(MOBILE, Ala.)- While nationally Gov. Robert Bentley's remarks are creating controversy, among some in local churches the reaction is much different.
Moments after his inauguration Bentley said, "Anyone here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be you're brother."
"When you accept Jesus as your savior you become a child of God that means we are all brothers and sisters in Christ," said Myra Barton a member of the congregation.
Barton says Bentley is speaking a language that Christians will fully understand, what she says she understand is the controversy being created.
Pastor Aaron McKinnis of Fresh Fire on the Mount Ministries agreed, "When you are talking about being an earthly and a Christian brother those are two different things, he said he is everyone's Governor."
Now ignoring the grammatical errors of the report above, we need to break down both Gov Bentley’s remark (in King Memorial Dexter Av Baptist Church, perhaps 2 blocks from the State Capitol) and the comment of Myra Barton. Both are theologically inaccurate.
Christians understand that we all, no matter our beliefs, are in fact brothers and sisters. Since this is the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” it is good to refer to a classic passage of the New Testament proclaimed during these days: the Letter to the Ephesians 4:1-6: “…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” So regardless of anyone’s feelings or faith, Christians believe that we in fact do have the same “daddy,” as Gov Bentley so colloquially put it. And therefore we are brothers and sisters in fact.
If Gov Bentley or Myra Barton or any other Christian has a special relationship with another because of mutual belief in Jesus as the Messiah, that’s fine and important, just as a faithful Muslim has a unique relationship with other Muslims in the Ummah, the world-wide community of Islam, or just as faithful Jews have a special relationship to one another as children of the original covenant (which God has not, and will not, revoke—see Romans 11:29).
But we need not (and in fact must not) pretend that this somehow makes us all unrelated to one another; we must see each other as brothers and sisters. When we fail to do so, it is the first of a series of steps that can lead to seeing each other as alien, dehumanized, so utterly “other” that things like violations of rights, or torture, or war, or liquidations, become tolerable and even sensible.
We must say NO to this. We are family. Below is a clip from the final movement of Beethoven's great Ninth Symphony. Enjoy it, and know that the words sung by the soloists at about 1'30" are:
Alle menschen werden bruder (All mankind shall be brothers...)
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Fr. David,
ReplyDeleteEverything you say about Dr. Bentley's comments are right on, however, there's more to this than meets the eye.
Having been raised in the Baptist church I understood the language that Dr. Bentley used. It is exclusionary language that extends not only to "non-Christians", but also to all who are not "born again Christians." Those of us who practice infant baptism are excluded by his definition of Christianity, thus, we are not included in his list of those whom he considers to be his brothers and sisters. He will, given the opportunity, do his best to convert you and every member of your parish simply because, in his view, you haven't "accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior."
It is a sad commentary on the state of Christianity that such ideas exist. As we celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity may God break into all of our lives and truly bring us all together as one as our Lord so fervently prayed with his disciples.
THANK YOU, FATHER TOKARZ, AND REV. JONES FOR CLARIFYING THE UNFORTUNATE CHOICE OF COMMUNICATION BY OUR NEW GOVERNOR BENTLEY. I, AS A PRIVATE CITIZEN IN THIS STRUGGLING NATION OF
ReplyDeleteSO MUCH DISUNITY, FELT A SENSE OF SHAME THAT BENTLEY MISUSED HIS OFFICE BY SETTING AN EXCLUSIONARY TONE FOR ALABAMIANS, AND INDIRECTLY FOR ALL IN OUR LAND. I HOPE YOUR VIEWPOINTS WILL APPEAR IN NEWSPAPERS TO OFFSET UNFRIENDLY VIBES, WHICH CERTAINLY CAN RESULT.