Session 5
Tolerance and Inclusion
The Emerging Christian Way:
Thoughts, Stories & Wisdom for a Faith of Transformation
by 14 current voices, from Copper House - Wood Lake, ed Michael Schwartzentruber
"These are exciting times for those who call mainline Christianity "home". It is also an exciting time for those who have "left home" - perhaps because of frustration, or boredom, or doubt - are wondering if they might yet find a reason to return." ... from the Conclusion.
Index Ch. 7 Ch. 8 Ch. 9 Images of Radical Inclusivity - Wayne References
Introduction to playing of podcast excerpt "Globalization and the Rise of Religion" Krista Tippett and Peter Berger
These 3 chapters are connected by the theme of of tolerance and inclusion as opposed to intolernace and exclusivity. The podcast excerpt for tonight is an interview on American Public Radio's "Speaking of Faith" series by Krista Tippett. Here she interviews Peter Berger the American socioligist who participated in the '60's in predicting the demise of religion in modern times - a view he now sees as mistaken. Here is a link to the full transcript. And of course you can listen to the one hour interview. I strongly recommend you consider signing up for the Speaking of Faith Podcast. You'll receive in your computer automatically an excellent interview each Friday and can listen at your convenience. It makes radio documentary accessible and convenient. Here is the link to my website to a page on podcasting, the how to, and some worthy streams.

Here's a taste of the interview. Note that the consequence of the resurgence of religion in modern times is identified by Berger as pluralism.
At his Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs at Boston University, Peter Berger conducted a three-year study on globalization in 10 countries. He led this, together with Harvard's Samuel Huntington, whose notion of the clash of civilizations fueled debate about the modern dangers of religion, especially global Islam.

Their new research did not focus primarily on religion, but it yielded vivid examples of religion interwoven in practical ways as globalization settles in many cultures. Young Indian software engineers in Bangalore garland their computers in Hindu ceremonies. In China, there's an emerging concept of the "Confucian merchant." And Buddhist movements in Taiwan have picked up Western Protestant methods to propagate an anti-consumer message. Peter Berger calls all of this cultural globalization.
Dr. Peter Berger: Conventional wisdom once had it that modernization would diminish the force of religion in politics, economics, and society. But as the 21st century progresses, exactly the opposite is true. Modernity does not necessarily lead to secularism or decline of religion. What it does lead to, necessarily, is pluralism. Every conceivable belief system and lifestyle rubs against every other.

The basic fact about cultural globalization is that everyone can talk to almost everyone else, and that's true, whether you talk about crime or about politics or about religion. And what we have in terms of globalization is an enormous increase in international communication. And that involves organizations like, say, American evangelicals making a movie which is shown in Nepalese villages or Buddhist missionaries who walk around in Chicago. It also involves individuals, even children, who talk to each other in kindergarten and try to explain each other's religious backgrounds. So that seems to me an enormous intensification of pluralism. And that's one of the very important consequences of globalization in culture generally but also specifically in terms of religion.

Tippett: Mm-hmm. Let me ask you this kind of large question. I mean, as you approached this multi-year project that you did with Samuel Huntington and many others, what surprised you most in terms of the religious aspect of globalization?

Dr. Berger: What surprised me was the degree of creativity with which human beings are capable of combining the impact of modernization with all sorts of traditional values and lifestyles. And whether you talk about — you just mentioned computer engineers in India, whether you talk about American executives stationed in some Asian country, I'm very impressed with the capacity of people to integrate, to relate their own background to the new things they encounter in the world. And that I find very cheering.
Ch 7. Paying Homage: Being Christian in a World of Many Faiths, Bruce Sanguin
A comparison is made by Bruce Sanguin of two pilgrimages: an ancient one where Persian Wise Men came west to honour the Christchild, and a modern one where American Southern Baptists are going east to Persia (Iraq) to convert the heathen Muslims. Well meaning though they both be they represent two different ways to get along with people of a different faith. He mentions some Christian folk of significant rank have spoken ill of the Muslim faith. And indeed there are many who believe (and act) as if the crusades are upon us again as a "clash of civilizations".

