I Had To Unsubscribe

I had to do something today I've tried very hard not to do.  Having a church-based e-mail address and being known as a Lutheran pastor I often get e-mails from various groups discontented with the ELCA and various theological decisions.  Usually these come from organizations with different initials wanting to proclaim themselves the new and correct Lutheran church.  I don't agree with 85% of what these e-mails say and even the relatively true 15% usually gets messed up by the way they're trying to use it.  But that's exactly why I keep reading.  We all need new perspectives on faith and theology, even when we disagree with those perspectives.  How else can we learn if we never read anything that doesn't confirm what we already know? So every few days I slog through one or another of these e-mails, trying to get a handle on what they're saying, trying to understand where they're coming from.  I also try to remind myself that even though they're cloaked by official-sounding initials, somewhere a real person wrote this.  No matter how hard it is I think of this as a dialogue between two people instead of a polemic by an institution with an ax to grind using my mailbox to work out their frustration.

So far I've succeeded pretty well, but you know what?  Today I had to give up and unsubscribe from one of these unsolicited newsletters.  (I had never asked for it in the first place, mind you.  They just put my church-sounding e-mail on their list.)  This missive wasn't particularly worse than any of the rest of them.  I'd just had enough.  Personally I couldn't take it anymore.

I'm the biggest proponent of open theological discussions, tolerance for other people's points of view, and living amid disagreement as you'll find.  But here's the deal.  If your discussion starts out from the point of view that everybody else but you is wrong and "incapable of preaching God's word truly" because they don't see things your way, you're not having a discussion anymore.  That's an assault.  It's degrading, demeaning, self-serving.  Truth be told, it doesn't matter who the other person is you're speaking with.  They might as well be a random brick wall.  It's not going to change what you're saying or how you're thinking.  It's not a two-way street.  You've dehumanized them to the point they might as well not exist.  Their only ticket back to being a real human being in your eyes is them agreeing with and accepting you.  Ironically enough I don't think scripture calls us to agree with or accept any human being--even the wisest--as the ultimate, unimpeachable authority.  That role is filled by God alone.  Arguments predicated on your point of view being the only correct one are thinly-disguised idolatry.  It may be idolatry of your own opinion, your own reasoning ability, your culture, your family, the way you grew up, the people who taught you...it doesn't matter.  It's still idolatry.

It's super-duper ironic when this idolatry comes from people claiming to have and speak the only true word of God, whom they are summarily replacing.

I don't even know how to describe the depth of irony when these same people call themselves "Lutheran".  Anybody who took our course on Luther and his reforms will understand why.

So, anyway, forgive me.  I couldn't take any more assaults or idolatry today.  So I hit the "unsubscribe" button.  I'm sure I can find other people to disagree with me and broaden my horizons.  I just hope they do it in a more honest, open, and Godly manner.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)