belief

The Gospel According to Facebook

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

My latest article for the Orange County Record.

Facebook is one of the most popular websites to date with nearly 500 million users from all over the world.  From its humble beginnings in the dorm room of Harvard University, Facebook is now everywhere.  From your personal computer to your Smartphone, one is never too far away from social “interactions” found within Facebook (or as a friend of my calls it ‘faceless book’).

Facebook connects us to the world around us and we are able to share things from vacation pictures to memorial pages for those who have died.  Facebook at its core is a social networking site, connecting people across various socio-economic statuses, education levels and even religions.  Facebook in my opinion has moved past its original intent of just social networking between friends.  Businesses, churches, civil groups, clubs and even TV shows all have a presence on Facebook.  Breaking news is reported, shared, liked and commented on, all within the confines of one website.  The goal has moved from friendly conversations to specific advertisements and mass information around like issues, causes and beliefs.

What does Facebook do or has done for Christianity?  Has Facebook helped or hurt the gospel message?  Recently I began to see more and more pictures shared that read “Like if you Love Jesus” or “Keep scrolling if you love the Devil, like if you love God.”  If you are a user of Facebook like I am, you have more than likely seen these pictures (or others like it) before.  These pictures call for Christians around the world to share their faith boldly and proudly on their Facebook page so that all who may grace it will know that they are a follower of Christ.

To be honest, I can’t stand them.   They clutter my news feed and are not the reason I get on Facebook.

I do not like them for a number of reasons.  First, it makes Christianity something to do, not something that is done.  Followers of Christ are called to continue the message of Christ in the world around them.  Often in churches there are talks of “letting your light shine before others,” but there is also a warning about doing things just to get attention in the name of faith.  Does it really mean I am “less of a Christian” if I decided not to click the ‘like’ button on a picture?  Does this mean that I have sold my soul to the internet Devil because I am too consumed with posting pictures of my children?  Absolutely not.  Its one thing to have a faith and have that faith inform your life, but it is another to have a faith and guilt trip others into following your actions.  Christ did not call for us to plaster our faith across the internet.  Christ calls us to be the presence of God at all times, in all places and to all people.  A person’s faith or commitment to God/Christ is not contingent on whether or not they share a Facebook photo with their friends.

Facebook and other social media outlets like it have made the gospel a bumper sticker, for good or for ill.  Since the interaction happens in cyber space the relational connection is lessened.  Because of this the scriptures, quotations, theology and sermons can all be taken out of context and promoted as truth with little or no dialogue, conversation or explanation.  Of course this can happen anywhere, but for some reason the internet has brought this to the forefront.  Is this the 21st century model of evangelism?   I sure hope not.  Social media has it place in the propagation of the gospel, but evangelism at its core is grounded in relationships.  Evangelism is a scary word for some people because they believe it means inviting people to church or knocking on people’s doors and passing out ‘salvation tracts.’  While some people believe this is the best way to promote ones faith, I believe that being in a relationship with someone first helps to “open the door” to evangelism.  One does not even have to speak the name of Jesus Christ to get the message of Christ across.  This is what Facebook and these “like if you love Jesus” pictures fail at doing; there is no relationship, just a pretty picture with a cute font.  The gospel demands more than that.

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part VIII (Prayer is Not A Weapon)

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

My latest article for the Orange County Record. It seems to fit in my “And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians” Series as well.

As the Republican and Democratic National Conventions have come to a close, we are officially in election season.  Between now and Election Day (November 6), we will be inundated with attack ad after attack ad on why one particular candidate is better than the other.  Each will tout their record, their plans, their reasons for why they believe they can move this country into an era of prosperity and greatness.  Since the beginning of this Presidential election cycle, debates have been held, mud has been thrown, and names have been called.  To be honest, I believe it has gotten completely out of hand.  One can not access social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter without being bombarded by other people’s advertisements for the person they support.  Some have taken to engage in serious conversations, while others are advocating for Tim Tebow or even Jesus Christ himself to run for President.

