WWJR

In her recent article, Rich and Rick: A Post-Partisan Parable, Diana Butler Bass notes:

For more than a century, American Protestantism has been as divided as American politics. Two camps--modernists and fundamentalists (a.k.a. "liberals" and "conservatives")--have vied for the American soul, with each claiming to the most faithful and most biblical rendering of the Christian religion. As a result, Protestant churches and denominations have often been as partisan as political parties, exacerbating larger cultural divides.

The article was spurred by the curious juxtaposition of Rich Cizik's recent, forced resignation from leadership in the National Association of Evangelicals and Obama's invitation to Rick Warren to offer the Official Prayer at the Inauguration.

More conservative types were outraged by Cizik's recent non-conservative remarks. More liberal types were outraged by Warren's invitation.

Business as usual.

We continue to make ideology and agreement-about-point-of-view as the arbiter of who we will allow to participate in any given gathering, celebration, event, or party. We used to enforce segregation by skin color. We still segregate by ideology and viewpoint.

Some years ago I grew tired of seeing WWJD blazoned everywhere on T-shirts, hats, pens, decals, and bracelets. (Especially since there wasn't all that much evidence that wearers really were more increasingly transforming their every-day behavioral choices by a thoughtful reconsideration of What Jesus really Would Do.) But I'm now wondering whether we shouldn't begin asking the question: WWJR?

Who Would Jesus Reject?

Our expressions of outrage indicate who we reject. One might consider, how would Jesus respond to the same situation that raises our ire? Would Jesus have been as outraged by Rick Cizik's remarks? By his ouster? Or by Obama's invitation to Rick Warren?

Obama and Warren hold sharply contrasting ideologies, beliefs, viewpoints and values on a great many things. That Obama, rather than rejecting someone so different from himself, would inite him to pray for his inauguration, and that Warren, rather than declining an invitation from someone so different from himself, would actually go, pray, and bless the other, could be interpreted in at least two different ways.

1) The cynic might say, "Good grief! They're pandering to the other side."
2) The hopeful might say, "Good news! They're modeling the greatest of all American values!"

1) The cynic might say, "Good grief! What hypocrites!"
2) The hopeful might say, "Good news! There's hope for the future!"

1) The cynic might say, "Good grief! Don't they know what the other believes?"
2) The hopeful might say, "Good news! They're exorcising the demon of Ideology!"

I'm really tired of cynics and cynicism. And if I allowed that to control my behavior, I'd reject them from the party, the event, the celebration, and the worship gathering. But when I ask, "WWJR?", I'm stuck with the terrible irony that I have to welcome both the hopeful and the cynic to the party.

Drat.

Oh well... maybe that's the purpose of the party. If we strike up the band and pass around some margarita's, maybe both the liberals and conservatives can learn to dance together.