Not quite MLK's vision
With the sad news that Coretta Scott King passed away today, I am reminded of a pastor who used MLK's birthday this month to launch an attack on a propsed law outlawing discrimination against gays and lesbians.In Seattle's own backyard they have a Dobsonito: Rev. Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church of Redmond. He loudly proclaimed a boycott against Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Boeing because of their support for this proposed law. Once you get past the ridiculousness of trying to generate a boycott of some of the biggest companies in America, companies that utterly dominate their markets to which no viable alternative exists, one is left with the feeling that Christians are against something again.
Rick Warren said in his the article, "The purpose-driven pastor", "The New Testament says the church is the body of Christ, but for the last 100 years, the hands and feet have been amputated, and the church has just been a mouth. And mostly, it's been known for what it's against," [ ] "I'm so tired of Christians being known for what they're against."
I couldn't agree more. Christians proclaim a big God. A God big enough to solve the world's problems. Big enough to pay for the sins of the world on one bloody Friday afternoon. If God is as big as we believe God is, God cuts to the chase and leads us right to the hardest things first. He demands we no longer lust for things of this world. He demands let our yes be yes and our no be no. He demands that we walk an extra mile. He demands that we give up our tunic and our cloak if we are asked.
He demands we love our enemies. Some people believe their God gets bigger if they look down on those who differ religiously, but it’s the other way around. The more we embrace those who are different, who see God in a different way; the more we try to understand them and see them as God’s people; the more we walk the color line and all the lines of difference as healers, the bigger our God becomes.
With the passing of Coretta Scott King and the recent celebration of her husband, let us ponder our answer to "How big is your God?"
positive postscript - After 29 years, Washington State will be enacting the anti-discrimination law tomorrow.
posted by Expat Teacher @ 11:25 AM
