While spending very important moments of my limited time on this orb checking in on my Facebook account, a friend popped up in the chat box and after we exchanged the usual banal salutations she asked what I had done the past weekend.
"I was in Omaha."
"Oh, neat. What were you doing there?"
"Attending the Midwest Skeptics Conference." I enthusiastically typed since I was still modestly adrenalized by said event.
"What's that?" came the puzzled reply.
"It was a conference attended by skeptics, humanists, freethinkers, agnostics, and atheists." I clacked back.
"Do you really hate Christians?"
Aaargghhhh.......I won't go into the rest of the conversation other than state I attempted to explain the answer was "No" but I felt I was speaking Pashtun to a Finn by way of a partially-deaf Swahili interpreter. I also assured her we weren't mapping out churches to burn in Omaha on Saturday night but actually went out to eat and visited a couple of pubs just like normal humans might do.
I get it. Atheists are unpopular to begin with. If you want to get elected in this country by god you'd better not be an atheist. We rank just above pedophiles for trustworthiness and below all religious groups that believe a virgin fooled around with a deity or some illiterate loon in the desert flew on a magic carpet.
Apparently we are perceived as nasty, spiteful, and out to make life miserable for the good deists here in America. I am sure there is also some voice in the back of their head thinking these infidels might make my friends, children, or even me become a non-believer and therefore they are the true enemy in this world! I know many a religious leader has barked that out from the pulpit to his flock.
As we grow stonger-and polling shows a dramatic uptick in our numbers-the voices will become more shrill and shall we say "less Sermon on the Mountish".....So I propose we do what many of us are already doing. Let's turn the tables on our religious friends, neighbors, and countrymen.
First, if you have not joined a skeptics/atheist organization do that and either get involved in their charity work or help them organize that effort. As secular humanists we are promoting the betterment of mankind and charitable work is a first-rate way of showing this. Also, it takes ammunition away from the naysayers who can't believe you can be good without a sky daddy. Kind of fun to see their faces as they attempt to absorb that spanner in their dogma.
Secondly, be kind and courteous to religious folks but let them know you respect them but do not respect their religion and if they wish to discuss your unbelief then their belief is fair game as well. Again, do it with a smile and courtesy. If anyone is going to blow a stack let it be them not you.
Lastly, encourage and assist your local group to advertise their existence so other non-believers can know about your group and before you know it your membership is growing and you have new facebook friends to spend very important time on fb seeing what they are up to-or not.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
The Fissures Burst
So, what were the fissures that finally broke the back of my belief in Christianity and religion in general (with apologies to his Pastafarian Holiness)?
To give some quick background on the cracks that had developed as far as religious belief was concerned, they were the standard ones of "How can God allow so much suffering?", "Will most of humanity spend eternity in Hell in horrific suffering?", "This Evolutionary Theory sure has some impressive adherents and is the basis for biological science....", "Why don't I feel any emotion with regards to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?". The last one may not resonate with some of the readers and I understand but I tend to have a little more of the "Spock Gene" than many folks besides I was Lutheran, duh.
But one apparent fact that bolstered the biblical case was a statement that I thought rang true: "Archaeology always proves the biblical accounts to be true." When I was a kid I was fascinated by archaeology and had copies of Halley's Bible Handbook (two volumes I believe) which had biblical facts (yes, pick me for your biblical trivial pursuit game) and archaeological "facts" as well. To be fair, it was originally published in 1961 and much of the digging around in Palestine had been done with the assumption that the bible was correct and the standard practices of the time did lack accurate dating techniques that we now have. Also, Israeli archaeologists did not get into some of the "sweet spots" of the bible until after 1967 and 1973 although many of them were eager to confirm the Old Testament accounts as proof that Israel deserved to exist. However, the second generation of Israeli archaeologists as well as other have come up with many startling discoveries that have turned biblical archaeology upon its head.
