Something I Miss: Duane W.H. Arnold, PhD
Something I MissIāve spent part of this time of reduced activity that has been imposed by the pandemic organizing my papers and lecture notes. Ā In going through my teaching notes, I found a set from the late 1980s when I was offering a post-graduate course in Patristics at the University of Detroit, a Jesuit institution.Ā On the back of the lecture notes for the first class, I had jotted down the names of the 21 students taking the course.Ā Eight of the students were clergy.Ā Next to each of the clergy names, I indicated their affiliation. Ā There was Roger (LCMS) Mike (Latin Rite Ukrainian) Dave (Chaldean) Andrew (Episcopalian) Basil (Russian Orthodox) Jack (Roman Catholic)Ā Frank (Assemblies of God) and George (Greek Orthodox).Ā While the remainder of the students were taking the course as a requirement for the Master of Theology, the clergy were either using it for a continuing education credit or were simply there owing to their interest in the subject.Ā The point being, they did not have to take the course as a requirement, it was a choice made out of genuine interest in the subject.
The class was held early evening and went for three hours, with a fifteen minute break in the middle.Ā As a result, there was a good deal of social interaction.Ā I always arrived early, as did most of the clergy having driven from various parts of the city.Ā So, there was always time to talk before the class, as well as during the coffee break and after class as we were packing up.
Now, this was the era of Reagan and Thatcher.Ā Iran-Contra was in the headlines.Ā The Soviet Union was beginning to decline.Ā Northern Ireland was a combat zone.Ā Apartheid reigned in South Africa. A US election was going to be held in the autumnā¦ and, apart from perhaps a passing reference to some bit of news in the headlines, we talked about theology.Ā Now, Iām sure that all of the clergy held some sort of political opinions, but I couldnāt tell you what they were or how strongly those opinions were held.Ā All of the clergy in that class were far more interested in theology, church history, ethics and, surprisingly, in each others traditions.Ā They wanted to discuss and to learnā¦ and they wanted to talk about what they were learning with each other.Ā I miss that sort of theological discourse and free exchange.
As the class moved on through the semester, I began to notice things happening.Ā Frank, from the Assemblies of God, clearly felt a bit out of place as the other clergy came from liturgical traditions.Ā Out of place, that is, until our Russian Orthodox priest, Basil, gave him a book on St. Symeon the New Theologian and his writings in the 10th century concerning charismatic gifts and the direct work of the Holy Spirit.Ā By the end of the course they were friends, meeting for lunch once a week.Ā Frank, by the way, did his final essay on the Anaphora (Eucharistic Prayer) of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Ā Jack, the Episcopalian, and Roger (LCMS) chose to do a joint essay on Cranmer and Luther and the ways in which they were influenced by the Church Fathers.Ā Dave, the Chaldean, obviously the most āexoticā of the clergy portion of the class, invited the entire group to his church.Ā Missing were the rancorous debates with sum zero conclusions of āIām right and youāre wrongā.Ā As I lectured and we discussed the Church Fathers over the course of that semester our love and enthusiasm for the living work of theology somehow bound us together with common purpose and a common delight in that work.
It is something I miss in our current state.
Currently, I see numerous clergy who, it seems, are obsessed with secular identity politics.Ā Over the course of the last four or five years, I have simply marked it down to a desire for power.Ā While I believe that to be true in many cases, I think there is something far more troubling taking place.Ā It is that politics, whether of the Right or the Left, has taken the place of theological thought and expression in the mind and conduct of many clergy.Ā Their delight is no longer in the work of theology and the sharing of that work with others.Ā Instead, their delight is in the divisive secular politics of the moment.
When I first began to study theology, it was not because it was a job or a career.Ā I first studied theology because I loved it and I wanted to know more.Ā I have to believe that this is the case with other clergy as well.Ā Our task is not to be politicians.Ā If one wishes to do that, fine and good.Ā Step down from the pulpit, raise the needed money and run for office.Ā Make your political pronouncements and then let the voters decide.Ā If, however, your calling is the cure of souls, the task at hand is not political, it is theological. I think it is time, and past time, to remember our first love.
Duane,
This dovetails so well with a conversation I had with a former pastor of mine about the state of my current church. We arenāt extreme on the politics, but the undercurrent is still there, even appearing in yesterdayās sermon. We are āopenā, but not flaunting it (although I attend online). The other surprise, with the repeated requests if come one, come all, more are online than in the pews. That gives me hope for discussion and dialog as the church moves forward, hopefully minus the yelling.
