A
soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech,
often about a political subject. The term originates from the days when
speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used
for shipment of soap or other dry goods from a manufacturer to a retail store.
(Wikipedia)
I often wrestle with the role of the church over current
and social issues. I have always believed that the pulpit should not be used as
a soapbox for political issues. And though I have always believed and honored
that, American culture has developed such deep cultural divisions that almost
everything we disagree over is now labeled a “political issue.”
As an American, this is unfortunate, troubling and sad.
The “great middle” that has guided our discussions and leadership has
been rendered to the sidelines.
These cultural divisions have also affected churches in how
we see and talk about things that are important to our lives, our community and
our nation. For instance, it's puzzling that the loss of life from 8000 gun murders a year,
and 20,000 gun suicides is not seen as a national health crisis that we must
solve (i.e., opioid epidemic or flu outbreak). But like so many issues, some
are quick to say the gun issue is a political issue.
History is always important to me for understanding the
present. It seems there are always correlations and precedents that can inform
where we are. So I am reflecting on this bit of history from James Atwood, a
Presbyterian minister.
In 1861, when the Presbyterian
Church split over the issue of slavery, Southern apologists who defended
slavery as beneficial to both races were on the defensive morally and called
upon theologians for new understandings of the church’s role in society. They
created a very popular doctrine called “the spirituality of the church.”
Proponents argued that the church could not go beyond scripture, that slavery
was not condemned by the Bible, and that Jesus and the apostles accepted
slavery. They believed, therefore, that the church could not condemn it. The
doctrine did not stop the church from speaking out on other social ills such as
“Sabbath observance, intemperance, and the worldly amusements of dancing,
theatre going and card playing.”[i]
It seems that the vestiges of this 19th
century doctrine are still around and hampers our honest attempts to seek the
intersection of faith with life.