So the first fissure to burst was the discoveries concerning the town of Ai (what and where the hell is that?) I had a subscription to Biblical Archaeological Review, a magazine that discussed any discoveries from Turkey to Iran and from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. It had an interesting article on Ai. This city was supposedly burned by Joshua and his posse as the Israelites swarmed across the Jordan and began conquering Canaan. So imagine my jaw dropping as I perused the article on Ai:
"Despite extensive excavation, no evidence of a Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 B. C.) Canaanite city was found. In short, there was no Canaanite city here for Joshua to conquer (Biblical Archaeology Review, "Joseph A. Callaway: 1920-1988," November/December 1988, p. 24, emphasis added)." (Skeptical Review Online)
"Archaeology has wiped out the historical credibility of the conquest of Ai as reported in Joshua 7-8. The Joint Expedition to Ai worked nine seasons between 1964 and 1976... only to eliminate the historical underpinning of the Ai account in the Bible (Ibid., p. 24)." (BAR)
Alarm bells were going off in my head as I was trying to reconcile this fact with the assertion I had assumed was true concerning the validating qualities of archaeology in the Middle East. This led me to examine more recent archaeological evidence which I won't go into more detail but will simply mention.
EXODUS WAS F'ING MADE UP! Ben Hur was not the only fictional religious character Charlton Heston played. Now that I was actually investigating research findings this memo finally crossed my proverbial desk. Got to hand it to the author of Exodus who wrote during the time of King Josiah that he conjured up a great yarn. Today he would be a pony-tailed Hollywood screenwriter working for George Lucas- maybe Tarentino.....
By the way, this is a new one for me and I am digressing a bit, but the present-day town of Nazareth is NOT the village of 2000 years ago. In fact, it was the site of Roman tombs and there is no way a Jewish village would have been there. Frankly, the authors of the Gospels were using worked over and fishy material to re-create/create the story. Check out www.nazarethmyth.info
The last battering ram employed was simply reading The Origin of Species and commentaries on evolution to swat away the remote possibility that a god had employed this process to create life. Here I recommend The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins as a book to enhance one's understanding of this point.
So these were the spanners that were tossed into the faith machinery that I had been inculcated with as a child and these findings freed me from framing reality based on myths and legends rather than a firm grounding in the truth.
To give some quick background on the cracks that had developed as far as religious belief was concerned, they were the standard ones of "How can God allow so much suffering?", "Will most of humanity spend eternity in Hell in horrific suffering?", "This Evolutionary Theory sure has some impressive adherents and is the basis for biological science....", "Why don't I feel any emotion with regards to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit?". The last one may not resonate with some of the readers and I understand but I tend to have a little more of the "Spock Gene" than many folks besides I was Lutheran, duh.
But one apparent fact that bolstered the biblical case was a statement that I thought rang true: "Archaeology always proves the biblical accounts to be true." When I was a kid I was fascinated by archaeology and had copies of Halley's Bible Handbook (two volumes I believe) which had biblical facts (yes, pick me for your biblical trivial pursuit game) and archaeological "facts" as well. To be fair, it was originally published in 1961 and much of the digging around in Palestine had been done with the assumption that the bible was correct and the standard practices of the time did lack accurate dating techniques that we now have. Also, Israeli archaeologists did not get into some of the "sweet spots" of the bible until after 1967 and 1973 although many of them were eager to confirm the Old Testament accounts as proof that Israel deserved to exist. However, the second generation of Israeli archaeologists as well as other have come up with many startling discoveries that have turned biblical archaeology upon its head.
So the first fissure to burst was the discoveries concerning the town of Ai (what and where the hell is that?) I had a subscription to Biblical Archaeological Review, a magazine that discussed any discoveries from Turkey to Iran and from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. It had an interesting article on Ai. This city was supposedly burned by Joshua and his posse as the Israelites swarmed across the Jordan and began conquering Canaan. So imagine my jaw dropping as I perused the article on Ai:
"Despite extensive excavation, no evidence of a Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 B. C.) Canaanite city was found. In short, there was no Canaanite city here for Joshua to conquer (Biblical Archaeology Review, "Joseph A. Callaway: 1920-1988," November/December 1988, p. 24, emphasis added)." (Skeptical Review Online)
"Archaeology has wiped out the historical credibility of the conquest of Ai as reported in Joshua 7-8. The Joint Expedition to Ai worked nine seasons between 1964 and 1976... only to eliminate the historical underpinning of the Ai account in the Bible (Ibid., p. 24)." (BAR)
Alarm bells were going off in my head as I was trying to reconcile this fact with the assertion I had assumed was true concerning the validating qualities of archaeology in the Middle East. This led me to examine more recent archaeological evidence which I won't go into more detail but will simply mention.
EXODUS WAS F'ING MADE UP! Ben Hur was not the only fictional religious character Charlton Heston played. Now that I was actually investigating research findings this memo finally crossed my proverbial desk. Got to hand it to the author of Exodus who wrote during the time of King Josiah that he conjured up a great yarn. Today he would be a pony-tailed Hollywood screenwriter working for George Lucas- maybe Tarentino.....
