William Lobdell, a former religion writer for the Los Angeles Times, made a splash recently with his book, “Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace.” In the book, Lobdell describes how covering scandals and corruption in organized religion led him to question, and ultimately reject, his own belief in God. Have you ever undergone a crisis of faith yourself, and do you ever counsel churchgoers who are struggling with their feelings about religion?
Groucho Marx said it best: “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”
I very much understand the struggle Lobdell went through and so many others experience. Many of us have even tackled the ministry specifically as an answer to the incongruity we’ve witnessed between the preached word and the implemented actions of the message. It’s called hypocrisy.
And the problem is all around us today. I struggle with it daily with an ancient church and leadership that is disconnected with the workings of the world. Today, our country is involved in two major wars, the genocide in Darfur continues, health and human services deteriorate, and most church communities are silent on these issues, opting rather for structure-building and PR campaigns that make themselves the official spokes-hole for God. But don’t stop with the church; it’s around us in the “leaders” of our communities and school districts, and all that we hold sacred. It’s endemic in all facets of our life — leading by a set of principles that you yourself do not adhere to.
The situation is truly disconcerting, and I have contemplated leaving the church on occasion because I cannot reconcile the notion of belonging to a group that has lost the path of peace and love set forth by its founder.
It is the words of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr that gives me the strength to endure.
He refers to love as the “impossible possibility,” that is, there will always be a disconnect between theory (possibility) and reality (impossibility) by virtue of the high command for sacrificial love against our human frailties.
So strangely enough, it is Groucho’s comment that keeps me in check.
Once we truly look at our own lives in the life of the collective, we understand that each of us comes to the table with our own shortcomings.
Groucho Marx said it best: “I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.”
I very much understand the struggle Lobdell went through and so many others experience. Many of us have even tackled the ministry specifically as an answer to the incongruity we’ve witnessed between the preached word and the implemented actions of the message. It’s called hypocrisy.
And the problem is all around us today. I struggle with it daily with an ancient church and leadership that is disconnected with the workings of the world. Today, our country is involved in two major wars, the genocide in Darfur continues, health and human services deteriorate, and most church communities are silent on these issues, opting rather for structure-building and PR campaigns that make themselves the official spokes-hole for God. But don’t stop with the church; it’s around us in the “leaders” of our communities and school districts, and all that we hold sacred. It’s endemic in all facets of our life — leading by a set of principles that you yourself do not adhere to.
The situation is truly disconcerting, and I have contemplated leaving the church on occasion because I cannot reconcile the notion of belonging to a group that has lost the path of peace and love set forth by its founder.
It is the words of theologian Reinhold Niebuhr that gives me the strength to endure.
He refers to love as the “impossible possibility,” that is, there will always be a disconnect between theory (possibility) and reality (impossibility) by virtue of the high command for sacrificial love against our human frailties.
So strangely enough, it is Groucho’s comment that keeps me in check.
Once we truly look at our own lives in the life of the collective, we understand that each of us comes to the table with our own shortcomings.
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