Another quote from Maugham's "Rain" - Rev. Davidson speaking to Dr. Macphail about Sadie Thompson:

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝑆ℎ𝑒'𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑢𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟. 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑒. 𝑆ℎ𝑒'𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝐺𝑜𝑑. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦. 𝑆ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑢𝑠. 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙."

𝐷𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑛'𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠.

"𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝐼 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑜, 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘-𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐵𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟."

Evangelicalism's New Mantra

Evangelical preaching's new mantra: "if you're more disturbed by the sin out there than by the sin within, your faith needs some work."

The old stuff of the Olde South, or Moody Bible, "smokin', drinkin', and cussin', and card playin' and goin' to movies, too" - all bad, so let's preach about it, and preach about it like hell.

In the newer, more up-to-date, guise, the preacher as therapist and the church as couch-cult - inner peace, and better parenting, being a more loving spouse and a better worker, and getting ahead in life, fighting debit and growing rich, and then going to heaven, and so on.

In the Olde South, slavery and war, and then Jim Crow ... and through out the nation, in places like North Dakota and Wisconsin, the devils of racism, homophobia and Betsy DeVos and her schemes to further the interest of wealth at the expense of everyone else.

The "sins within" are seductive, stealing our time, and dominating our prayers, as we cascade into ourselves all the more, obsessing about every spiritual flaw and hiccup, every little blemish of the soul, and every wrinkle in our spirit.

Meanwhile, the world burns, and we go to church to forget the world, and what better way to forget the world (which is really forgetting God), is to focus on our "inner sins." There we go, now we got it - self, self, and more self ... in the quest for spiritual perfection, inner peace, health, wealth and happiness. The church becomes a dispenser of hair coloring and wrinkle cream, nostrums and snake oil.

Preach on preacher and tell me about myself ... but, preacher, please, whatever you do, don't talk about the environment, global warming, or children in cages, or the lies spewing out of the mouths of our leaders, or the greed of Wall Street and the madness of might and power.

Don't talk about the "sins our there," because then I have do something about them ... I have to resist and protest, get organized and get involved, and fight for justice and peace.

I don't wanna bother with that - I want to deal with my inner peace and my nerves.

That my nerves and lack of inner peace might be connected to the "sins out there," I don't wanna hear it.

I wanna feel better; I don't want to be called by Christ to take up the cross of the world, the world's pain and sorrow, the injustice of the places where I work, the cruelty of racism which I mostly want to ignore, even as my neighbors buy their guns and hang confederate flags in their home, and I move to neighborhoods where everyone looks like me.

Nope, I don't wanna hear about any of that "sin out there stuff" ... I want to homeschool my children, or send them to private christian academies, so they don't have to deal with other religions and cultures, so they won't have to think about "the other America" and the children at the border, so they won't have read great literature and learn about science, and learn how to think for themselves. Thinking is painful, and we don't need any of it. We all just want inner peace, and a few charities we can support, so we can feel good about the "good" we're doing.

Ok preacher?

You got that? I hope you do.

We Will Recover

The genius of American Democracy is that neither "side" should ever gain a permanent victory.

The nature of the beast should then always offer a degree of tension, and likely frustration, too, as the two sides vie with one another to implement their vision (and it most always boils down to two sides, here or in other parts of the world).

When Eisenhower agreed to run for the Presidency, he became a Republican, believing that the US has been in the hands of the Democrats for too long. Emotionally, politically, Eisenhower could well have been a Democrat, too. But he wanted to balance the system.

For me, we're in a period of time when the Oligarchy has essentially taken the upper hand, using both Republicans and Democrats to game the government for their advantage. America, more than ever, has fallen in love with money, fame, fortune, and the power associated with all of it. And for millions more, who always seem to be locked out of the house of plenty, a deep and often violent resentment fueled by tribalism and fear.

It's always been about money, but somewhere along the line, the scales were tipped toward a particularly venomous version of money - no longer the WASP sense of duty to a nation, or even a semblance of some kind of Christian or Jewish orientation, but now just greed, and hanging around the edges of power, those in the tattered rags of evangelicalism yapping on about Cyrus and Israel, and a whole of biblical cockamamie.

