[Oe List ...] 3/01/18: Monroe/Spong: When we close our hearts to refugees; Spong revisited

Ellie Stock elliestock at aol.com
Sat Mar 3 05:19:44 PST 2018


FYI: February 22 newsletter lost somewhere in cyber space...


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                                              <h1 style="display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:26px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left">When
                                                we close our hearts to
                                                 refugees</h1>
                                              

                                              <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=ac33a967dc&e=7e96263227"><img style="border:0px                                                  initial;width:125px;height:108px;float:left;margin:0px                                                  10px 0px                                                  0px;outline:none;text-decoration:none" height="108" width="125" align="left" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/c5ed3e3e-57d0-4f58-ada6-d85039b0a36b.png"></a> Essay
                                              by Rev. Irene Monroe March
                                              1,  2018
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">President
                                                Trump’s proclivity for
                                                racist remarks comes as
                                                no surprise to me. His
                                                recent infamous comment
                                                stating a preference for
                                                immigrants coming from a
                                                Scandinavian country
                                                like Norway rather than
                                                from Africa and Haiti
                                                which he depicts as
                                                “shithole” countries
                                                with nothing to offer
                                                the U.S is based solely
                                                on his ignorance (Also,
                                                Mr. President, Africa is
                                                a continent.). As a
                                                matter-of-fact, black
                                                African immigrants are
                                                the most educated
                                                demographic group in the
                                                U.S., surpassing those
                                                of us born here- black
                                                or white. According to
                                                the Los Angeles Times,
                                                they come from five
                                                major countries:
                                                Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya,
                                                Nigeria and South
                                                African.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Since
                                                Trump’s anti-immigration
                                                comments I’ve been
                                                thinking about the
                                                biblical mandate in
                                                Matthew 25: 35 that says
                                                to welcome refugees.
                                                Jesus speaks directly to
                                                the issue where he says,
                                                “For I was hungry and
                                                you gave me something to
                                                eat; I was thirsty and
                                                you gave me something to
                                                drink; I was a stranger
                                                and you took me in.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Jesus
                                                in this Matthew verse
                                                speaks from experience
                                                because he and his
                                                parents, Mary and
                                                Joseph, were Middle
                                                Eastern refugees. The
                                                nativity scene depicts
                                                them desperately looking
                                                for lodging, only to be
                                                told there were no
                                                vacancies. Soon after
                                                Jesus’s birth, we learn
                                                Mary and Joseph fled to
                                                Egypt from violence with
                                                their newborn as
                                                refugees.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Holocaust
                                                survivors speak from
                                                experience of fleeing
                                                violence, too:</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">“<em>Seventy-five
                                                  years ago my mother’s
                                                  family was being
                                                  murdered in Poland
                                                  because they could not
                                                  escape</em>,” said
                                                Leora Tec, Founder and
                                                Director of Bridge to
                                                Poland, which offers
                                                tours to Poland focusing
                                                on Jewish life before
                                                and after the Nazi’s
                                                occupation. Her mother,
                                                85 year-old Nechama Tec,
                                                survived the Holocaust
                                                by posing as a Catholic
                                                girl sheltered by a
                                                Catholic family and
                                                wrote about her rescue
                                                in her book, <em>When
                                                  Light Pierced the
                                                  Darkness: Christian
                                                  Rescue of Jews in
                                                  Nazi-Occupied Poland</em>.
                                                Leora explains how the
                                                fate of her mother and
                                                her mother’s family may
                                                have been different had
                                                it not been for people
                                                taking them in as
                                                refugees, which is what
                                                they were considered at
                                                the time.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">“In
                                                1946, after the war,
                                                people wanted to murder
                                                my grandfather in Poland
                                                so my mother’s family
                                                left. They were refugees
                                                in Germany,” she said.
                                                “Refugees are not a
                                                caricature, a
                                                uni-dimensional creation
                                                of a limited mind. What
                                                they really are are
                                                human beings. They could
                                                be you or me tomorrow,
                                                and very likely there
                                                were some in your
                                                family’s not so distant
                                                past.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Leora
                                                added, “<em>knowing that
                                                  people will stand up
                                                  for others even under
                                                  the threat of death
                                                  gives me hope in these
                                                  dark times</em>.” Her
                                                mother was fortunate to
                                                have survived, but so
                                                many others didn’t.
                                                However, it is very
                                                likely that they could
                                                have, had the U.S.
                                                opened their borders to
                                                them – which is
                                                strikingly foreshadowing
                                                of what we are seeing
                                                today with Trump’s
                                                recent immigration
                                                policies.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Oddly,
                                                the first group of
                                                settlers in America was
                                                refugees- the Pilgrims.
                                                And like refugees today,
                                                the Pilgrims were
                                                seeking a better life.