In the New Testament, the story is told of the Magi seeking a truth. They were astrologers. Today we understand ourselves to be in fact composed of stardust. In the Old Testament, the story is recounted of Cyrus, King of Persia permitting the return to Palestine of the captive Jews together with their holy treasures. Tolerance and respect for other religious view is found in these bible stories. It's time says Sanguin that the world got over trying to convert each other, but rather should "pay homage" to other faiths.
Sanguin sees another aspect of the old story that applies to today. The character of Herod the King represents a paranoid world view - ... the enemy of all that is sacred. here there is abundance, Herod sees scarcity. Where there is security, Herod sees imminent threat. Where there is love, Herod feels judgment. Where there exists the possibility of shared power and wealth, Herod uses his muscle to ensure a disproportionate amount falls his way. Where there is diversity, Herod imposes monocultures of his own creation. Where there is the threat of real democracy, Herod silences the people. Because of the Magi, the faiths of the world can withdraw allegiance from these systems and work together to articulate and enact an alternative vision."
Ch 8. Radical Inclusion, Anne Squire
Radical inclusion Anne Squire says is "the practice of including, in any community, those who are normally excluded. For Christian communities, Jesus is the model of someone who lived and taught "radical inclusion". Marcus Borg tells us that Jesus was evoking a "new social vision". Robert Funk points out Jesus kingdom was this-worldly, not other-worldly, with quite different ethics. John Dominic Crossan put it this way "The Kingdom of God is what the world would be if God were directly and immediately in charge."

The gospels describe the practice of an "open table" by Jesus. He accepted those his society said were "unclean". His stories and parables were a radical new message. The Good Samaritan. Forgive Your Enemy. Jesus speaks in a way down to our own time.
"In a multicultural, multi-faith world, we share the realm of God with those of other cultures and other faiths." Marcus Borg says that when Christianity lets go of its claim to be the only true religion and accepts its status as one of the great religions of the world, it has great credibility - not as a set of statements to be believed but as a sacrament of the sacred."
There is evidence in modern society both of justice and of injustice. Much is yet to do. Particularly, Squire challenges todays's church perspectives on many issues. She briefly speaks: of the poor; of women; of children and youth; gays and lesbians; people of different races; First Nations people; people who are challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally; saints and sinners; christians in exile; spiritual seekers; strands of ministry; nature and environment; science and technology; tradition and change.

There is a need for a program of radical inclusion - a plan to follow the example of Jesus of the gospels. We need to know more of the early days of the Christian church when the focus changed from the kingdom to sin and salvation. Squire quotes Funk again:
It is the vision that Jesus had of God's domain, not the myth of God incarnate, that is the bedrock of our discovery. The rediscovery of this vision was provoked initially by the collapse of the old mythical framework: the disintegration of the myth sent us in search of something beyond and behind the myth."
Within the church there are those that embrace it and those that see it as an outrage. It is contentious and factious in many church communities. The challenge of radical inclusion is then to act as this new/old vision of Jesus suggests. We need to dream the dream of Jesus.
Ch 9. Social Justice and a Spirituality of Transformation, Bill Phipps
Bill Phipps shares a series of stories.

In a sermon delivered Easter Sunday, Bill Phipps shares the resonance he felt just freshly back from seeing the horrors of war in Sudan to the very message of Easter. He recounted his encounter with a people that would not be defeated, but who continued to have hope.

The "Women in Black" are found in 28 countries now, having first appeared in Israel. They are mostly Jewish women bearing silent witness to the injustices of Israeli occupation. Each Friday they stand in vigil from 1 to 2 pm - a non-violent witness

At a meeting of the Sierra Club, Phipps describes the power of 10 representatives of different faith traditions dressed in their worship garments, concluding the meeting by giving 10 blessings to the Earth, and then everyone singing "This little light of mine".

Robert Kennedy Jr. leads Waterkeepers, an international group focussed on pollution free waterways. Phipps describes a trip down the Bow River to focus on the life-giving water that is becoming scarce in the world. Such promotion has a deeply spiritual element. Then later at Scarboro United there was a "Celebration of Water" - an arts festival on the theme of water.
"I believe," says Phipps, "that the arts (music, drama, poetry, words, visual arts and more) not only reflect society and its values, but also can be powerful, prophetic voices calling us to action."
Then speaking of the place of homosexual people in the life of Christian congregations, he encourages the continued exploration of congregations to welcome gay, lesbian and transgendered people. But also says anything else is "unfaithful to the love of the way of Jesus". He speaks encouragingly of his experience in this with the United Church over the last 25 years.

