Seeking the sublime?

Sitting in the stands behind the goal posts has its advantages. You can see the action on the field from a different angle; call most field goals attempts “good” or “bad” with accuracy; and feel the wind in your face, or at your back. The “cheap seats” of watching and reading of the ongoing debate between Presbyterians of whether to stay in the PCUSA joyfully, linger awhile longer in confusion and dismay, or leave angry for a wistfully greener field in some other stadium, gives pause to wonder if we are missing a vital point.

History is a good teacher where schisms are concerned. Tucked away on bookshelves here and there are dusty copies of a small book that serves to remind us of what we face when we seek to divide ourselves with righteous indignation. In Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer he writes: “Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. This people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content, not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them the unlimited opportunities for both.”

Some will argue that those seeking to leave the PCUSA are not lacking in purpose. This is probably true by their definition, but the purposes being espoused leave many of us saddened as we seek different solutions to our divisions than “felllowships” that maintain their purity with vitriolic anger for those labeled “progressives.” We are named “non-believers.” Believing that one holds a monopoly on “the truth” can be a dangerous choice. As Pontius Pilot might ask, “What is truth?”

“There is a deep reassurance for the frustrated in witnessing the downfall of the fortunate and disgrace of the righteous,” Hoffer writes.

“They see general downfall an approach to the brotherhood of all. Chaos, like the grave, is a haven of equality. Their burning conviction that there must be new life and a new order is fueled by the realization that the old will have to be razed to the ground before a new can be built.”

The irony of the “righteous” who wish to diminish the PCUSA by their withdrawal is that little if anything “new” is being offered on which to pour the footings of new structures and theological doctrines. They selectively choose to honor the protection of the known language and traditions of the past. It is self-delusion and lessons unheeded that leads to the assumption that doctrines and guidelines for governance would change anything for the age in which we find ourselves. They would choose to live in a “rock of ages cleft for me” dream of what they believe was a more “normal” time of conformity and obedience to the higher power of the church.

Hoffer offers that “a sublime religion inevitably generates a strong feeling of guilt. There is an unavoidable contrast between loftiness of profession and imperfection of practice. And as one would expect the feeling of guilt promotes hate and brazenness. Thus it seems that the more sublime the faith the more virulent the hatred it breeds.”

Those who ponder the future of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) might well be advised to flee the seductress of the sublime and rightness that subverts righteousness in order to be saved. Such temptations have not saved us in the past, nor will they save us in years to come.

Phil Leftwich

Honorably Retired Pastor

January 5, 2012

Seeking the Sublime?

Sitting in the stands behind the goal posts has its advantages. You can see the action on the field from a different angle; call most field goals attempts “good” or “bad” with accuracy; and feel the wind in your face, or at your back. The cheap seats of watching and reading of the great ongoing debate between Presbyterians of whether to stay in the PCUSA joyfully, linger awhile longer in confusion and dismay, or leave angry for a wistfully greener field in some other stadium, gives pause to wonder if we are missing a vital point.

History is a good teacher where schisms are concerned. Tucked away on bookshelves here and there are dusty copies of a small book that serves to remind us of what we face when we seek to divide ourselves with righteous indignation. In Eric Hoffer’s The True Believer he writes: “Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. This people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content, not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance. A mass movement offers them the unlimited opportunities for both.”

Some will argue that those seeking to leave the PCUSA are not lacking in purpose. This is probably true by their definition, but the purposes being espoused leave many of us seeking different solutions to our divisions than “felllowships” that maintain their purity with vitriolic anger for those labeled “progressives.” We are named “non-believers.” Believing that one holds a monopoly on “the truth” can be a dangerous choice. As Pontius Pilot might ask, “What is truth?”

“There is a deep reassurance for the frustrated in witnessing the downfall of the fortunate and disgrace of the righteous,” Hoffer writes.

“They see general downfall an approach to the brotherhood of all. Chaos, like the grave, is a haven of equality. Their burning conviction that there must be new life and a new order is fueled by the realization that the old will have to be razed to the ground before a new can be built.”

The irony of the “righteous” who wish to diminish the PCUSA by their withdrawal is that little if anything “new” is being offered on which to pour the footings of new structures and theological doctrines. They selectively choose to honor the protection of the known language and traditions of the past. It is self-delusion and lessons unheeded that leads to the assumption that doctrines and guidelines for governance would change anything for the age in which we find ourselves. They would choose to live in a “rock of ages cleft for me” dream of what they believe was a more “normal” time of conformity and obedience to the higher power of the church.

Hoffer offers that “a sublime religion inevitably generates a strong feeling of guilt. There is an unavoidable contrast between loftiness of profession and imperfection of practice. And as one would expect the feeling of guilt promotes hate and brazenness. Thus it seems that the more sublime the faith the more virulent the hatred it breeds.”

Those who ponder the future of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) might well be advised to flee the seductress of the sublime and rightness that subverts righteousness in order to be saved. Such temptations have not saved us in the past, nor will they save us in years to come.