In or Out?

Several years ago the Episcopal Church, in their triennial convention, voted to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian bishops, and to permit bishops in states where same-sex unions are legal to bless those unions.  More recently the Lutherans (ELCA) and Presbyterians (PCUSA) have followed their example, in each case extending the ordained ministry to include non-celibate lesbian and gay clergy.  Predictably, these actions have evoked flurries of news articles and opinion columns, both supporting and opposing the moves toward full inclusion of homosexually oriented persons into the life of the church.

The “homosexual issue” is a fairly recent source of contention and anguish within religious bodies.  But it is simply the latest manifestation of a far deeper question that has been with us for millennia.  In its most concise statement, that question is, “Who is in and who is out?”  Records of humanity’s attempts to make this determination are as old as the oldest portions of the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Conundrum of Inclusivity

For those of us who believe that the ideal of the Christian church is to extend equal welcome to all, there is an unavoidable puzzle.  How can that welcome be extended so that both those who have traditionally been marginalized and excluded, and those who believe that such marginalization and exclusion are right and proper, are held together in a community of Christian love?  To illustrate, let me tell a story.  Call it a parable, if you will.

God-Given Rights

In January 2009 I attended “Heeding God’s Call,” a peace conference convened by three of the historic peace churches – Mennonite, Church of the Brethren, and Society of Friends (Quaker). One of the aspects of the conference was a public witness outside one of the more notorious of Philadelphia’s gun shops.  Volunteers from among conference participants called on the owner to join other gun sellers in Pennsylvania in pledging to take steps to eliminate straw purchases and utilize methods of screening potential gun buyers so as to curb the easy flow of weapons into the hands of gang members and criminals.  As an extension of that witness against gun violence, sixteen people of faith gathered for prayer along Pinch Road opposite the entrance to the Elstonville Sportsmen’s Association for an hour on a Saturday in April 2009.  Our vigil was prompted by the celebration of guns being held on the grounds of the Sportsmen’s Association that day.

One Nation, under Whose God?

I was in third grade when the US Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.  Our teacher drilled us on the new language until we could recite it en masse without stumbling or forgetting.  At eight or nine years of age most of us had no understanding of the political motives that had driven the change – the perception of threat from the USSR, the McCarthy hearings/witch hunt, the determination to distinguish our country as the exact opposite of the “godless Communists.”  It was one more thing that the adults decided that we had to learn, so we learned it. 

Except for the occasional grumble about having to relearn something we thought we already knew, I don’t recall hearing any discussion about the change, pro or con.  If the one Jewish girl in our class had any qualms, she didn’t express them.  The idea that there might be students who didn’t believe in any God at all never occurred to us.  Such a concept was beyond our realm of experience.  This is hardly surprising, since, as religion scholar Will Herberg has noted, in 1954 91% of the US population identified as either Protestant or Catholic, and 4% as Jewish.  That left just 5% in the category of other religions, or none.