6. Anne has concluded that she will never
truly belong to the “quarrelsome, hostile,
disputatious, and deservedly infamous
group” known as Christians unless she
becomes “anti-gay … anti-feminist …
anti–artificial birth control … anti-
Democrat … anti–secular humanism …
anti-science … anti-life.”
7. Tell that much of the story, and you have the
sort of thing the news media love to report—
another celebrity break-up, if you will. But this
time, the celebrity is divorcing God.
But that’s not the whole story. Really, it’s not
the story at all. Anne explains that, “My faith in
Christ is central to my life.” She is still “an
optimistic believer in a universe created and
sustained by a loving God.” “But,” she says,
“following Christ does not mean following His
followers. Christ is infinitely more important
than Christianity and always will be, no matter
what Christianity is, has been or might become.”
8. And so, she concludes, “In the name of
Christ… I quit Christianity and being
Christian.”
19. Kelley spoke the then-shocking truth that
“Mainline” Protestantism, which had
historically been the main form of
Christianity in the United States, was fast
becoming “old line” as it declined in
numbers.
20. ML/OL was losing ground to a “new
line” of conservative churches
characterized by seriousness and
strictness.
serious about meaning
strict regarding their
norms of belief and behavior.
This ... made them socially strong, and
this social strength made them grow – as
their adherents enthusiastically recruited
others.
23. According to Kelley, strict, serious, and
growing groups ...
are not ‘reasonable,’ they are not ‘tolerant,’
they are not ecumenical, they are not
‘relevant.’ They often refuse to recognize
the validity of other Christian churches’
teachings, ordinations, sacraments. They
observe unusual rituals … they [persist] in
irrational behavior … They try to impose
uniformity of belief and practice among
members by censorship, heresy trials, and
the like. (26).
24. The Paradox:
There is about any serious meaning venture
a certain irreducible fierceness, asperity,
insistence, exclusiveness, rigor – a
fanaticism that brushes everything else
aside. Yet that very single-mindedness
renders it objectionable to those who value
balance, brotherhood, respect for individual
diversity, mutual forbearance and self-
restraint, civic peace, pluralism ... (164)
26. “But why must there be any conflict? Are
not freedom, justice, respect for others
essential parts of the Christian faith? Ideally
they should be, if rightly understood. One
can conceive of a high-demand religious
movement devoted to justice, freedom,
beauty, respect for others, and so on, which
could effectively explain life to [humankind]
without fanaticism, absolutism, intolerance,
or judgmental moralism. That is what –
ideally – Christianity ought to be.”
27. “Yet where is such a phenomenon
to be found?”
-- Dean Kelley, 1972
In the 40 years since ...
28. a search for a cure for
CRIS
Conflicted
Religious
Identity
Syndrome
29. We know how to have
a STRONG-
HOSTILE
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY.
30. STRONG-
HOSTILE
We have the only way.
You are going to hell.
We are God’s chosen.
You worship false gods.
resistance if futile.
you will be assimilated - or
eliminated.
31. We know how to have
a weak-benign
CHRISTIAN IDENTITY.
32. weak-benign
it doesn’t matter what you believe.
all religions are the same.
all roads lead to god.
only sincerity matters.
doctrines divide.
keep religion private.
Mind/Matter: I don’t, it doesn’t.
35. From Follow the Sacredness, by Jonathan Haidt
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/forget-the-money-follow-the-sacredness/
Despite what you might have learned in
Economics 101, people aren’t always
selfish. In politics, they’re more often
groupish. When people feel that a group
they value — be it racial, religious,
regional or ideological — is under
attack, they rally to its defense, even at
some cost to themselves. We evolved to
be tribal...
36. ... The key to understanding tribal behavior
is ... sacredness. The great trick that humans
developed at some point in the last few
hundred thousand years is the ability to circle
around a tree, rock, ancestor, flag, book or god,
and then treat that thing as sacred. People who
worship the same idol can trust one another,
work as a team and prevail over less cohesive
groups. So if you want to understand politics,
and especially our divisive culture wars, you
must follow the sacredness.
37. Religions united our ancestors around
a sacred object or idol ... and that
unity gave some tribes survival
advantage over others.
38.
39. But it’s not just the idol in the
center that unites us: it’s also the
“other” outside the circle.
