More on Danforth
The Washington Post's article John Danforth, Churchman For a State Occasion gets at all of the reasons John Danforth's sermon made me queasy, and makes each fault sound like a virtue:
"If he sticks to his usual form today, Danforth, who declined to be interviewed for this article, will mention God once or twice near the end of his homily. But he can be counted on not to cause a stir by freelancing an impolitic mention of Jesus, as Franklin Graham did at George W. Bush's inauguration. He will likely perfectly embody Washington National Cathedral's other role, not as an Episcopal chapel but as the closest thing we have to a national church, a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance.
"'Jack will deliver a little homily,' says Alex Netchvolodoff, his former chief of staff and close friend. 'It's not deep theology. He knows that funerals are for the living; they are gatherings of people to celebrate a life, that they should be upbeat, full of hope.'
"Official Washington likes its religion beige, interfaith, tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop. Danforth will oblige: 'He won't step on any toes,' says Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 'People who don't have any religious sensibilities will feel comfortable with him.'"
God forbid any of my churches ever become "a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance"! That sort of faith is an artifact, not the living, breathing faith that gives hope to people in their moments of deepest need.
What good is a faith that is "beige, interfaith, [and] tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop"... except for political window dressing? It certainly isn't the faith that Jesus calls us to!
"If he sticks to his usual form today, Danforth, who declined to be interviewed for this article, will mention God once or twice near the end of his homily. But he can be counted on not to cause a stir by freelancing an impolitic mention of Jesus, as Franklin Graham did at George W. Bush's inauguration. He will likely perfectly embody Washington National Cathedral's other role, not as an Episcopal chapel but as the closest thing we have to a national church, a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance.
"'Jack will deliver a little homily,' says Alex Netchvolodoff, his former chief of staff and close friend. 'It's not deep theology. He knows that funerals are for the living; they are gatherings of people to celebrate a life, that they should be upbeat, full of hope.'
"Official Washington likes its religion beige, interfaith, tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop. Danforth will oblige: 'He won't step on any toes,' says Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. 'People who don't have any religious sensibilities will feel comfortable with him.'"
God forbid any of my churches ever become "a place where faith is present but muted, as on the dollar bill or in the Pledge of Allegiance"! That sort of faith is an artifact, not the living, breathing faith that gives hope to people in their moments of deepest need.
What good is a faith that is "beige, interfaith, [and] tastefully alluded to rather than shouted from a mountaintop"... except for political window dressing? It certainly isn't the faith that Jesus calls us to!
posted by Bob at
7:42 AM
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