Well in Victoria, Texas some one as taken upon themselves to buy a billboard in honor of the President.  No, this billboard doesn’t thank the President for his service or one promoting his policies or even supporting electing Gov. Romney; this particular billboard is one that is passive aggressive attack all under the guise of religion.  The billboard reads “Pray for Obama- Psalms 109:8 (sic)”  (Before we get into why this is an undermining of religion, I need to point out that when you refer to a particular Psalm, there is no need to refer to it as “Psalms”, rather refer to it in the singular.)

Psalm 109:8 reads, “May his days be few; may another take his office.”  This is a completely disingenuous use of prayer and use of scripture.  For starters, this piece of scripture is not referring to an American President or even anyone from the last 2000 years.  This Psalm is a cry to God from King David.  Dr. Robert Cargill, Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Iowa stated that “The fact that the context of Psalm 109 is actually recounting the words of a righteous King David, who is complaining about the lies and threats his enemies are making against him is apparently lost on the individual who placed this ad.”  This ad was a direct attack against the President.  This is why the Secret Service was called to investigate.  Some will say that this is free speech and it should be left alone.  Others will say that is a threat and all threats should be taken seriously.  I am not a lawyer, but a follower of Christ, this is making prayer and scripture a weapon.

Is this the prayer that God wants to hear?  Is this the way that God wants humanity to act toward another person?  I do not care if you disagree with the President or even Governor Romney, the fact still remains that we are all called to live out the gospel each to our own understanding and conscience.  No one person, no one denomination, no one pastor or anyone has a monopoly on God and on how the gospel is to be carried out.  Does this mean that I agree with all expressions of the Christian faith?  Absolutely not.  Does this mean that I am going to spend money and buy a billboard passive aggressively “praying” for them.  No, I will not.  Imagine what good could have been done, how many people could have been helped, how many bellies could have been filled if that money that was used to incite and divide was used to complete and make whole.

One day while listening to the radio I heard someone call in a show and say that they believe that God was calling all followers of Christ to vote for a particular political candidate.  I believe that God does not care who wins the election of the President of the United States of America.  I believe that God has bigger things to worry about.  This does not mean that our faith does not inform our decision making, but to say that God is trying to direct all Christians in the United States to vote for a particular candidate is stretch for me.

Many followers of Christ learn from a young age that prayer is an important spiritual discipline.  People go on spiritual prayer retreats/walks to get back in touch with the Divine.  Prayer is not a weapon that is to be pulled out when someone thinks differently than we do.  No, it is a gift that has been given to us so that followers of Christ may continue to have a close, personal, relationship with God.  People refer to the ‘power of prayer’ and how prayer sustains them and fulfills them.  There a beautiful quality to prayer.  Karl Barth, a Swiss theologian, once wrote, “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”  Prayer is powerful when it is used to stop the disorder in the world.  I do not mean political leaders, but the disorder or disease, famine, hate and malice.  This is the disorder that Jesus Christ came to put and end to, this is the mission that all followers of Christ are called to embody.  So as we draw nearer to November 6, 2012, let us remember to at least try to be civil with one another.  It’s the only we are going to get through it.

Christianity and 9/11: 11 years later

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Below is an article I wrote for the Orange County Record. It will be published tomorrow but I thought I would post it today on the anniversary of September 11, 2001.

Yesterday marked the 11th anniversary of the terror attacks that took place across the country on September 11, 2001. On that day nearly 3000 people lost their lives. Every year the country is called to stop and remember those who perished in a senseless act.

Since then the world is a much different place. Wars were fought in remembrance of those who died; soldiers gave their lives defending the freedoms that we have here in this country today. But one of the biggest things that happened because of 9/11 was that Islam was put on the map and under a microscope.

