A Conflict of Conscience

It's not every day that I encounter a conflict of conscience.  Well, I suppose if I was paying more attention I would probably notice all the times my actions run up against my values.  I, like most of us, likely avert our attention from those things that we say and do which are contrary to our stated beliefs: passing by the guy on the street corner holding a "Help Please" sign, driving a gas-guzzler vehicle, using electronics that were assembled by kids in Asia with metals that were mined by kids in Africa.  So I should probably say that it's not every day that I become acutely aware of a conflict of conscience.

And even as I write this I am increasingly disturbed by my lack of commitment to act on those things such as I listed above.  I don't know how to remedy that guilt.

But the dilemma that caught my attention this week was this... I (on behalf of the church I serve) have been in discussion with a certain company in order to provide a product for my congregation to use.  I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it could be something like publishing a weekly handout with games and discussion starters for people to take home.  We want to provide something...we need this company to make it happen. No problem...except, in order to do business with this company, they wanted me to sign (check the box on an electronic form) a very specific Statement of Faith.  Now a statement of faith is not a bad thing...we all have them.  Early Christians used the phrase "Jesus is Lord" as a basic, but specific, statement of faith.  Christians around the world have, for centuries, used the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed as communal statements of faith.  Wearing a cross on a necklace can be a non-verbal statement of faith (or not).

I've never run into this before.  When I was ordained I took vows that related to the faith that my church embraces, but that was about my commitment and promise to the church.  I would have to commit to a certain set of principles if I wanted to join, say, the Masons or the KKK (neither of which I am, in fact, eager to align with, btw).  When I welcome new souls as members of my congregation I ask them to state a simple "I do" in response to a very brief reference to the statement of faith that our church (the ELCA) maintains - it is part of the way we express unity.

But never have I been forced to agree to a statement of faith in order that I might give people money in exchange for their services.  Imagine you walked into a store, picked out the products you wanted to buy and approached the cashier.  Only, before you were allowed to give the store your money, you had to sign a detailed statement of faith.  Or what if you weren't allowed in the store at all, unless you signed the paper, or wore the right insignia, or spoke the right password?

But I've never had to experience persecution for my beliefs, either.  Of course, honest, good people have, in many times and places, been marginalized, ridiculed, refused basic needs, imprisoned and killed for their beliefs and for their refusal to "sign" a specifically worded statement of faith.  But I am white, male, and (arguably) Christian which, I assumed, put me on the top of the pile, immune from prejudice, bigotry, and segregation.

Until this week.  This week I was the one pushed to the sidelines.  Certainly I wasn't refused basic rights and freedoms, and I do not pretend to equate my experience with those who have in even the smallest ways been violently persecuted.  But I did get a taste of what others have to deal with on a daily basis.

I could have just checked the box and been done with it.  After all, it aligned in a general way with basic Christian teachings.  But there were a few things with which I took exception - things like substitutionary sacrificial atonement, the verbal inspiration and infallibility of Scripture, and a statement about the Biblical definition of marriage.  And I do not stand in judgement against this company for stating these particular viewpoints.  I have no reason to believe that their faith is honest, true, and of God.

The fact is, however, that I hold differing views and opinions about these matters.  Their form will not let me not check the box or make comments regarding the Statement of Faith.  They did not ask me to provide my own Faith Statement for their approval?  Do they recognise my faith as valid even with slight differences? Does that mean that their interpretation is the only way to believe in the Christian faith?  I guess...at least if I want to do business with them.

This is dangerous territory...Do we really want to screen each other's dogma prior to doing business together?  Should we carry on a relationship only with those whose Faith Statements align with ours to the letter? Shall this be the way we decide who is worthy of sharing with us this society, this economy, this life?

There are other companies with whom I can do business, and I will probably let this go and just move on.  But it has caused me to pause and reflect upon what it means to "have" faith.  Faith is, I believe, not a weapon to defend our own position and security.  Rather, faith is a gift: a gift that we are asked to cherish and respect, to use for our own well being, and to share generously with others.

I say that the ways in which we define and characterize our faith using language, symbols, art and gestures should not preclude us from standing side by side with all children of God's creation.  Neither should our differences of opinion keep us from working together for the good of all that God has made.  And where our interpretations of the truth clash and spark, may these encounters inspire us to vigorous and dynamic debate that can stretch our imaginations and wonders of all the mysteries of God rather than sending us back to our corners.

Unfortunately that is where I have been sent...because I will not check the box.  But there are other, more important battles to fight.  My first paragraph above has a few suggestions...I guess it's time I spent a little time on those things.