Democracy is threatened, as I see it.

Yet, we will recover, not because we're Americans, or because we're the apple of God's eye, but because we're human beings, and this is how history totters along, always out of balance, and always seeking balance, and sometimes, in those brilliant moments of peace and wellbeing, actually achieves some degree of balance, wherein the two sides, locked in struggle, enable the better angels.

Empires come and empires go ... and along the way, enormous suffering, and always war. Yet science discovers, musicians compose, poets write, historians publish, people fall in love, children are born, some rise to greatness of heart and vision, and lead nations to better days.

It pays to be cynical in order to be honest about humanity's inhumanity to itself ... but it pays to be hopeful lest one give up and sink into despair or some form of quiet hedonism. As long as poets write and artists tell their stories, there is hope for tomorrow.

I don't know the timeline. A physician-friend said to me a few days back about socialized healthcare - "We'll eventually get there, but not likely in our lifetime."

He may be right, but I hope he's not, and I hope that we can move things along a bit more swiftly.

What "Evangelical" Could Mean

Been thinking a bit about the word "evangelical."
And what it could mean.

It could mean hope and welcome and peace.
It could mean "care for the earth."
It could mean "affirmation of science" and knowledge and reason and learning, the life of the mind, the world of our thoughts, the power of the god-given brain.

Yes, it should mean conversion, too.
From self, to selflessness.
From anger to kindness.
From fear to faith.

With the God of Psalm 23.
The God and Father of Jesus.
The kingdom of heaven in the Sermon on the Mount.
And the God of all peoples.
The God of so many guises and cultures.
The God always transcendent and mysterious.
The God so high above, and yet always close at hand.

Conversion, for sure.
Getting saved, you bet.
Not so much to go to heaven.
But to be of this earth.
And to be of one another.
As God intended.
If the Genesis account has any meaning.

Conversion, in so many ways:
From white privilege to the privileges of life for all.
From male dominance to equality.
From the fear of sexuality to it's celebration.

And what that could mean to the nation.
For the common good.
For the ties that bind.
For liberty and justice for all.
A citizenship defined by faith, hope and love.
Tearing down the walls that divide.
The rules that hurt women.
The borders that God despises.
The politics of wealth and poverty.

To build up and make new.
To elect women and men of good conscience.
To understand the importance of taxes.
To remind the rich of their responsibilities.
To provide living wages and ample benefits.
To do God's will on earth ...

It could mean so many positive things.
Gospel things.
Christ things.

It could mean things profound and good.
It could ... it really, really, could.
If only it would ...
If only it would.

Needy and Greedy

Is a person born greedy?
No, I think not.
But born needy, for sure.
For music and mercy.
For a soft bed and gentle hugs.

And if those needs for love and security,
Are not met, need segues into greed.

A greed that can never be satisfied.
Because greed grabs and takes and
Hates,
Hates,
Hates,
Those who have what it wants.

That's when greed turns cruel.
It shows up a lot in the rich and the powerful.
Because greed works. often times.
Greed gains success, and builds country clubs,
And a few towers along the way.
And even becomes a President!

Greed grows cruel.
Hating those who have what it wants.
And worse, hating those who have little.

Blaming them for their poverty.
Naming the lazy and calling them rapists.
Building walls around them.
Shaming them and demanding of them.

Strange that evangelicals should join the chorus of greed.
But maybe not surprising, because evangelicalism hollows
Out the soul and depletes the spirit with empty promises.
Tells people they don't have to think.
And only do as they're told.
Regaling the the people with promises.

Promises that offer gold, and deliver lead instead.

And so the soul turns greedy all the more.
It wants god, more god, more faith, more this, more that, and what's the difference for the word, "more"? More of god, more of money, more of anything, everything ... because more has no boundaries, no rest, no purpose other than more.

And in Jesus' name, the evangelical soul joins the chorus of condemnation of the poor ...

Building walls of ill will toward those who, with their poverty, 

Embarrass the evangelical.
Those of whom Jesus might well have spoken a "blessed are."
But no blessing in the evangelical soul.
The greedy soul.
The soul of the damned and the soul of the damaged.