Christians have had a choice to make sense that day: live in fear and hatred of another religion or learn and find way to connect via common ground. Many people, many Christians have made all Muslims the enemy of the United States and even of Christianity itself. This is a tragic outlook for Christians to take; this makes all followers of Christ look bad and it is still happening today.

Since 9/11 a number of anti-Muslim websites, rallies, posts and possibly sermons have taken place. Most of them have been based in the fear, assumptions and thinly veiled truths. The other day I saw a bumper sticker that read “Mohammed is dead, Jesus is Alive!” This got me thinking, would this sticker have ever been produced if 9/11 never happened? Why are some Christians so afraid of this particular religion? Why are debates being held on whether the President of the United States is or is not a Muslim? It is unfortunate that all peaceful Muslims here in this country are lumped into a class of people that advocate to the death of innocent life. Most Christians do not want to lump together with Westboro Baptist. If we do not want to have this done to us, then why are some so quick to do it to others? Where is the grace? Where is the love? Where is the notion that all of humanity is created in the very same image of God that you and I are created in?

Islam has been around for centuries but until 9/11 I really did not know much about the religion. I knew that Islam’s holy book was called the Koran, followers of Islam or Muslims had a very strict prayer life and their prophet was named Mohammed. That was it- like many I was pretty limited on my understanding of this particular religion. Some have still not taken the time to learn more or get to know their fellow Muslim neighbor. Protests and rallies are held across this country to stop the building of mosques. Remember the big uproar that was caused when an Islam Center was going to be built near where the World Trade Centers once stood? People who were against the mosque cited that it was because of Islam that the towers fell. This is a poor analogy. If that is the case then across Europe there should be no new churches because of the atrocities of the Crusades.

When I was in seminary in Kentucky I took a World Religions course. As part of the requirement I had to visit various centers of worship across different religions. Next door to the seminary was an Islamic center. The class was invited to visit the center and witness daily prayer. After the prayer session I was able to speak to the Imam about Islam and the center itself. One of the questions I asked was “Since 9/11 how have you seen a change in the way you are treated here in Kentucky?” The Imam stated that he wished that more people understood that the terrorists did not follow what was written in the Koran and that not all Muslims acted the way they acted. He followed that up and said, “Never before have I ever had to defend my faith.”

This country was founded on the notion of religious liberty and freedom. Christians are called to be the hands and feet of God in the world at all times and to all people even those of other religions.

September 11, 2001 was one of the worst acts of violence ever enacted and we should remember those who lost their lives. But making all of Islam the villain of freedom and Christianity is wrong.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

August 2012 Top Posts

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

August was a HUGE month for the blog.  Even though I did not blog that often due to the busyness of my schedule, records were still set!  During the month of August the blog was visited 4354 times!  That is more that the previous 6 months COMBINED (4335)!

A GIGANTIC thank you for reading, supporting and sharing!!!

Here are the top five posts from the month of August

  1. The Problem With The Chick-Fil-A Debate
    • My thoughts about the “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day”
  2. Robots, Arrogance and the Gospel
    • This is an oldie but a goodie… people are still receiving robo-calls from Prophet Mannesh and they are googling the number…
  3. When Did We Stop Caring for People?
    • My thoughts on the amount of press “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” received verses the amount of reaction people gave to Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin.
  4. And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part VII
    • A church cancels a wedding due to race
  5. Opening Ceremonies = Acceptance?
    • What can  we learn from the Opening Ceremonies?

Thank you again for supporting me and I hope to post more in the coming future!

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

 

Sermon- The “Harsh” Message of Jesus

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Today I preached a sermon entitled “The ‘Harsh’ Message of Jesus” based on John 6:56-69 (Common English Bible).

Enjoy!

Sermon Link

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part VII

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 1 Comment

Here we go again… its time for another segment of “And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians.”

Our story today comes from the land that put racial tolerance and acceptance on the map, Mississippi. (/sarcasm)

You can read the story here, but in a nutshell the First Baptist Church in Crystal Springs, Mississippi informed an engaged couple that they could no longer get married in the church. Did I mention that the church is predominately white and that the couple was African-American? Did I also mention that they church informed them just a couple of days prior to their actual wedding date?

