Mainstream Protestant Denominations: Triggering Ideas Banned

Major news about Mainline Protestant Christianity, from the Babylon Bee:

LOUISVILLE, KY—While some college campuses have established safe spaces where the disenfranchised can avoid the pressures, biases, and judgement of the world, mainline Protestant denominations are taking it one step further. The entire umbrella group has now been designated a safe space for those who would otherwise be offended by the gospel, sources confirmed Wednesday.

Speaking on behalf of a plethora of denominations including the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the United Methodist Church, a spokesperson issued the following statement: “We are in agreement that there is a great need for churches to rise up and create spaces that are safe for questioning and accepting our identities, doubts, fears, failures, and blatant sins. Effective immediately, we are declaring all mainline Protestant churches safe spaces, where there are no judgments, conviction, repentance, or gospel presentations whatsoever.”

The statement listed elements that safe space churches should remove from their premises, including “crosses, Bibles, pulpits, organs, hymnals, systematic theologies, and sermons exhibiting any form of triggering micro-aggression. Be considerate.” Words like “sin,” “hell,” “death,” “wrath,” “propitiation,” and “substitutionary atonement” are also on the ban list.

On behalf of all of mainline Protestantism, the spokesperson expressed heartfelt joy that they were able to make such a major step toward accepting—and not judging—anyone who may be on a path toward God’s judgment. “Our congregations are now spaces that are safe from the power of God in the gospel, where each person is free to construct their own narrative. That’s worthy of celebration.”

This, of course, is not a sudden shock, but rather the culmination of longstanding trends in these denominations.

Crucifixion

Heisman Winner Derrick Henry on Faith

From the Christian Post:

After winning college football’s most prestigious award Saturday night, University of Alabama running back Derrick Henry praised God and advised aspiring young athletes to keep God first while pursuing their dreams.

The 21-year-old Henry, who set a new Southeastern Conference record for nearly 2,000 rushing yards this season as a junior, fulfilled what he called a “lifelong dream” when he was named the 2015 winner of the Heisman Trophy in New York City on Saturday.

“First off, I just want to thank God for bringing me here and winning the prestigious award,” Henry, who scored 23 touchdowns this season, said during his acceptance speech. “He’s been so good to me in my life and I have been honored and blessed with this opportunity. Since I was a kid, it has been my lifelong goal and a dream of mine. I am just so thankful.”

After thanking his mother and father, Henry then thanked his grandmother, who he says helped to make him into a man and taught him the importance of keeping God at the center of his life.

“My grandmother, the woman who made me into the man I am today, I want to thank you so much,” Henry exclaimed. “Even though you couldn’t be here, I feel you in spirit and I love you so much. You made me into who I am today — hard work, dedication and just doing what I wanted to do. You always told me to keep God first and pray that I always make it far. I just want to thank you and let you know that I love you and that I am praying for you.”

The Florida native then thanked his teammates, brothers, other family members and his college and high school coaches for helping him to get to this point. After going through his list of acknowledgments, Henry then turned his attention to the children listening to him.

“I just want to talk to the kids who are watching this TV and listening to me today. I just want to give you all advice. I am hoping that I am somebody you can idolize yourself behind and look up to because God is everything and always keep God first,” Henry urged. “Always pray; don’t be afraid to pray. He always hears you cry. If you have dreams, chase them. If you believe it, you can achieve it and God will be there every step of the way. I am a living testament, man.”

Henry then explained that he gets on his hands and knees every night to pray.

Such attitudes will be sneered at in certain quarters, but not in Alabama, not among black people, not in the NFL and certainly not among fans of the Crimson Tide. In other words, not among the people who matter.

Religion as the Basis of Democracy

Stories of the Rapture: Media Bias, or Manipulation of the Media

It really ought to be ignored: the claim by Oakland evangelist Harold Camping that the rapture will come tomorrow.

Rapture is a Christian concept that says that, during the End Times, Christian believers will be taken up to heaven while the godless will be left on earth to face a cataclysm.

The concept has a sound basis in the scripture, specifically in Matthew 24, in which Jesus tells his followers about the coming catastrophe:

Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Exactly when this will happen is another matter. And of course, no Christian leader other than Camping has given the slightest bit of credence to his calculations.

So why pay any attention to Camping?

Our first inclination is to blame the secular bias of the media. Liberal and secular reporters like stories that make Christians look like idiots. A bunch of Christians going to volunteer in a homeless shelter doesn’t fit the template, but a rather cultish crowd with a crackpot eschatology is highly congenial.

Which has a corollary. Any publicity-seeking Christian evangelist can garner a huge amount of unmerited attention by doing something outrageous.

And indeed Camping has gotten a huge amount of attention. Here is a screen capture we did from Google News a few minutes ago. As you can see, there are 1,519 sources on this story.


Interestingly, Christian fundamentalists are often accused of the sin of taking the Bible literally. But Camping isn’t doing that.

Jesus was quite explicit about end times predictions:

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

And of course, Paul told the Thessalonians:

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

Both Jesus and Paul have essentially the same message: live as though the end could come at any time, since you are not going to be able to predict it.

Camping should take the Bible literally on this point.

And the media should ignore people like him.

Religion, Polling and the Presidential Primaries

From Christianity Today:

This was supposed to be the year the Democrats got religion. Too bad somebody forgot to tell the pollsters. One of the big untold stories of the Iowa caucus is that only Republicans were asked about their religious affiliation.

The problem isn’t just that we don’t know how many Iowan evangelicals voted for the various Democrats (it would be interesting to see, for example, if Edwards scored as well among evangelicals as he did among conservatives). The problem is that we don’t know whether Democrats as a whole have succeeded in attracting more evangelical voters. (Usually somewhere between one quarter and one third of evangelicals vote Democratic.) I’m told we’ll see some Iowa caucus poll results soon (not from Edison Media Research, the company that does most of these entrance and exit polls) that may shine some light on the religion questions.

The good news is that Edison Media Research has repented, and today’s New Hampshire exit polls (via CNN [Rep Dem] and MSNBC [Rep Dem] )had many religion questions for both Republicans and Democrats.

Clinton, it seems, took the moderately religious (those who attend church monthly or a few times a year), while Obama took the devout (weekly attenders) and the nonreligious (those who never attend church). Roman Catholics (the largest religious group among New Hampshire Democrats, with 36% of voters in that primary), overwhelmingly chose Clinton (43%) over Obama (28%). Those who said they had no religion supported Obama (47%) over Clinton (28%), and that formed a remarkable 22 percent of Democratic voters.

Unfortunately, voters in the Democratic primary were not asked if they consider themselves evangelical or born again.

Republicans were, and 22 percent said they were evangelical or born again. One third voted for Huckabee, 30 percent voted for McCain, and 24 percent supported Romney. But McCain had a very strong showing among among those who said they were not evangelical: 38 percent. (Romney had 32 percent, Huckabee 7 percent).

That pollsters fail to ask Democrats questions about religion that they ask Republicans reflects an important reality of American politics -- the Democratic Party is the party of secular people.

But if Democrats did make progress among those calling themselves evangelical or born again, it would be good to know. Church attendance is well worth asking, but there are Unitarians who go to church quite regularly.