By the way, this is a new one for me and I am digressing a bit, but the present-day town of Nazareth is NOT the village of 2000 years ago. In fact, it was the site of Roman tombs and there is no way a Jewish village would have been there. Frankly, the authors of the Gospels were using worked over and fishy material to re-create/create the story. Check out www.nazarethmyth.info
The last battering ram employed was simply reading The Origin of Species and commentaries on evolution to swat away the remote possibility that a god had employed this process to create life. Here I recommend The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins as a book to enhance one's understanding of this point.
So these were the spanners that were tossed into the faith machinery that I had been inculcated with as a child and these findings freed me from framing reality based on myths and legends rather than a firm grounding in the truth.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
This is most certainly NOT true...
I grew up in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the most conservative of the Lutheran denominations in the U.S. The LCMS got even more conservative in the mid-70s with a purge of seminary students and instructors from one of their two seminaries and having a small portion of their congregations break away and form a different denomination before the rebels joined the more liberal Lutheran denominations and formed the Lutheran Church in America. This kerfuffle has been experienced by other churches in one shape or another in past and recent history and is the nature of the beast.
In catechism class which I undertook from 5th thru 8th grade we had to memorize large portions of Luther's Small Catechism. Luther would interpret Scripture and put his spin on it and end his two cents with the phrase, "This is most certainly true". So when we said the memorized passages while looking up at our six foot six pastor we would end our pronouncements with that phrase (at least some of the poorer students in class could confidently announce that ditty to end their twisting in the wind and would sit down awash in relief).
Let's examine some of the beliefs of the LCMS as written in Luther's Small Catechism.......
- The LCMS believes that the wine and the wafer represent the true body and blood of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They do not believe in transubstantiation as their old nemesis the Roman Catholics believe but it is only a step away. Of course, churches believe it is not the true body and blood of Brian, er...Jesus and set up their own churches over this disagreement with Martin Luther and fought subsequent warfare over this smashingly important question.
- Husbands should love their wives but wives should SUBMIT (no mention of love, ladies) to your husband. By the way, the LCMS just thinks the Apostle Paul is the greatest thing since strudel and you will see them channeling the ol' misogynist all over the place. Naturally, the LCMS does not allow women pastors and rarely will you see a woman assist with communion. In many congregations women are just now receiveing the right to vote. When I was growing up the ladies were to get the men coffee and go back to the kitchen while the men did the voting. Good times good times.....
- Widows, no worries, the LCMS has you covered..."..But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives (no worries gentlemen as you are not mentioned-continue what you were doing)." My twice-widowed mother is having the time of her life with her purple-follicled elementary school classmate going dancing three times a week and playing cards at the senior citizen center twice a week. The joy in her voice is palpable when I talk to her each week. But according to the LCMS and the bible she is a horrible sinner and probably going to hell-despite going to church each week. Verses like these make hypocrites out of good people because they are forced to ignore the nonsense or turn into Westboro Baptist idiots if they don't. Is there any other religion that forces its adherents to be hypocrites in order to be a normal person in society and religious as well?
Well, that is a brief tour of the wasteland of LCMS doctrine-there's obviously more but they are the standard fundamentalist pablum we all know and love......now I'd better get to work just in case my mother and her friend need any bail money. Cheers.
-
In catechism class which I undertook from 5th thru 8th grade we had to memorize large portions of Luther's Small Catechism. Luther would interpret Scripture and put his spin on it and end his two cents with the phrase, "This is most certainly true". So when we said the memorized passages while looking up at our six foot six pastor we would end our pronouncements with that phrase (at least some of the poorer students in class could confidently announce that ditty to end their twisting in the wind and would sit down awash in relief).
Let's examine some of the beliefs of the LCMS as written in Luther's Small Catechism.......
- The LCMS believes that the wine and the wafer represent the true body and blood of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They do not believe in transubstantiation as their old nemesis the Roman Catholics believe but it is only a step away. Of course, churches believe it is not the true body and blood of Brian, er...Jesus and set up their own churches over this disagreement with Martin Luther and fought subsequent warfare over this smashingly important question.
