EMBARRASSED BY RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE
Think about it. You are called by God to offer a faith perspective from which to view the world and its events. To offer a faith perspective, you make use of religious language. Yet how often do you respond less than positively when you hear religious language? For example you will read about “Christian Yellow Pages” or a “Christian book store.” What is your first response? I confess that to read “Christian” as an adjective does not build confidence in me. In fact, it often makes me want to walk the other way.
As a moderate to progressive pastor, I immediately begin to suspect that there is a hidden agenda or an exclusive attitude that would be embarrassing to encounter. I would be reluctant to take some of my friends into a store that was so labeled. Even though I am confident in my Christian faith, I assume that I will be judged as unworthy by those who have advertised themselves that way. Why is that?
ARE WE ABDICATING THE POWER OF FAITH WORDS?
I think that in an attempt to relate to the world around us, we may have given away some of the very words that could be helpful to others. We have allowed our society to assume that such language indicates a narrowness and a judgmental attitude that is contrary to the story told in the Bible. We live in an anxious society that is splitting around ideological lines and being paralyzed by fear of the future. We need to stop being shy about using the very language of faith that could provide people with some renewed confidence in their life. We are called to bear witness with a faith language that speaks of hope, love, reconciliation, forgiveness, ethics, neighborliness as a realistic way to interpret what is happening around us. We can demonstrate how to use words like faith, Jesus, Bible, prayer, worship, etc. as a reason to calm our anxiety. Such words do not need to be hammers by which we pound people into conformity with our beliefs. Rather, like the Jesus of our faith, they can treat people who believe differently than we do with respect and dignity.
BEING LIBERAL IS NOT A NASTY CURSE
Originally a liberal person was someone who was tolerant of differences, compassionate for those who hurt, and open to new perspectives and learning. We don’t have to have all the answers and we can afford to take risks and even be imperfect because we don’t pretend to be the savior. In fact, as we review the Scripture, we are well aware that God doesn’t choose to work through perfect people or institutions. We know that Jesus didn’t get angry at sinners but only at those who thought they were religiously righteous.
CHOOSE SOME RELIGIOUS PHRASES
As a way of reclaiming the language of faith, think about some phrases that you might use that identify your faith. For example, in talking to someone who is struggling with a situation, you might say, “Would you be comfortable if I included you in my prayers?” If someone was anxious about their future, you might say, “When I experience anxious times, it often helps me to remember that God has helped me in the past and I trust that God will help me as I continue to do the best I can.”
The point is to think ahead about some of the conversational opportunities that may occur and consider how you can express your faith in a compassionate and non-dominating way. It is an important perspective to offer and we shouldn’t allow the religious language that is spoken to belong just to the more fundamentalist believers around us.
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