{"id":22707,"date":"2018-07-02T20:12:04","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T20:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/?p=22707"},"modified":"2023-08-01T15:20:37","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T15:20:37","slug":"simple-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sangabpres.org\/simple-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” inner_shadow=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” make_equal=”off” use_custom_gutter=”off” prev_background_color=”#000000″ next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”on” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” custom_width_px=”750px” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_button url_new_window=”off” button_alignment=”right” background_layout=”dark” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#e09900″ button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ button_url=”http:\/\/sangabpres.org\/?page_id=3027″ button_text=”Return to Reflections” button_text_size=”14″ button_border_color=”#e09900″ \/][et_pb_post_title title=”on” meta=”on” author=”on” date=”on” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”on” featured_placement=”below” parallax_effect=”off” parallax_method=”on” text_orientation=”left” text_color=”dark” text_background=”off” text_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” parallax=”off” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][et_pb_divider color=”#ffffff” show_divider=”off” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”on” height=”4″ disabled_on=”on|on|off” _builder_version=”3.7″ \/][et_pb_text text_orientation=”justified” use_border_color=”off” max_width=”750px” header_font=”|on|||” header_font_size=”66px” header_line_height=”1.7em” _builder_version=”3.7″]<\/p>\n

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Jesus said, \u201c\u2018You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Matthew 22:37-40<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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We Presbyterians have always valued education as a gift from God, and a source of empowerment and freedom from poverty.\u00a0 We have also been rather prideful of being better educated than the general population, and we have held to rather strict education requirements for those seeking to become ministers of word and sacrament, as we prioritize an educated clergy.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, our polity, guided not only by the Constitution but also hefty case law from hundreds of years of ecclesiastical court decisions, has become so complicated that I often joke that it takes a master\u2019s degree to understand it.<\/p>\n

So as a cradle Presbyterian, I have appreciated the complexity of what one of my seminary professors called a \u201csophisticated\u201d theology.\u00a0 We know that the Bible speaks through multiple voices to tell the holy story of God and God\u2019s people, and it\u2019s often said that people can use Scripture to justify anything. \u00a0And our seminal theologian, John Calvin, was never known for simplicity of thought or faith.\u00a0 Our recent General Assembly, like all others before it, revealed to participants the broad and diverse ministries and interests of the PC(USA), which was a joy to many and bewildering to others.<\/p>\n

One characteristic of educated people is a tendency towards tolerance for different ideas.\u00a0 This is usually considered a good thing\u2014our Presbyterian penchant for argument (I often joke that for us, arguing IS a spiritual discipline) reflects our belief that disagreement is not a sign of division, but an opportunity to learn.\u00a0 However, when I used to work with victims of domestic violence, we knew that this attempt to understand multiple views in education also leads to a higher=than-usual tolerance for abuse.\u00a0\u00a0 Our brain can explain away just about anything, and sometimes we can be victims of \u201canalysis paralysis\u201d\u2014which has the side effect of helping us avoid any definitive action.<\/p>\n

In the midst of all the complexity of faith that we enjoy in the Presbyterian Church, it\u2019s important once in a while to be clear on the core of our faith.\u00a0 For instance, Jesus affirmed the greatest commandment, and added a close second, making it clear that this is the overarching dictate for our faith.\u00a0 In fact, it\u2019s one time when Jesus and the church leaders agree on some theological concept.<\/p>\n

Another important priority in Scripture, attested to by its frequent mentions throughout the Old and New Testaments, is the call for economic justice and care for the poor, the outcast, and the oppressed.<\/p>\n

I mention this because in the midst of news overload, we may either gloss over situations that are too difficult to accept, or we may even seek some rationalization for actions that Scripture would read to be against the will of God.\u00a0 I believe we are facing this as we continue to hear of our government\u2019s failures regarding immigration.\u00a0 First, we reversed our historic (albeit imperfect) commitment to help refugees seeking asylum from intolerable conditions abroad.\u00a0 Then the government chose to criminalize asylum-seekers, many of whom followed our legal steps for applying for asylum, only to be searched, imprisoned, and have their children taken from them.\u00a0 This has led to a judicial theatre of the absurd, as toddlers are left to argue their case for asylum alone before immigration court judges, after being separated from their parents.\u00a0 Now that the government claims to have reversed this practice, and faced with a court order to reunite the families, there has been shocking inaction in returning the children to their traumatized parents.<\/p>\n

As opinionated as I am, I try not to dictate to people what exactly is \u201cright\u201d or \u201cwrong.\u201d\u00a0 And perhaps it seems redundant for me to express concerns over this incomprehensible callousness against families who are fleeing rampant and vicious violence.\u00a0 But I cannot be silent as this government acts against our own laws and claims as a just society by failing to reunite the families that have been so ruthlessly separated.\u00a0 And this is, of course, only the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0 People who have lived legally in the United States for many years thanks to their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), having fled natural disasters in countries such as El Salvador and Haiti, are in danger of being deported as their status is being taken away.\u00a0 And now that the oft-challenged \u201ctravel ban\u201d has been upheld by the Supreme Court, some individuals may not even be able to visit family in the United States.<\/p>\n

If we claim to love God, we must follow God\u2019s will for mercy towards the stranger and the oppressed.\u00a0 And if we love our neighbor as ourselves, we cannot push our neighbors away with specious fears of being \u201cinvaded\u201d or \u201cinfested\u201d by families seeking peace for their children.<\/p>\n

In the face of these challenges to humanity, many of us want to respond.\u00a0 As with other disasters, we can follow the guidelines given by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA):<\/p>\n