Friday, September 05, 2008
Learning From The Other
There is a resistance, particularly among religious groups, to learn form the other. For example, my own PC(USA) is in deep crisis because of the issue of gay ordination - something I as a conservative strongly oppose. But that does not mean there are not lessons to learn from community opposite. We conservatives have indeed been intolerant in many ways. Ordination is not necessary to express tolerance, but there is a lesson on loving the sinner in the mess somewhere.
The problem gets even more complex when we move from intra-religious issues to inter-religious issues. One example I think about a lot is Catholicism, and Orthodoxy's amazing ability to "Hang-in-there." Both measure age in millenia, while we Protestants do well to last centuries, many only decades. I must wonder - what do they know that we do not?
But what if we get into the realm of the "illegitimate" religion - like say Mormons? This article from the New Statesman points out the strength involved in how Mormons lead themselves in an absence of professional clergy. Regular readers know that by virtue of my work on Article VI Blog, following the political fortunes of Mitt Romney, I have become a bit of a student of Mormonism.
After two years of such study, I must confess to an admiration of the LDS organization and its strong reliance on "volunteers." In this area, they certainly resemble the much vaunted first century church more than even the preacher-saturated independent Evangelical churches.
It is also in this area that people accuse them of being most "cultic," that it is somehow forced labor. I must confess to not having witnessed any "forced" anything. I have witnessed high expectations, and I have witnessed something that does not quite rise to the level of shunning, but that makes clear that those expectations are part of being a "real" Mormon - all while being quite cordial, friendly, and even loving.
We have taken a very different path - a more consumeristic approach wherein we rely more and more and more on "ministry professionals," allowing the average member of our church to come and consume WITHOUT expectation whatsoever. And as I chronicle on this blog quite routinely, we fail to produce the kind of radical transformation in the lives of our congregants that Christ so clearly intended for us.
There is much of Mormonism that I disagree with, deeply, but in this aspect I admire them deeply. In the aspect of organization and the use of laity for leadership, I am even willing to grant some credence to their claim of being the church restored. (Please don't panic this is a very limited statement I am making - one area and one area ONLY)
We would do well to stop reminding everyone we see how different and wrong they are and spend a little time looking and learning. Just as hugging a gay person does not endorse their sin nor proclaim them blameless, so studying the Mormons in this area does not grant them "truth-bearing" status. As we are improved by learning to love the sinner while condemning the sin, so we would, in this area be improved.
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The problem gets even more complex when we move from intra-religious issues to inter-religious issues. One example I think about a lot is Catholicism, and Orthodoxy's amazing ability to "Hang-in-there." Both measure age in millenia, while we Protestants do well to last centuries, many only decades. I must wonder - what do they know that we do not?
But what if we get into the realm of the "illegitimate" religion - like say Mormons? This article from the New Statesman points out the strength involved in how Mormons lead themselves in an absence of professional clergy. Regular readers know that by virtue of my work on Article VI Blog, following the political fortunes of Mitt Romney, I have become a bit of a student of Mormonism.
After two years of such study, I must confess to an admiration of the LDS organization and its strong reliance on "volunteers." In this area, they certainly resemble the much vaunted first century church more than even the preacher-saturated independent Evangelical churches.
It is also in this area that people accuse them of being most "cultic," that it is somehow forced labor. I must confess to not having witnessed any "forced" anything. I have witnessed high expectations, and I have witnessed something that does not quite rise to the level of shunning, but that makes clear that those expectations are part of being a "real" Mormon - all while being quite cordial, friendly, and even loving.
We have taken a very different path - a more consumeristic approach wherein we rely more and more and more on "ministry professionals," allowing the average member of our church to come and consume WITHOUT expectation whatsoever. And as I chronicle on this blog quite routinely, we fail to produce the kind of radical transformation in the lives of our congregants that Christ so clearly intended for us.
There is much of Mormonism that I disagree with, deeply, but in this aspect I admire them deeply. In the aspect of organization and the use of laity for leadership, I am even willing to grant some credence to their claim of being the church restored. (Please don't panic this is a very limited statement I am making - one area and one area ONLY)
We would do well to stop reminding everyone we see how different and wrong they are and spend a little time looking and learning. Just as hugging a gay person does not endorse their sin nor proclaim them blameless, so studying the Mormons in this area does not grant them "truth-bearing" status. As we are improved by learning to love the sinner while condemning the sin, so we would, in this area be improved.
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