Thursday, May 11, 2006

Quote of the day: "As an antidote to the screechy hatefulness, I recommend Christian love. While our fallen nature makes all of us, whether on the Left or the Right, prone to hating our enemies, we Christians know that Christ calls us to a higher standard."

Stephen L. Carter's words, quoted above, come from his article in Christianity Today, which I access via a daily feed.

"Screechy hatefulness" is not only unattractive, but unChristian, and my main task while renewing my Christian walk has been to defeat the impulse to hatefulness, a violent wellspring that bubbles evilly up in hearts, including mine. After four years of work on this, with great help from grace, the struggle gets easier, though I still wrestle daily. Oddly enough, it helps me to see examples of hate, disrespect and other ills, because then I'm reminded of just how ugly this habit is. In an article I was reading yesterday, all was well until my eye hit a line about idolizing diversity in our culture. My inner ear heard the wrong note, and I paused to consider why that line felt so wrong. Was it because of the subtle dig against people who are different (whatever that may mean)? was it because of the barb of utter dislike pricking out between the words? was it the sheer hyperbole? because diversity isn't privileged, and often doesn't exist? was it the leakage of bitterness, against diversity or whatever the author felt it stood for? Yes, in the culture in which we live, errors have been made in the name of "diversity" and "political correctness" and some screechy hatefulness emits from proponents of those two.

We have to ask ourselves what we'd like to emit. I have to ask myself what my motives are. And then I turn to those glowing witnesses and read them, to steep myself in the spirit I want to learn from. In addition to the scriptures, I find authors like Carter, bloggers like Glenn Lucke, and past masters like C. S. Lewis to be very strengthening. I really appreciate them.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Media Take Note: Our Issues are Not Your Issues

Over the past few months, it's been clear that the newsmedia want to sell units by promulgating a firestorm of fear, loathing and conflict over the potential for another gay bishop in the Episcopal church. On Saturday, Episcopalians elected a non-gay bishop, for spiritual reasons, not material ones. Materialists would have voted for the black candidate because he's black, for the gay or lesbian candidates because they're gay or lesbian--but, as the media reported (faithfully--plaudits to them for that), a majority of Episcopal Christians stated that their vote went to a guy named Mark Andrus because the Spirit moved them to thus vote. One newspaper article actually quoted an Episcopalian's remark about the Spirit moving delegates. Hurrah. I was glad to see that. We need more of the Spirit in the news, it seems to me, and less of controversy. Yet the media needs to sell units; can we somehow show them that the Spirit is what moves us? let's do more of that! and less of the heated controversy which inspires schadenfreude amongst the world's readers. What a concept!