By Joseph Stoutzenberger
Some years ago, I was visiting a priest friend of mine who was pastor of a large, active parish. A man in his sixties, he was the only priest serving the parish. I asked him why he didn’t request a newly-ordained priest to be assigned to help him. He said quickly, “Most of them worship a God different from the one I do.” That response caught me by surprise. He went on to say that he and a few other older priests conducted an intervention with one new priest who was refusing absolution to penitents in confession if he felt they were not sincere. The older priests pointed out to him that his job was not to judge but to represent the merciful, loving Christ who told his followers to forgive others “seventy times seven times.” That exchange led me to question if, indeed, there are conflicting notions of “God” within Christianity itself. Are some Christians worshiping idols, even though the name of that idol is “Jesus?”
A number of recent studies are pointing out that there is politics behind the word “Christian.” In Christian: The Politics of a Word in America, Matthew Bowman examines the trend among some conservative Christians to identify the religion with the United States itself. The thinking is that America was founded by inheritors of the Protestant Reformation so that Christianity, the United States, and Western Civilization itself are essentially synonymous. The Christian identity of America is under attack today from sources within the nation itself, secular humanists, and immigrants from non-Protestant, non-white, non-European countries. From this perspective, certainly, Muslims are a threat, as are immigrants from Africa and Latin America. Pope Francis spoke about this exclusionary understanding of Christianity in his book “Let Us Dream,” written with journalist Austen Ivereigh. Pope Francis declares this mentality to be a distortion of Christianity that is intended to serve only the interests of those who propose it. He is echoing what Jesus said, that “not everyone that says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” In the line before that, Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7: 20-21).
My priest friend and Pope Francis are talking about idolatry, perhaps made worse because it is done in the name of Christianity. How might those of us who have a different understanding of God and what Christianity stands for counter these more narrow views? Pope Francis offers some suggestions. For one, he advocates dialogue. Like many people who have had occasions to dialogue with different groups, I have found it easier to engage with people from other religions than with members of my own who hold a different worldview, but it’s possible and helpful to find common ground with one’s family. In addition, Pope Francis’s “Let Us Dream” is a call to action. Live the Christian life in such a way that people will associate “Christian” with hospitality, kindness, and shared joy. Rather than fear and hatred of the other, put the dream into action so that the first association people make with Christianity is an expansive view of what was said of them in the early days of the religion: “See how these Christians love one another.”
Joseph Stoutzenberger 