From Leopards eating my face The day my church canceled Me Was a Very Sad day

[ismnotwasm]

Or, David fucking French is sad that racists are racisting

This week, the leaders of the Presbyterian Church in America will gather in Richmond, Va., for their annual General Assembly. The Presbyterian Church in America is a small, theologically conservative Christian denomination that was my family’s church home for more than 15 years.

It just canceled me.

I am now deemed too divisive to speak to a gathering of Christians who share my faith. I was scheduled to speak about the challenges of dealing with toxic polarization, but I was considered too polarizing.

I was originally invited to join three other panelists on the topic of “how to be supportive of your pastor and church leaders in a polarized political year.” One of the reasons I was invited was precisely that I’ve been the target of intense attacks online and in real life.

The instant my participation was announced, those attacks started up again. There were misleading essays, vicious tweets, letters and even a parody song directed at the denomination and at me. The message was clear: Get him off the stage.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/09/opinion/presbyterian-church-evangelical-canceled.html

[JoseBalow]

1. I guess it wasn't god's will

[Girard442]

2. Depends, I suppose. As a Christian do you rejoice...

...that the people you love are going to Heaven -- or that the people you hate are going to Hell?

[Srkdqltr]

3. Both probably.

[senseandsensibility]

4. Just want to make sure that everyone realizes that Presbyterian Church in America

is not the same as the Presbyterian Church, which is very liberal.

[Wuddles440]

6. I believe you mean Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA).

While the PCUSA is certainly more progressive in its doctrine and practices than the PCA, I wouldn't necessary consider it "very liberal". I've been a member of this denomination for six decades in several locations and have found most congregants to be somewhat conservative. As a Dem, I've always been in the minority politically.

[senseandsensibility]

7. Well, I'm in California so maybe things are different here

Also, I haven't been to a Presbyterian Church is many years. As far as I know, the last one I attended was just called Presbyterian Church. It took many progressive stands quite openly and in writing. Pro labor, pro marriage equality, pro gender equality, etc. And this was probably 25 years ago. Maybe things have changed or have regional variations.

[wnylib]

11. What you described is the current PCUSA.

I joined one of their churches here in the East, in NY state, some years ago. I found the people very friendly and committed to looking after each other, but became disaffected because of their strong anti Israel position and a pastor who had more ego than spirituality.

Prior to that, I grew up in the Lutheran Church when it was the LCA, before it became the ELCA (E for Evangelical).

[wnylib]

10. Right. The Presbyterian Church in America is the PCA.

They are conservative, literalist evangelicals.

The main, or largest branch of the Presbyterian Church is the
Presbyterian Church USA, or PCUSA. They are very progressive on civil rights for minorities, women, LGBTQ+, and Biblical interpretation. They have a strong anti Israel position, are in full partnership with the Sabeel Liberation Theology organization's policy on divestment from Israeli businesses, and support Sabeel's goal for an eventual one state, which would require a dissolution of Israel as a nation.

[senseandsensibility]

12. I had no idea about the anti Israel stance

I have not attended church is many years (decades), and before that only sporadically. But I still have a strong affection for the Presbyterian church I grew up in. I went to Sunday school there after MLK was assassinated and that was woven into our lessons on racial equality. But for many reasons, I have abandoned organized religion now.

[wnylib]

13. I had no idea about the anti Israel position, either,

until the 10/7 attacks. I had never heard anyone express anti Israel views at the church before then.

I looked up the official statements of various denominations and found one by the PCUSA that stated that Israel had brought the attacks on itself. There was a response to that from the ADL (Anti Defamation League) and the PCUSA modified its official statement a little, but remained strongly opposed to Israel. I also learned while looking up that information that a PCUSA Middle East delegation had, in the past, held meetings with Hezbollah.

I had never heard of the Sabeel organization until then, either. But I discovered that the PCUSA is in full partnership with Sabeel. That means support for its policy of divestment from Israeli businesses and its long-term goal of one nation in the former British Palestine, which would mean the dissolution of Israel as a nation.

I'd already become disaffected by a new pastor at the church who showed more ego than spirituality in leadership. The anti Israel position was the last straw for me.

So I tried an Episcopal church, despite the fact that it is pretty high church IMO, because it is also liberal. But, the local priest and congregation turned out to be even more explicit in their anti Israel, pro Palestinian position, to the point of anti Jewish and pro Hamas comments that went unchallenged when made by some parishioners during a discussion. The priest led a local pro Palestinian protest calling for immediate ceasefire and divestment.

That ended my association with them, too.

[MOMFUDSKI]

5. Shoulda cancelled your church while you had

the chance.

[Sky Jewels]

8. Here's a suggestion Religion is stupid, so stop buying into it.

It’s a cancer on the planet. The mental gymnastics needed to believe these patriarchal bullshit Bronze Age mythologies are true are astounding. Don’t support churches. They are evil, women-hating institutions. Walk away. “Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.”

[hatrack]

9. Too bad, so sad . . .

Mr. Conservative just wasn't conservative enough to float in the punch bowl with the rest of the True Conservative turds.