Newspaper Columns by Bishop Paul V. Marshall
Does God want us to hate anyone on his behalf?
Bishop Paul V. Marshall
October 2003
I have been worried about contention in the Episcopal Church since this summer's General Convention confirmed the Diocese of New Hampshire's election of an openly gay priest to be their bishop.
I meet people who hate "revisionists," or "traditionalists." I have spent my years as bishop trying to create an atmosphere where all are valued. It's getting harder.
Electronic journalists in our church have spun factoids and spread wildly inaccurate stories. They make rational discussion difficult. A story "out there," no matter how bizarre, cannot be called back.
Someone published a private letter without my permission, knowing it would inflame his audience. He knew I had written the letter partially from a misunderstanding. That didn't matter, It served his purpose to circulate it.
The bishop who is public spokesman for a political group in the church looked me in the eye at General Convention and lied about two dirty tricks his group had perpetrated in last-ditch efforts to change outcomes.
These examples underscore that what happens is unimportant; what matters is the perception that can be created. Are there no longer rules gentle people may be counted on to observe?
As a child, I learned the Ten Commandments and accompanying explanations. The explanation for the commandment against false witness is the most inconvenient piece of religious prose I know: "We should not belie, betray, slander, or defame our neighbors, but defend them, speak well of them, and put the best construction on everything." I struggle with it daily. Fear or reactivity sometimes wins.
When we are hurt or frightened, there is comfort in talking about how bad or dangerous others are. If we have a monster to fear, we don't have to think about our shortcomings or doubts.
When others want power or want to get people to do their will, they play to our fears. "There's trouble in River City." That's how the Music Man got people to buy his goods. Religious groups are particularly vulnerable to demagoguery that capitalizes on fear. Private religious empires have been built by entrepreneurs who play to people's fears. The airwaves are full of them.
It is possible to be in profound disagreement with people and remain civil. When disagreement is accompanied by rage, blaming, bullying, or dishonesty, something other than the quest for truth is going on.
We are tempted to believe that if we are defending God, anything is fair. In truth, God doesn't need defending. When Jesus was arrested, Peter "defended" him with his sword. He cut off the ear of a man called Malchus. Jesus rebuked Peter, we're told, and healed the ear.
Why would the writer stop to recall this incident? Is it possible that, even in the First Century, people thought that a God who so thoroughly empties himself as to get crucified still needs us to hate on his behalf?
Our conversation will change if we make the disciplined effort not to assume that those of differing viewpoints are unintelligent, unthinking, biblically illiterate, or part of a conspiracy to hide the truth. We may all be wrong, but truth cannot emerge where people are defensive, suspicious, or fearful. When we enter conversation hoping to learn, everything is different.
"I believe in God - it's the Church I can't stand," a student once told me. I've met too many young people who have turned away from the church because our way of dealing with issues and each other contradicts the message we claim to bear. If we work for greater consistency between our proclamation to the world and our conversation with each other, the world may once again feel an attraction to Christianity.Return to the index of Bishop Paul's columns for the secular press
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