And in turn, the damned soul can only damn all the more.
And damage everyone and everything it touches.

Too bad when the needy, in the ebbs and flows of life,
Which can be mighty cruel, we all know,
Should become greedy.

And worse, when that greed acquires money.
And the pride of work and achievement.
And fame and notoriety.
In a culture that bows down before Mammon.
A culture that loves filthy lucre.
And admires the self-made jerk.
And believes in the virtue of skin color and privilege over others of darker hue, or other tongues.

Too bad when that happens.

Too bad ... for everyone.
For everything.
For every creature under heaven.
All creatures,
Great and small.

When the sad and greedy soul takes command.
And leads a nation down the road of perdition.

There will be a time of reckoning.
There always is.
A time to regain balance.
And to hear Jesus say, "Blessed are ..."

To the reader of these words.
Be of good cheer.
Be mindful of your spirit.
Your soul.

Do not be tempted by hate, even righteous hate.
But choose the goodness that we call love.
Open arms.
Open minds.

And truth will walk on in.
And along with truth.
Compassion.
And with compassion, all that is sacred!

Hiding in the Church

"Hiding in the church" he said.
A reminder of how the biggest
Opioid in America
Is its religion.

Especially evangelicalism.

All talk and hymns and praise music.
Me and Jesus.
Jesus and Me.
Jesus forgives.
I'm saved.
When I die.
I go to heaven.
Or, with a little luck (Ha),
Jesus comes before I die.
And wipes out the bad guys.
With his guns blazing.
Muscles flexing.
What a Jesus, white and beautiful.
Beautiful and mighty.
My Jesus ... mine, mine, mine.
All mine.
And then I go to heaven.
*Fold hands now, sing piously, eyes closed, sway gently*
Let the world know how much you love Jesus.

And the opioid does its work.
Hiding in the church.
Woo hoo ...

If Religion Has to be Sold

No doubt, one can look at State Churches and find a dozen or so reasons to dislike their story.

Yet, one good thing about State Churches, one very good thing: they have to advertise ... they just were (yes, yes, yes; I know all about how they were used by the State, and all other things that our Protestant forebears rejected). But here's the point: they didn't advertise, they didn't try to sell, and is there not a kernel of truth here for us to ponder?

Here in America, sans State Churches, we have churches competing with one another, and if it's bad enough among mainline groups, it's out of hand with evangelicals.

From the get-go, whether it be the original Anabaptist Movement or today's evangelicalisms and megachurches, it's all about salesmanship, promises and outlandish promises, about health and healing, prosperity and personal development, salvation and eternity ... all trying to sell themselves to the public, all boasting that "my church is bigger, better and brighter than your church."

We know, frighteningly so, how self-centered most of us are, so any effort at "selling religion" will have to appeal to self-interest, which means religions has to be skewed away from God to the believer, from the power of obedience to God's love (deliverance from the self) to the poison of fulfilling one's desires.

As for preachers: with their odd evangelical hair styles, it's all about eye-candy ... with preachers strutting across the stage like bantam-weight roosters in heat ... supported by the latest tech and music.

No wonder so many evangelicals have gone for 45 - with his evangelical hair and his trophy-wife on arm, private jets and gold-plated everything. He speaks in soundbites that sound great and mean nothing.

If religion has to be sold, it immediately loses some of its value, and the more it's sold, the more it cheapens itself.

So, whatever might be wrong with the State Churches, they didn't have to sell themselves, and perhaps, in the long run, they're better off, then and now ... as Christendom changes and the church loses its place in history.

God will provide, I have no doubt ... the Spirit of God is irrepressible ... and is always at work.

And as long as the Spirit works, Christians don't have to advertise, and preachers don't have to strut, causing a sharp decline in hairspray sales and eye-liner products.

We just have to be faithful to the Gospel!

Evangelical Schism

I have long been concerned about the "schism" between "church christians" and "real" christians, i.e. those who have a "personal relationship with Jesus" and those who don't, a schism fomented by evangelicalism, with its non-covenantal preaching, but rather a conversionary preaching, a "come-to-jesus" ethos rather than that of God coming to humanity, a reflection of what I call the Corinthian Complex assailed by the Apostle Paul, wherein the use of tongues gave some in the Corinthian Church a sense of superiority over other "second-class" christians who lacked, or didn't seek, the gift of tongues.

