Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Call to Worship
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T e a rs W e C a n no t St op
of a Christianity that has from the start been deeply intertwined with religious mythology and cultural symbolism.
The Founding Fathers did not for the most part believe what
evangelical Christians believe now. Most believers today certainly do not share Thomas Jeffersons view of the Bible. In
his redacted version of the New Testament, Jefferson purged
the miracles, Jesus divinity, and the Resurrection. But all
of us, from agreeable agnostics to fire-and-brimstone Protestants, from devout Catholics to observant Jews, from devoted Muslims to those who claim no god at all, share a
language of moral repair. That language is our common
meeting ground, our tool of analysis, and yes, our inspiration for repentance, our hope for redemption.
Although I am a scholar, a cultural and political critic,
and a social activist, I am, before, and above anything else,
an ordained Baptist minister. Please dont hold that against
me, although Ill understand if you do. I know that religion
has a bad rap. We believers deserve a lot of the criticism that
we receive. Our actions and beliefs nearly warrant wholesale
skepticism. (Can I let you in on a secret? I share a lot of that
reaction, but thats another book.) But deep in my heart
I believe that our moral and spiritual passions can lead to
a better day for our nation. I know that when we get out
of our own way and let the spirit of love and hope shine
through we are a better people.
But such love and hope can only come about if we first
confront the poisonous history that has almost unmade our
nation and undone our social compact. We must face up to
what we as a country have made of the black people who
have been the linchpin of democracy, the folk who saved
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C a l l t o Worsh i p
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T e a rs W e C a n no t St op
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C a l l t o Worsh i p
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