[amc] Re: God is not a right-wing zealot
- From: "Ray Gingerich" <RGingerich@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Austin Mennonite Church" <amc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 01:22:51 -0600
I was wrong. It is from Salon
God is not a right-wing zealot
The Rev. Albert Pennybacker is a Bible Belt preacher with a drawl who's urging
people to support "basic religious values." But he's no Jerry Falwell clone.
By Leslie R. Guttman, Wednesday, Thursday December 24, 2003
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- In the heart of the Bluegrass, a Bible Belt preacher is
rallying people to political action around what he calls "basic religious
values." Think you can describe his politics? Think again. This man of the
cloth wants "regime change" in Washington.
The Rev. Albert Pennybacker, a Lexington, Ky.-based pastor, is head of the
Clergy Leadership Network, a new, cross-denominational group of liberal and
moderate religious leaders seeking to counter the influence of the religious
right and to mobilize voters to change leadership in Washington. Pennybacker,
affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and a pastor of 35
years, is tired of the conventional wisdom that equates religiosity with
conservatism. Nationwide, he says, the religious right often squeezes out the
left in public debate.
(Clergy Leadership Network can be found at http://www.clnnlc.org/).
Now is the moment for liberal religious voices to make themselves heard,
Pennybacker says. He believes the Bush administration's record runs contrary to
the core values of America's religious communities, and, as examples, he points
to what he says are deceptions about war in Iraq, economic programs that favor
the wealthy and destructive environmental policies.
It's "wake-up time" for religious liberals and moderates disenchanted with the
current White House, Pennybacker tells Salon. He sees a historic moment for
progressive religious leaders in the tradition of liberal clergy who led
protests during the civil rights and Vietnam War eras. "One of the gifts of the
present administration is the summons -- or call to arms -- for progressive
religious people," he said in a recent interview.
About 1,000 clergy from a range of religions have joined the Clergy Leadership
Network since its inception last month; about 100 lay people have signed on,
too, and Pennybacker says he gets about 60 inquiries a day from around the
country. The network also includes the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, noted leader
in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movement; the Rev. Jesse Jackson;
Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, former president of the American Jewish Congress; and
Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister, a prolific writer and lecturer on spiritual
matters.
Pennybacker is tall, bald, blue-eyed and, at 72, he has the electric energy
that comes to someone whose passion is his work. His office on the 21st floor
of an office/apartment high-rise overlooks downtown Lexington; the room is
crammed, and his wide desk is overflowing with issues of the New Yorker, Mother
Jones, Esquire and Christian Century.
In years past, he worked for congressional candidates in Ohio and New York who,
he says, were under attack by the religious right. He formerly directed the
Washington office of the National Council of Churches.
Pennybacker's group plans to equip clergy to educate congregations on political
and social issues and train religious leaders to operate voter registration
drives, advise candidates and conduct public discussions. The organization is
exploring the possibility of a national gathering in the spring, possibly in
the Midwest. By law, the group's tax status permits it to raise unlimited funds
and advocate on issues, but it cannot endorse or fund specific candidates. That
hasn't stopped the group from attacking the White House, especially the
administration's policy over war in Iraq.
Indeed, some of Pennybacker's strongest criticism for the White House comes
over the perception, widely held by war opponents, that the administration has
failed to adequately publicize and recognize funerals for U.S. soldiers slain
in Iraq.
"We don't have the choice as religious leaders whether or not to go to a
funeral. We have to go. We can't avoid the hard reality of what war means," he
says. "When a parent says to me or any of us: 'Why did God take my child?' the
answer is: God didn't take your child, the policies of this government took
your child."
Salon spoke with Pennybacker at his office in Lexington, and in a later
follow-up interview by phone.
What led to the formation of the Clergy Leadership Network?
The main impetus was a growing sense of dismay over current national leadership
and national policies and hearing that echoed in lots of candid conversations
with clergy -- repeated expressions of anger, disappointment and outrage in
conversations in communities at national and regional church meetings.
I talked with the canon of an Episcopal cathedral who was a United States
Marine Corps chaplain for 25 years. And he said, "I'll do anything to have a
change in administration," because of what he saw as the White House's
deceptive defense of the Iraq war.
Would you talk about some of the specific issues you're focusing on?
One of the things we're very concerned about is the economic impact of policies
in this administration. When people lose jobs, we see it as pastors and
religious leaders. It means that families are shortchanged. It means that
domestic violence increases. It means that alcoholism increases. And then we're
very concerned about the international policies. This administration has set us
against the world. From 9/11 to now, we've done a 180-degree turn with our
relations with the world. In a very profound way our democracy is at stake.
Do you see a need for progressive leaders in the country to acknowledge the
spiritual needs of progressive voters?
Progressive forces tend to be suspicious of religion. But that's partly because
being religious has been defined in such individual and spiritual terms. But I
think religious heritage is rooted in the thing called the Lord's Prayer, which
says, "Thy kingdom come on Earth (as it is in heaven)." That is, justice,
peace, hope, love, compassion -- you know, caring for your neighbor. Those are
earthly things.
Most religious leaders are moderate to progressive. [William Sloane] Coffin has
written this wonderful book where he quotes an archbishop in South America who
says, "God's given us two eyes, two ears and two arms and two hands, but only
one heart. And it's in the center and a little bit to the left."
If, as you say, countless religious people are largely progressive, why do you
think religious conservatives have dominated the political debate in America?
How do you see the media's influence?