Vol. 3.4.601-2, Barth's discussion of "the schism" fomented by monasticism, a schism blessed by the church, wherein it was the monk who was truly called, truly a christian, the one who truly puts on Christ, sheds light upon the evangelical schism, based upon much of the same dynamic as that of the Middle Ages.

As Barth puts it: "What were and are all external schisms compared with this schism which the Church allowed, willed, blessed and finally achieved within itself by making and teaching and institutionalising the distinction between first-class Christians who have a "klasis" [calling] and second-class Christians who have not" [p.602].

At least in the Middle Ages, "other" christians were at least lauded for their work, which was to enable and sustain the monastics, who, with Christ and the Saints, were working out the salvation of the world.

Whereas in the evangelical world of America, there are no "other" kinds of christians, only pretenders, only the deceived, only a "churchy" kind of christian who is no christian at all, and, thus, bound for hell.

A schism, indeed.

Evangelicals, Crazy Mad in Love with Donald

Power!

That's the Evangelical Way - the way, the truth and the life.

The roots of it are deep, but in my recent memory, one has to go no further than the snake handlers of West Virginia and Kentucky ... in those deep and shadowy hollers, filled with the wreckage of mines abandoned and lives bent and damaged, the reading, the spurious reading, from Mark's gospel, about handling snakes, became a central element in worship.

To handle something evil and overcome it ... to dance with it, kiss it, play with it, and not be harmed by it - that's power, that's glory, that the Evangelical Dead End.

Because the snake sometimes bites, and people die.

And if the folks liked you, well, then, God called you home ... it was your time ... God said so.

And if they didn't like you, well, then, you failed ... you didn't have enough faith ... there was sin in your life and you didn't trust Je-e-sus ... and our god is a punishing god ... so, no tears shed - ya' had it coming.

And that's power ... power over evil, and power over death, and the power of judgment.

But on a more sophisticated level, Billy Graham and his crusades, his anti-union crusades, anti-communist crusades, his pro-capitalism crusades ... Jesus died for your sins, so that you can go to heaven when your brief span of years is done ... this earth isn't your home, but heaven is, and Jesus, the Jesus I proclaim, will get you there ... so, come forward now, and give your life to Jesus. You don't need your unions, your agitation, your FDR dreams of a better life; you just need Jesus.

And that's power ... ultimate power ... because you're heaven-bound, and your crummy relatives aren't ... and neither are those raucous Catholic neighbors next door, nor that Jew-boss of yours ... they won't get there, but you will ... you'll have the last laugh.

And that's power.

Then add to that the healers of every malady,  and the purveyors of wealth, health and happiness, and you end up with power ... and if heaven isn't quite the goal it used to be, then big homes and fast cars and Wall-Street-sized investments will do nicely. Heaven's bling, here and now ... Tammy Faye eyelashes and Jan Crouch hair ... and more miracles than you can shake a stick at.

Megachurches and Oral Roberts' Praying Hands ... miracle stories to keep the cash-cow happy and producing ... the woman who threw away her pills and the sweet little kid who no longer needs his wheelchair ... wow, that's power, too.

And do worship, of course, with the latest gimmicks and gizmos and trends and Twitter ... keep it thin and dazzling ... and preacher, wear those untucked shirts and pressed jeans ... but it's still the same ol' Je-e-sus who'll get you what you want - hey, you're a child of the King ... and if you think positive, if you give your tithe and then some, if you hate abortionists and if you despise homo-sex-u-als, well, then, you're better than they are, much better, and god loves you.

And that's power.

And so are guns ... bang ... there ya' go ... to protect my family and keep us safe ... and someday, when the Anti-Christ comes,  and maybe he's already here in that man in the white house ... we'll be ready with our bottled water and our guns ... and off to the woods we'll go ... no people of color, or course, just the White Bread, please ... whistling Dixie.

And that's power.