                                                However, the Pilgrims,
                                                who sought refuge here
                                                in America from
                                                religious persecution in
                                                their homeland, were
                                                right in their dogged
                                                pursuit of religious
                                                liberty, but their
                                                actual practice of
                                                religious liberty came
                                                at the expense of the
                                                civil rights of Native
                                                Americans. The actions
                                                of the Pilgrims brought
                                                about the genocide of a
                                                people, a historical
                                                amnesia of the event,
                                                and an annual national
                                                celebration of
                                                Thanksgiving for their
                                                arrival. Trump views
                                                refugees as bringing
                                                harm to America, but the
                                                only refugees who did so
                                                were the Pilgrims.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">While
                                                Trump’s comment will now
                                                make it more difficult
                                                for immigrants from
                                                “shithole” countries to
                                                enter the U.S., the
                                                challenge, however, will
                                                be particularly arduous
                                                for its LGBTQ asylum
                                                seekers. These people
                                                flee their countries to
                                                avoid criminalization,
                                                torture, violence,
                                                public persecution,
                                                political scapegoating
                                                and moral cleansing.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Many
                                                of the governments they
                                                flee argue they do not
                                                like the world’s
                                                interference in their
                                                business, especially the
                                                U.S. They contend that
                                                being LGBTQ are
                                                anathemas to African and
                                                Afro-Caribbean
                                                identities, cultural and
                                                family values, and it’s
                                                one of the many ills
                                                brought over by white
                                                Europeans (a similar
                                                homo/transphobic polemic
                                                still argued among
                                                religious and uninformed
                                                conservative African
                                                Americans). Sadly, the
                                                debate between”
                                                authentically “African”
                                                and Western colonial
                                                remnants always finds
                                                some way to dispute the
                                                reality of the black
                                                LGBTQ existence.
                                                Therefore, coming out
                                                LGBTQ in many of the
                                                African and Caribbean
                                                countries is dangerous.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">For
                                                example, approximately
                                                thirty-eight of
                                                fifty-four countries in
                                                the African continent
                                                criminalizes same-gender
                                                consensual activity.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">We
                                                all have heard of the
                                                human rights abuses of
                                                Uganda’s LGBTQ
                                                population. The
                                                country’s
                                                Anti-Homosexuality Bill
                                                dubbed “Kill the Gays
                                                bill” criminalized
                                                same-sex relations. And,
                                                depending on which
                                                category your sexual
                                                behavior was classified
                                                as —” aggravated
                                                homosexual” or “the
                                                offense of
                                                homosexuality”—you’d
                                                either receive the death
                                                penalty or if lucky life
                                                imprisonment.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Gay
                                                activist David Kato was
                                                the father of Uganda’s
                                                LGBTQ rights movement.
                                                He didn’t live to
                                                receive either
                                                punishment. Kato, beaten
                                                to death with a hammer,
                                                was murdered in January
                                                2011.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">John
                                                “Longjones” Abdallah
                                                Wambere, a friend of
                                                Kato’s and co-founder of
                                                Spectrum, an LGBTQ
                                                rights organization, is
                                                an activist too. Fleeing
                                                from persecution Wambere
                                                was approved asylum in
                                                2014. He now lives in my
                                                ‘hood” of Cambridge, MA.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">And
                                                last summer, at the 2017
                                                DignityUSA conference in
                                                Boston, Warry Joanita
                                                Ssenfuka, director of
                                                Freedom and Roam Uganda
                                                (FARUG), spoke on being
                                                a Catholic lesbian
                                                activist in Uganda,
                                                where LGBTQI people have
                                                no legal protections,
                                                and frequently suffer
                                                violence and
                                                imprisonment. Ssenfuka
                                                is a plaintiff in
                                                “Sexual Minorities
                                                Uganda v. Scott Lively.”
                                                Lively, a white racist,
                                                homophobic Pentecostal
                                                pastor of Springfield,
                                                Massachusetts, is
                                                accused of persecuting
                                                LGBTQI people abroad,
                                                resulting in the
                                                introduction of an
                                                Anti-Homosexuality Bill
                                                he helped engineer in
                                                Uganda, which was
                                                prosecuted as a crime
                                                against humanity under
                                                international law.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Throughout
                                                the African continent,
                                                there are stories of
                                                homophobic bullying,
                                                trans bashing, and every
                                                kind of abuse of its
                                                LGBTQ population.
                                                However, the one country
                                                you don’t expect to hear
                                                anti- LGBTQ rhetoric and
                                                human rights abuses from
                                                is South Africa.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">South