Church officials were quoted to have said that they  “welcome any race into their congregation.”  Umm… no I do not think you do.

Once again race and Christianity has reared its ugly head.  It is hard to believe that in 21st century race still a factor in whether or not one is seen as a worthy human.  As I have said many times before if Christ did not discriminate in whether or not people were allowed to come and hear the gospel message, then why are some followers of Christ doing this?

Aside from the racial issue that is staring us right in the face, there are some other issues to this story.  First, the church must have granted permission for the couple to have their wedding at the church prior to this event; the couple had sent out the invitations and everything.  I think it would be a bit presumptuous of them to just think that a church they are not a member of would allow them to use the facility without asking.  Next, the minister stated that it was “a small minority” that was against the wedding being held at the church.  A small minority?  Sadly, this small minority must have a lot of power and pull because they basically overruled the church’s previous decision.

This is all to common in churches; many people dislike the notion of centralized power in Washington, D.C. but are powerless to anything about it in their own churches.  The way churches are today, it only takes one wrong move and people split and the money is gone.  I am not saying that the church should have allowed this distorting of the gospel to take place, but the though of ‘making waves’ scares people.

If I were the minister in that congregation I would have still had the wedding at the church no matter what the church’s a small minority believed.  Also, that would have been the last act as a minister in that congregation.  No two week notice, no reception, no farewells, gone.

The gospel can not be trampled like that and expect me to stick around.  There would be no amount of meetings or discernment that I believe would change some people’s minds.  Christ never turned people away and here we are claiming to be his followers and look at what we are doing.

I think another series or title of this post could be “And You Wonder Why The Church Is Shrinking”… case and point… people in Mississippi are still living in a world where their God is a god who discriminates.  If we are all made in the image of God, then why are we trying to make our church look like us?

How can the gospel of love be turned into the gospel of difference is not acceptable?

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

When Did We Stop Caring For People?

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 1 Comment

Latest article for the Orange County Record

Humans in general are pretty predictable.   We drive to work the same way, we go shopping at the same store, we drink our coffee at the same time in the morning, etc.  However, it generally when things are out of the ordinary that people start to take notice.

A couple of weeks ago, “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” was met with Facebook posts, tweets, blog posts, rants and more than likely sermons all centered around the notion that a company can support anti-same sex marriage policy.  Many people agreed with this and many people did not.

Like I mentioned in my previous article, the problem with this debate is that no one actually talked about the real issue, same sex marriage.  People were marginalized and stereotyped based on prejudices.  Throughout this entire ordeal I became aware that humanity indeed is quite callous and ego centric.

Only a few days after this outpouring of support for Chick-Fil-A, an armed man opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.  Six worshippers and the gunman lost their lives.  It was a tragic and senseless event.  However, while there were news reports, there wasn’t the outpouring that was seen with Chick-Fil-A.  This, my friends, is quite disturbing.

When did we stop caring for people?  Can you imagine the outcry if someone would have murdered people in a church in small town America?  There would have been candle light vigils, facebook pictures of memorial, tweets of support and prayer and blog posts flooding the internet.  What does it say about our country and even followers of Christ when more time and effort is spent on a chicken sandwich than on seven lives lost?

People sadly only care about what they believe affects them or threatens them.  Because of this many people failed to have the one thing that Christ himself calls us to have, compassion.  If we believe that all of humanity is created in the image of God, then our hearts should break over the loss of life, no matter their religion, belief system, sexual orientation or background.  Christ’s compassion is given to all people, in all place and all times, not just to people who think like us, look like us, work like us or come from the same background as us.  This goes against the gospel message.  When did the gospel of love turn into the gospel of conditional love?  Was God’s love given to us on conditions?  No it was not.  The love of God is given to all of humanity as a free gift.

