I Hear Voices

Just as the Dims have failed to perform the role of loyal opposition, so the mainstream Christian churches have failed to offer any sustained and meaningful opposition to the intrusion of conservative Christianity into every nook and cranny of American life, all in the name of Jesus Christ and cloaked in the presumed mantle of his authority. I was encouraged, therefore, to see the recent statement from the World Council of Churches regarding their views on the abuses arising out the war in Iraq; the potential environmental catastrophe arising out of global warming; the impacts of the “culture of consumption” in the U.S.; and the U.S. refusal to confront the racism and poverty revealed in the course and aftermath of Katrina. Similarly, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been addressing these and other matters in a consistent call for national responsibility on moral and social issues.

It doesn’t particularly matter whether I agree with a particular WCC or USCCB statement or position. What matters is that they are raising their voice, insisting on being heard collectively, and bringing to bear the influence of the 350 mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches that make up the WCC membership and the 175 Catholic diocese and archdioceses in the U.S. That influence must be used to balance the influence exerted by the fundamentalists, uber-evangelicals or other conservatives that compose the Religious Wrong in America. There is no doubt that the recent WCC statement will produce a wave of vituperative vomit from the CCs, who see the WCC as just another cesspool of moderate and liberal-minded antichrists. That’s not hyperbole; recall the comment by Pat Robertson on The 700 Club when, out of the same mouth with which he prays and takes communion, he said:

“You say you’re supposed to be nice the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don’t have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist.”

Then there was the equally anti-ecumenical declaration from the president of the Southern Baptist Convention that God does not hear the prayers of a Jew. Yeah, I’d say that a strong, balancing voice from the millions of Christians who find this mindset disgusting is more than required; it’s critical.

Just prior to the WCC statement, the U.S. National Council of Churches released a statement calling on the administration to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and decrying reports of alleged torture there as violations of basic Christian beliefs. Again, what matters is another important representative voice is being added to the national debate on issues that are critical to freedom-loving people everywhere. There are freedom-loving Christians who think every prisoner in Gitmo should stay there for the duration of the war on terror; but there are other freedom-loving Christians who see Gitmo as a threat to the cause of freedom the U.S. purports to be advancing. Individual Christians in the latter camp have formed ad hoc groups like Sojourners and Faithful America, which is fine; their voices are welcome additions in the debate on American values. But in some respects those groups have formed because there was a need to fill a void created by the relative silence of the mainstream churches.

Perhaps we're turning a corner and entering a time when the full spectrum of Christian opinion will be heard on issues that involve the tenets of morality and social justice within their faith. It’s about time.