                                                Africa is the first
                                                African country to
                                                support openly LGBTQ
                                                civil rights. But South
                                                Africa has a problem
                                                with its LGBTQ
                                                population, especially
                                                its lesbians. South
                                                Africa’s method to
                                                remedy the problem with
                                                lesbians is “corrective
                                                rape.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">On
                                                any given day in South
                                                Africa, lesbians are
                                                twice as likely to be
                                                sexually molested,
                                                raped, and gang-raped
                                                than heterosexual women.
                                                A reported estimate of
                                                at least 500 lesbians
                                                are victims of
                                                “corrective rape” per
                                                year. And in Western
                                                Cape, a province in the
                                                south west of South
                                                Africa, a report put out
                                                by the Triangle Project
                                                in 2008 stated that as
                                                many as 86 percent of
                                                its lesbian population
                                                live in fear of being
                                                raped.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">And,
                                                in Haiti, a country that
                                                is predominately Roman
                                                Catholic homosexuality
                                                is condemned. Among
                                                Haiti’s LGBTQ middle and
                                                profession classes they
                                                find ways to socialize
                                                out of the public
                                                “gaydar” and with
                                                impunity. However, for
                                                the poorer classes of
                                                LGBTQ Haitians who live,
                                                work and socialize in
                                                the densely populated
                                                and impoverished capitol
                                                city of Port-au-Prince
                                                and its countryside,
                                                discrimination on the
                                                basis of their sexual
                                                orientation and gender
                                                expressions is
                                                commonplace. The 2002
                                                documentary “ Des Hommes
                                                et Dieux (Of Men and
                                                Gods)” by anthropologist
                                                Anne Lescot exposed the
                                                daily struggles of
                                                Haitian transwomen.
                                                Blondine in the film
                                                said, “When people
                                                insult me because I wear
                                                a dress I am not ashamed
                                                of how I am. Masisis
                                                (gay males) can’t walk
                                                down the street in a wig
                                                and dress.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Regrettably,
                                                a certain group within
                                                white evangelicalism
                                                agree with Trump’s
                                                stance on refugees. For
                                                example, Rev. Franklin
                                                Graham, the president of
                                                the international
                                                Christian relief
                                                organization Samaritan’s
                                                Purse, said immigration
                                                is ‘not a Bible issue.’</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">“It’s
                                                not a biblical command
                                                for the country to let
                                                everyone in who wants to
                                                come, that’s not a Bible
                                                issue,” Graham told
                                                HuffPost. “We want to
                                                love people, we want to
                                                be kind to people, we
                                                want to be considerate,
                                                but we have a country
                                                and a country should
                                                have order and there are
                                                laws that relate to
                                                immigration and I think
                                                we should follow those
                                                laws. .”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">However,
                                                the Christian Right
                                                needs to listen to the
                                                right Christians. Last
                                                February this time more
                                                than five hundred
                                                prominent evangelicals
                                                from across the country
                                                took out a full-page ad
                                                supporting refugees.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">“Our
                                                care for the oppressed
                                                and suffering is rooted
                                                in the call of Jesus to
                                                “love our neighbor as we
                                                love ourselves.” In the
                                                story of the Good
                                                Samaritan (Luke
                                                10:25-37), Jesus makes
                                                it clear that our
                                                “neighbor” includes the
                                                stranger and anyone
                                                fleeing persecution and
                                                violence, regardless of
                                                their faith or country,”
                                                the letter stated.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">“As
                                                Christians, we are
                                                committed to praying for
                                                our elected officials.
                                                Our prayer is that God
                                                would grant President
                                                Trump and all our
                                                leaders divine wisdom as
                                                they direct the course
                                                of our nation.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Trump’s
                                                administration may very
                                                well make it difficult
                                                for Africans and
                                                Haitians to come to the
                                                U.S. But, he cannot stop
                                                asylum seekers.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Legally,
                                                it is a universal human
                                                right to seek asylum,
                                                and the U.S has been
                                                offering asylum to LGBTQ
                                                people from around the
                                                world since 1994. And,
                                                morally, governments
                                                have an obligation to
                                                come to the aid of those
                                                fleeing persecution, a
                                                minimum standard any
                                                decent government
                                                recognizes.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">When
                                                we close our hearts and
                                                doors to refugees, we
                                                close ourselves from the
                                                world.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">~
                                                Rev. Irene Monroe

