God
I was raised in a conservative Protestant church. My grandfather was the preacher, my grandmother taught the Bible School and Sunday School classes, my father was the Superintendant and taught my Sunday School class, my uncle was the Song Leader, and my aunt played the piano. I know Middle America Protestant churches, and I saw a whole lot of good in that church.
My grandfather was a very fine man. He was truly humble, and he had a lot of love. I can't speak for the never-ending stream of revivalists, but when my grandfather spoke from the pulpit, I learned about Jesus, and about love greater than self. I learned about caring for others, from his words, and from the countless visits he and my grandmother made to the sick, the troubled, or the unlucky. He was a flawed man, of course, and hardly a scholar, but he was completely genuine, in his way.
He was a conscientious objector in World War I, and served by running messages between foxholes on the front lines in France. He would often repeat his small repertoire of French phrases, always referring to potatoes as "pomme de terre". He started life as a tenant farmer, and earned money while preaching by working as a garage mechanic, and driving the school bus.
I suspect he voted Republican all his life.
The highlight of his life was a trip to the Holy Land, financed by our church. He took many slides, and wept unashamedly when showing them. His religion was pure, simple and certain. He died fairly suddenly, at 82, when pneumonia filled his lungs.
I believe he is in Heaven.
I cannot share my grandfather's simple faith. I have studied the religious literature of the world, and I believe that faith must come from something deeper than the worldly arguments that divide us. I believe in the honest depths of the souls of all men and women everywhere, and in a Jesus who feels the same way. I'm not sure Middle America will understand this in my lifetime.
I remember the missionaries who preached in my small-town church, with stories and slides of Africa and Polynesian islands, and natives turning to Christ. I remember the unambiguous clarity of their mission, as we saw it. This was only the love of Jesus reaching out in the world to save poor sinners who hadn't yet heard the Gospel. It was an Act of Grace.
These were not the same sort of people who now evangelize to the soldiers in Iraq and present every soldier with a Care package including the video game "Left Behind". The Kill or Convert message of that video game, and the book series that spawned the game, is certainly as complete a perversion of that original spirit as could be imagined. The good news is that the Pentagon has been contacted regarding this practice, and has stopped it. Never believe it doesn't do any good to raise a stir.
My little church in the 50's and 60's would have been aghast by such a game, I have no doubt. They would have stood up against such a practice, and condemned it. But they never knew about such things. I was far too young for the McCarthy era, for instance, but I don't feel it was ever part of the atmosphere, or I don't remember it. In our little church, we didn't know much, but we knew what we liked.
The children of those conservative Christians in my church are all around us today, and for the most part, they're as decent now as they were then. But there is a reluctance to align politically with those who promote more religious tolerance, and I understand that very well. Tolerance is all well and good, but Jesus is Lord, and any discussion is blasphemy. There must be an Absolute here, if nowhere else in the world, and compromise can't even be considered. It isn't religious extremism -- it's religion itself.
This may be the Gordian Knot of our society. It is the force that binds otherwise reasonable people to irrational acts. If we are truly tolerant, we sin against our beliefs, and before we can do that, we would gladly die. But when we reflect, we can see how much more tolerant we've become toward many faiths and sects, and be plainly shocked at our own changes over time.
In my grandfather, I saw a Christian faith that is the essence of what today's Christian wants to preserve, and I want to preserve it, too. If my grandfather were alive, I have no doubt I could talk to him, and make him understand. We would have found a way to uphold what mattered to both of us, working together.
I pray I find a way to speak to all those children out there who heard my grandfather while growing up, and told their own children about a gentle country preacher.
Guns
Guns weren't a major factor for me when I was growing up. We lived in a tiny suburbia on the banks of the Ohio river, on a small swatch of neatly-divided plots with modest houses, open lots that were our playgrounds, and a church on every other corner. We didn't lock our doors, and although guns were plentiful in hills and farms back away from the river, they were a rare sight for me.