- Husbands should love their wives but wives should SUBMIT (no mention of love, ladies) to your husband. By the way, the LCMS just thinks the Apostle Paul is the greatest thing since strudel and you will see them channeling the ol' misogynist all over the place. Naturally, the LCMS does not allow women pastors and rarely will you see a woman assist with communion. In many congregations women are just now receiveing the right to vote. When I was growing up the ladies were to get the men coffee and go back to the kitchen while the men did the voting. Good times good times.....
- Widows, no worries, the LCMS has you covered..."..But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives (no worries gentlemen as you are not mentioned-continue what you were doing)." My twice-widowed mother is having the time of her life with her purple-follicled elementary school classmate going dancing three times a week and playing cards at the senior citizen center twice a week. The joy in her voice is palpable when I talk to her each week. But according to the LCMS and the bible she is a horrible sinner and probably going to hell-despite going to church each week. Verses like these make hypocrites out of good people because they are forced to ignore the nonsense or turn into Westboro Baptist idiots if they don't. Is there any other religion that forces its adherents to be hypocrites in order to be a normal person in society and religious as well?
Well, that is a brief tour of the wasteland of LCMS doctrine-there's obviously more but they are the standard fundamentalist pablum we all know and love......now I'd better get to work just in case my mother and her friend need any bail money. Cheers.
-
Monday, August 6, 2012
My back story...
Greetings fellow travelers upon this blue rock of ours-or hey, how's it going? This blog is going to be about assisting the humanist movement accelerate, problems with faith and the bible, different denominations and their own particular subset of challenges for those thinking about slipping the leash (Lutheranism will appear a little more heavily but feel free to jump in with yours as I have more than a passing familiarity with many of them and am looking forward to learning about others.)
Believers are welcome here as well and trolls are understandable-let's all make sure we have thought out our points and would make our mothers proud of our online decorum.
How I arrived here will be dealt with in a succinct manner (hopefully) and as I blog further I am positive juicy nuggets of my past will emerge like a kidney stone on its inexorable journey. If any of my misadventures triggers a thought for you to share that will be absolutely bonny.
I was raised in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the most conservative denomination of Lutherans in the U.S. and the ones with the closest ties to Martin Luther, the accidental founder of Lutheranism-much to his chagrin. The LSCM is widespread in the Midwest and in the small farming communities that have a history of emigrants from Germany. Being of an agrarian German background starts folks out on the conservative side of the ledger and if they are raised in a small, Midwestern town well "Katy, bar the door" as we used to never say.
I'm going to save much of the doctrine of the LCMS for another blog but mention that along with church, Sunday school, and vacation bible school (purple kool-aid and raisin cookies), we had catechism classes on Wednesdays after school from the fifth through the eighth grades. The LCMS believes in doctrinal dosing of the lambs by the bucket loads. Other than the problem of being stuck in a small room with several of my unfortunate peers instead of roaming the great outdoors like our more heathen brethren in town it wasn't bad because I took to books easily and could memorize the verses and Luther's Small Catechism in a few minutes. Because of my thirst for history I read the bible quite a bit-well, more of the Old Testament because of the blood and gore and its overwhelming R-rating and by high school knew more of what was in its pages and how to think like a Lutheran than probably anyone else at church other than the pastor.
Alas, I read other books as well-secular books-and when I outgrew my small-town library I began haunting the community college library where my father taught night school and I was allowed to check out books. I noticed a large number of authors that impressed me as being highly intelligent weren't exactly "Christian". One question, among many that bolted itself in my head and could not be dislodged was why there were so many smart, articulate people that merely held their noses or were down right hostile towards Christianity. Weren't they afraid of not going to heaven? Hmmmm....
However, through much of college, religion was winning out as I actually branched out and sampled other denominations besides Lutheranism and also because of my new-found interest in guitar I was recruited to play for Sunday youth services at college. My reading addiction guided me to many Christian books and I became even more religious and realized what a hotbed (pun intended) of iniquity college was. Each day was a titanic struggle against darkness as I attempted to keep my sin count below 20...50....100 for the day depending on the how much clothing the coeds were wearing as they bounced along to class. I was reminded each day of Jesus admonition not to even commit adultery in your heart and I was good with that-it was that spot about 18 inches below the pump station that was doing me in.
For that and other reasons I decided to transfer to a Missouri-Synod teachers college and finish my teaching degree there. I thought that might help with my sin count and also if one is going to be a serious Christian, shouldn't they get into some type of ministry if possible? I knew I did not want to be a pastor despite hints from grown-ups in my hometown about my "gifts" in that area but I did enjoy teaching and what better combination than serving God and also being a teacher.
