Pluralism

No Excuse

David Swanson — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:36:10 -0700

I’m not sure if you have noticed this or not, but it seems like people make up a lot of excuses these days. No one is ever at fault. They always have an excuse. Winnona Ryder, after being arrested at Saks Fifth Avenue with $4700 worth of clothing stuffed in her bag, said “I was told I should shoplift. My director said I should try it out.” Even in the midst of the ongoing oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, BP executives said they were unprepared for a spill of this magnitude because of faulty data they had received from the U.S Government. Apparently, 2004 projections said that any oil spilled in the gulf would rapidly evaporate or get broken up by waves or weather. In other words, they said, “How were we supposed to know the oil would come ashore – you said it wouldn’t!”

It is this cultural trend that makes Romans 1:20 all the more jarring: "..so that men are without excuse." When it comes to our lives and how we live them, because of God's faithful revelation, we have no excuse. None. We should know better.

Now, sure, we'll try to come up with some, but that's often based on a cultural creation of the God we want, not the God who truly is. We mold God into our image so that our excuses work. Dietrich Bonhoeffer saw this in the German Church during the days of Hitler's rise. He said “If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way, who is obliging, who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ. And whoever would find Him, must go to the foot of the cross…”

As I think about the call God has placed upon my life - and yours - my desire is to answer that call as purely as I can. There is no excuse for me. All I can do is throw myself at the foot of the cross, humbly relying on His Spirit to empower me to live as He has commanded. I do not shape Him - He shapes me - so God, keep me still and pliable in your Hands.

Oak Hill Hoops, Pluralism and Islam

Dave Sterrett — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:55:44 -0800

The Dilemma of Pluralism

Richard Dahlstrom — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:51:16 -0800

This morning's BBC report discloses that the French government has refused to grant citizenship to man because he is forcing his wife to wear the 'full veil'. Because she is not free to 'come and go with her face uncovered', this man's values place him a category of person to whom the French government denies citizenship. It is recommended by the French government that anyone showing signs of "radical religious practice" be refused citizenship.I'm interested in your thoughts on this subject so I'll just toss some questions out:

1. The phrase 'radical religious practice' seems ambiguous. Isn't 'eating the flesh and drinking the blood' (see John 6, or your weekly communion table) also radical? Or living in community? What are the risks that this ruling becomes precedent setting for all manner of religious persecution? On the other hand, isn't the state obligated to protect the powerless (Romans 13), and isn't this woman being rendered powerless? But what if she wants the full covering?

2. This man's patriarchy no doubt offends the sensibilities of most of us reading this. But would France also refuse to grant citizenship to a person who believed that a woman shouldn't work outside the home while raising children? The bigger question than the particular ruling is, in this case, how wide this ruling opens the door.

3. We live in a pluralist world, where different belief systems bump up against each other. France is trying to understand how to be pluralist without sacrificing it's own cultural distinctives, and this is where the rub comes. How can we be embracing of other cultures, while maintaining our own cultural identity? This issue is a raging river in Europe, even more so than the United States, but it's an issue everywhere, and an important one.

Pluralism and tolerance are terribly politically correct, but we all have our limits. You can't be a pedophile, you can't steal other people's stuff; on these we all agree. Keep talking about ethics though, and you soon come to multiple forks in the road. If we aren't careful, we're going to end up using these forks to stab each other.

What are your thoughts?