Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan? I wonder how seriously they are taken in the 21st Century in the United States? Tuesday I attended a funeral. Several ministers were involved. I met and visited with each of them. One fellow was from up in Arkansas, and when he named the specific “city” he was from, he added that this little town was a “planned community.” He said the people of the county were a very closed group; outsiders were not welcome, nor were they accepted. However, that part of Arkansas is attracting large numbers of “outsiders,” who are not even being accepted in, of all places, their churches. The newcomers like their good jobs, and love the scenic countryside. They did not want to leave. Someone made the suggestion, so they got busy and built a town specifically for outsiders and the unacceptable. They built their own churches. This fellow at the funeral, the one who told this story, is pastor of one of those churches. When I commented that I was surprised at the situation–major commercial activity nearby, economic development, a large influx of people being completely shut out by the natives–he added another element. Then I understood the situation. The county seat is the national headquarters of the Ku Klux Klan. He said there are only eight African-Americans in the county. Wondering about the new “city,” the one built for the locally unacceptable, I asked if any of those African-Americans were members of his church. I expected a negative answer. To my surprise, he said, “Yes, one is a member of our church.” ____________ This world we live in constantly confronts us with the unexpected. Who would expect to find a black person active in a white church in a place such as I have described? In this adventure we call life, we had best be hesitant to name anything impossible. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? Who knows? Some of us are intent on establishing absolutes, establishing order, and doing all we can to bring everything under our control. Completely under. I know a couple who retired after having spent their unreconstructed racist life in Louisiana. They were raised in a culture of unchallenged racism. They were strong participants in that culture. I wonder why, when they retired, they left their home state and moved to Arkansas. Was it because of the natural beauty? That might be enough for me. Was it because he had a lifelong dream of becoming a country music star, and wanted to be within driving distance of Branson? As a teenager and young adult, he had sung on local radio. He had developed an outstanding voice and distinctive style. And is good-looking. They moved to the hometown of the KKK. There are other locations nearer Branson. Much of Arkansas is blessed with natural beauty. I suspect they have found themselves accepted in the town, the county, and the local church. I have another wonderment. I visited with a fellow, from Arkansas, a friend of this preacher, this preacher whose church accepts all races. This friend lives in the same region as this exclusive county with its inclusive “city” and church. As I visited with the friend, it came up that he (the friend) is a big fan of Rush Limbaugh. I wonder if, among the fans of Rush, you would find many members of the KKK? That may not be a fair question, and I am a person who tries to be fair. Still I wonder. It’s just a thought that, from somewhere, came to me.

Can Online Religion Be Real?

Can internet religion be real? I was, for thirty-some years, a university professor of Christian studies (and philosophy); then I retired. From classroom teaching, that is. Thanks to a friend who asked me to move my philosophy classroom from the university to his blog, I continue to teach philosophy. Then I established a few blogs in my own name and continue to teach Christian studies. I must present a caveat: years ago I quit calling myself a teacher, for to be a teacher means there are learners. You can be a professor or instructor without learning taking place, but if no one is learning, teaching is not being done. I am not sure when and where the learning takes place, so, rather than teacher, I choose to call myself one who attempts to set up conditions that facilitate learning. The question remains: can real Christianity be studied by computer mediated communication? Does it not require face to face, eyeball to eyeball, connection? Connection of the kind where tone of voice, facial expression, gesture, and perhaps even a pat on the back are possible. Religion is personal. Can it be electronic and remain authentic? In the School of Christian Studies at the university from which I retired last year, I am told the answer is, “No.” I understand and appreciate where they are coming from. I also believe that Christianity at its best, at its fullest, is something lived out in the flesh rather than in cyberspace. In spite of my appreciation for Karl Rahner’s idea of the “anonymous Christian,” the follower of Jesus can neither remain anonymous nor confine their commitment to the realm of virtual reality. At some point it must enter the world of flesh and blood, the world of physical space and actual rather than merely virtual community. Yet, I must affirm that if Christian studies can, to a certain degree, be conducted in a university or seminary classroom it can be conducted on the web. If it can be done by means of words written on paper–Bible, theologies, pamphlets, etc.–it can be done, to a certain degree, electronically. Eventually, it must get out of the classroom, out of the books, and out of cyberspace, but it can start there. Or it can be educated there. And cultivated there. These have their place. And in the 21st Century, computer mediated Christianity has an incredibly large place, a place in which the School of Christian Studies at my beloved university, should establish a presence. I much prefer teaching in a physical classroom, with less than twenty–preferably only ten or twelve--students. This provides a wide range of conditions that make for better teaching. On the other hand, it touches a quite limited number, which is why the school always insisted on larger numbers in the classroom, classes of as many as forty or forty-five (larger universities hold classes with hundreds in the same auditorium). If we insist of “ideal” conditions for learning, we will cut out most of those who have the need to learn and the interest in doing so. I am aware that I have not yet learned how best to do it online, but I do have, from all over the world, potential students looking in on my virtual classroom. Some of them decide to attend regularly. Some of them study and think. So far their numbers are small, and they come from only ten different countries, but that is far more inclusive than the few who can afford the time and money, and travel the distance to attend university classes. Yes, online religion can be real, as many Christian institutions are aware. I hope it will not be long before my old school realizes they are being “left behind.” It is not too late to play catch-up. Not only can online religion be real, it remains true that religion at the corner church house can be real. From time to time, here and there, I have actually seen it. Old-fashioned “organized religion,” “institutional religion” is not always hypocritical, nor is it always dead. “With God, all things are possible.”