Oak Ridge Today

Guest column: Imperial religion has no place in the Kingdom of God

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Preparing for the greatest day of the year, Easter, was a bit harder this year than last. On Thursday, the night we remember how Jesus was betrayed and handed over to both the religious and political empires of his day, I happened to read of the new bill that seeks to designate the Bible as the state book of Tennessee.

There are a ton of ways to scream “no” to this legislation, starting with the both the Tennessee Constitution and the United States Constitution. There is also the objection that the bill places the transcendental and eternal qualities of the Bible on the same footing as the lily (our state flower) or the raccoon (our state animal). Of course, then there’s just downright common sense: The laws I use to influence my neighbor’s religion (or lack of) can easily be the same laws by which my neighbor one day attempts to subjugate me.

Those are fine ways to oppose this bill, but they are of lesser concern to me as a Christian pastor of 25 years. I am most deeply concerned at the way in which an action like this stands in stark opposition to the actions and words of the Bible itself, most especially as revealed in the person of Jesus. [Read more…]

Biblical scholar to give science, religion talk on Sunday

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Stan Saunders

Stan Saunders

Submitted

The topic for the 11th annual Jackson B. Davidson Memorial Lecture on Science and Religion will be “A Dwelling Place for God: Recovering the Forgotten Story of God, Humankind, Temple, and Creation.”

Stanley Saunders, associate professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., will deliver the lecture at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, 1051 Oak Ridge Turnpike (at Lafayette Drive).

Refreshments will be served after the lecture, and childcare will be provided during and after the free talk.

“Modern, western Christians typically presume that Christian salvation entails escape from our bodies and this earth, so that we can dwell with God in an ethereal heavenly realm,” Saunders said. “The New Testament, on the other hand, much more clearly affirms a vision of God coming to dwell with us.” [Read more…]

Faith column: Does it make a difference to the dog?

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I once heard of a cute example of faith. It told of a stubborn husband who had fought the Lord for years. After a revival, he was converted and the neighbors said he was such a changed man, that even their dog could tell the difference!

I was in a conversation a while back with several people who had been around the Amish culture and known some of them personally. Now we all have ideas about certain groups and their beliefs. The Amish are probably one of the groups that most people hold to a higher expectation and standard. Their radical lifestyle suggests that they are set apart on purpose and desire to exhibit a more disciplined and holy lifestyle than most Protestant Christians would ever desire to attempt. But in this particular situation, their neighbors had taken the Amish to task for cruelty to animals, namely the inhumane treatment of their draft horse animals. It was an awkward situation for authorities to deal with. [Read more…]

Faith column: Laying up treasures in Heaven

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By Sarah Jane Carson

It’s frustrating when you choose the godly road but seem to see other Christians acting any way they want, seeming to never get chastised for it. However, we should never allow other people’s actions to dictate our actions.

  1. Our actions aren’t pending on the actions of someone else.
  2. You will reap what you sow, so some day if all you have planted in your garden is cauliflower, you will eat cauliflower. In other words, if everyone seems to be grouchy to you all the time, quit being grouchy to others, especially the family God placed you in. God’s Word teaches: Treat others how you want to be treated. It doesn’t say except if they’re your family then it doesn’t matter. Remember, Jesus said He was sent to His family first (the Jews). God has His eyes right on how your attitude is around the family God placed you in. Why? Because you are your real self around family you are not trying to please, impress, or win; you are you, and that’s what matters most. [Read more…]

Faith column: No one can rid the community of faith in God

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Faith cannot be separated from community life in America. It is intermingled with the affairs of daily life because the people around us carry that faith. A bugler plays “Amazing Grace” at a community memorial service, and an athlete publicly thanks God for their victory and strength. The victim in a high-profile case broadcasts, “With the guidance of God, I will prevail and help others who have suffered…” A health facility posts a plaque that states, “Grounded by our faith in God, this facility seeks to provide…” A plea for prayers is heard during a national tragedy, and an acknowledgment of God’s divine intervention is overheard from the next booth in a restaurant. A chaplain offers an invocation at a public meeting thanking God for His blessing and guidance, and a funeral card memorializes the deceased with an inscription of the 23rd Psalm. Who can snuff out the magnitude of faith expressions that existence in our world?

Particularly amusing this week has been the man who filed a motion against the county for installing our country’s motto over the courthouse doors, stating he believes in the Red Road religion and not in God. This man is quoted as saying that the signs remind him every time he passes that “Christians” think he is going to hell. The country’s motto, however, does not say, “In Christ We Trust.” (Oh, how I wish it did.) It simply says, “In God We Trust.” The use of the word God is very generic in this context. [Read more…]

First legal challenge filed over ‘In God We Trust’ signs

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Steve McDonald at In God We Trust Ceremony

During a Tuesday ceremony, Steve McDonald, left, pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Oak Ridge, says the “In God We Trust” signs at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton honor the nation’s heritage and remind residents that “it is in God that we trust.” Also pictured are Kathy Moore, Tom Byrge, Anthony Allen, and Gil Bates.

Information from WYSH Radio

The first legal challenge to the signs bearing the inscription “In God We Trust” over the entrances to the Anderson County Courthouse came on Wednesday but not from any organization. Instead, it came from a man charged with attempted first-degree murder. Kenneth Darrin Fisher, 22, of Clinton is accused of the attempted first-degree murder of his wife and illegal possession of an assault rifle, and his case is due to go trial next spring.

Through attorney David Stuart, Fisher filed a motion in Anderson County Criminal Court on Wednesday seeking to dismiss all charges against him, asserting that the signs violate his freedom of worship rights under the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions. The motion states that Fisher is a blood member of the Cherokee Nation and a follower of “a Red Road” faith. [Read more…]

Guest column: UU minister responds to historic decisions on marriage equality

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As one ordained to spread the good news of the unending power of love in this world, this week I celebrate the Supreme Court decisions on marriage equality and that the Defense of Marriage Act has been declared unconstitutional.

The faith I affirm challenges me to speak and act for justice for all who express their love in the commitment of marriage.  Support for marriage equality is in scriptures and traditions that proclaim overriding messages of love, justice, and inclusion of those on the margins of society. [Read more…]

Faith column: Storm thoughts

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As I write this, the death count is 24, happily down from 91, following the massive EF5 tornado that recently ripped through Moore, Okla. Since I used to live in that state, and traveled through that area of Oklahoma City, the video of the devastation was of places I recognized. I mourn the loss of life, the property damage, and the disruption of the lives of those who survived.

Natural calamities like this prompt many questions, many of which cannot be answered, but some of those questions reveal some of our faulty thinking as well. No one can say why God allowed this disaster; no one can say why one person was spared and another was taken. But the fact that questions like this are even asked assumes that we somehow believe that we have a right to live, or, stated conversely, that God has no right to take our lives before we have had the opportunity to live most of our “three score and ten.” [Read more…]