                                                

                                                Read online <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=d996cd3a78&e=7e96263227">here</a>

                                                

                                                <strong>About the Author</strong>

                                                

                                                The Reverend Monroe is
                                                an ordained minister.
                                                She does a weekly Monday
                                                segment, “All Revved
                                                Up!” on WGBH (89.7 FM),
                                                a Boston member station
                                                of National Public Radio
                                                (NPR), that is now  a
                                                podcast,  and a weekly
                                                Friday commentator  on
                                                New England Channel NEWS
                                                (NECN). Monroe is the
                                                Boston voice for
                                                Detour’s African
                                                American Heritage Trail,
                                                a <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=3c9b96f999&e=7e96263227">Guided
                                                  Walking Tour of Beacon
                                                  Hill: Boston’s Black
                                                  Women Abolitionists</a>.
                                                Monroe’s a Huffington
                                                Post blogger and a
                                                syndicated religion
                                                columnist. Her columns
                                                appear in cities across
                                                the country and in the
                                                U.K, Ireland, Canada. 
                                                Monroe writes a column
                                                in the Boston home LGBTQ
                                                newspaper Baywindows,
                                                Cambridge Chronicle, 
                                                and Opinion pieces for
                                                the Boston Globe.

                                                

                                                Monroe stated that her
                                                "columns are an
                                                interdisciplinary
                                                approach drawing on
                                                critical race theory,
                                                African American, queer
                                                and religious studies.
                                                As a religion columnist
                                                I try to inform the
                                                public of the role
                                                religion plays in
                                                discrimination against
                                                lesbian, gay, bisexual,
                                                transgender and queer
                                                people. Because
                                                homophobia is both a
                                                hatred of the “other”
                                                and it’s usually acted
                                                upon ‘in the name of
                                                religion,” by reporting
                                                religion in the news I
                                                aim to highlight how
                                                religious intolerance
                                                and fundamentalism not
                                                only shatters the goal
                                                of American democracy,
                                                but also aids in
                                                perpetuating other forms
                                                of oppression such as
                                                racism, sexism, classism
                                                and anti-Semitism.”

                                                

                                                Her papers are at the
                                                Schlesinger Library at
                                                Radcliffe College's
                                                research library on the
                                                history of women in
                                                America.</p>
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                                              <h1 style="display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:26px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left">Question
                                                & Answer</h1>
                                              <h3 style="display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left"> </h3>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><span style="font-size:18px"><strong>Q:
                                                    By Ginny from Canada</strong></span>

                                                

                                                <em>What Bible
                                                  translation would you
                                                  recommend for a
                                                  progressive?</em></p>
                                              <h3 style="display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left">

                                                <span style="font-size:18px"><strong>A:
                                                    By Rev. Gretta
                                                    Vosper</strong></span></h3>
                                               
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=eaa28b429f&e=7e96263227"><img style="border:0px;width:125px;height:145px;margin:0px                                                    10px 0px                                                    0px;float:left;outline:none;text-decoration:none" height="145" width="125" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/9d1fabc2-63f8-4f38-b027-d0d499a4a6ce.png"></a> Dear
                                                Ginny,</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">I
                                                am fortunate to work
                                                with a congregation that
                                                challenges me to choose
                                                readings for each Sunday
                                                that are not from the
                                                Bible. We use texts that
                                                offer us the opportunity
                                                to explore major issues
                                                related to being human.
                                                They come from ancient
                                                and modern literature,
                                                poetry and pop culture,
                                                movie scripts and love
                                                letters. As long as they
                                                are worthy of the people
                                                who will receive them,
                                                and fall within the
                                                purposes of our
                                                gathering – to ground
                                                ourselves in the
                                                interconnectedness of
                                                life, to be guided in
                                                our choices by love, and
                                                to grow in wisdom – we
                                                can read it.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">That
                                                doesn’t mean that I
                                                don’t read the Bible.
                                                Each week, I read its
                                                lectionary passages and
                                                find within them a theme
                                                I use to create the
                                                Sunday Gathering. The
                                                passages I read,
                                                however, are not for
                                                that Sunday; they are
                                                for the following year.
                                                I work a year ahead so I
                                                can create resources for
                                                clergy who use the
                                                lectionary but wish to
                                                explore non- or
                                                post-theistic themes.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Many
                                                of my peers use the New
                                                Revised Standard Version
                                                (NRSV) because it is the
                                                updated version of the
                                                classic Revised Standard
                                                Version (RSV) upon which
                                                many of us grew up.
                                                Published in 1989, the
                                                editors recognized that
                                                much misunderstanding
                                                had entered into the
                                                interpretation of the
                                                text because English is
                                                inherently biased toward
                                                the masculine. In order
                                                to mitigate such abuse
                                                of the text, all
                                                references to humanity
                                                are gender-neutral. So
                                                it is really one of the
                                                better “inclusive
                                                language” texts despite
                                                it continuing to provide
                                                exclusively male
                                                language in references
                                                to God. At the very
                                                least, I would recommend
                                                that you not read
                                                anything that hasn’t
                                                managed to get to a
                                                place of gender
                                                neutrality with respect
                                                to humanity.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Oral
                                                reading of any sort in
                                                any setting, unless done
                                                by someone with
                                                excellent reading
                                                skills, can be
                                                snore-inducing. There is
                                                nothing compelling about
                                                something badly read.
                                                But when you start with
                                                a text that is already
                                                verbally challenging,
                                                you may as well provide
                                                several minutes of
                                                silence. That is the
                                                NRSV from the pulpit. It
                                                is wooden, difficult,
                                                and uninspiring. Whether
                                                you are looking for a
                                                book to read to your
                                                congregation in Sunday
                                                services or a book to
                                                inspire you with the
                                                depth and breadth of the
                                                skill and wonder of the
                                                biblical poets and
                                                authors, I would invite
                                                you to steer clear of
                                                the New Revised Standard
                                                Version.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Not
                                                surprisingly, given that
                                                it began as the result
                                                of explorations of how
                                                English is both read and
                                                heard, the Contemporary
                                                English Version (CEV)
                                                avoids the challenges
                                                the NRSV falls into. You
                                                might call it the Good
                                                News Bible (GNB) for
                                                subsequent generations
                                                despite the fact that it
                                                has no official
                                                relationship to the GNB
                                                and none of the GNB’s
                                                iconic line drawings.
                                                It, too, provides
                                                gender-neutral language
                                                except for references to
                                                God. I have used the CEV
                                                since it was first
                                                published in 1995,
                                                finding it easier to
                                                share orally and easier
                                                to consume privately.
                                                Indeed, it is written
                                                for a lower reading
                                                level than the GNB and
                                                miles below the NRSV.
                                                But don’t let that make
                                                you feel stupid. You’re
                                                not. You simply want to
                                                enjoy reading something
                                                written for people two
                                                thousand years ago.
                                                Keeping that simple is
                                                one of the hardest
                                                things to do.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">The
                                                CEV, my favourite, is
                                                now over twenty years
                                                old. There may be newer,
                                                more engaging versions
                                                available. If you really
                                                want to read the Bible,
                                                explore and find
                                                something that you will
                                                satisfy you. These few
                                                tests will help you find
                                                a version you’ll want to
                                                go back to over and
                                                again: look several
                                                versions up online to
                                                see what the principles
                                                guiding the writing
                                                were, specifically, if
                                                they included gender
                                                neutrality – that’s an
                                                easy test of
                                                contemporary
                                                sensitivities; choose a
                                                passage (not a
                                                favourite) and read it
                                                in as many versions as
                                                you need to find one you
                                                like then check out your
                                                favourite passages. If
                                                you like your favourites
                                                even in the new version,
                                                you have found a new
                                                friend. If not, keep
                                                looking.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Reading
                                                the Bible is a pastime
                                                in which an enormous
                                                amount of time is
                                                invested. Your time is
                                                limited. Choose what you
                                                read wisely. And if it
                                                is a Bible, make it a
                                                good one.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">~
                                                Rev. Gretta Vosper

