Give it away now

How long can we keep feathering our nests while others sleep outside in the cold? I've felt this nagging sense of guilt and social conscience for a while, but I found it crystalized in an interview that I heard on our local NPR station this morning. The interview was with leading evangelical leader Brian McLaren*. who was making the case that evangelical Christians have been heading in the wrong direction for a long time.

What he said was essentially this: for decades, evangelicals have been so focused on the afterlife that they have neglected to care for the needs of people around them in this life. Interestingly, this is precisely a point that Chris made in one of our first discussions here, regarding religion and higher education. McLaren noted, using almost verbatum the language that Chris used, that there has been a juxtaposition between the evangelicals on one hand who are focused on the soul and its attainment of heaven, and liberals on the other hand who are focused on making this world better. McLaren went on to say that this is not just a false dichotomy; it is a neglect of the teachings of the gospel.

There is so much in Christian scriptures that focuses on the poor and on the importance of charity. We see it in the ancient Hebrew laws that instruct people to leave a portion of their crops in the field for those in need to gather. We see it all over the New Testament, in language so strong that it says that anyone who fails to love and care for those around them is not a true Christian at all. We see it in Saint John the baptist's statement that "I must decrease, and [Christ] must increase." On a purely literal level, John is handing his ministry over to Jesus who is the fullfilment of his message. On a deeper spiritual level, Saint John is expressing the truth that the ego man must decrease to make room for the emergence of the image of God within each of us. This second message has social ramifications: my own selfish pursuits must be laid aside in order to make room for the charity of God to act through me.

As an aside, there are so many bridges here. This acknowledgement of what has always been true creates potential bridges between various Christian groups (the Catholic Church has always been a leader in its efforts to reach out to the needy in this world). There is a potential bridge between the social justice crusaders of the "liberal left" and social justice crusaders of a group that has been the "Christian right." We are not so far apart. A favorite priest of mine, Father Seraphim, said that as we draw closer to God, we necessarily draw closer to one another. May this be realized.

McLaren talked about three central issues: prosperity; equity; and spiritual deficiency. He made a very nice case arguing that our nation's success in its pursuit of prosperity has put us at odds with the natural world; we are using more resources than our planet can provide and producing more waste than our planet can contain. Subsequently, we are creating an equity gap between America and most of the other people living on this planet (I'm sure this sentiment can be brought home to the gap between rich and poor in this country as well). That was where I pulled into the driveway, so I missed the rest.

But what are we going to do about it? I've got way more than I need. Stephanie and I have decided to start going through our closets and storage space to find whatever we can to donate, as a starting point. Our possessions are weighing us down.

There's so much more to say, but this is getting very long. Please let me know your thoughts on this though. Also, if you find this interesting, this post relates very closely to some previous posts and discussions: religion and higher education; ego trip; and Christianity, abortion, and the GOP. There's just so much to talk about here.

*Author, speaker, activist and pastor Brian McLaren kicks off his 2008 nationwide "Everything Must Change" tour in Charlotte this week. The tour targets people who don't feel comfortable in a traditional church, have doubts and questions about God and Jesus, and those who have questioned their faith. McLaren, who has been named one of the country's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time Magazine