And if god hasn't punished anyone lately, then go after the Muslims, go after the poor, who are nothing but leeches on the godly system of Capitalism, leeches who make you feel bad, leeches who make bad choices, compared to your good choices, and they smell bad and do drugs.

And that's power.

So, no wonder, is it?

That Evangelicals are crazy mad in love with Donald Trump.

New Days for the PCUSA

Pondering, pondering, pondering ... I do that a lot in the early morning hours, and it was earlier than usual this morning because of the storm, that came like a freight train, roaring winds and pounding rain.

So, here I am ... the storm has settled down into a steady rain ... and I'm still pondering ... encourage by the latest Presbyterians Today Magazine and a few stories about renewal, recovery and hope.

Looking back over my years of ministry, I think the #PCUSA spent a lot of time apologizing to the world (nothing entirely wrong with that), but much of it, I fear, was driven by the evangelical onslaught constantly throwing into our face "our many failures" ...

Membership loss, a sign of apostasy.
Preaching that doesn't save souls.
Confusion about Scripture.
Uncertainty about Jesus Christ.
Failure to support international mission.
Disregarding Scripture, first with women, and then homosexuality.
A left-wing social gospel prompted more by Marx than Mark.
Secular humanism.
And,
A general abandonment of all things godly.

We can learn from our critics, and there are things here to ponder.

But this I know, we were knocked for a loop, and we felt bad. We felt bad about our losses, our confusion and our many sins. We hung our heads and moped around. We read books about "evangelical success" and wondered where we all went wrong.

The evangelicals were relentless in their criticism, and with each decade, some found one more reason to leave the PCUSA, to affiliate with a more conservative group or to start a new denomination. And we hung our heads and moped around, wondering what was wrong with us.

These days, though, I think we're pretty much done hanging our heads and moping around. For a lot of reasons, we've taken a deep breath and are finding ourselves again ... and learning that we can't be all things to all people. We can't ordain women and not ordain women. We can't ordain gays and lesbians and not ordain them. We can't be interfaith and reject other faiths. We can't welcome the latest in biblical scholarship and reject biblical scholarship. We can't read Genesis 1 and 2 literally and metaphorically. All of these are mutual polar opposites. After the last 50 years, we're learning that our "sins" weren't so sinful after all, and as much as some would love to see the "uneasy coalition" of interests and purpose remain intact, the settling out of the PCUSA is healthy and good.

There comes a time when some have to go this way and others that way.

It's all right.

In the PCUSA air I breath these days, heads are held higher and hearts beat with fresh hope. Yes, we have our issues, and that'll always be the case. But fresh winds are blowing, the sky is clearing, and the storms have passed.

It's a new day for the PCUSA ... and I affirm these essentials:

At our best, we are a tradition that:

Affirms and welcomes biblical scholarship ...
Resists fear and despondency ...
Affirms and welcomes everyone ...
Supports marriage equality and civil rights ...
Rejects the harsh rules and values of consumer capitalism ...
Affirms the role of government in the welfare of the people ...
Stands in solidarity with other faiths and celebrates the goodness of Jesus the Christ ...
Sings hymns, psalms and praise choruses ...
Welcomes missional, emergent, traditional and progressive insights ...
Works all around the world with faith, hope and love ... not afraid of the world, finding more friends than enemies, never threatened by other traditions and philosophies, eager to learn from all and eager to share what God has kindly given to us.

There's more to the story, I know ... and we'll discover more of ourselves as God shapes us for the remaining 21st Century ... learning by the love of Christ, to walk with heads held high enough to see the Christ lifted up, and to walk gladly in this world of ours, humbly because our sins are many and there's still so much more to learn, and gratefully, because God's grace is greater still.

The storm has passed, at least for now, and the rains are gentle. God's peace to the PCUSA, and in all things, "let our light shine before others, so they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven."