                                                

                                                Read and share online <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=a4c04deafa&e=7e96263227">here</a>

                                                

                                                <strong>About the Author</strong>

                                                

                                                The Rev. Gretta Vosper
                                                is a United Church of
                                                Canada minister who is
                                                an atheist. Her
                                                best-selling books
                                                include <em>With or
                                                  Without God: Why The
                                                  Way We Live is More
                                                  Important Than What We
                                                  Believe</em>, and <em>Amen:
                                                  What Prayer Can Mean
                                                  in a World Beyond
                                                  Belief</em>. She has
                                                also published three
                                                books of poetry and
                                                prayers.

                                                 </p>
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                                              <h1 style="text-align:center;display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:26px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal">Bishop
                                                John Shelby Spong
                                                Revisited</h1>
                                               
                                              <h3 style="text-align:center;display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal">The
                                                Connection between the
                                                Crucifixion and the
                                                Passover Part VI</h3>
                                              

                                              Essay by Bishop John
                                              Shelby Spong on March 9,
                                              2005

                                               
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><img style="border:0px;width:125px;height:125px;margin-right:10px;outline:none;text-decoration:none" height="125" width="125" align="left" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/84fbd945-363f-48e0-97f1-129010755fed.jpg"> Today,
                                                as a way to round out
                                                this series on the
                                                biblical accounts of the
                                                crucifixion and
                                                resurrection of Jesus,
                                                events which most
                                                scholars date around 30
                                                CE, I want to take what
                                                might seem to some to be
                                                a detour. I will line up
                                                these biblical sources
                                                in their chronological
                                                order, which stretches
                                                from about 50 to 100 CE.
                                                I will then walk you, my
                                                readers, through this
                                                material from the first
                                                writings to the last,
                                                pointing out overt
                                                contradictions, places
                                                where the story grows,
                                                and illustrations of how
                                                the miraculous has been
                                                heightened. In this
                                                manner I hope to
                                                demonstrate the
                                                inadequacy of trying to
                                                interpret the Bible
                                                literally. My goal is to
                                                assist my readers to
                                                step into a new vision
                                                of the reality of the
                                                resurrection, which
                                                requires first a step
                                                away from our blurred,
                                                culturally imposed
                                                understanding of Easter.
                                                The old vision is
                                                primarily a collage
                                                drawn from several
                                                incompatible sources. It
                                                is biblically
                                                inaccurate, and is not
                                                informed by any of the
                                                scholarship of the last
                                                200 years. Still in many
                                                places even within the
                                                Christian Church, that
                                                understanding of Easter
                                                continues to masquerade
                                                as “orthodoxy.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">I
                                                begin with Paul, the
                                                first writer in the New
                                                Testament, and in
                                                particular with I
                                                Corinthians, an epistle
                                                dated around 55 CE. This
                                                is not only the earliest
                                                written account of the
                                                final events in Jesus’
                                                life that we possess,
                                                but it is the <u>only</u> account
                                                the Christian Church had
                                                until the early
                                                seventies. We need to
                                                recognize that Paul had
                                                died before the first
                                                gospel was written; so
                                                step number one in the
                                                interpretive process is
                                                not to read Paul through
                                                the images created in
                                                the later gospels about
                                                which Paul knew
                                                absolutely nothing.
                                                Those people, who seem
                                                to think that Paul took
                                                the simple religion of
                                                Jesus found in the
                                                gospels and corrupted it
                                                into convoluted
                                                theology, do not
                                                understand anything
                                                about early
                                                Christianity. The
                                                gospels assume the
                                                writings of Paul. Paul
                                                does not assume the
                                                writings of the gospels.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">The
                                                first thing one notices,
                                                when Paul is isolated
                                                and treated as the
                                                oldest Christian source,
                                                is that there are no
                                                narrative details
                                                connected with his
                                                descriptions of the
                                                final events in the life
                                                of Jesus. All that Paul
                                                says about the
                                                crucifixion is that,
                                                “Christ died for our
                                                sins in accordance with
                                                the scriptures.” In this
                                                Pauline material, there
                                                are no stories about
                                                Gethsemane, the
                                                betrayal, the trial, the
                                                torture, the crown of
                                                thorns, the two thieves,
                                                the behavior of the
                                                crowd, the words from
                                                the cross, or the
                                                darkness at noon. There
                                                is no mention of the
                                                moment when Jesus
                                                breathed his last.
                                                Perhaps Paul knew
                                                nothing about these
                                                stories. Perhaps he knew
                                                about them but chose not
                                                to relay these details.
                                                Those are the only
                                                options. Since human
                                                experience suggests that
                                                stories grow in the
                                                telling, the former is
                                                far more probable than
                                                the latter.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Next
                                                Paul says that following
                                                Jesus’ death, “He was
                                                buried.” Note that there
                                                is no mention of a tomb,
                                                or of Joseph of
                                                Arimathea. The
                                                suggestion is that he
                                                knew nothing about
                                                either tradition. Then
                                                Paul says quite sparsely
                                                that, “He was raised on
                                                the third day in
                                                accordance with the
                                                scriptures.” There is no
                                                account of the women
                                                coming to the tomb on
                                                the first day of the
                                                week and finding it
                                                empty. Certainly there
                                                is no suggestion that
                                                these women ever saw the
                                                risen Christ. Indeed,
                                                Paul relates no
                                                narrative content
                                                describing anyone’s
                                                experience of ‘seeing’
                                                the risen Christ. He
                                                simply lists those to
