Preachers: The Credibility Gap Grows Wider
(Natchez, Sling n Stone) A few days ago, just a hop and a skip up north of here in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a jury found Edgar Ray Killen guilty of three counts of manslaughter for the 1964 "Freedom Summer" K.K.K. killings of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner. Those killings and the racism surrounding them were the subject of the 1988 film "Mississippi Burning." My question is, did you notice in reading the story that Edgar Ray was a preacher? Yep. People even called him by that: "Preacher." He would have been convicted of the murders back in 1967 except for one lone holdout. The all-white jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of conviction, except for one woman who refused, saying she could "never vote to find a preacher guilty." So, ole "Preacher" walked out of the courthouse a free man for forty-one years, free to preach the love of Jesus to anyone who would listen.
What we got here is a preacher who was in the K.K.K. and as racist as they come...a hater of other human beings simply because of their skin color. He hated them so much he arranged for their murder and the murder of two white men who attempted to help them gain the civil rights guaranteed to them by our "secular" government. As President Bush might even say: how ironical. A preacher killing people. Can you imagine that? Well, the answer to that depends upon how naive you are (or perhaps how stupid). A guy that was preaching Jesus on Sundays and then getting with the good-ole-boys in the evening to go out and "kill a few n****rs and n****r-lovers." Hmmm..."love Jesus and kill the n*****s"...now that's a coherent message. Wonder if the irony ever registered on the people who were listening to him? Is it just me or is there a credibility gap in there somewhere? I apologize for the use of the "n" word--but you get my drift.
All of that leads me to my larger point. When I grew up I was taught that policemen, preachers, and presidents were beyond reproach--it wasn't so much taught explicitly, but it was sure taught implicitly. Now, as an adult, I've learned from cold hard reality that the truth is, sadly, these three groups can be among the LEAST trustworthy. They will talk 'till their blue in the face in an effort to tell you differently, but the actions of the "Edgar Rays" (the worst of the preachers) of this world speak much louder than their rhetoric. I recently went online to EBay and purchased a vintage toy I used to have as a child. It is one of those monkeys with the clanging cymbals that bares his teeth and bugs out his eyes when you turn him on. Every time I hear about some preacher or politician who has opened their mouth and spewed out some nonsense I turn that monkey on and then step back to note the similarities. What a great stress reliever! It's amazing how healing it can be to observe a little toy monkey clanging away...it helps me understand how to put preachers in perspective. I even know of this guy who has a machine that he calls a baloney detector. He takes this thing to church with him and plugs the earphone from the unit into his ear while he listens to the preacher preach. He says half the time the preacher is preaching this baloney detector is going off. He reminds me of those people from Berea that the Apostle Paul talks about. We definitely need more of these Bereans.
To be sure, many preachers are real quick to wring their hands and tell you that you have a problem-you don't want to be held accountable. The honest truth is, it is often they who rub their over-sized bellies and strut around with egos too far above the rest of us to face their own failures and weaknesses. Actually, I don't hold their failures and weaknesses against them at all. What I do hold against them is they want us to think they don't have any failures and weaknesses...that they don't ever screw people over or make mistakes. I personally have never, ever heard a preacher say I'm sorry. Plus, they are so darn judgmental, even while their own lives are so screwed up. It's amazing. That my friends, is what makes their credibility zero. They are all too often weak, timid men who are the fools and pharisees of our day. They are "Edgar Rays." There are exceptions to be sure, but too many of them fit the shoe. They judge, they condescend, they preach, and they preach, and they preach, yet with no weight of morality behind them because of the way they live their own lives. They know-it-all. The certificate on the wall tells them so. They walk around with their pedigrees and seem to have heads swelled to large sizes because of their seeming masterful knowledge and reason, but as C.S. Lewis said, it's an illusion, their heads seem huge only because their chests are atrophied (they have no heart). All pride, no humility. When the going gets tough, they often run and hide and implore others to do the real work and handle the conflicts. In truth, their knowledge is also often an illusion too because they exist in a bubble...many have never known real work.
