New Jersey is the most ethnically and religiously diverse state in the Union. Our history of welcome and tolerance, however, is being threatened by the rise in the Christian nationalist movement, which plays on the fears of people who feel alienated by the changes they see in the society around them. Insularity and prejudice have no place here or in any place in our Nation.
Our religious and ethnic demographics are changing and have changed. The Baptists and Quakers who worked their way through a wilderness to create new communities understood the importance not just of tolerance but acceptance of the new and different.
We are witnessing, however, a juncture of political and religious extremism coupled with conspiracy theories that threaten not only our heritage but our future. This is especially true with the religious “revival” efforts that are nothing more than a thin mask for political gain on the extreme right. Although we want to dismiss the converted as fearful yahoos, it is important to listen to them, as difficult as it is, in order to counter their influence.
Prayer for the Day
Concerned by the fearmongers around us full of anger and hate,
We want to shut our eyes and dismiss them from our thoughts;
Disquieted by the rantings of those who would narrow our vision,
We look to you, O God, for wisdom and understanding.
Help us in these times of turmoil to find our rock in you,
As we seek to be an open and welcoming society.
In the name of the One who welcomes all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don't mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed.
- Sarah Vowell, co-editor This American Life, from The Wordy Shipmate
When a Religion is good, I conceive that it will support itself, and when it cannot support itself, and God does not take care to support, so that its Professors are oblig’d to call on the Civil Power, it is a sign, I apprehend, of being a bad one.
- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
For because they passed wisdom by, they not only were hindered
From recognizing the good, but also left for humankind a reminder of their folly,
So that their failures could never go unnoticed.
Wisdom 10: 8