Looking back, I can see now that I peaked on religious intensity about the time I transferred to the LCMS college. My two years there made me realize that I was an outlier and was much less religious than most of the other kids. I rarely went to church, drank more than ever (which still wasn't that much), and while the guilt still hit me, I enjoyed more than ever the attractions of the female form in its natural state. The other outcasts (some who are still my friends) called the real religious kids "beaters" which was short for bible beaters. I'm not sure what they called us but they certainly didn't do it to our face.
After graduation I took a "call" to a school ran by three Lutheran congregations in rural Indiana and taught middle school before moving to Florida and teaching another couple of years there. Due to financial reasons such as church schools pay abysmally poorly I left the "ministry" for four years and did sales in the Sunshine State. After that, I moved to my home state and resumed teaching in Lutheran schools because I was eminently hirable in their minds and I also would have needed several college hours to get the public school job I would have desired. By this time I was a tired Christian. I enjoyed the occasional sermon but most of them were boring and predictable. Sunday School was a droll affair as either as the teacher of it or one of the class the lesson was designed for the comprehension of the folks on the left-side of the bell curve. I took to skipping Sunday School when I wasn't teaching it and sitting in my car reading the Sunday paper.
I began raising eyebrows at my new school when I started a recycling program and began emphasizing environmental studies to my students. I knew most of the parents were conservative Republicans/Christians but what harm was it to recycle paper, right? During this time I also joined the Sierra Club and due to my proclivity of public speaking and enthusiasm I appeared on the local television stations occasionally and I sensed more eyes in the back of my head . But the biggest heartburn for myself and the school was yet to come and it was a familiar battlefield-evolution.
The LCMS believes in the Genesis version of creation. They are creationists/literalists/fundamentalists. Officially, they don't have a position on evolution but that is just them whistling through the graveyard.
I knew the landmine that was Charles Darwin and it was a real struggle for me. The first couple of years wasn't too bad as I just skimmed over it and told the class it was "just a theory" but I knew I was copping out as I had not done my due diligence on it. Because of my environmental work I was reading and talking with many scientists all who accepted evolutionary theory. They couldn't be all wrong could they? No, they couldn't. After doing serious study on evolution I confirmed what I knew/feared in my heart that it was true and my church's position was dead-wrong. Yet, if I stated it in class I could very well be handed my walking papers with a wife and three kids. Well now that's a sticky wicket, old fellow. Reminds me of the clergyproject.org which assists clergy who want to leave the ministry yet due to financial or other reasons are trapped in their job.
The next few years I became bolder and bolder that week in the spring when the chapter on evolution would come up. A couple of times it came up at parent-teacher conferences but I was able to deflect the questions by not being altogether forthcoming on my personal opinion. Over time, however, the principal and pastor took notice and probably along with the other evidence such as the lack of Sunday School attendance, my environmental work, my fat salary (in their eyes), and my recommendation of books for the students to read I was let go after teaching in Lutheran schools for ten years.
Believers are welcome here as well and trolls are understandable-let's all make sure we have thought out our points and would make our mothers proud of our online decorum.
How I arrived here will be dealt with in a succinct manner (hopefully) and as I blog further I am positive juicy nuggets of my past will emerge like a kidney stone on its inexorable journey. If any of my misadventures triggers a thought for you to share that will be absolutely bonny.
I was raised in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the most conservative denomination of Lutherans in the U.S. and the ones with the closest ties to Martin Luther, the accidental founder of Lutheranism-much to his chagrin. The LSCM is widespread in the Midwest and in the small farming communities that have a history of emigrants from Germany. Being of an agrarian German background starts folks out on the conservative side of the ledger and if they are raised in a small, Midwestern town well "Katy, bar the door" as we used to never say.
I'm going to save much of the doctrine of the LCMS for another blog but mention that along with church, Sunday school, and vacation bible school (purple kool-aid and raisin cookies), we had catechism classes on Wednesdays after school from the fifth through the eighth grades. The LCMS believes in doctrinal dosing of the lambs by the bucket loads. Other than the problem of being stuck in a small room with several of my unfortunate peers instead of roaming the great outdoors like our more heathen brethren in town it wasn't bad because I took to books easily and could memorize the verses and Luther's Small Catechism in a few minutes. Because of my thirst for history I read the bible quite a bit-well, more of the Old Testament because of the blood and gore and its overwhelming R-rating and by high school knew more of what was in its pages and how to think like a Lutheran than probably anyone else at church other than the pastor.