"Historically, the amity, or
goodwill, within the group has
often depended on enmity, or
hatred, between groups.”
(Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic Of Human
Destiny, quoted in Evolutionaries by Carter Phipps)
40. Give people a common enemy, and you will
give them a common identity. Deprive them
of an enemy and you will deprive them of
the crutch by which they know who they are.
- James Alison
43. Actuality:
It is not our religious
differences that keep us apart,
but rather a haunting religious
similarity ... that we build
strong identities through
hostility.
44. Can Christians today re-build our
identity and ethos without
hostility to the other?
45. STRONG-
HOSTILE
We have the only way.
You are going to hell.
We are God’s chosen.
You worship false gods.
resistance if futile.
you will be assimilated - or
46. weak-benign
it doesn’t matter what you believe.
all religions are the same.
all roads lead to god.
only sincerity matters.
doctrines divide.
keep religion private.
47. strong-
benevolent
Because I Follow Jesus, I love you.
I move toward “the other.”
I break down walls of hostility.
i stand with you in solidarity.
you are made in God’s image.
i am your servant.
I practice human-kindness.
48. Can there be
A strong and benevolent
Christian identity centered on
Jesus and his story (good news)
of the kingdom/commonwealth of
God?
65. “‘…do not try to call them back to where
they were, and do not try to call them to
where you are, as beautiful as that place
might seem to you. You must have the
courage to go with them to a place that
neither you nor they have ever been
before.’ Good missionary advice, and a
beautiful description of the unpredictable
process of evangelization, a process
leading to that new place where none of us
has ever been before.” - Vincent Donovan
67. in/out - WE are IN; THEY are OUT
membership - status
simplicity - dualism
complexity - pragmatism
perplexity - relativism/pluralism
harmony - transcending, integrating
love
68. a 5-part treatment plan for
CRIS
historical
doctrinal
liturgical
missional
spiritual
69. From Catherine Maresca (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd)
-
Finally, [Maria] Cavalletti emphasizes the
importance of being specific. You can’t teach
children language without teaching children a
language. She writes, “Wishing to stay on a
vague level without any specific content is
the same as wanting a child to talk without
using any particular language.” Some parents
say they don’t want their children to learn a
particular religion because they want them to
be free to choose their own. But these
children are missing the opportunity to
become spiritually literate.
70. To be initiated into the signs of their
religious tradition creates the possibility
of grasping the signs of many traditions,
and of respecting the integrity of each of
those traditions. So we need to be
religious in a particular way, true to the
faith we affirm for ourselves, in order to
foster the spiritual and religious literacy
of our children. world this is a service to
our children. We have to be specific.
71. While we don’t reject other traditions, a
particular religion has to be our starting point. To
say, “I’m spiritual but not religious” is like
saying, “I’m linguistic but don’t speak any
particular language.” Everyone has innate
linguistic capacity that gets activated as one
learns a particular language or languages.
Likewise, everyone has spiritual capacity that
gets activated and mobilized through becoming
religious in a particular way. Becoming religious
in a particular way is foundational for relating to
the religious other.
72. Children who have learned their native language well
are poised to learn new languages with greater ease.
Children who learned the language of their religious
tradition are likewise poised to grasp the sacred signs
of another tradition. As we nurture the spiritual life of
young children with sacred signs, we simultaneously
build the foundation of respect and understanding for
others’ beliefs. With spiritual literacy, faith and
interfaith formation work hand in hand, promoting in
turn a more peaceful world.
Children, Signs, and Spiritual
Literacy: An Interfaith Experience
By Catherine Maresca
73. wanted:
people in recovery from CRIS
to help others get the healing
they need.
Every sermon
Every song
Every prayer
Every interaction
Every week
78. O God, whose love
makes us one family -
May your unspeakable
Name be revered.
79. Here on earth may your
commonwealth come …
on earth as in heaven may your
dreams come true.
80. Give us today our
bread for today.
Forgive us our wrongs
as we forgive.
81. Lead us away from the
perilous trial,
Liberate us from the evil.
82. For the kingdom is yours and yours alone,
the power is yours and yours alone,
the glory is yours and yours alone,
now and forever. Amen.
(Hallelujah … Amen)