Paulo Freira created a "action/reflection" model of social transformation, of engaging faith communities in social justice work. It is a model to transform people whose faith is in the head and not so much the heart and feet. It is simply to engage in a particular action of justice and charity and then to reflect on their experience. Says Phipps,
"action takes priority over correct belief. It is by immersing ourselves in the complex realities of planetary and human conditions that we begin to understand the true nature of incarnational and redemptive faith."
The testimony of the Bible is unmistakable - transformation more often occurs when we "act into belief" rather than when we try to "believe into action". Insisting on correct belief more often results in "self-righteousness, arrogance, and living in a non-existent, idealized, and theoretical world. " Our faith heros are respected for their "compassion, openess, questioning and listening to new truths than they are for correct belief, perfect practice, or elegant statements of faith."

Many small actions have changed history. Many heros were ordinary folk who rose to the moment. Bishop Romero began a journey of solidarity with the poor and turned his theology upsidedown.
"The highway to God is through action". ...Mahatma Gandhi

"Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime, therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love." ... Reinhold Niebuhr
Images of Radical Inclusivity and a Spirituality of Transformation - Wayne Holst
Four Images from My Faith Journey

As Christians, we celebrate the importance of radical inclusivity because Jesus set the example for us. During his ministry, Jesus welcomed many into his community that others rejected and marginalized. Among them were women and children; publicans and sinners; the sick and lepers, and foreigners like Samaritans.

I have long had a sense of the importance of radical inclusion in my faith journey, but the outer reaches of that inclusivity have always kept expanding and challenging me. Periodically, I have experienced 'aha' moments when those boundaries were dramatically enlarged. I would like to share four of them with you.

To do that, I want to use four particular dates: 1954. 1967, 1970, and 2006.

While the United Church was founded on compromise and inclusion 75 years ago and is a unique Canadian denomination in the Christian family, I grew up in a religious community that prided itself in being German and Lutheran. In those days, at least, there was a certain exclusivity and insularity about all that. I think it was based on the need to protect what sincere and authentically humble and grateful people believed we needed to protect. In our own way, we were proud of the humility that characterized much of that ethnic faith tradition!

My mother, who had neither German nor Lutheran in her background, moved to our Waterloo County Pennslyvania Dutch-speaking community of Southern Ontario, bringing her Scots/Irish Presbyterianism with her. She was fully accepted, but was always - in a way - different. She never learned the German dialect, for example. We spoke basic English in our home. I believe that through their marriage and our family life, my mother and father helped me begin a journey toward radical inclusivity that I have continued to follow. I honour them - and many fine people from that community - for providing me with a good start.

1954

Pope Pius XII declared 1954 to be Marian Year - the year Rome proclaimed that the Virgin Mary was bodily assumed (without dying) into heaven. From our part of the country, many Catholics converged on Hamilton, Ontario to celebrate this proclamation - including my friend Billy Strauss.

The Strauss family were the only Roman Catholics in my town. When Billy (aged twelve and two days older than I) declared among his confreres that he was going to a big festival in Hamilton he was met with ridicule from the rest of us. We may not have known much about the pope and Mary in those days, but we were all Protestant boys - mainly Lutherans and Mennonites. By osmosis, we understood - without knowing why - that most of what Catholics believed was hocus pocus. We thought their religion to be rather inferior. I know Billy was hurt by peer reaction to his enthusiasms about Mary, and I conveyed this to my father. ''Do not laugh at Billy, '' dad said. ''He and his family have their faith, and it is not for us to call it foolish... You should respect him - even if we believe differently.''
That was my first lesson about radical inclusivity.

1967

I finished my Lutheran seminary training with a masters degree in divinity and took advantage of an opportunity to continue my studies - supported by a fellowship - at the Graduate School of Ecumenical Studies, in Geneva (Bossey) Switzerland.

This school was related to the World Council of Churches. Because of its international and interconfessional nature, students were required to come with a working knowledge of either english, french or german. As a proud Canadian, I conversed passibly with Christians from all over the world in english or french but was quite unfamiliar with many of their ecclesiastical traditions. The Eastern Orthodox came from from places Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Russia. There were Roman Catholics from various parts of Europe and America. Protestants came from most continents; hailing from places like England, Finland, the Philippines, Zambia, Sri Lanka and Argentina! There were also a few representatives from a growing movement of Independent churches in Africa.

We were at the same time inspired and scandalized during celebrations of the chapel eucharist. Each church family took turns hosting the Lord's Supper. Sometimes everyonel participated. Sometimes we were prevented from doing so. When the Orthodox and the Catholics had to say that we Protestants could not commune with them, a profound sense of anguish pervaded the atmosphere. Some day, we agreed, it would be different.

