David Brooks lesson for Southern Baptists

[Stephen Fox]

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/op ... =0&referer

Whatever spin Sandy and Thornton make of this it emanated from a good place. I found the link this morning on the facebook wall of Bill JOnes, David Curries successor as head of Texas Baps Committed.

Brooks in good conscience attempts to school President Obama. He has a point that will be lost on the likes of Trey Gowdy, Rick and Bubba and a host of others that will not hear much of anything from Sandy's new exalted leadership of theSBC on the matter as the kerygma gets lost in the noise of Bobby Jeffress and J Falwell Jr, Franklin Graham and Russ Moore.

The new SBC had its roots in Lost Cause fundamentalism that not only was wrong headed on Scripture--see Molly Worthen--but was trapped in dominionist southern ideology. For that see an interminable list of references including Ellen Rosenberg, Moyers, and most recently Wuthnow and the easily googled beautiful piece in Oxford American by Marshall Frady's disciple Hal Crowther The New Mind of the South. Incisive paragraphs on the daughters of the Confederacy.

The point is Sandy and Thornton's SBC is entangled in something comparable to the Salafist wing of the Islamist tradition. Russ Moore's latest version in the brief history of the new SBC is just another stage, another attempt in the evolution of Atwater's N word memo to get the SBC back to something like it was in the early 1960s so they can justify a takeover they know in their gut stunk to high heaven.

Andrew Sullivan, to use another analogy reference when he upbraided 43 before he went to Iraq, one that I remember caught the attention of Bill Hull. How can 43 get righteous about radical Islam while "winking at milder versions in his own political constituency."

[William Thornton]

Brooks...worth reading. Fox...best to allow the rant and let it go.

[Stephen Fox]

Ive shared my thoughts to Harry Dent's daughter and other arenas. Hoping to catch the eye of David Currie maybe even Bill Moyers. Will give you an update soon, William.

Thanks for reading both me and Brooks.

[KeithE]

The Brooks article is excellent. I especially like recalling William James’s book about the ugly side of religion (actually the false religion of Pharisaism be it Jewish, Christian, Islamic or whatever forms). As he puts it “religion’s wicked intellectual partner, the spirit of dogmatic dominion, the passion for laying down the law”. (underline mine)

The degree that any religious movement (SBC or whatever) involves itself in sour feelings towards other people who break their movement’s laws (instead of primarily self-reflection) is the degree that that form of religion has become “ugly”. I admit that simple, non-dogmatic teaching (respecting the right to disagree) can be helpful if correct. Love is the key. It is as Fox suggests a lesson for the SBC (and other denominations).

When sour feelings (based on religion) turn towards bad thoughts, then bad words (preachers watch out) and then into violence, we have religion’s ugly side which is just as prevalent coming from Christian Fundamentalists as from Islamic Wahhabism. The letter of the law kills while the Spirit gives life.

Mateen appears to have let his hatred of gays (perhaps due to internal or familial turmoil) turn into violence. Read . Why he threw in support for ISIS is unknown to me but could be a religious justification of what he was doing.

[Sandy]

Brooks' theme is similar to Charles Kimball's When Religion Becomes Evil. Good book.

I think the President pretty well nailed his critics last week when he basically pointed out that his use of terms doesn't change the facts, and has really just become a political sign or symbol.