There is a huge difference between knowledge, and wisdom. Knowledge is what they are taught to espouse. Knowledge, and preaching that knowledge in such overbearing ways, is the result of an over-emphasis in classical Greek oratory and rhetoric that the church bought into centuries ago under John Chrysostom (known as John the Golden Tongue). He ushered in a twisted emphasis upon preaching that we never recovered from. Pagan influences have warped the church. Now, when we try to get back to the original model, the preachers say we are warping the Gospel! Go figure. God never intended the church-or its leadership-to become what it has today. If you think He did then I've got some beachfront property in Kansas to sell you.
The current emphasis upon knowledge and preaching comes at the expense of wisdom--which is knowledge gained through experience. It is often the experience of real work in the real world that "preachers" lack. They live in a bubble that the rest of us don't, and they don't understand experientially who or what we are, or what we ordinary folks go through. All the while, they are lightning quick to judge us when we stumble and yet never, ever turn that same fierce judgment upon their own lives. They are masters of the double standard, yet they claim to be the standard bearers. Christ wasn't called preacher--he was called teacher. But I've heard a local preacher disparage teaching in favor of preaching. He doesn't even know it--but in doing so he is closer to being a follower of Socrates than Christ. How many sermons did Christ preach? Right, the sermon on the mount. One. Uno. Okay, and how many parables did he tell? Get it?
Preachers...too often so much knowledge with too little wisdom. Lots of man-made tradition, very little Gospel. Lots of judgment, with no humility. Lots of timidity and protection around them, with little risk and manly boldness. Edgar Ray the preacher sat back and judged and "preached" others into doing the killings so he wouldn't have to risk anything. He murdered with words in a way his hands could never muster up the courage to do. I'm wondering if it's an occupational trait.
I could say plenty about the people around them that facilitate their attitudes...the "yes" men and women who fall all over themselves to fawn over "the preacher," like this fool who refused to convict Edgar Ray back in 1967 because she could not bring herself to find a preacher guilty. With "friends" and followers like that we could bring back the Nazi Party. You can only fool a fool. Problem is, there are plenty of fools and they tend to flock together. A Fool and his fools. What does the Bible say about the blind leading the blind? Something about they had better buy ditch insurance. That's all I'll say on these mini-Edgars for now.
Preachers, Presidents, and Policemen and their lack of credibility...sigh. Well, the good news is, unlike the 1960s era, at least now many of us know it.
What we got here is a preacher who was in the K.K.K. and as racist as they come...a hater of other human beings simply because of their skin color. He hated them so much he arranged for their murder and the murder of two white men who attempted to help them gain the civil rights guaranteed to them by our "secular" government. As President Bush might even say: how ironical. A preacher killing people. Can you imagine that? Well, the answer to that depends upon how naive you are (or perhaps how stupid). A guy that was preaching Jesus on Sundays and then getting with the good-ole-boys in the evening to go out and "kill a few n****rs and n****r-lovers." Hmmm..."love Jesus and kill the n*****s"...now that's a coherent message. Wonder if the irony ever registered on the people who were listening to him? Is it just me or is there a credibility gap in there somewhere? I apologize for the use of the "n" word--but you get my drift.
All of that leads me to my larger point. When I grew up I was taught that policemen, preachers, and presidents were beyond reproach--it wasn't so much taught explicitly, but it was sure taught implicitly. Now, as an adult, I've learned from cold hard reality that the truth is, sadly, these three groups can be among the LEAST trustworthy. They will talk 'till their blue in the face in an effort to tell you differently, but the actions of the "Edgar Rays" (the worst of the preachers) of this world speak much louder than their rhetoric. I recently went online to EBay and purchased a vintage toy I used to have as a child. It is one of those monkeys with the clanging cymbals that bares his teeth and bugs out his eyes when you turn him on. Every time I hear about some preacher or politician who has opened their mouth and spewed out some nonsense I turn that monkey on and then step back to note the similarities. What a great stress reliever! It's amazing how healing it can be to observe a little toy monkey clanging away...it helps me understand how to put preachers in perspective. I even know of this guy who has a machine that he calls a baloney detector. He takes this thing to church with him and plugs the earphone from the unit into his ear while he listens to the preacher preach. He says half the time the preacher is preaching this baloney detector is going off. He reminds me of those people from Berea that the Apostle Paul talks about. We definitely need more of these Bereans.