They've been funded generously from conservative sources; they have been very
skilled in quickly learning how to use the media and Internet capacities, and
the mainstream progressive religious voice has been far too timid and quiet.
I think now it's wake-up time. One of the gifts of the present administration
is the summons -- or call to arms -- for progressive religious people.
The media finds itself attracted to two things, controversy and brief, neat
answers. I recall speaking at a meeting several years ago in Seattle about the
political influence of the religious right. Six hundred people were inside and
three people (from the religious right) were outside, and the media, in this
instance television, gave equal time to both sides.
I don't fault the media on that, in part it's because that's the interest of
the audience, but it is a distortion, and it plays into the hands of the
extreme right, both politically and religiously. I think the media should be
ferreting out some solid, moderate-to-progressive religious voices.
In both the Vietnam Era and in the protests against Reagan's Central America
policy, liberal religious leaders had a huge role in opposition movements. Why
haven't we seen that presence in recent years and recent political protests?
Well, I think there's been a mood in religious life, particularly in mainstream
Christian congregations, that has been more focused on personal religion,
personal growth, personal adjustment, and community service ... all of which
has its place.
But (another) area asks: What do the systems of life do to us? Where is public
justice? What are the priorities of our society? That area hasn't galvanized
the religious community's focus.
We've got to get out of a religion that's self-centered and self-serving.
How is your view of Christianity different from that practiced and preached by
George W. Bush or others who consider themselves religious conservatives?
Well, I'm not part of the evangelical right. I believe that God's spirit is
inclusive, not exclusive. I believe that the public marketplace -- the place
where ideas are exchanged and decisions are made -- is not to be monopolized by
one religious point of view.
I believe that we are an open country with religious and even non-religious
diversity, and that's a good thing, a democratic thing and very American.
And then I believe part of the appeal of the evangelical religion is for
offering certainty, not faith. Certainty about what's doctrinally correct. I
think one of the dangers of religion is to believe we've got God all buttoned
down. And I believe just the opposite. I believe in the freedom and mystery of
God that doesn't allow us to be certain but allows us to be loving.
To put it in street talk, I look more to how people live than what they say
they believe.
On the death penalty, in your view, can a Christian favor the death penalty for
Saddam? Or, say, for a mentally retarded Texas man who killed someone?
I think it's pretty appalling without trial and without public hearing to begin
by advocating the death penalty (for Saddam). I find that appalling. I find
that difficult to reconcile with Christian spirit.
I have problems with the death penalty. Lots of Christians don't -- I'm one who
does. I think taking life individually is criminal, and when we do it
collectively, it has the same moral meaning.
You've gotten criticism (in a recent Newsday column by author and Rutgers
sociology professor Arlene Stein) that you're staying away from issues such as
abortion and gay marriage in order to appeal to religious moderates.
We're not staying away from those issues. What we're saying is: We've got
differences on those issues in the religious community, and we're not going to
be divided because our major concern right now is regime change.
On those issues, we would be strongly in favor of a level playing field, so we
would support all human and civil rights for all Americans, including gay and
lesbian people. And I would assume, personally, that includes the right to make
choices about marriage.
Do you think Democrats are more hesitant to talk about God than Republicans,
and if so, why?
I think that Democratic candidates have been so committed to the separation of
church and state, and wanting to avoid religious controversy, that they have
stayed away from religious talk. That's one of the points.
The other is that Democrats with progressive and liberal views have been
attacked by the religious right. There's no doubt Democrats have to learn how
to talk about their convictions in ways that resonate with the progressive
religious communities.
A recent opinion piece in the Washington Post said Democrats shouldn't even try
to win Southern states in the next presidential election because the numbers
are so bad. Do you agree?
I just think it's a little bit unknown. I grew up in the South, and when those
Bible-believing Southerners start thinking about a faith-based social
conscience, you just can't tell how they're going to vote. When they look at
the issue of the war and they try and make that square with what's fair and
right with the world, you can't predict how they're going to vote.
Also, you've got the black vote. They're strongly religious, and [their voting
is] going to be guided by a progressive religious point of view. There's some
places where [we believe] black communities in the South hold the swing votes.
Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina. ...
At the center of black religion is a passion for social justice. At the center
of the religious right, the passion is for personal piety. And those are very,
very different agendas.
How are you going to answer potential criticism that your group may be blurring
the separation of church and state?
I think the religious heritage has always affirmed a prophetic role for
religious leaders and so I make no apologies about that. It's calling people to
action, and it's calling around basic religious values. As long as we've got
free speech, free press and free religious institutions, then we're going to
make it. And one of the problems under this administration, in the Justice
Department, for instance, is that it is infringing on those freedoms,
infringing on human rights. There's a big decision here for America (in the
next election).
Why do Christian leaders appear to have such a strong influence over their
congregations? What does this say about their congregations?
Religious leaders are still looked to as being leaders with integrity --
[whether they are] moderate, progressive, evangelical. It's important for
religious leaders to address our public, democratic decisions. And they will be
listened to.
What we need is public leadership that's informed by what I call a faith-based
social conscience. I want the values that have flowed for generations through
American life to be embraced and continue to be a part of our life together.
How are you going to get your message out?
It's not like we're going to have to teach people how to be progressive.
Religious people are progressive. All we've got to do is give handles of
expression.
There are more religious congregations than any other institution in American
life, except bars. And we're saying this country belongs to those kind of
people, and by golly, we're going to be heard in terms of its leadership and
its direction.
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