January 2008 Message
Welcome to 2008 - it's an election year again and everyone who thinks they should be our president is off and running - and the hype is getting heavy. I never paid too much attention to the New Hampshire primary and I'm still not too sure what the Iowa caucus is. But the media thinks it's a big deal so I guess it's important. What catches my attention is the emphasis being placed on the candidates religious beliefs. Questions asked to presidential candidates at recent debates referred to the inerrancy of Scripture and to precise Christological definitions. Not since late antiquity and the Ecumenical Councils has debate on these issues been so public.
As always, religion in the ‘public square' tends to get a bit messy - we seem to use religion as a weapon and not as a tool. We lean towards ways that religion divides and separates and not ways that it unites and brings together. As far as I know, all religions profess common values of justice, mercy, compassion, peace, integrity of persons, tolerance and honesty, to name but a few shared core beliefs. Aren't these also the kind of values that should be prized in a secular, free and open society like ours?
It comes as no surprise that the people of the United States and specifically in religious groups are deeply divided in their worldview, goals and values - a fact that will become clearer as the campaign goes on. Everything points to the reality that the gap is increasing rather than being healed. Throughout its history, the Church has reflected the society from which its membership is drawn, the Orthodox Church in the United States is no exception. American Orthodox Christians hold a wide range of political, ethical and social views.
A fundamental change affecting the Church and the people within the church is the cultural shift that is occurring throughout society in general. Students of this change use terms like "a basic paradigm shift" or "a worldwide socio-cultural revolution." They are referring to the underlying "shape" of time and space in people's perception of reality and the fact that that shape has not only changed, it has become fluid.
In any religious or political discussion we need to take for granted the fundamental good faith of others; we need to learn together rather than win a debate. For one thing, we must take into account what is termed a person's "social location," that is, the ethnic background, economic situation, educational formation, age and experience, the factors that condition the way people interpret the world around them. People with different social locations see "reality" quite differently.
Considering this, we may ask, what does it mean to be "a good Orthodox Christian"? What does it mean to form our conscience, individually and communally? How do we come closer to Christ and "grow in grace"? Very simply, what is a mature thinking Orthodox Christian supposed to do? On the personal level, the goal in life remains essentially the same as it has always been -- to be honest and loving with each other, to try to have an open and dedicated relationship with Christ and God, to care responsibly for those around us, and to do this to attain our destiny with God in a life beyond death. But the understanding of what this means concretely and how to go about it is changing fundamentally.
We are now more aware that faith and grace are life processes, the very heart of that life process we call "maturation." They are not something we have; they are what we are. God expects us to grow up. We are meant to be decisive and self-determining. We are meant to develop a distinctive self-identity. All this can help me in choosing a candidate and casting a vote, but it can also help me better live in a free and open society. We cannot be blessed by God for handing over to others in blind submission those choices that are demanded by the circumstances of our lives.
As I watch the candidates jockey for position and listen to their debates, I see things even more radically. Even God cannot substitute for what I must do, precisely because His grace requires it. I must be a mature person of faith, I must be free, and I must discover the truth in myself and in the world around me. By the end of the year, we'll have a new president; in the meantime the political process offers me challenges to see God, church, religion and society in a different light. Happy New Year!