Many Religious Controversies

Memorial Garden at St. Mark's
Originally uploaded by Darrell

Centenary College of Louisiana recently invited Erik Wielenburg, an avowed atheist, to speak on campus. It came to my attention during a recent gathering at St.Mark's. Since Centenary has ties to the Methodist church, this has caused much hand-wringing and e-mail hysteria from insecure Christians among us. Wielenberg was the second non-believer to speak at Centenary this semester. A member of a local Methodist congregation got a little worked up, sending a mass e-mail asserting that parents send their students to "A Christian Methodist college for a reason." He went on, in part, "I refuse to believe that this reason is to brainwash their kids into believing that their is no God. We must do something about this. Please contact the president of Centenary, the board members, the alumni, the administration, and your church. I attended the atheists event last month and witnessed first hand how atheist spread their "word." Several students purchased her book after the event. I pray that none of those students turned against God that night."
Okay, let's not contact anyone. If these impressionable students are so insufficiently grounded in their faith that they will be "turned against God" by sitting through a couple of lectures, something has gone wrong over the last 18-20 years. This semester didn't have a lot to do with it.
The school's chaplain was compelled to respond with another mass e-mail explaining the bold concept of a free exchange of ideas. It was smart, well reasoned and right on target, saying parents have a duty to students to "Ground them in faith, engage them in reflection and in the exchange of ideas and then, when you send them to us, do all you can to encourage them to participate in the Christian worship, fellowship, study and service opportunities which we offer at Centenary."
My son has been offered a scholarship to attend Centenary. Thanks to this letter from the chaplain, I'm feeling really good about it.

Barack Obama
Originally uploaded by jurvetson

There's also a freaky line of thought creeping around the internet about Barack Obama. The mainstream media is exploring his religious beliefs because a lot of people believe he is a Muslim. He claims to be a Christian. There's a quiet undercurrent of discussion in the blogosphere that Obama may be the Antichrist. Barack Obama the Antichrist? That's way too deep for me, but I've had three people say something about it to me in the last week.
The only response I have is, "well, this is not the first time I've heard that."
Isn't it strange? I'm hearing this odd run of comments that flabbergast me beyond reasonable response. Hang onto your hat. Things are getting weird.

Sphere: Related Content

Growing Up in the Church

This time of year, people have a tendency to take stock of their religious beliefs. Conversations about what we believe have popped up in diverse contexts for me lately. My son said he engaged in a robust discussion at work about creationism vs. evolution. I recently attended a Roman Catholic mass and an Episcopal Eucharist in the same day, leading to internal conflicts about communion. My daughter has been spending a lot of time with some friends who are active in an evangelical Christian church.
It can all be very confusing when church has always been a part of your life. I went to Catholic schools for twelve years. I was an altar boy as far back as I can remember, and a lector after that. I married the daughter of an Episcopalian priest, and so I shifted a little left in the late 1980's and became a lay eucharistic minister in her church.
My kids were baptized in that church, and both have been confirmed there. My in-laws' roots run deep there. My wife's grandfather, an architect, designed the place. It was my father-in-law's base when he went to seminary. So, it is in many ways a home for our family. I don't even really grasp the depth of it, because my kids are fourth-generation members. I'm still a newcomer.
Now, we are in the holiday season. I know there are different ways to express greetings this time of year. For me, one way is best: Merry Chistmas! Sometimes, you have have to go with what you know.

Sphere: Related Content