On more than one occasion I have heard it said that a distinctive conflict in the twenty first century will not be between religions, but between hard-line religious positions and a more congenial approach to religious belief – between those who believe they hold the truth against others who are wrong and are enemies, and those who are open to the possibility that other religious traditions have value and may have insights into religious truths worthy of consideration. In light of this possibility, it is worth the effort to consider how each one of us regards our faith and how this regard informs one’s treatment of religious beliefs that differ.

A question that I wrestled with in my college years was along the lines, “If there is one God, how did it happen that there are so many beliefs about God, and how can I be certain that mine is the right belief?” The short answer to this question was to conclude that revelations about God have been experienced by all people over centuries and these revelations have been shaped by the cultures and historical events in which the revelations were experienced. Moreover, since revelations are, to use Paul’s phrase, like “seeing in a mirror dimly”, some revelations are more likely to be closer to the “truth” than others. Each one of us finds our way (or feel led to) religious tenets that seem to us the closest to the truth. But if there indeed is one God, and one God of all creation, then it also stands to reason that God’s spirit moves among all people. And it is possible to listen for how God has spoken in different times, with different people, even to be inspired by others’ testimony, while still feeling very grounded in one’s own faith.

The testimony found in Acts 17 underscores the global nature of all religious origins: “God made from one, every nation of people to live on all the face of the earth, having determinded allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God in the hope that they might feel after God and find God.”  We are not enemies, but one family. Our family tree is rich with many stories of God’s love and grace.

Some of you know I have been dealing with cancer for close to two years – longer, counting the time I didn’t know what my symptoms were all about. Managing cancer, living with cancer, is the reality for me – cure is a slim hope, but a hope nonetheless. With each check-up, I hold my breath, wondering and fearing that things might be worse, while at the same time hoping that things might be better. Inbetween treatments every little twinge I feel in my abdomen causes me to wonder if what I’m feeling is because the cancer is doing something or if it is because my immune system is doing the good fight on my behalf. So far, as the “tracers” and my physical feelings indicate an improving situation, I am more easily able to live on the hope side of things. But fear never lets go completely. I suppose it is true for all of us in our lives – that we live with both. I often wake with a simple prayer giving thanks for the life today, and for help in living it well. Hopes and fears are companions to each day.

It has struck me that the difficult debate around abortion has two positions that are often argued as though the human creature is the only game in town. When I think of how an expanding human population continues to result in the degradation of global climate and of habitat for all creatures, in the elimination of species, loss of rain forests, ocean fisheries, and top soil, etc., I wonder if the discussion of abortion shouldn’t always be done within the context of these other issues.  Should humans have the right to as many children as we want – either by personal choice or by measures that prohibit abortion? It seems to me that unbridled human population growth imperils all of God’s creation – all living things, including humans, and all ecosystems. Stewardship of God’s creation now desparately needs to include a cap on our own species, so that thoughtless destruction of all life forms does not continue.

I was asked yesterday, “Are you a millenialist or a premillenialist?” My quick answer was, “neither.” That seemed to surprise the inquirer who, I suppose, thought that any pastor worth their salt would subscribe to one view or the other.  The inquiry did send me to Wikipedia, however, to review the two and be sure that I am, in fact, “neither.”   In short, the two schools of thought have to do with interpretations around Revelation 20:1-6, which talks about Christ’s return and a thousand year reign.  The history, energy, theological minutia, and sometimes hysteria that surrounds this stuff is mind-boggling. What really irks me are the many who have made a mint promoting specific scenarios based on this mystic vision (“The Late Great Planet Earth” and the “Left Behind” series being prime examples.)  For two thousand years people have gotten revved up in conjecture about Christ’s return.  It seems to me that these energies would better be expended if people remembered that Jesus himself was pretty clear: “Nobody knows the day or the hour….”  and then focus on another thing he said again and again: “The realm of heaven is at hand.”  I think Jesus would rather have us expend our energy in caring for God’s world in the present and trust God for the future – we don’t have to fret about that one bit. My quick answer was the right one – I am neither a millenialist nor a premillenialist. I’m a Lutheran, after all!