I think our culture tends to lay āeasy blameā when we encounter issues we donāt like. Itās communist, liberal, oppressive, racist, socialist….the list goes on and on. I audited all the classes I could at my local seminary and came away enriched with all the different perspectives, even if they werenāt mine. Iām always looking for that tribe of people who can dialog.
Meanwhile, Iām not giving up on my church just yet, and I have some prayer points to take to God.
Linn
I’ve found that when the labels begin, the dialogue ends. That observation applies pretty well across the board…
Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems like LCMS, Chaldean, Episcopalian, Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Assemblies of God, Greek Orthodox and clergy are all labels.
DH
There are comments to be taken seriously and comments which cannot be taken seriously. This is of the latter category…
DH,
The point was overcoming those labels and finding a common identity in Christ…
Personally, I would consider those more “flavors” of Christianity, all of them with deep historical roots and traditions. And, folks from these traditions tend to sit about and discuss/dialog, vs. using the denominational names as a way to mock each other.
I agree. Theology used to be a “gentleman’s” pursuit, back in those dark days when ladies weren’t considered theologically competent. Many folks had at least a general interest in theology. It has been largely lost today. Today, it’s all politics, all the time.
I enjoy learning about other Christian traditions. I was just telling the brown eyed girl today there is a certain preacher I adore. He is very conservative theologically. But I don’t know his politics. I have listened to a lot of teachings from this minister. I know a lot about him, his tastes in music, literature, etc. But not his politics. That’s probably why I love him so much. Because I simply don’t desire or care to know his politics. I agree largely with his theology, and he doesn’t really betray his politics. Too focused on the Gospel and the Bible.
Mike E.
Interestingly, half of the remainder of the class working on the MTh degree was made up of women…
Over the past year, as our Church attendance has been spotty, I’ve sought out online Orthodox communities to join. I was already listening to a podcaster who is an EO priest and has a show about the works of Tolkien, and I also joined up with a group led by a very conservative EO priest who was going to take the group through the writings of several Saints. So the conservative priest strongly disliked the work of the Tolkien priest. No one should waste their time reading Tolkien or any other literature, it should be the lives of the Saints all the time with no deviation. Most of his nightly live sessions veered off into right wing politics. Don’t wear masks, etc. etc. I’ve heard worse, but this type of discourse didn’t feed my soul. So I left him and turned back to the Tolkien-loving priest, who did not allow political discussions at all. Without the political static, he actually spoke more about Christ than the other guy. So there I was trying to be more serious about my faith and wound up among a group of right-wingers who seemed obsessed with politics. I left them for a group I thought was a bit trivial and found people who were freed up to talk about Christ. Politics kills everything it touches.
Xenia
As I ran across the class roster, I somewhat came to the same conclusion. None of us knew each other before that first night of class and what brought us together was the love of theology. Moreover, we all had different approaches to the subject… and that was just fine. Everyone went out of their way to engage in really thoughtful conversation. As I said, I miss it…
I’ve posted several things on the Open Blogging thread last night and today, but nothing’s showing up.
So here’s what I’d like to add to the conversation. Maybe this will go through!
appreciate the comments of Xenia and BOC, a lot.
I think sometimes we put too much focus on national issues. Believe me, they’re important for all of us.
But there are lots of things we can do in our communities.
Regarding the black church, Pew Research just released a study about the Black church. It said most church folks pray before making big decisions and they consider fighting racism to be very important.
I think this shows what Duane said — most folks don’t vote all liberal or all conservative, despite what everyone’s trying to say.
Duane, I agree w. unity in Christ, ecumenism, dropping the “I’m right you’re flat wrong!” and if/as someone has a call from God to get directly involved by becoming a working politician then go for it. The pettiness and harsh partisan divides absolutely are in the church – yet sadly have always been in the churches. Those associations such as you experienced w. godly, seeking brothers in Detriot also have been and shall be, but yes, how sad so many do not experience it due to partisan divide and vitriol. I think it’s why we see so much in the NT letters about attitudes, repentance, reconciliation and “love thinks the best of” “the other”. Here’s the rub- in our own case at JPUSA many years ago we ended up serving so many underserved “least of these” in our neighborhood that the local pols no longer allowed us to fly under the radar. Numbers, influence, votes you see… Actively dealing w. injustice in the policies and political arena as activists of course meant various concepts of both spiritual and practical issues (including related doctrine and methodology) that either brought other believers together with us or conversely repelled them from engagement with us. I’m saying we never planned nor sought political or other power but to be very blunt, the divides between privileged white folks -in the church- surfaced. Of course they feel challenged or do not recognize the reality of their attitudes and actions/inaction toward “the least of these” also meant we became “the enemy” as we cared for modern-day “lepers”. Again, nothing new over the centuries between the theological divides on so many levels, so not surprising political divides have reached the top of a pot of porridge I neither wish to eat nor feed others!
