I have to say that on November 8, 2016, I experienced a crisis of faith that called into question a lifetime of teaching, leading and nurturing people to live the Christian faith.
Taking clues from the prefector of our faith, Jesus ben Joseph, whom we call The Christ,
I have spent untold hours proclaiming his stories and message. Through the years, the proclamation has taken many forms and ways – even using words upon occasion.
Words have always been important to me. Weaving words together to clearly express an idea, a concept, or a message has been a constant and major concern.
As the most openly blatant anti-Christian candidate to ever run for the office of President of the United States gained more and more support, I began to see that Wormwood’s work was finally taking hold. (Screwtape would be so pleased.)
Evil had infiltrated American politics.
Specifically, I felt that my 47 years of work was for naught. The word of God had not gotten through. I have failed - I, and my 400,000 colleagues who spend their lives proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, have failed.
The U.S. Presidential election of 2016 was a sign of proclamation failure.
That so many well-meaning people (including so many good church-going folk) were taken in by the only candidate in history to unabashedly personify anti-Christ behavior revealed a total misunderstanding of the faith that I, and thousands of colleagues, have proclaimed for so long.
Our work, my work, wasn’t heard.
Or, possibly worse, if heard was rejected by so many of otherwise sane believers.
I had to go back and reread Scott Peck’s seminal work “People of the Lie” that he published in 1983. Scott Peck argues that evil is alive and well in our world and exerts power in our lives.
Scott Peck affirms that even when evil seems to have taken hold (of a person or a group of people) hope and goodness always are potent antidotes.
So, I am still trying to work out what I am now to do during this time of the seeming prevalence of evil in our country.
There is a moroseness in feeling one has been a failure – especially at communicating – which is what I have made my life’s work.
Perhaps it is not my failure; but, a nod to the power of Screwtape.
Hate is powerful.
Evil is alive and prevalent in our land.
Scott Peck’s work has been confirmed by the work of many in recent years.
There is mounting evidence that goodness prevails over hate.
So, I ease into my new “ministry” providing smiles, and thoughtful rhetoric, and hopeful messages, and empowering support, and nourishment to the faithful, and balm to the hurting - and perhaps even a little enlightenment.
