The struggle for a new American Gospel

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

A couple of years earlier, after a decade of estrangement, I felt a tug to reconnect with organized religion. My two oldest children started having questions. When my daughter asked, “What is God?” we gave the kids a book that said God is everything, which led to my son telling my mother that God was our Honda. So, I started looking for a church. There was no rock band playing slick praise-and-worship music at Trinity Church of Austin, and certainly no speaking in tongues. During services, I saw gay couples and transgender people sitting alongside white-haired Methodist women. The pianist shared that it was the anniversary of his coming to this church, and then explained how his last congregation had ostracized him for being gay. He began to cry as he spoke, and I felt my own tears running down my face.

To read more:

https://newrepublic.com/article/151102/struggle-new-american-gospel-liberal-evangelical-search-god-trumps-america

Long, but well worth the time.

[guillaumeb]

1. And:

Gungor met McHargue in 2013. McHargue had grown up in the heavily conservative Southern Baptist church in Tallahassee, Florida, and, like Gungor, was a lifelong Republican. As a kid, he was bullied because of his weight and found refuge in science, computers, and talking to Jesus in the woods. In 2007, he was married with two children and working in advertising when his father announced he was leaving his mother.

Their sudden divorce, which went against the family’s evangelical beliefs, shattered him, and for once the Bible offered no real answers. With help from Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan, McHargue watched his belief in God disintegrate.

For three years he lived as a closeted atheist, not even telling his wife, all while serving as a deacon in their church.

He met Gungor at a party in Denver hosted by the left-wing pastor and writer Rob Bell, who has been condemned by traditional evangelicals for questioning the existence of hell, and other controversial stances. McHargue knew Bell through a mutual friend and had attended one of his conferences in Los Angeles, after which he’d had a mystical experience on the beach. (God had spoken to him, he said.) He was in the process of reassembling his faith, one that leaned more heavily into science, meditation, and social justice. These days, he and his family attend an affirming Methodist congregation in Pasadena.

[NeoGreen]

2. It's called...

...the book of mormon and was dictated to one joe smith by a white toad or salamander sitting in a hat.

[MineralMan]

3. Has the old one expired or something?

I don't think this author understands the word "gospel" in the same way as others do.

[marylandblue]

4. People constantly reinterpret the Bible for their own ends

In this case they are looking to combine the fervor of evangelical Christianity with less judgmental, more liberal politics.

[MineralMan]

5. Whatever. There's not going to be a new "Gospel," though.

There's not going to be any re-writing of the basic story, nor of the basic things that Jesus was supposed to have said.

There are already hundreds of sizable denominations of Christianity. No more are needed, I'd guess, but more will probably splinter off.

There are already denominations that take a less judgmental, more liberal view of things. All people need to do is find those. The ELCA Lutherans are a pretty good example, I think.

[marylandblue]

9. It is Christian tradition to break with tradition

Whenever Christian gets a new idea starts they like to start their own group. Makes it confusing for outsiders to have so many sects and orders, but it's not our religion so they can do what they want with it. I just like that this creates more political allies among the faithful.

[Voltaire2]

7. But those aren't new gospels.

As pointed out elsewhere- Joseph Smith had an actual new gospel.

To be an actual new revelatory text, gods have to start a new communication with mortals. (e.g.Smith) otherwise it is just another rewrite of the same old stuff.

[marylandblue]

8. They don't plan to literally write a new sacred text

They are offering a new interpretation of the same old Bible. This is significant because they want to offer another path for who want that old time religion without that old time hatred.

[Voltaire2]

10. Yeah that's the point.

It ain’t a new revelation from gods, it is yet another rewrite of the same old nonsense, yet another overlay of whatever agenda is desired on top of the ancient texts. If this is intellectually valid so is the “prosperity gospel”.

[marylandblue]

11. Who says religious reformations need to be intellectually valid?

People go to church for emotional reasons. But if your church makes you feel like crap because you don't hate homosexuals or love rich people, then you might just start your own.

[MineralMan]

12. And so many have that there are literally thousands of Christian denominations.

Already. Most are tiny, have few members and virtually no influence on anything. There's no new Gospel - just a slightly different way of looking at the old one.

I have an idea. Let's throw the entire God concept out the window and start all over with how people treat other people.

We don't need a religious "reformation." We need a religious defenestration.

Jesus is no longer relevant, since nobody pays any attention to his supposed message any more. Let's just start with the message and leave all of the god stuff out.

[marylandblue]

13. Some people seem to need a god

Their need doesn't go away just because other people think it is no longer relevant.

[MineralMan]

14. Well, there are plenty of them from which to choose,

as well as preachers to tell you about them.

I'm not stupid. I know religion's not going away. I just wish it would. So far, it hasn't done much to make people kind to one another. And that's what we need.

But, people will do what people do. More's the pity.

[marylandblue]

15. I don't have a problem with liberal religion like in the OP

I have a problem with conservative religion when they want everyone to do it their way or think you have to be a Christian to be moral.

[Cartoonist]

6. I guess that means all the current ones are no good.

That's what I've been saying. The basic premise is what's wrong. Try starting from reality.