9 Chickweed Lane again and an important link.

[castalia]

Today's 9 Chickweed Lane makes me so very happy.

*snickers lots*

It now being Sunday, I'd like to point to elynross's recent post regarding The Christian Alliance for Progress, the site for a new organization with the following statement:

The success of the Religious Right in appropriating the language of Christianity has led many people to become generally wary of religion in the public sphere and of Christianity in particular. The Religious Right has used the language of Christianity to promote an extreme and divisive political agenda that has helped polarize our nation. But foundational Christian values like compassion, justice and peace are largely absent from our political discussion. And there are millions of Christian Americans who share progressive views, or, at a minimum, are increasingly turned off by the extreme rhetoric and political agenda of the Religious Right.

The Christian Alliance for Progress is a national movement that started in Jacksonville, Florida among ordinary Americans who want to reclaim Christianity and change this current political picture. Members in the movement want to restore core values of Christianity while honoring diverse views about religion and Christian life. Many Americans, especially people of faith, are ready to hear from Christians who are tolerant, and who understand the many ways that our faiths impact our views of public life. The Christian Alliance advances a renewed, progressive vision of Gospel values and seeks to help Americans express this moral vision in our lives and in our politics.

I read through all the sections and couldn't find anything I really disagreed with. It was nice to finally find a Christian organization that expresses such positive attitudes and which accurately reflects my political stances on these hot-topic issues. Wow. I signed up for the newsletter, and I think I'll be passing on this link to like-minded friends at church later this morning. I can think of plenty of liberal Episcopalians who would support this movement.

Comments

[kitzen-kat.livejournal.com]

I like 9 Chickweed Lane *enormously*.

Liberal Anglicans are a threatened breed in my former diocese in Sydney. There was a takeover by fundamentalists who have very negative ideas about (a) women in the clergy, (b) any form of ceremony (cos that is obviously from the Pope, well, it seems to be channelling stuff from the Reformation) and consequently liberal parishes are under siege. These would be the parishes that have (a) excellent choirs, (b) still have pews and altars and (c) gays and lesbians worship there as members of the congregation.

Thankfully I'm in a liberal parish and a liberal (some would say quite contrary!!! *bg*) diocese now.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

I think I have several fellow 9 Chickweed Lane fen on my flist. I've been really enjoying the direction it's taken lately.

Glad you were able to find a parish you could agree with. I feel quite lucky that the only Episcopal Church in my county seems to be, if not fully liberal, at least tolerant and non-fundamentalist. My choir master is gay and we do have gay and lesbian members of the parish who are, as far as I've seen, very welcomed and accepted. I'm really going to miss St Luke's when I leave in the fall for school.

[paraxdisepink.livejournal.com]

But foundational Christian values like compassion, justice and peace are largely absent from our political discussion.

Looking through history, I'm not sure these values have *ever* been implemented politically when it comes to religion. Opium for the masses and all that. Politics would appear to be in and of itself corrupt and therefore religion has become a tool of that. And why are these called *Christian* values as though they are not the values of *every* religion. Islam is big on compassion. GHenghis Khan mandated religious tolerance as part of his government, etc, etc. The world would be better served if religion were absent from political discussion *period*. After the Crussades, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust you'd think society would learn this lesson *sigh*.

On the recent occassions when I've had to go to Mass, the priests have talked about love and compassion. Not hate whatsoever. My Catholic upbringing certainly never taught me to hate. Many individual priests and nuns have positively reached out to homosexuals, etc.

It is very positive to see religious people banding together and objecting in this way, but sometimes I think Christianity has done so much damage to itself that people who honestly want to practice the teachings of Christ need a new name! Jesusism or something :) You know, so you don't have to get lumped in with the other psychos, so we don't type angry rants about how we hate the religion as it is being used as political force and find that we've hurt the feelings of the wrong people - people who hate the Religious Right as much as we.

At the same time, the Bible contains hate. It contains hundreds of offenses to women, speaks of burning witches, etc (I understand the anti-gay quotes are merely mistranslated, not sure if that's true). So just as Islam and Judaism concentrate upon different apsects of the same religion - just as Christianity broke from Judaism - I really wonder if a whole new name, a new "word" isn't in order. I mean, we've had Protestants protesting the Catholics, now we need someone to protest the Protestants *and* the Catholics!

I don't know, reclaiming Christianity seems to be a bit like reclaiming the Swastika, only harder, because Christianity has never/rarely been used for good at a high political level. I've heard it said that the problem with Christianity is that no one has tried it yet. At a high level, that may be true.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

No, perhaps they haven't. But I don't think the language of Christianity has ever been used in the US as it's currently being used. The values mentioned are being called Christian values only b/c this is focusing on the more positive aspects of Christianity rather than the negative ones used by current political leaders, not to exclude other religions.

The Bible has to be taken in its historical context, obviously. Yes, slaves, women, other races, etc aren't treated terribly well, but that's more a reflection of the society at the time than of Christ's teachings. Jesus himself never treated any woman offensively, so far as we know. He included them.

I mean, we've had Protestants protesting the Catholics, now we need someone to protest the Protestants *and* the Catholics!

We already do. We're called Episcopalians ;P

[deborak]

Hmmm. Wish I had time to read & comment thoroughly right now (my PC is being rebuilt, and I just have a few minutes to play on Bill's system). Just perusing the menu items on the left column of the CAP page made my head spin. This alliance strikes me wholly as a political agenda group trying to hype up their appeal by bending over backwards to embrace every warm-and-fuzzy social engineering program to come down the pike.

But, I always encourage people to stand up for what they believe, even if I'm not standing with them. :-)

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, they're not denying they have a political agenda. But I can't see such attitudes towards women, gays, and the environment as anything but progress. Anything to combat the current administration and those who are misusing what they call Christianity.

[deborak]

'lil ole suspicious me.

I don't see a lot of difference between one side waving the Bible left and another waving the Bible right, you see.

Color me chaotic neutral, as we say in old school D&D.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

I just don't see this particular organization so much as waving the Bible than pointing to it and saying the right shouldn't be using it the way they are. But YMMV.