As followers of Christ, we are to live our life in a way that reflects that divine, perfect and wonderful love.  For followers of Christ we believe that this divine love was perfected in human form in the person of Jesus the Christ.  As we journey throughout our lives we are constantly trying to find ways to show and give this love away to other, with no strings attached.  Unfortunately, humans have yet again found a way to marginalize ‘the other.’  Too often in churches around the world, people are not met with open arms they are met with a list of ways they need to change before they are allowed to enter the congregation.  While this may not be explicitly said, there is however, an undercurrent of moral superiority that takes place within the four walls of some church buildings.

How is it fair to have been given unconditional love but fail to give it in return?

We cannot claim that God’s love is for everyone and then try to put conditions on it.  That is like saying to someone, “I will only love you fully if you do this for me.”  By giving unconditional love we then are opening ourselves up to the possibilities of what God can do through us.  We are able to see someone for who they are, who they were created to be.

I pray for comfort for the families of the seven who died in Wisconsin.  The loss of innocent life is one of the worst things that can ever happen to a family or community.  May the compassion of God rain down.

And You Wonder Why People Aren’t Christians: Part VI

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / 1 Comment

In the wake of the tragedy of Aurora, Colorado, I give you another reason why people aren’t Christians.

I could spend all day everyday on why Westboro Baptist Church makes it hard for the rest of Christianity. The members and leader of Westboro Baptist have made waves for protesting homosexuals, preaching that homosexuality is a sin and because of this sin God is punishing the United States by allowing terrible acts to occur and not protecting US soldiers in the country’s current conflicts overseas. Because of this belief, this group has also begun a tradition of picketing at solider funerals which has caused national outrage.

Well the people from Westboro are at it again.

According to their fearless leader, Fred Phelps, the membership of Westboro are going to Colorado to protest during a vigil for the those killed at the “Dark Knight Rises” premiere. See the tweet below and read the story here

https://twitter.com/WBCFredJr/status/227052440351014912

One of the many problems I have with Westboro Baptist Church is that in my humble theological opinion they are completely distorting the gospel message. Their message is one that is egocentric and one where to have a relationship with God one must also be completely afraid of messing up. This is not the relationship that God is calling humanity to be in. This theological construct makes God look worse than a bully god, rather this particular understanding of God is one where God is a supreme overlord of hate and destruction. No grace, no love, no care, no forgiveness, no acceptance of others. To the members of Westboro Baptist, God is a God who likes things separated into either this or that, your either in or out and surprisingly they believe they are on the “right” side of God, that they believe the correct theological understanding and they have it all figured out.

In this particular situation, how does protesting a vigil aimed at bringing a community together and remember the loss of innocent life bring people to God? Answer in a nutshell, it doesn’t it. Do they truly believe that the family of the 12 people murdered want to hear that God in punishing America because of their ‘wicked ways’ and this same God chose their loved ones out of the 300 million people in the United States to suffer this punishment? Where do they get off thinking that they have the audacity to speak this vile non-sense to the people of Aurora, Colorado? And who would ever want to worship this particular God? And isn’t convenient that they just happen to believe the perfect belief system that God is calling humanity to follow?

Westboro Baptist has been one of the several black eyes that has plagued the world of Christianity. Their message is one filled with righteous indignation. I guess their Bible left out the whole “speck in your neighbor’s eye and log in your own” message of Jesus and the one about the unity and ministry of all believers. While they are busy wasting money promoting the anti-gospel, imagine what good they could have done if they had saved their money (which by the way was donated to the church) and used it for a cause like stopping poverty, violence, rape. Why not give the money to organization that provide clean water for millions of people who do not have access to it? Is their God a God who is solely concerned with homosexuality and “wickedness” that the rest of the gospel message doesn’t matter? I find this hard to believe.

