A Bible and A Voter’s Guide
Today I attended the Faith Votes gathering hosted by LA Voice and PICO. One of the speakers summoned the spirit of theologian Karl Barth and his quip that a good preacher preaches with a Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
Whether you are a person who would use the Bible as a primary source or not, the point was that our faith journeys are grounded in the real stuff of the world. Though a newspaper is probably also an unlikely thing for many of us to be carrying around these days, the speaker suggested that engagement in today’s world might suggest preaching with a Bible in one hand and the other reserved for…a voters guide.
The person who offered this image suggest that a copy of the voter guide grace every pulpit, not because specific choices would be recommended rather because the overall act of participating in democracy was so important. For this leader, who was a Christian, the guide could be used as a substitute for the lectionary which in some traditions dictates the focus and patterns of sermons. I might note, in sympathy with the Barth quote, that a guide is printed on newsprint.
Preaching from a lectionary means that the preacher has to study the texts with some rigor. The idea is that truths are found within the particulars and the lesser-known passages and are revealed through study and discernment. In the same way, the morning’s program suggested, we need to study the many pages of that newsprint guide not just the much-discussed item at the top of the ballot.
For example, with study one could realize that Proposition 36 is reinstating many of the procedures which caused mass incarceration. At today’s breakfast we heard heartbreaking testimony on how a family’s options could be closed because of a felony conviction. We were asked to think about how to address the causes of being unhoused, addicted, and mentally ill rather than emphasizing punishment for these conditions. The bill would take money out of treatment and assistance and place it into punishment.
Study can take many forms. Perhaps you can watch the session on Mis- and Dis-information or the upcoming session Rev. Rodney arranged about the propositions. If you study enough, you might want to join the Faith in Action East Bay phone banks on the propositions. All this can come from having that hand on the voter’s guide!
Down ballot scrutiny could be seen as a kind of spiritual practice. And if you notice a slightly battered copy of a voter’s guide on our pulpit, well, consider me studious.