A little clip from Ken Wilson's "Jesus Brand Spirituality" ...

[pages 55-57]

What if the followers of Jesus in the United States called a unilateral end to the so-called culture wars pitting people of faith against "secular humanists"? It seems that many people of faith consider it a religious duty to bare their fangs in response to those with whom they disagree, forgetting that each time they do, they distance themselves from the God they are seeking to defend.

Consider this modest proposal: Christians who object to the teaching of evolution in the public schools could observe a one-year moratorium on attempts to overturn the teaching of evolution in the schools; the effort expended would then be directed toward volunteering to help public school science teachers with any classroom needs they might have. When the year of service is over, Christian leaders with concerns about evolution could gather with leaders in the field of evolutionary science simply to understand each other's conflicting perspectives. Their aim would not be to debate the issue, but to grow in understanding of the other side's view. Once each side was able to accurately restate the other side's views, tentative explorations of common ground could be undertaken.

The Monty Python movie Life of Brian includes a scene in which Jesus is preaching, but his voice is too faith to be heard at the back of the crowd. He says, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Some older women are heard to be saying, "What'd he say? I can't hear 'im very well." A younger person answers solemnly, "He said, 'Blessed are the cheese makers.'" This sets off a round of , "What is he saying that? What's so special about those people? Why is he playing favorites?" Perhaps it's time we all got a litle closer and listened to what Jesus is really saying.