Let’s Be Careful Out There!

Today, January 8, is the anniversary of the death of Galileo Galilei, who died in 1642. Although he was not the first to posit it, he said that the earth was not flat. (It had been pretty much proven by lots of people from the Egyptians to the Greeks and the Romans for a few thousand years.) He also argued for a heliocentric universe, saying that the sun does not rotate around the earth, but that the earth rotates around the sun. Both of these (along with some other scientific theories) got him into trouble with the Church of the day. They argued that the Bible clearly stated the earth was flat and that the sun and stars rotated around the earth.

Eventually the Church threatened to burn Galileo at the stake if he did not recant. So he did. Not out of scientific understanding or religious belief, but out of fear of a painful and horrible death.

He anguished over his decision for the rest of his life.

(Note: In 1992, 350 years later, the Catholic Church admitted it was wrong.)

Every year on this day I take some time to think about the things the church (or at least a large part of the church) argues about in the culture where they believe “the Bible clearly states” whatever they believe. In the past it has been support of slavery, genocide, subjugation of women, child labor, destruction of the environment, and taking of land from native inhabitants.

I know that the church has also done much good (public hospitals, education, promoting democracy, helping the poor, etc.), even having people within the church fight against the sins listed above. But that does not negate the fact that we still do some pretty bad things, and we still persecute those who stand up for something different.

While by no means being a loud voice crying out in the wilderness, calling for justice, peace, caring for the poor, and inclusiveness, I have spoken what I know God wants for our world. And have had some pretty surprising pushback from church members. Not threatened to be burned at the stake (at least, not yet) but some things I never thought followers of Jesus would do.

In Cayce, I had put on the marquee “Join Us In Praying For The President.” This was during the Obama administration. I had phone calls threatening me with violence, and threatening to tear down the sign. This was from people who claimed to believe the Bible. Well, all of it except for 1 Timothy 2:1-2. And Romans 13:1-7. And… Well, you get the point.

In Florence, I received several letters from an anonymous author threatening me and by implication my church with violence. I think the term used was “destruction and death will be brought upon you.” The letters were turned over to the police, and since the US mail was involved, they eventually went to the FBI. It was specific to me and my church. No other United Methodist Churches received similar letters, and none of the churches in Florence, regardless of denomination, did. The FBI said it was probably just a crank, but encouraged us to be careful. The trustees of the church, who are empowered to care for the safety of the church, wisely decided to hire an off-duty police officer to be at the church on Sunday mornings. Nothing ever happened of violence.

But I wonder how much money our church and lots of other churches have had to spend on safety. Money that could be used for other good things.

Most of the threats do not come from the world outside of the church. The world outside pretty much ignores the church these days unless it figures it can be used for political purposes. The threats come from within. And they come from people who believe that “the Bible clearly states…”

Back in the early 1980’s one of my favorite TV shows was Hill Street Blues, a cop show about a police station located on Hill Street in a large city. Almost every show started with the police officers getting their daily assignments from Sergeant Phil Esterhaus (Michael Conrad). He always ended his session with “Let’s be careful out there!” Esterhaus was not referring solely to physical safety. He was also referring to how they interpreted and used the law. It affected real people.

Sometimes I think every church service should end with the words, “Let’s be careful out there.”