Book of Job, Session Three

Bible Study @ Calvary Presbyterian Church, Hawthorne, CA

Winter Semester … The Sorrow and Hope of Job

Tuesday Jan 15	Saturday Jan 19	Job 1-7
Jan 22	Jan 26	Job 8-14
Jan 29	Feb 2	Job 15-21
Feb 5	Feb 9	Job 22-28
Feb 12	Feb 16	Job 29-35
Feb 19	Feb 23	Job 36-42

Job is a study in suffering, and how the sufferer responds - no punches are pulled in the description of Job’s losses and ailments. It’s a terrible thing that has happened to him, and Job descends into the pit of despair and anger. He comes to the end of his rope. There is nothing more to lose for Job, and his bitterness grows.

Job is a study in relationships - Job’s friends come to comfort him, and do so with considerable respect, waiting just the right time, seven days, in complete silence, offering Job their presence and not burdening him with words, at least, not yet.

We learn a lot about human nature, not only from the portrait painted of Job, but that of his comfortable friends, comfortable in their material status and spiritual understanding. Ultimately, they believe comfort will come to Job if Job accepts their world-view of divine reward and punishment, a world of retribution, a world of easy answers.

Job’s discomfort becomes their discomfort, and the friends are determined, so we learn, to lay it all out for Job, to explain to Job why he’s suffering, and, in a nutshell, he’s suffering because he’s a sinner - evidently he or his children, or both, have failed God and so must suffer the consequences.

Job stands firm on his righteousness … he’s been a good man, and he’s been faithful to God. He’s been an outstanding member of the community, he’s helped friend and neighbor. He’s done well materially and didn’t forget God.

Job readily admits that he’s not perfect, but contends that his punishment is over the top, way beyond whatever sins he may have committed. In other words, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, and that’s the issue for Job.

Job questions the character of God - Job understands that God is powerful; no doubt about that. But what Job DOES question is God’s decency, God’s justice, kindness and love. 

At this point in the Book of Job, it’s a wrestling match … Job’s three friends laying out their case and pressing Job to admit his error.

And Job, even in his despair and sorrow, remaining steadfast in his contention that something is wrong with God. The God of power, if that’s what it is, has laid waste to Job’s life for no reason whatsoever. And if Job can find the God of righteousness, Job will be vindicated.

Job’s friends, and Job himself, become increasingly irritated with one another. The relationship, if you will, goes nowhere fast.

In chapter 15, Eliphaz weighs in again and goes after Job with a vengeance - his patience with Job is wearing thin in the face of Job’s determined self-defense. As far as Eliphaz is concerned, Job’s refusal to learn from others who are older and wiser is absolute folly. 

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

²      “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,     

      and fill themselves with the east wind?

³      Should they argue in unprofitable talk,

      or in words with which they can do no good?

⁴      But you are doing away with the fear of God,

      and hindering meditation before God.

⁵      For your iniquity teaches your mouth,

      and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

Having dismissed Job’s contentions as nothing more than hot air, Eliphaz continues with the attack:

 ¹⁷      “I will show you; listen to me;

      what I have seen I will declare—

¹⁸      what sages have told,

      and their ancestors have not hidden,

¹⁹      to whom alone the land was given,

      and no stranger passed among them.

²⁰      The wicked writhe in pain all their days,

      through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.

The author lays out for us one of the great challenges of religion - going with an idea and using that idea against another person when that person, for whatever reason, can’t abide by the answer. 

The author wants the reader to understand that the 3 friends who come to "comfort" Job in his distress have a theological agenda to lay out for Job, and as the story unfolds, their determination to impose on Job their theological take grows increasingly bitter, as Job, on the other hand, refuses their simple answers and conventional wisdom.

Simple answers have done great damage, and all the religions of the world are tempted by the simple answer. Christianity, as well, has been crippled by the desire for simple answers, which provide the "comfortable" with an artificial sense of security. But such answers always fail huge numbers of people, and when people refuse the answer, those with the answers grow increasingly agitated and aggressive. Their comfort zone is threatened by those who refuse the simple answer they offer.

Fundamentalist/Evangelical religion is rife with this: “Believe as we tell you, and you will be saved. Raise a question about it, and you’ll end up in hell. Pure, plain and simple.” Remember what was offered last week: There is cruelty in simple answers. There is humility in complexity. In humility, there is compassion.

The wicked suffer, so if Job is suffering, he must be wicked … such is the logic of the three friends. As logic goes, it fails; A never implies B. Job is suffering (A), sinners suffer (the idea), so Job must be a sinner (B).