                                                whom, he asserts, Jesus
                                                had appeared. They were
                                                in Paul’s order: Cephas
                                                (i.e. Simon Peter), the
                                                twelve, 500 brethren,
                                                James, the Apostles and
                                                finally Paul. Though
                                                this is the earliest
                                                list of witnesses we
                                                have, it is nonetheless
                                                full of questions. Why
                                                does Paul say that Jesus
                                                appeared to the twelve?
                                                Does that mean that he
                                                did not know about
                                                Judas? Matthew will say
                                                later that the first
                                                time the risen Christ
                                                appeared to the
                                                disciples, it was only
                                                to the “eleven.” It was
                                                at least 35 years after
                                                the death of Paul before
                                                the story of Matthias
                                                being chosen to succeed
                                                Judas entered the
                                                Christian story. Who
                                                were the 500 brethren?
                                                There is no hint in any
                                                of the later gospels
                                                that anyone has been
                                                able to correlate with
                                                that Pauline reference.
                                                Who was James? There are
                                                only three
                                                possibilities: James,
                                                the son of Zebedee,
                                                James, the son of
                                                Alphaeus, and James, the
                                                brother of Jesus. Which
                                                one does Paul mean? Who
                                                were “the Apostles?” Are
                                                they different from the
                                                twelve? Paul appears to
                                                think so. Finally, Paul
                                                says, “he appeared to
                                                me.” Please note that
                                                Paul is claiming that
                                                his experience of
                                                ‘seeing’ the risen
                                                Christ was like all the
                                                others except that his
                                                was last. Since no one I
                                                know thinks that Paul
                                                confronted a Jesus who
                                                had physiologically
                                                walked out of a tomb, it
                                                begs the question as to
                                                what the earliest
                                                Christians meant by the
                                                resurrection of Jesus.
                                                The best estimate as to
                                                the date of Paul’s
                                                conversion, according to
                                                church historian Adolph
                                                Harnack, was one to six
                                                years after the
                                                crucifixion. In either
                                                case, Paul’s witness is
                                                that what he saw was no
                                                different from that
                                                which all the others on
                                                his list saw. This fact
                                                certainly works against
                                                anyone attempting to
                                                claim that the
                                                resurrection of Jesus
                                                involved a physical,
                                                bodily resuscitation.
                                                That is all Paul says
                                                about the crucifixion,
                                                burial and resurrection
                                                which means that this
                                                was all the Christian
                                                Church had in writing
                                                until Mark wrote in the
                                                eighth decade.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Having
                                                previously looked at
                                                Mark’s story of Jesus’
                                                passion in this series,
                                                I will focus in this
                                                column only on what Mark
                                                specifically adds to the
                                                developing Easter story
                                                (see 16:1-8). Mark
                                                introduces the women.
                                                They are Mary Magdalene,
                                                Mary, the mother of
                                                James, and Salome. He
                                                says these women go to
                                                Jesus’ tomb “to anoint
                                                him.” As they journey
                                                they wonder how they
                                                will roll back the stone
                                                from “the door of the
                                                tomb.” To their surprise
                                                on arrival they find it
                                                already rolled away. How
                                                that happened is not
                                                explained. They enter
                                                the open tomb only to
                                                see, not an angel, but a
                                                young man dressed in a
                                                white robe who announces
                                                that Jesus has been
                                                raised and urges them to
                                                go tell Peter and the
                                                disciples, “he is going
                                                before you to Galilee,
                                                there you will see him.”
                                                That is all Mark says
                                                about the resurrection.
                                                Please note that the
                                                risen Christ never
                                                appears to anyone in
                                                Mark’s gospel. The
                                                authentic part of Mark’s
                                                text ends with the women
                                                fleeing in fear and
                                                saying nothing to
                                                anyone. This means that
                                                when the early church
                                                had only the writings of
                                                Paul and Mark, which is
                                                all that existed prior
                                                to the 9th decade, there
                                                was not yet a
                                                description of a
                                                physically resuscitated
                                                body that would lead
                                                anyone to believe that
                                                the resurrection was
                                                understood as the
                                                restoration to life in
                                                this world of the three
                                                days dead Jesus.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Matthew
                                                finally introduces that
                                                idea in his gospel,
                                                which is generally dated
                                                in the mid-eighties.
                                                There is no doubt that
                                                Matthew had Mark in
                                                front of him when he
                                                composed his work, so by
                                                reading them both we can
                                                watch the changes that
                                                Matthew makes in Mark’s
                                                text. Matthew drops
                                                Salome from Mark’s list
                                                of the women who came to
                                                the tomb at dawn. He
                                                gives no purpose for
                                                that visit as Mark had
                                                done. Matthew has also
                                                added an earthquake in
                                                which an angel descends
                                                out of the sky and rolls
                                                the stone away. Matthew,
                                                who alone had added a
                                                retinue of Temple police
                                                to stand watch at the
                                                tomb to guard against
                                                any miraculous
                                                circumstances occurring,
                                                now says that the
                                                appearance of this angel
                                                caused that guard to
                                                become so fearful, they
                                                “became like dead men.”
                                                Matthew has the angel
                                                tell the women that
                                                Jesus has been raised,
                                                and to urge them to tell
                                                the disciples that Jesus
                                                “is going before you to
                                                Galilee; there you will
                                                see him.” Contrary to
                                                Mark’s account, in which
                                                the women “said nothing
                                                to anyone,” Matthew’s
                                                women obediently go at
                                                once to tell the
                                                disciples. Jesus meets
                                                them in the garden and
                                                speaks to them. The
                                                women, Matthew says,
                                                “took hold of his
                                                (presumably physical)