What a wonderful community of lived ecumenism, so early in my ministry career! Bossey was a second formative discovery of radical inclusivity for me. I was never the same again.

1970

A few years later, my family and I were living in Trinidad, West Indies. We had accepted a call from the Board of World Missions of the Lutheran Church in America to serve in the Southern Caribbean. My mandate was to help the church determine what kind of mission activity we might undertake on that island. Christianity there was long-established and indigenous. I interviewed many Trinidadian Methodists, Moravians and Presbyterians and realized quickly that mission work in the traditional sense was not what was needed.

Soon I was involved in providing pastoral leadership for a church jointly sponsored by those indigenous denominations. I began to design support-strategies to enable local churches to do more with our help. My best friend on the island was the Roman Catholic bishop who overcame bureaucracy and helped us get telephone service. The black popuation was mainly Christian. An important discovery for me was that a third of the population were Hindus and Muslims with East Indian background. Their ancestors had first settled on the island in the nineteenth century after slavery was abolished in the British Empire. Indentured labourers from India became the main sugar plantation work force.

Every Sunday morning I would travel to the Caroni region of central Trinidad.Caroni was a large, flat rice-growing area. Whenever I reached my destination dozens of smiling children would greet me, calling out ''hi Rev!" I would conduct Sunday School for them under one of the farmhomes built on stilts. My host, Mrs. Ramnarine, was a kindly lady who, after class, would invite everyone upstairs for a cool drink and sweets.

On the wall of her living room, I was intrigued to see three pictures - Lord Krishna, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus! When I asked her if she was a Christian, she said - most assuredly - "yes!" When I asked her if she was a Hindu, she responded just as convincingly - ''yes!" My goodness, I thought. Her faith seems very encompassing to say the least. I was learning a third lesson about radical inclusivity, there in the rice paddies of central Trinidad.

2006

This past May, Marlene and I spent a month in the United Kingdom and Ireland. We visited many L'Arche communities in those lands and I have fond memories of nine of them.

Let me tell you of an experience we had in L'Arche Kilkenny (south-west of Dublin). The oldest L'Arche community in Ireland is located there. When we visited I was about to have another perspective-changing experience.

At dinner on the evening of our stay, we were visited by two guests from a neighbouring Camp Hill community. These people lived in ways similar to the people of L'Arche were core members and assistants share their lives together.

John Carroll was a tall, red-headed fellow who sat silently and across from me during the meal. He ate beside his assistant Job van den Assem. Job asked me to describe my understandings of L'Arche. I said, in part, that mentally dysfunctional adults formed the heart of it; while assistants lived in close community with them. This was my standard way of describing L'Arche. I have responded this way to enquirers for forty years!.

Abruptly, John broke his silence. He shouted as he pointed his finger at me. ''I do not like it when you call some of us mentally dysfunctional!" he said with obvious pain in his voice. "We are all human beings, all equal, and created in the image of God!"

It was humbling to be confronted like that by John Carroll. He had felt the sting of my words because they sounded to him to be words of rejection. I was immediately apologetic, of course. I knew I had seriously crossed the line with him. But the message he conveyed in his total honesty and authenticity has remained with me since that night in May. I have yet to find a better way to describe the central meaning of L'Arche; but I am working on it.

No matter how far we believe we have journeyed on the road of radical inclusivity in the spirit of Christ, we continue to have a long way to do. I still cannot speak and live adequately in the presence of 'the other ' with the level of inclusion that is required of me by my Lord. Six months ago I was helped to learn a fourth lesson in radical inclusivity from John Carroll. I know I have more learning and growing to do.
_____

Here then are vignettes from four different stages of my life. I learned early from my father in St. Jacobs to respect persons from other Christian traditions. At Bossey, I discovered that there was a large and diverse global family of Christians that I needed to understand more fully. In Caroni I found people of other great faith traditions than Christian with a more inclusive spirituality than my own. In Kilkenny, I realized that I could still unconsciously fall into negative, unChrist-like thinking, even though I keep trying hard to live inclusively.

I take heart from words that Bill Phipps shares with us in his chapter from the Emerging Christian Way entitled Social Justice and a Spirituality of Transformation. I conclude by paraphrasing his words. ''Dont be so concerned about correct words and beliefs," he says. ''Believe into action." Be willing to invest and grow spiritually through a generous investment of yourself. Risk. Practice compassion, openness, questioning. Keep open to new truths.
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St. David's United Church.Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Sept
2006