Alas, I read other books as well-secular books-and when I outgrew my small-town library I began haunting the community college library where my father taught night school and I was allowed to check out books. I noticed a large number of authors that impressed me as being highly intelligent weren't exactly "Christian". One question, among many that bolted itself in my head and could not be dislodged was why there were so many smart, articulate people that merely held their noses or were down right hostile towards Christianity. Weren't they afraid of not going to heaven? Hmmmm....
However, through much of college, religion was winning out as I actually branched out and sampled other denominations besides Lutheranism and also because of my new-found interest in guitar I was recruited to play for Sunday youth services at college. My reading addiction guided me to many Christian books and I became even more religious and realized what a hotbed (pun intended) of iniquity college was. Each day was a titanic struggle against darkness as I attempted to keep my sin count below 20...50....100 for the day depending on the how much clothing the coeds were wearing as they bounced along to class. I was reminded each day of Jesus admonition not to even commit adultery in your heart and I was good with that-it was that spot about 18 inches below the pump station that was doing me in.
For that and other reasons I decided to transfer to a Missouri-Synod teachers college and finish my teaching degree there. I thought that might help with my sin count and also if one is going to be a serious Christian, shouldn't they get into some type of ministry if possible? I knew I did not want to be a pastor despite hints from grown-ups in my hometown about my "gifts" in that area but I did enjoy teaching and what better combination than serving God and also being a teacher.
Looking back, I can see now that I peaked on religious intensity about the time I transferred to the LCMS college. My two years there made me realize that I was an outlier and was much less religious than most of the other kids. I rarely went to church, drank more than ever (which still wasn't that much), and while the guilt still hit me, I enjoyed more than ever the attractions of the female form in its natural state. The other outcasts (some who are still my friends) called the real religious kids "beaters" which was short for bible beaters. I'm not sure what they called us but they certainly didn't do it to our face.
After graduation I took a "call" to a school ran by three Lutheran congregations in rural Indiana and taught middle school before moving to Florida and teaching another couple of years there. Due to financial reasons such as church schools pay abysmally poorly I left the "ministry" for four years and did sales in the Sunshine State. After that, I moved to my home state and resumed teaching in Lutheran schools because I was eminently hirable in their minds and I also would have needed several college hours to get the public school job I would have desired. By this time I was a tired Christian. I enjoyed the occasional sermon but most of them were boring and predictable. Sunday School was a droll affair as either as the teacher of it or one of the class the lesson was designed for the comprehension of the folks on the left-side of the bell curve. I took to skipping Sunday School when I wasn't teaching it and sitting in my car reading the Sunday paper.
I began raising eyebrows at my new school when I started a recycling program and began emphasizing environmental studies to my students. I knew most of the parents were conservative Republicans/Christians but what harm was it to recycle paper, right? During this time I also joined the Sierra Club and due to my proclivity of public speaking and enthusiasm I appeared on the local television stations occasionally and I sensed more eyes in the back of my head . But the biggest heartburn for myself and the school was yet to come and it was a familiar battlefield-evolution.
The LCMS believes in the Genesis version of creation. They are creationists/literalists/fundamentalists. Officially, they don't have a position on evolution but that is just them whistling through the graveyard.
I knew the landmine that was Charles Darwin and it was a real struggle for me. The first couple of years wasn't too bad as I just skimmed over it and told the class it was "just a theory" but I knew I was copping out as I had not done my due diligence on it. Because of my environmental work I was reading and talking with many scientists all who accepted evolutionary theory. They couldn't be all wrong could they? No, they couldn't. After doing serious study on evolution I confirmed what I knew/feared in my heart that it was true and my church's position was dead-wrong. Yet, if I stated it in class I could very well be handed my walking papers with a wife and three kids. Well now that's a sticky wicket, old fellow. Reminds me of the clergyproject.org which assists clergy who want to leave the ministry yet due to financial or other reasons are trapped in their job.
The next few years I became bolder and bolder that week in the spring when the chapter on evolution would come up. A couple of times it came up at parent-teacher conferences but I was able to deflect the questions by not being altogether forthcoming on my personal opinion. Over time, however, the principal and pastor took notice and probably along with the other evidence such as the lack of Sunday School attendance, my environmental work, my fat salary (in their eyes), and my recommendation of books for the students to read I was let go after teaching in Lutheran schools for ten years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)