I remember one time when my cousin and I were playing in our grandparents' house on that street, and we wandered up into the room of my uncle Bob. He was a young sheriff's deputy at the time, and I found his gun hidden back in his closet and brought it out proudly for us to play with. I don't remember exactly how old I was then, but I'm certain my age was still in single digits. My cousin was three years older, but not yet mature enough to respond protectively to this weapon, so I'd say I was awfully young.
I remember vividly the feel of the metal, and perhaps a mysterious sense of power, even of danger, but it was only a game. The gun wasn't loaded. We played with it a little, then put it away again. One of us must have snitched later, because I remember some commotion and warnings, and the gun was never seen again. But for a moment there was that potential for senseless tragedy at the hands of an innocent, and titanically oblivious, child.
The right to bear arms is in the Constitution. We can debate about what that means, and we can meditate soberly on the lessons of Virginia Tech and elsewhere, but I'm not prepared to go to the wall on the issue of guns alone. We have so much we need to fight for, and if some won't come along without their gun, then bring it with you. I hope we never need it, but who can say?
Gays
I refer you first to my last post, "Cartoon", on August 30.
Seriously, folks, it's not that bad. I was an actor for twenty years, and needless to say, I encountered quite a few people whose sexual orientation differed from the norm. For whatever reason, I remained staunchly heterosexual throughout. I just don't think I've ever, other than the polymorphously perverse stage of early puberty, had any leanings that way. I never felt threatened, or in danger of becoming "confused". I was the way I was, and they were the way they were. I'm not saying that to flaunt my prototypical male testosterone, but to remind you that homosexuals are not recruited.
I was listening to Thom Hartmann the other day on AirAmerica radio. He was talking with Baptist minister Rick Scarborough, and tried to remind the reverend that homosexual behavior was quite natural in the animal kingdom. This was news to Rev. Scarborough, apparently, and he reacted with shock and horror. I hate to break it to you, but it's true. The average person isn't very adept at observing animal behavior, but this is yet another area where the application of scientific research has much to tell us about ourselves.
The simple truth is that 5-10% of each species in the animal kingdom is gay. It's also true that the tendency to homosexuality is an inherited trait, and not a choice at all. If Christians want to say it's wrong, they're free to do so, but we're all going to have to understand that some of us are born different. Some skins have a different color, some men are more effeminate, and there are a lot of things we just can't help. We can argue as much as you like, but the bottom line is that people shouldn't be mistreated. Let's take that as a starting point. Beyond that, I would say that marriage is primarily a religious rite, and the question of who should marry may ultimately be a question for religion, not for politics.
Other Questions
There are many other differences beyond God, Guns and Gays, of course. Specifically, there is the question of abortion. I will say that I lack, by definition, the qualities necessary to speak with any authority on this topic, because I'm a man. I am personally appalled by abortion, but I don't want a vote in this matter. Women need to work this out for themselves.
I know that I have lived in a time when abortion clinics weren't always readily available, and there were just as many abortions then as now. An anti-abortion stance seems a lot like Prohibition, and making it illegal only drives it underground, and endangers not only the unborn child, but your pregnant daughter.
I would like to see the end of abortion, although I'm sure that's far from realistic. I would like to see widespread, effective birth control, planned parenthood, and responsible attitudes about sex and child-bearing. I know some of you don't like birth control, but on the abortion question, are we really so far apart?
There's so much more, of course. But I hope what I've provided here is a starting point for conversation between progressives and conservative Christians. I believe there's a lot we can build on, and I think it's become critically important for us to try. Because we've seen there is a wide chasm between word and deed in our nation's capitol, and a widening gap between what is truly in the best interests of both sides, and the policies being pursued in government.
For the current rulers of society, the operatives are certainly money and power, and I believe these folks have gone much too far. We need to seek out the good and decent in each of us, and have faith that after so much disappointment and betrayal from those we've trusted, those of us who spent our childhood in little churches around the country might meet up again one more time, after a lifetime spent going our separate ways, and reaffirm those values we still share.
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