Followers of Christ from all walks of life are called to bring the gospel message of love, joy, peace, grace and reconciliation to the world. It through this love of Christ and devotion to God that one makes the choice to live a different life. It is not “live a different life so God will accept you”, rather it is accepting God will cause a life change. It will because of the overwhelming presence of God and the awareness of the Spirit that will cause the change. Changing for the sake of pleasing a mean, bully, hate-filled God doesn’t help anyone.

The people of Aurora, Colorado need comfort in a time of complete uncertainty and loss. It is not a time to put salt in already gaping wound.

I hope that the people of Aurora will do what the people of College Station, Texas did and make a wall of people around the protestors so that family members and loved ones can mourn, remember and grieve in peace.

And Mr. Phelps or any member of Westboro Baptist Church if you are reading this, go back to your Bible and count the number of times Christ calls us to love one another despite our differences. You might be surprised… Christ tends to focus on it a lot.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the people of Aurora as well as those who are going to protest.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

What Is Sacred To You?

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

Here is my latest article for the Orange County Record.

One of the aims of religion is to determine what is sacred or holy verses what is secular or profane.  Debates have been held to try to navigate this delicate delineation.  In Christianity the understanding of holy is pretty complex.  It is generally understood that the source of holiness in itself is God, but outside of that it is a bit difficult to pin down.

Some people believe that God is calling Christianity to a particular way of life: abstaining from certain actions, alcohol, foul language and pre-marital sex.  However others believe that if the followers of Christ should hold true to the commands of Jesus himself.  Others hold to the teachings of the writers of the letters and epistles more than anything else.  And still others believe in a combination of all three.  As you can see the sacred is not something that one can put in a check list and hope to attain easily.

For every person that proclaims to be a follower of Christ, there are that many understandings of God and expressions of what it means to serve Christ faithfully today.  On top of that, the notion of what is sacred varies from person to person as well.

This however this is not a bad thing when it comes to Christianity.  Too often the church is seen as a place that dictates laws or recites laws that they believe are from God.

The church is not a place that makes rules or establishes what it means to be holy, rather the church is a place where people can come and share their experiences and their expressions of faith.  By changing the mind set about what church is, people might have a better understanding of what Christianity is really about, trying to live as faithfully as possible to the teachings of God and Christ.

The problem that the church has found itself in is that it is trying too much to remove itself and fellow followers of Christ from the secular society, to try to make a holy community.  The problem with is that if we cannot agree on one proper interpretation of scripture then how can we begin to broach the question of what is sacred?

Each person has their own understanding of what is sacred.  I recently attended a seminar in which the keynote speaker stated that every person has their own personal canon when it comes to faith expression.  By canon I do not mean a weapon but an authoritative guide of what is holy.  For Christians the canon which guides their life is the Bible.  But even with that said, the Bible is different between Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant denominations. The word canon comes from a word that means “measuring stick,” so when we claim that the Bible is a canon, then we are stating that we use it to measure our lives and actions against it.

Many things can be sacred to people: scriptures like Psalm 23, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4.  Things like music, art and dancing can bring us to a place of connection with the Divine; they can renew our faith and soul.  All of these things transport us to a deeper relationship with God and you may never have to set foot into a ‘church’ to find it.  During our life when the hard times set in we will all return to that place of comfort and rest; we will go to our sacred canon.  We will return to that place to seek out God once more.

Most people’s canons will grow and change over time and that is just fine.  Our relationship and understanding of God can never be static.  As we mature and have differing life experiences our view of God will change; this does not mean that the central driving message of God’s love for all and the acceptance of all people changes, rather the way that we understand God moving and working in the world does.

What is sacred to you may not be sacred to me.  What connects you to the divine may not connect me.  But by having conversation with the central understanding that we are all serving and worshiping the same God, then we might actually learn from one another.  I might not be a practicing member of an Orthodox church but I can learn from their liturgy, I might not be a practicing member of a Catholic church, but I can learn from their devotion to prayer and confession.