Job replies (16-17) … 

He, too, could offer this kind of empty advice:

¹      Then Job answered:

²      “I have heard many such things;

      miserable comforters are you all.

³      Have windy words no limit?

      Or what provokes you that you keep on talking?

⁴      I also could talk as you do,

      if you were in my place;

      I could join words together against you,

      and shake my head at you.

⁵      I could encourage you with my mouth,

      and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

Vs. 5 is dripping with sarcasm: I could encourage you just like you’re encouraging me, and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain just like your words are easing mine - NOT!

They each call one another windbags - going on and on, without saying anything of value, as far as the other is concerned. In Job’s eyes, his friends are cruel; in their eyes, Job is stubborn and vain.

Job goes on: God has utterly laid waste to his life … God, in some act of wanton cruelty, has stripped away everything and left Job suffering in body and soul. 

Job has lost everything:

⁷      Surely now God has worn me out;

      he has made desolate all my company.

⁸      And he has shriveled me up,

      which is a witness against me;

      my leanness has risen up against me,

      and it testifies to my face.

⁹      He has torn me in his wrath, and hated me;

      he has gnashed his teeth at me;

      my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.

¹⁰      They have gaped at me with their mouths;

      they have struck me insolently on the cheek;

      they mass themselves together against me.

¹¹      God gives me up to the ungodly,

      and casts me into the hands of the wicked.

¹²      I was at ease, and he broke me in two;

      he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;

      he set me up as his target;

But in spite of his agony, Job reaffirms his righteousness, and contends that there must yet be justice in the world. There is, there must be, a God of righteousness, as strong as the God of might, and while the God of might has proved his mightiness against Job, Job will as of yet be proved right, if only he can gain a hearing from the God of righteousness.

¹⁶      My face is red with weeping,

      and deep darkness is on my eyelids,

¹⁷      though there is no violence in my hands,

      and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸      “O earth, do not cover my blood;

      let my outcry find no resting place.

¹⁹      Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,

      and he that vouches for me is on high.

²⁰      My friends scorn me;

      my eye pours out tears to God,

²¹      that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,

      as one does for a neighbor.

²²      For when a few years have come,

      I shall go the way from which I shall not return.

Chapter 17 …

Job is broken, and has no regard for his friends whom he calls “mockers,” and warms them - their betrayal of Job will leave a terrible legacy for their children. Their hardness of heart, harshness of spirit - they denounce for reward - could that reward be some anticipated “moral victory” - not financial gain, but the pleasure of trouncing someone, proving them wrong, embarrassing and discrediting them?

The friends have, indeed, declared war against Job. But Job fights back, declaring that God must have closed their minds to understanding, so God will not let them triumph.

 ¹      My spirit is broken, my days are extinct,

      the grave is ready for me.

²      Surely there are mockers around me,

      and my eye dwells on their provocation.

³      “Lay down a pledge for me with yourself;

      who is there that will give surety for me?

⁴      Since you have closed their minds to understanding,

      therefore you will not let them triumph.

⁵      Those who denounce friends for reward—

      the eyes of their children will fail.

It’s all done for Job - he’s more than eager to die:

¹¹      My days are past, my plans are broken off,

      the desires of my heart.

¹²      They make night into day;

      ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’ 

¹³      If I look for Sheol as my house,

      if I spread my couch in darkness,

¹⁴      if I say to the Pit, ‘You are my father,’

      and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’

¹⁵      where then is my hope?

      Who will see my hope?

¹⁶      Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?

      Shall we descend together into the dust?”

Chapter 18, Bildad, round two.

Bildad keenly feels that he and his friends have been insulted by Job. In an effort to demolish Job’s argument, Bildad describes most eloquently the fate of the sinner - everything they cherish will be destroyed. For Bildad and the friends, there’s no listening to Job’s sorrow and agony. They have a point to make, and by God, they’re going to do it, no matter what.

Chapter 19, Job’s response.

Bitterly, Job expresses his contempt for the friends who have scorned him and ignore his misery.

