Fighting the Right War

These days, we are looking at a different kind of war than the one that 9/11/01 inaugurated. Our war on terrorism continues, but a war with Iraq may be just beginning. Fighting both wars at the same time will be serious business. Not so another kind of war I've been reading about.

Steve Smith, of the United Methodist Reporter, wrote recently that mainstream Protestantism is caught up in "theological warfare" between its progressivist and traditionalist branches, and he implies that for us mainliners, nothing less than the future of Christian faith and practice may be at stake. In light of the momentous conversations and preparations about real wars that lie ahead of us in the free world, it's silly if not obscene to describe intra-ecclesial mean-spiritedness by means of war metaphors, even if our disputes rise to the level only of skirmishes rather than crusades. Engaged in a war for the integrity of the church's faith and practice? They've got to be kidding us.

But then again, maybe not. A group called The Confessing Theologians Commission, some of whose members are theological colleagues whom I deeply respect and admire, is stating in the strongest possible terms that there are deep theological rifts in our denominations that root in the preaching of "other gospels" by people who lack both faith and humility. What God is calling us to do, the Commission insists, is to reform our denominations by getting them back to truthful confession of historic Christian beliefs, so that we can once again be about the proper business of the church: Bible study, evangelism, prayer, and caring for the poor and needy.

To all this, our own denomination is responding through an Information Project for United Methodists, whose aim is to "study" present day confessing movements. Study? Not likely. What launched the project is a concern to counter alleged attempts on the part of theological conservatives ("traditionalists," in Smith's term?) to steer the church in their own direction. Because this is so, it might be well to hold ourselves back just a little when the invitation comes to embrace the "information" the Project uncovers for us.

So here we have it: let's straighten out what we believe as Christians, and how we believe it; let's all believe it together and in the same way; and then we'll all be both at peace and in mission at the same time. And if we have to engage in "theological warfare" to accomplish these noble aims then let the noblest among us launch the pre-emptive strike. Wow. Does anyone think, for example, that getting Roman Catholic bishops back to the basics of traditional beliefs will somehow cure pedophilia among their priests?

As if we don't have enough wars to deal with already... And this is the real point. We do have enough wars in front of us right now, and what those who fight them most need from the church is input on how it might be justified to pursue them, for however long they might take. By way of example: neither the war against terrorism nor a future war with Iraq can possibly be justified, from the standpoint of our faith, if the only thing they accomplish is improving the security and life-style of our own people at the expense of other peoples' resources and opportunities. In a word, forget about cheap oil. Instead, concentrate on safeguarding the innocent, the oppressed, and the needy --- those who are at the mercies of other's whims, callousness, and evil.

A while back, many of us were captivated by a wonderfully witty and at the same time stunningly profound question: what if they gave a war and nobody came? Well, we're in one serious war already, and a lot of people keep on showing up for it. Maybe we can accomplish our aims in Iraq without getting into a second one, and maybe not. There is one "war" out there, however, that we can choose not to show up for, the war between people in our churches who have to have it their way or no way. To this kind of war, I hereby declare myself to be a conscientious objector, and I strongly urge everybody else in the church to do the same thing.

There is the old story of the acolyte who helpfully collected his pastor's sermon notes from the pulpit following a church service. He couldn't help noticing one handwritten note in a margin of the manuscript: "argument weak here; shout like the devil." Our so-called theological warfare between progressives and liberals is like an extended marginal note on a lesson plan whose pages are completely blank. Riling up people is easier than teaching them something really important.