In the week ahead come try to find those places what connect you to the divine.  Do not try to find them in a list of rules or commands, rather in nature or art or in the so called secular world around you.  If we claim that God is everywhere then why are we only looking for God in a set of rules?  God is found a stream in the forest and in a painting by Van Gough.

Where will you see God and experience the sacred?  You might be surprised where you have overlooked God.

America’s Only Hope?

/ Rev. Evan Dolive / Leave a comment

My latest article for the Orange County Record

As the election season is about kick into high gear, the number of political attack ads will increase exponentially the closer we draw to November.  The claims will begin small by showing voting records and then will grow into personal attacks.  There is 141 days until the general election and it is only going to get worse.

One of the claims that political figures like to postulate is that they are the only hope for the future of America, their ideals and the country.  Each side of the isle will believe that they are the sure fire answer for America.  The other day I saw a bumper sticker and a yard sign that caught my attention.  It wasn’t for a certain political candidate or party, rather it read “Prayer: America’s Only Hope- 2 Chronicles 7:14.”

I looked up the scripture and it reads, “if my people who belong to me will humbly pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land,” (CEB 2011). This scripture is taken from a declaration from God to King Solomon.

There are some problems, however, with using this scripture for the sole advancement of the United States.  First, this scripture is taken out of context; this verse is taken from the middle of a sentence that God spoke of Solomon.  The complete sentence is “When I close the sky so that there is no rain or I order the locusts to consume the land or I send a plague against my people, if my people who belong to me will humbly pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” (CEB 2011).  The author of 2 Chronicles is showing us that to the Israelite people there is a connection between what God is doing and what God can do.  The hinging factor in all of this is the willingness of the Israelite people.

Secondly, what “wicked ways” is this scripture calling humanity to turn away from?  Is there a list somewhere that I am not aware of?  Some would argue that it should be the scriptural laws contained within the Bible, but then which ones do we follow?  Does this mean that every God fearing Christian should be held to the 600+ laws contained in the Old Testament?  Or are these “wicked things” just a smattering of what certain religious communities and leaders believe is the true will of God?  Given the sheer number of Christian denominations and expressions how could one list ever be completely agreed upon?

With this said, this scripture cannot be applied to today and the current American economic or political landscape.  If we are to take the theology of this segment of scripture then we are stating that God is a vengeful, bully God.  We are staying that God is a God who will only do things for humanity if humanity acts a certain way.  Proponents of this theology believe that the problems faced in society and the world can all be solved if the world would just repent and turn back to God, then and only then would God be nice enough to grant the world peace and harmony.  Is God really that mad about so called “wicked things” that the one recourse God has is to send plagues and do nothing?  Is God punishing America for Harry Potter or Magic Mike?   I have a hard time believing this is the case. This is not the God that I know, love and serve.  Where’s the unconditional love that is espoused in churches and what about that amazing grace we proclaim?  Is that out the window because of the “decline of American values?”

God is not a God who sits on a throne and waits for people to mess up so that God may send a lightning bolt to the evil doer.  I am not saying that prayer is not a useful tool to connect with the Divine and to enter into a relationship with God, but thinking that just because you lied or stole a piece of gum when you were a child means that the suffering you are going through is your fault is far off the mark.

In a world where we like facts, to know why something is the way it is, we have a hard time understanding the movement of God in the world.  Why is there so much poverty in such a prosperous land?  Why are there so many cases of disease?  Why are children going to be hungry at night?  All of these questions and many more can keep us up at night but the fact of the matter is, the answer is not that they forgot to repent for some “wicked thing.”  As followers of Christ we called to bring wholeness to the broken, completeness to the incomplete.  This is not done by placing a bumper sticker on our cars or a putting a sign in our yard.  It is done by serving faithfully and boldly in a world that is desperate need of a ray of hope, care and love.

I am not saying that prayer is not needed in the world today, but claiming that God will restore the world when all of humanity thinks one particular way about God is a bit much.  It puts a lot of pressure on the followers of Christ and on God.  Let’s just work for the betterment of the world and stop blaming one another.