Glenn,
Old friend, good to see you here! Yes, active service to “the least of these” challenges those who do not wish to see “the least of these”. It’s disheartening to see opposition from the very people and institutions where one would expect support…
Good article Dr. Arnold!
It really hits home in this troubled time we live in.
It’s getting goofy enough that there are probably shrill ideologues who could find a way to politicize the relationship between linear algebra and the conic sections.
Muff
Many thanks! Conic sections… don’t we have to employ that to construct our tin foil hats? š
Duane,
“All of the clergy in that class were far more interested in theology, church history, ethics and, surprisingly, in each others traditions. They wanted to discuss and to learnā¦”
What occurred to me while reading your article was that I would suspect that all of you in the class already recognized (and had long since held to) the belief that , because we are just passing through here, the political side of life doesn’t really matter in the long term – at least not the “long term” we’re thinking of…..
Duane,
Not if you believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Any old colander will do, metal or plastic!
Owen
I think that was very much the case, but as I’ve reflected on it I think there was something more. The Chaldean’s immediate family was from Syria. The others had family from Russia, the Ukraine, Greece (during the time of the colonels) and then those of us from the US. Politics were ephemeral, or brutal or chaotic… It was the Church that mattered.
I used to say that every American should live overseas for a time to see the good and the bad of America. I wonder if Christians should live overseas for a time in order to really appreciate what it means to be the Church…
Duane and Owen,
We have no idea how much freedom and prosperity we enjoy in the USA until we go and live somewhere else for an extended period of time. Colombia for me was a total experience for which I will ever be thankful, but I don’t miss some of the “smaller” experiences. I was there during the glory days of Pablo Escobar and the guerrilla groups. I had to decide to be afraid all the time and never leave home (I was a missionary, after all), or learn to be discerning and understand where it was reasonably safe for me to be. I learned, was in a few dangerous situations, and one very dangerous one (think in a room surrounded by guns), but I loved the people and the work, and I was very unhappy when I had to come home. I gained a much greater appreciation for freedoms we enjoy here, which makes me even angrier at the dimwits who want to totally sabotage our system.
Linn
Ah yes, Pastafarianism! š
Somebody should have pointed out to Henderson that spaghetti gets old and moldy over time….
Linn
Agreed and well said…
Duane and Linn,
I would welcome the opportunity, if it ever comes to me, to live somewhere other than North America. The older I get, the more I realize just how sheltered I really am. And the tricky part of that is trying to impress upon our children that the world at large is considerably different than their limited experience.
Agreed, Duane – as Christians , exposure to areas where our faith is not easy would be a really good thing…..
Owen
When I was teaching in France and the UK, I was always amazed at the reaction of American students to a different culture with different norms. As you say, we are very sheltered, especially when it comes to the Church…
When I taught high school I used to take students on field trips to Europe. The kids were great, the parent chaperones were jerks. They’d see someone smoking and point to the “Defense de fumer” sign and yell “It says NO SMOKING” to the French people. We’d be on a bus or the metro and it took five seconds to notice that the natives (French, Spanish) are being quiet. They are not yelling. But these parents would shout at each other across the length of the car. They acted like they were in their living rooms watching Europeans on TV. The kids acted much better.
But I am an American and I have no intention of leaving my home country. I could imagine living in Scotland, I suppose, but I’d be a stranger there, even if they are my distant relatives. I think that’s what healthy patriotism is: a love of country that hasn’t got anything to do with politics. I love our mountains, our trees, our wild animals, and most especially, the diversity of people. I remember coming home on the plane after a week of weird food in Europe and the lunch was ENCHILADAS and I was so happy to be on my way back to my home.
I even love California!
Xenia
The kids don’t carry the same baggage of “entitlement”…
BTW, one of my favorite places in Paris serves Mexican cuisine š
Xenia, @8:47
Being of Scottish descent, amen… But still i guess i, too, am a yankee, born and bred
Growing up in Southern California i miss what used to be, but now i love the PNW…. still, not being a liberal, my heart is east of the Cascades….
This summer I’ll turn 85, so the fact that “this world is not my home…” is becoming quite real… Unexpected, i confess
I seem to recall that someone wrote a book titled “The Ugly American.”. Having experienced WW2, count me in. .. š
Speaking of wild animals, the Monterey Peninsula is crawling with mountain lions and coyotes these days! Kinda cool, kinda worrisome.