reflecting

We have one of those sign boards outside of our church. One day, upon driving by, I noticed that someone had changed the message to read, "A closed mouth gathers no foot." I thought about what this meant, and phoned the minister to disagree, and request that this message not be left up. It turns out a well-meaning volunteer had posted this as a tongue-in-cheek comment, not meaning to condone censorship, but it could be read that way, so it was taken down.

Re-reading yesterday's post, and having suffered a night of uncharacteristically disrupted sleep, I have decided to remove one foot from my mouth, but not to close it, and also to risk putting in the other in its place.

My own words about the movie Jesus Camp and the families who children are portrayed in the documentary have echoed in my mind. After my blurt of reaction, I began to think about how it would feel if my own criticsms were directed back at me. There are some that I have to retract or rephrase and some for which I'd like to apologize.

First of all, this:

...it was hard to see God in the Christian parents and leaders in Jesus Camp.

I realise that by saying this, I am saying to them the same thing they are saying to others, that their way of seeing God is wrong. This is pretty bad logic and dicey morality, and I would like to change it to say that I disagree with the way these people see God, and believe it to be the opposite of my own understanding that Christians see Christ in everyone they meet.

Next this:

(referring to the children) I hope that some of them will change their minds. Maybe some of their parents will split up, and they'll have a 50% chance of embracing another perspective. (That's kind of an awful thing to hope, but I am hoping it.)

What a terrible thing for me to hope. I would be devastated if somebody wished that of my family just because they disagreed with how my husband and I are raising our kids. It is totally inappropriate for me to suggest such a thing about anyone. I sincerely retract and apologize for this statement.

My Dad pointed me to a review of the movie in the New York Times that suggests another way in which the children might change their beliefs,

The great unanswered question is what will happen to these poised, attractive children when their hormones kick in and they venture beyond their sheltered home and church environments.

Finally, if my comments were construed to indicate that my church is best and/or all Christian Evangelical churches are bad. I apologize for that too. The movie showed one church and gave convincing evidence that the extreme practices and beliefs of this church are growing and spreading. Still, I can't say that this means all evangelical churches do this or that all that they do is bad. I didn't mean to say that, but it could seem like I did, and I regret if it seemed that way.

I remain alarmed and offended by the idea that impressionable children are being taught in some churches the way that children in Jesus Camp are being taught. I disagree strongly and absolutely with a "our way or the highway to hell" understanding of God. I will do my best to express myself, and follow up when I realise I'm out of line. My mouth has room for a foot or two, and they'll surely find there way there again. Better that than to sit silently when I see something that I believe is wrong.

question: did you ever find yourself in this situation?

mompoet - learning to wield the power of free speech with grace and responsibility