If Job has sinned, yes, it’s his sin, but it would seem that God is the one who has brought all of this calamity upon Job:

¹      Then Job answered:

²      “How long will you torment me,

      and break me in pieces with words?

³      These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;

      are you not ashamed to wrong me?

⁴      And even if it is true that I have erred,

      my error remains with me.

⁵      If indeed you magnify yourselves against me,

      and make my humiliation an argument against me,

⁶      know then that God has put me in the wrong,

      and closed his net around me.

Yet Job stands firm and wants his words inscribed in stone:

²³      “O that my words were written down!

      O that they were inscribed in a book!

²⁴      O that with an iron pen and with lead

      they were engraved on a rock forever!

But is there still some shred of hope in Job?

 ²⁵      For I know that my Redeemer lives,

      and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; 

²⁶      and after my skin has been thus destroyed,

      then in my flesh I shall see God,

²⁷      whom I shall see on my side, 

      and my eyes shall behold, and not another.

With a reminder to his friends: be very careful in the ease with which you condemn me.

      My heart faints within me!

²⁸      If you say, ‘How we will persecute him!’

      and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him’;

²⁹      be afraid of the sword,

      for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,

      so that you may know there is a judgment.”

Chapter 20 - Zophar.

A few more hammer-blows against Job.

All of the friends are now fully incensed: Job is not only wrong, but he ignores the wise counsel of his friends. Zophar describes the short-lived prosperity of the wicked.

How easily the friends indulge in descriptions of human suffering … 

I am reminded of an incident that occurred in my first or second year of seminary - I was assigned to teach a Bible Class on Wednesday evenings. At one point, I raised doubts about hell - at least about hell being co-eternal with heaven. I think we were studying the Gospel of Mark. A gentleman stood up and began to expostulate on the gory details of hell and the suffering of the wicked therein. The man turned red and grew increasingly vehement as he described the fire and pain, in lurid detail, of hell. 

I’ve never forgotten that moment. To this day, I believe the man loved hell more than he did heaven, convinced that others would be there, of course, and he would escape because he believed in Jesus, or something like that.

Job’s friends loved Job’s suffering, for it proved to them what they believed, and their beliefs were of greater importance than Job’s suffering.

Which reminds me of another incident related to me, with tears, by a widow. Her husband was stricken cancer at a time when they were members of a very conservative church and prayer group, with Pentecostal leanings. They prayed for his healing, and “claimed” the healing, “in Jesus’ name.” The man died suddenly one night, and an autopsy indicated a hemorrhage.

A friend called to offer consolation, and when told that it was a hemorrhage that ended his life, the friend exclaimed, “O good, he was healed of the cancer. The cancer didn’t take him.”

The woman left the church and the prayer group and for years remained away from the church. The cruelty of simple answers was more than she could handle.

For her friends in the prayer group, their beliefs about healing were more important than offering consolation to a grieving widow. It was more important that their “powerful prayers” indeed had led to the man’s healing from the cancer (which wasn’t the case) and that his death was caused by another matter.

Chapter 21 - The wicked often go unpunished.

Job lays into his friends and demolishes their arguments. There is not an even sense of justice in this world. Plenty of evildoers get away with it, and live happy lives, going to their grave quite content, and given a funeral full of pomp and praise.

²⁸      For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?

      Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’

²⁹      Have you not asked those who travel the roads,

      and do you not accept their testimony,

³⁰      that the wicked are spared in the day of calamity,

      and are rescued in the day of wrath?

³¹      Who declares their way to their face,

      and who repays them for what they have done?

³²      When they are carried to the grave,

      a watch is kept over their tomb.

³³      The clods of the valley are sweet to them;

      everyone will follow after,

      and those who went before are innumerable.

³⁴      How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?

      There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

So where are we?

Pretty much a draw so far.

The battle goes on, between Job and his friends.

The friends contend that Job deserves his suffering; the punishment fits the crime. If only Job would admit the crime, God would relieve his suffering.

Job defends his integrity. Sure, who isn’t a sinner, but this punishment doesn’t fit the crime at all. If I’ve done something to deserve THIS, please, someone, anyone, God, tell me what it is.

How will this be resolved?

To be continued ...