyond redemption. It is the creativity of the force of God that continues to draw me into a deeper relationship with Christ. It was Christ who looked at the cross, the symbol for the ultimate power of the state, and found the way to redeem even that horrible symbol. Now the cross stands as a sign of hope and resurrection.

The Christian life is one that calls us to find the redeemable in even the darkest of places. I am thankful for those who show me that even the stumbling block is redemptive.