                                                feet and worshiped him.”
                                                That is the first
                                                account in Christian
                                                written history
                                                suggesting that the
                                                resurrection was somehow
                                                physical. A minimum of
                                                50 years has passed
                                                since the time of the
                                                crucifixion.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Matthew
                                                then adds further
                                                intrigue to his story
                                                about the guards. When
                                                they awakened and found
                                                the tomb empty they
                                                plotted to tell people
                                                that his disciples stole
                                                his body while they were
                                                asleep. Matthew
                                                concludes his narrative
                                                by relating that
                                                promised appearance of
                                                the risen Christ in
                                                Galilee. It took place
                                                on a mountaintop. Jesus
                                                appears to have come out
                                                of the sky, clothed with
                                                the “authority of heaven
                                                and earth.” He
                                                commissions them “to go
                                                into all the world and
                                                promises that he, Jesus,
                                                will be with them “to
                                                the close of the age.”</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">When
                                                we move to Luke’s
                                                gospel, which is
                                                generally dated between
                                                88-93, the story has
                                                grown even more. In Luke
                                                the women go to the tomb
                                                with spices as if to
                                                finish the burial
                                                process. The list of
                                                women is once again
                                                different. The named
                                                ones are Magdalene,
                                                Mary, the mother of
                                                James, and Joanna, but
                                                Luke covers his bases by
                                                saying that some other
                                                women were also there.
                                                The announcing figure,
                                                who was a young man in a
                                                white robe in Mark and a
                                                supernatural angel in
                                                Matthew, has now become
                                                two supernatural angels
                                                in Luke. The promise
                                                that the disciples will
                                                meet the risen Christ in
                                                Galilee has, however,
                                                been dropped. Luke will
                                                deny any association of
                                                Galilee with
                                                resurrection. The women,
                                                who do not see Jesus in
                                                Luke, report these
                                                things to the disciples.
                                                Luke then adds the
                                                Emmaus Road story, told
                                                nowhere else in
                                                scripture. In this
                                                narrative Cleopas and
                                                his partner recognize
                                                Jesus in the breaking of
                                                the bread, then rush
                                                back to Jerusalem to
                                                tell the disciples, only
                                                to be told that Jesus
                                                has by now already
                                                appeared to Simon Peter.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">While
                                                they are talking, Jesus
                                                appears. This is the
                                                first moment in written
                                                Christian history in
                                                which the risen Jesus
                                                and his disciples are
                                                said to have come
                                                together in Jerusalem.
                                                Jesus is very physical.
                                                He offers his flesh for
                                                inspection. He asks for
                                                food to eat. He opens
                                                their minds to
                                                understand the
                                                scriptures that explain
                                                why Christ had to
                                                suffer. Then, telling
                                                them to remain in
                                                Jerusalem until they are
                                                clothed with power from
                                                on high, he led them out
                                                to Bethany and parted
                                                from them by being
                                                carried up into heaven.
                                                Later, when Luke writes
                                                Acts, he will put 40
                                                days between the
                                                resurrection and the
                                                ascension. That is not
                                                so in his gospel.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">Finally
                                                in John, writing near
                                                the turn of the first
                                                century, only one woman,
                                                Magdalene goes to the
                                                tomb. She finds the
                                                stone rolled away and
                                                runs to report this to
                                                Simon Peter and the
                                                “disciple whom Jesus
                                                loved,” both of whom
                                                have come to the tomb to
                                                verify her story. It is
                                                here that the story of
                                                the grave clothes,
                                                wrapped neatly in two
                                                separate places as if
                                                Jesus has simply risen
                                                out of them, first comes
                                                into the Christian
                                                tradition. The disciples
                                                return to their place of
                                                hiding while Magdalene
                                                comes back to the tomb
                                                to mourn. She looks
                                                again into the tomb and
                                                this time sees two
                                                angels who inquire as to
                                                the cause of her tears.
                                                “Because they have taken
                                                away my Lord and I do
                                                not know where they have
                                                laid him, she replies.”
                                                Then Jesus appears.
                                                Mistaking him for the
                                                gardener, she asks him
                                                where he has placed the
                                                body so that she might
                                                reclaim it. He speaks
                                                her name. Magdalene
                                                recognizes him. He tells
                                                her that he has not yet
                                                ascended and urges her
                                                to go tell the disciples
                                                that “I am ascending.”
                                                She obeys and exits.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">That
                                                evening, John continues,
                                                the now ascended Jesus
                                                appears to the disciples
                                                inside a locked room. He
                                                breathes on them and
                                                says, “Receive the Holy
                                                Spirit.” Thomas is
                                                absent. A week later the
                                                story is repeated with
                                                Thomas present. Jesus
                                                offers his wounds for
                                                inspection. Thomas
                                                believes. The narrative
                                                concludes. However, in
                                                the next chapter,
                                                another resurrection
                                                story, this time set in
                                                Galilee not Jerusalem,
                                                is told by John. Peter
                                                is confronted and told
                                                to “feed my sheep.” Then
                                                John concludes the
                                                chapter and the book a
                                                second time.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">These
                                                are the raw biblical
                                                data. Next week I will
                                                seek to interpret these
                                                narratives in the final
                                                section of this series
                                                leading us toward
                                                Easter.</p>
                                              <p style="margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">~ 
                                                John Shelby Spong</p>
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                                              <h1 class="aolmail_m_-8877184950195836862null" style="text-align:center;display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:26px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal">Announcements</h1>
                                               
