cris

diagnosing and treatingCRIS* in yourself and

others

(conflicted religious identity syndrome)

2

new epidemics often go unnoticed until a high-

profile figure is stricken.

Anne has concluded that she will never truly belong to the “quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group” known as Christians unless she becomes “anti-gay … anti-feminist … anti–artificial birth control … anti-Democrat … anti–secular humanism … anti-science … anti-life.”

Tell that much of the story, and you have the sort of thing the news media love to report—another celebrity break-up, if you will. But this time, the celebrity is divorcing God.

But that’s not the whole story. Really, it’s not the story at all. Anne explains that, “My faith in Christ is central to my life.” She is still “an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God.” “But,” she says, “following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

And so, she concludes, “In the name of Christ… I quit Christianity and being Christian.”

spiritual but not

religious:

a cliche.

boring.

not enough.

I agree:

we may be bored

but they SBNR’s

are not to be

ignored.

Last Fall:a graduate of anEvangelicalChristian college

Last Fall:

“We’re dropping out because we don’t want to belong to a religion that requires us to be hostile.”

Today: how many of our children?

Do you have

CRIS?

ConflictedReligious

IdentitySyndrome

SELF-MEDICATION: ADJECTIVES__conservative ___liberal ___Evangelical ___progressive ___emergent ___moderate ___a new kind of ___mainline ___ not THAT kind of

Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant,

liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical,

charismatic/contemplative, fundamentalist/calvinist,

anabaptist/anglican, methodist, catholic, green,

incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent,

unfinished Christian.

2005

Kelley spoke the then-shocking truth that “Mainline” Protestantism, which had

historically been the main form of Christianity in the United States, was fast

becoming “old line” as it declined in numbers.

ML/OL was losing ground to a “new line” of conservative churches characterized by seriousness and strictness.

serious about meaningstrict regarding their

norms of belief and behavior.

This ... made them socially strong, and this social strength made them grow – as their adherents enthusiastically recruited others.

SERIOUS+

STRICT=

STRONG

lukewarm+

lenient=

weak

According to Kelley, strict, serious, and growing groups ...

are not ‘reasonable,’ they are not ‘tolerant,’ they are not ecumenical, they are not

‘relevant.’ They often refuse to recognize the validity of other Christian churches’

teachings, ordinations, sacraments. They observe unusual rituals … they [persist] in irrational behavior … They try to impose

uniformity of belief and practice among members by censorship, heresy trials, and

the like. (26).

The Paradox:There is about any serious meaning venture a certain irreducible fierceness, asperity, insistence, exclusiveness, rigor – a fanaticism that brushes everything else aside. Yet that very single-mindedness renders it objectionable to those who value balance, brotherhood, respect for individual diversity, mutual forbearance and self-restraint, civic peace, pluralism ... (164)

Chapter 6:Why Not a Strong,

Ecumencial Religion?

“But why must there be any conflict? Are not freedom, justice, respect for others essential parts of the Christian faith? Ideally they should be, if rightly understood. One can conceive of a high-demand religious movement devoted to justice, freedom, beauty, respect for others, and so on, which could effectively explain life to [humankind] without fanaticism, absolutism, intolerance, or judgmental moralism. That is what – ideally – Christianity ought to be.”

“Yet where is such a phenomenon to be found?”

-- Dean Kelley, 1972

In the 40 years since ...

a search for a cure for

CRIS

ConflictedReligious

IdentitySyndrome

We know how to have

a STRONG-HOSTILE CHRISTIAN IDENTITY.

STRONG-HOSTILE

We have the only way.

You are going to hell.

We are God’s chosen.

You worship false gods.

resistance if futile.

you will be assimilated - or eliminated.

we possess absolute truth.

We know how to have

a weak-benignCHRISTIAN IDENTITY.

weak-benign

it doesn’t matter what you believe.

all religions are the same.

all roads lead to god.

only sincerity matters.

doctrines divide.

keep religion private.

Mind/Matter: I don’t, it doesn’t.

strong-hostile

OR

weak-benign?

where did our strong-hostile identity come

from?

From Follow the Sacredness, by Jonathan Haidt http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/forget-the-money-follow-the-sacredness/

Despite what you might have learned in Economics 101, people aren’t always selfish. In politics, they’re more often groupish. When people feel that a group they value — be it racial, religious, regional or ideological — is under attack, they rally to its defense, even at some cost to themselves. We evolved to be tribal...

... The key to understanding tribal behavior is ... sacredness. The great trick that humans developed at some point in the last few hundred thousand years is the ability to circle around a tree, rock, ancestor, flag, book or god, and then treat that thing as sacred. People who worship the same idol can trust one another, work as a team and prevail over less cohesive groups. So if you want to understand politics, and especially our divisive culture wars, you must follow the sacredness.

Religions united our ancestors around a sacred object or idol ... and that unity gave some tribes survival advantage over others.

But it’s not just the idol in the center that unites us: it’s also the

“other” outside the circle.

"Historically, the amity, or goodwill, within the group has often depended on enmity, or hatred, between groups.”

(Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic Of Human Destiny, quoted in Evolutionaries by Carter Phipps)

Give people a common enemy, and you will

give them a common identity. Deprive them

of an enemy and you will deprive them of

the crutch by which they know who they are.

- James Alison

unity viahostility

Misconception:

Our religious differences keep us apart.

Actuality:It is not our religious

differences that keep us apart, but rather a haunting religious similarity ... that we build strong identities through hostility.

Can Christians today re-build our identity and ethos without hostility to the other?

STRONG-HOSTILE

We have the only way.

You are going to hell.

We are God’s chosen.

You worship false gods.

resistance if futile.

you will be assimilated - or eliminated.

weak-benign

it doesn’t matter what you believe.

all religions are the same.

all roads lead to god.

only sincerity matters.

doctrines divide.

keep religion private.

strong-benevolent

Because I Follow Jesus, I love you.

I move toward “the other.”

I break down walls of hostility.

i stand with you in solidarity.

you are made in God’s image.

i am your servant.

I practice human-kindness.

Can there be

A strong and benevolent Christian identity centered on

Jesus and his story (good news) of the kingdom/commonwealth of

God?

6 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’

22All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’

23He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’

24And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. 25But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27There were also many lepers* in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’

When they heard this, all ... were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

a 5-part treatment plan for

CRIS

ConflictedReligious

IdentitySyndrome

The historical challenge

Jesus - we killed the prophets, God loves the other ...

Stephen - our violent past

Paul - I was a violent man

Emperor Constantine

Colonizers and Conquistadors

“Biblical” racism and apartheidt

The Doctrinal Challenge

Trinity - litmus test for persecution

Election - justification for genocide

Original sin - God as hostile

Doctrine - divisive teachings

Trinity - image of one-anotherness

Election - chosen for the benefit of all

Original sin - original violence

Doctrine - healing teachings

The Liturgical Challenge

Baptism - reinforcing clean/unclean?

Eucharist - an altar of sacrifice

Baptism - repentance = rethinking!

Eucharist - a table of reconciliation!

The Missional Challenge

the old colonial “evangelism” - you give us your resources & labor in this life; we’ll give you heaven after death.

the old liberal “development” - you give us your resources & labor in this life; we’ll give you western medicine, technology, government, economics.

words from vincent donovan

“‘…do not try to call them back to where they were, and do not try to call them to where you are, as beautiful as that place might seem to you. You must have the courage to go with them to a place that neither you nor they have ever been before.’ Good missionary advice, and a beautiful description of the unpredictable process of evangelization, a process leading to that new place where none of us has ever been before.” - Vincent Donovan

The Spiritual Challenge

in/out - WE are IN; THEY are OUT

membership - status

simplicity - dualism

complexity - pragmatism

perplexity - relativism/pluralism

harmony - transcending, integrating love

a 5-part treatment plan for

CRIS

historicaldoctrinalliturgicalmissional

spiritual

From Catherine Maresca (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd) -

Finally, [Maria] Cavalletti emphasizes the importance of being specific. You can’t teach children language without teaching children a language. She writes, “Wishing to stay on a vague level without any specific content is the same as wanting a child to talk without using any particular language.” Some parents say they don’t want their children to learn a particular religion because they want them to be free to choose their own. But these children are missing the opportunity to become spiritually literate.

To be initiated into the signs of their religious tradition creates the possibility of grasping the signs of many traditions, and of respecting the integrity of each of those traditions. So we need to be religious in a particular way, true to the faith we affirm for ourselves, in order to foster the spiritual and religious literacy of our children. world this is a service to our children. We have to be specific.

While we don’t reject other traditions, a particular religion has to be our starting point. To say, “I’m spiritual but not religious” is like saying, “I’m linguistic but don’t speak any particular language.” Everyone has innate linguistic capacity that gets activated as one learns a particular language or languages. Likewise, everyone has spiritual capacity that gets activated and mobilized through becoming religious in a particular way. Becoming religious in a particular way is foundational for relating to the religious other.

Children who have learned their native language well are poised to learn new languages with greater ease. Children who learned the language of their religious tradition are likewise poised to grasp the sacred signs of another tradition. As we nurture the spiritual life of young children with sacred signs, we simultaneously build the foundation of respect and understanding for others’ beliefs. With spiritual literacy, faith and interfaith formation work hand in hand, promoting in turn a more peaceful world.

Children, Signs, and SpiritualLiteracy: An Interfaith Experience

By Catherine Maresca

wanted:people in recovery from CRIS

to help others get the healing they need.Every sermon

Every songEvery prayer

Every interactionEvery week

diagnosing and treatingCRIS* in yourself and

others

(conflicted religious identity syndrome)

a prayer for disciples

O God, whose love makes us one family -

May your unspeakable Name be revered.

Here on earth may your commonwealth come …

on earth as in heaven may your dreams come true.

Give us today our bread for today.

Forgive us our wrongs as we forgive.

Lead us away from the perilous trial,

Liberate us from the evil.

For the kingdom is yours and yours alone,

the power is yours and yours alone,

the glory is yours and yours alone,

now and forever. Amen.

(Hallelujah … Amen)