To be sure, many preachers are real quick to wring their hands and tell you that you have a problem-you don't want to be held accountable. The honest truth is, it is often they who rub their over-sized bellies and strut around with egos too far above the rest of us to face their own failures and weaknesses. Actually, I don't hold their failures and weaknesses against them at all. What I do hold against them is they want us to think they don't have any failures and weaknesses...that they don't ever screw people over or make mistakes. I personally have never, ever heard a preacher say I'm sorry. Plus, they are so darn judgmental, even while their own lives are so screwed up. It's amazing. That my friends, is what makes their credibility zero. They are all too often weak, timid men who are the fools and pharisees of our day. They are "Edgar Rays." There are exceptions to be sure, but too many of them fit the shoe. They judge, they condescend, they preach, and they preach, and they preach, yet with no weight of morality behind them because of the way they live their own lives. They know-it-all. The certificate on the wall tells them so. They walk around with their pedigrees and seem to have heads swelled to large sizes because of their seeming masterful knowledge and reason, but as C.S. Lewis said, it's an illusion, their heads seem huge only because their chests are atrophied (they have no heart). All pride, no humility. When the going gets tough, they often run and hide and implore others to do the real work and handle the conflicts. In truth, their knowledge is also often an illusion too because they exist in a bubble...many have never known real work.
There is a huge difference between knowledge, and wisdom. Knowledge is what they are taught to espouse. Knowledge, and preaching that knowledge in such overbearing ways, is the result of an over-emphasis in classical Greek oratory and rhetoric that the church bought into centuries ago under John Chrysostom (known as John the Golden Tongue). He ushered in a twisted emphasis upon preaching that we never recovered from. Pagan influences have warped the church. Now, when we try to get back to the original model, the preachers say we are warping the Gospel! Go figure. God never intended the church-or its leadership-to become what it has today. If you think He did then I've got some beachfront property in Kansas to sell you.
The current emphasis upon knowledge and preaching comes at the expense of wisdom--which is knowledge gained through experience. It is often the experience of real work in the real world that "preachers" lack. They live in a bubble that the rest of us don't, and they don't understand experientially who or what we are, or what we ordinary folks go through. All the while, they are lightning quick to judge us when we stumble and yet never, ever turn that same fierce judgment upon their own lives. They are masters of the double standard, yet they claim to be the standard bearers. Christ wasn't called preacher--he was called teacher. But I've heard a local preacher disparage teaching in favor of preaching. He doesn't even know it--but in doing so he is closer to being a follower of Socrates than Christ. How many sermons did Christ preach? Right, the sermon on the mount. One. Uno. Okay, and how many parables did he tell? Get it?
Preachers...too often so much knowledge with too little wisdom. Lots of man-made tradition, very little Gospel. Lots of judgment, with no humility. Lots of timidity and protection around them, with little risk and manly boldness. Edgar Ray the preacher sat back and judged and "preached" others into doing the killings so he wouldn't have to risk anything. He murdered with words in a way his hands could never muster up the courage to do. I'm wondering if it's an occupational trait.
I could say plenty about the people around them that facilitate their attitudes...the "yes" men and women who fall all over themselves to fawn over "the preacher," like this fool who refused to convict Edgar Ray back in 1967 because she could not bring herself to find a preacher guilty. With "friends" and followers like that we could bring back the Nazi Party. You can only fool a fool. Problem is, there are plenty of fools and they tend to flock together. A Fool and his fools. What does the Bible say about the blind leading the blind? Something about they had better buy ditch insurance. That's all I'll say on these mini-Edgars for now.
Preachers, Presidents, and Policemen and their lack of credibility...sigh. Well, the good news is, unlike the 1960s era, at least now many of us know it.
posted by mike at 3:43 PM
4 comments
