churchianity

Bishop Budde’s Misplaced Sermon

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde is getting both criticism and praise for the political lecture, disguised as a sermon, that she aimed at President Trump, Vice President Vance, and both of their families during the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral the day after Trump’s inauguration.

Was that really an appropriate time and place for a minister to deliver a political speech designed to publicly criticize a newly inaugurated POTUS?

Some say that the pulpit is a perfectly appropriate platform from which to speak truth to power, you know, like Jesus did, right?

But to whom did Jesus direct his most withering truth bombs? To the Roman government officials occupying Judea? To Caesar, mighty Emperor of the known civilized world?

Nope. Jesus spoke truth to the power of the religious leaders of his people, because they were the corrupt and wicked ones, whom Jesus called children of Satan.

Maybe Bishop Budde should focus on speaking truth to the high powers of the Episcopal Church who have presided over several sexual abuse and other scandals involving staff and clergy over the years. Just Google “Episcopal church scandals”.

Or maybe her time would be better spent exploring the reasons why the Episcopal Church continues to lose members and adherents. She could then speak truth to the power of the causes of a dying, empty church with no answers for spiritual hungry people.

Here’s a truth that Jesus spoke and which is relevant to us all, including those like Bishop Budde who treat the pulpit as a self-serving political tool, rather than a moral and spiritual responsibility – “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

Churchianity’s Abuse And Division

Rick TryonLeave a comment

Methodist Violence Over LGBTQ Schism

A headline from the Associated Press last month reads, ‘Deadly violence in Nigeria linked to breakup of United Methodist Church over LGBTQ policies’.

The article goes on to say, “A religious schism has turned deadly in Nigeria, with a church member fatally shot and two young children killed as homes were set ablaze, according to United Methodist News Service. The news service said the reported violence on Sunday stemmed from a schism in the worldwide United Methodist Church over its decision to repeal LGBTQ bans — and the ensuing formation of the new Global Methodist Church by breakaway conservative churches.”

Catholic Movement Dissolved Over Abuses

Also from the AP, Dissolution of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae: Pope Francis has dissolved the Peru-based conservative Catholic movement, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, following a comprehensive investigation that uncovered extensive sexual, financial, and spiritual abuses by its founder and leaders. This action reflects the Vatican’s ongoing efforts to address and rectify abuses within Church-affiliated organizations.

Across The Pond: Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns in Wake of Abuse Scandal

From The Times – It is right that Justin Welby resigned after the publication of the Makin review into the Church of England’s most prolific abuser, John Smyth. If the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and others, had acted with more resolution when they were made aware of the scale of Smyth’s offending then some boys he victimized might have been spared.

What’s Going On?

Do you notice a pattern in these three stories? I do – abuse and division. No wonder folks are fleeing religion in droves.

The words of Jesus come to mind.
Abuse: “It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Luke 17:2
Division: “And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Mark 3:25

And no wonder the chief enemies of Jesus were the religious leaders of the time. He exposed them.

What are we as followers of Jesus doing to expose the ‘whited sepulchers’ of our day and time?

Unsatisfactory Answers From Churchianity

Rick TryonLeave a comment

It’s been pretty widely reported for some time now that Christian church attendance in America is on the decline while more and more folks are identifying as non-denominational or non-religious.

Here are a few links with some interesting information and insight on this topic:

From Gallup, March 2024: The decline in formal church membership has largely been driven by younger generations of Americans. Slightly more than one-third of U.S. young adults have no religious affiliation. Further, many young adults who do identify with a religion do not belong to a church. But even older adults who have a religious preference are less likely to belong to a church today than in the past.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx

From churchanswers.com:

5 Reasons Why Non-Denominational Churches Are Growing

From Pew Research: The decline of Christianity and the rise of the “nones” may have complex causes and far-reaching consequences for politics, family life and civil society...
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america

There’s a lot of speculation and research as to why Americans are becoming more disillusioned with traditional Christianity, but I think the core reason is simple: too many of the answers provided by churchianity to normal people’s questions about God, the Bible, and our purpose are unsatisfactory.

Check out our Creed of the Nons here.

I’ll have much, much, more to say on this topic in upcoming blog posts so stay tuned.