This and That

Many things are going on in the world today. There were the recent elections for President of the United States in which Barack Obama was elected. There continues to be fighting and killing, sometimes of innocent civilians, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere in the world. Fighting has once again come to the Congo. At a hotel here in Kuala Lumpur, Lutheran theologians from SE Asia have gathered to talk about "Marriage, Family, and Sexuality." Unfortunately, because I got sick, I have not been able to attend.

As I have thought about these, any many more things, including things I've written in the past, I have begun to ask if we have started our thinking in the wrong spot. There has been a tendency for some Christians to begin their discussions by asking either, "What does the Bible say about such and such?" or, "What would Jesus say, or do?" Those are not irrelevant questions. However, I am not sure they really help all that much.

First, I am not sure these questions help because to ask "What does the Bible say?" implies that there is only one thing the Bible says about marriage, family, sexuality, war, or whatever. If that were the case, it would be easy to answer questions which arise. Open the Bible. Read what it says. However, it is not that simple. All of us go to the text with our own set of ideas, our own ways of interpretation, our own questions, together with those of the religion, or religious affiliation we espouse. There are varieties of ways in which texts can be read and interpreted. Second, I am not sure to ask, "What would Jesus say, or do?" helps. We can only speculate; read back into the texts, draw tentative conclusions to what Jesus might say, or do. About many things Jesus is silent. He never addresses, for example, the issue of polygamy. What then might we do?

I would suggest that it might be more fruitful for Christians to ask, "What does it mean to be a baptized Christian and to try and live out my life faithfully in relationship to _____?" What gives identity to the Christian is our baptism. The response to the question, "Who am I?" is, "I am a baptized child of God. My name is Christian."

What does it mean to be a baptized child of God who happens to be heterosexual and married to one woman? What does it mean to be a baptized child of God who happens to be heterosexual, and married to several women? What does it mean to be a baptized child of God who happens to be an ordained clergyman, or clergywoman? What does it mean to be a baptized child of God who is trying to faithfully raise children in a context where sexual behavior during teenage years is the cultural norm? What does it mean to be a baptized child of God who is trying to understand what to do in relation to birth control; abortion; capital punishment; same sex marriage; war; or any of a host of other things?

What does it mean to live my life as a baptized child of God who is trying to be faithful to the God who has claimed me, and named me? In answering this question, there is no easy, quick answer. Yet it is the question with which we all need to wrestle. Good wrestling.