                                              <h2 class="aolmail_m_-8877184950195836862null" style="text-align:center;display:block;margin:0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:22px;font-style:normal;font-weight:bold;line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal"><font size="4"><strong><a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=c951ebbb72&e=7e96263227"><img style="border:0px;width:125px;height:135px;margin:0px                                                        10px 0px                                                        0px;float:left;outline:none;text-decoration:none" height="135" width="125" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/4915ed4c-7767-45c3-b031-2ddd9b4c13f7.jpg"></a>A
                                                    Grateful Evening
                                                    with Diana Butler
                                                    Bass</strong></font></h2>
                                              <p style="text-align:left;margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%"><strong>The
                                                  Arizona Foundation for
                                                  Contemporary Theology</strong> is
                                                excited to welcome <strong>Diana
                                                  Butler-Bass</strong> to
                                                Phoenix on <strong>March
                                                  1st, 2018 </strong>at
                                                7 p.m. This “grateful”
                                                evening will be in
                                                Nelson Hall at the
                                                Church of the Beatitudes
                                                Church, 

                                                <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=5dfe4860e0&e=7e96263227">555 W
                                                  Glendale Ave, Phoenix,
                                                  AZ</a>.</p>
                                              <p style="text-align:center;margin:10px0;padding:0;color:#202020;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:150%">

                                                Click <a style="color:#2baadf;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=f0f7377343&e=7e96263227">here </a>for
                                                more information.</p>
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