Natalie Burris

Some thank you's...

In 1873, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the Illinois Supreme Court's decision prohibiting a woman from practicing law. The Chicago woman, Myra Bradwell, had applied for a license to practice law, the first woman in Illinois to do so. However, both courts agreed that she was not guaranteed this right under the Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court found that a woman did not have the right to engage in any and every profession, occupation, or employment in civil life. 

Justice Bradley, in his concurring opinion, decided to elaborate why women are so unfit to practice law:

[C]ivil law, as well as nature herself, has always recognized a wide difference in the respective spheres and destinies of man and woman. Man is, or should be, woman's protector and defender. The natural and proper timidity and delicacy which belongs to the female sex evidently unfits it for many of the occupations of civil life.

Justice Bradley emphasized that women properly belong to the domestic sphere, to the domain and functions of womanhood. The family institution itself is at risk if a woman adopts a distinct and independent career from that of her husband. Justice Bradley made sure to point out that English law, upon which U.S. law is based, held that a woman had no legal existence separate from her husband.

In fact, in 1873, a woman was still prohibited from making contracts without her husband's consent. Therefore, women--especially married women--were considered incapable of becoming attorneys.

Thankfully, the Illinois Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have changed course over the last 140 years (while, oddly enough, a wing of the evangelical church still espouses these gender roles...).

Today I receive my oath of office from the Supreme Court of Illinois. It is a privilege, and I'm indebted to the women who fought tirelessly to have the right simply to pursue a profession of one's choosing. 

I am also indebted to my family. It is incredible to think that I, a great-granddaughter of a peanut farmer in rural Oklahoma, somehow ended up practicing law in a thirty-story courthouse with a Picasso sculpture in its plaza! My parents and grandparents ensured that I would have more opportunity than they ever dreamed of -- regardless of my gender. They never led me to believe I was limited in any way. I can't adequately express how thankful I am for their love and support.

And of course, I can't leave out my longsuffering husband! My diploma arrived last week, and I told him his name belonged on it alongside mine. A "thank you" just isn't enough. 

There are many more people who have been wonderful support along the way. Much love and gratitude to you all!

Should church services be entertainment?

David Hayward, also known as the "Naked Pastor," shared a thought-provoking post last week: Are the next "new and improved" church ideas simply means to escape boredom?  He says:

There are those who need to experience constant change. They live in a perpetual state of narrowly escaping boredom. Some churches reflect this.

If you are spiritually content then you won’t crave novelty. If you don’t crave novelty then things will be much simpler. Some churches reflect this.

A recent article on the The Oklahoman's website features LifeChurch, a multi-campus megachurch.  Their promotional efforts are an example of many churches' constant need for the new and relevant. 

I've never attended a LifeChurch service, and I know LifeChurch is an easy target.  I don't want to make broad assumptions based on one news article and a handful of the pastor's sermons I heard at church camp.  However, I've seen this phenomenon in many other churches.  In fact, I saw it last week, in discussions with other student ministry leaders about low summer attendance.  One well-meaning suggestion to "get the energy level up" involved imitating another student gathering, which was deemed highly "successful."  (I disagree with equating high numbers with success in what it means to be the church and live out the Gospel.)  This high-attendance student ministry allows students to "get crazy," jump up and down, etc.

For some reason, the characterization of this ministry as successful simply because the students are entertained and converge in large numbers struck me as misguided.  In the same way, that a megachurch would devote 200 volunteers and several days to transform their lobby into a video game world just seems to miss the point and caves in to our culture's need for newer, bigger, better.  

The pastor of this particular "campus" said that "summer time is traditionally a season when church attendance dwindles because of school break and family vacations.  However, the movie series has gained such popularity that his LifeChurch.tv campus and others generally see attendance increase during that time."  Don't tell me this doesn't remind you of a carnival:

Visitors walk first into an area decorated like the movie's Flynn's Arcade, where they may play vintage video games such as the original “Tron” arcade game.

Then they enter the backlit game grid area through a simulated portal.

[...]

Then there is the “End of the Line Bar” area where visitors may order sweet tea, coffee or “Tron drinks” — tonic water mixed with Kool-Aid so that they glow in the dark like the drinks ordered at the bar in “Tron.”

Robison said a large tank that shoots out free T-shirts to visitors was created around a golf cart so that it can move. 

The campus pastor noted that this extravaganza is "something that's different from a lot of churches."

Hayward's critique of churches who constantly crave novelties and allow us to escape our boredom is spot on.  A common response to this critique is that a focus on high attendance and the new, shiny efforts that drive the numbers is not a bad thing, because more people hear the Gospel.  I'm sure that the pastors of this church, and many others, really bring it in their sermons, and I'm sure that many experience true change.  But the carnival-like, entertainment-driven focus, with numbers as our benchmark for success, is a capitulation to our consumer-driven culture.  

Consuming Jesus offers an incisive critique of the American church's love affair with consumerism.  Author Paul Louis Metzger points out that catering to what consumers want and creating wants in order to win them over to buying a product is completely acceptable to the church.  He says, "In a free-market church culture, those who cater most this consumer force thrive best."  (p. 40).  Metzger notes that, on the surface, this catering appears to be benign.  

I'm finishing up my review of David Fitch's The End of Evangelicalism, but can't help referring here to Fitch's idea that the American church sees absolutely no problem with free-market capitalism.  In fact, many have argued that it's the most moral of economic systems.  Metzger quotes Don Slater with the idea that consumerism is about accessibility to things that are "new, modish, faddish or fashionable, always improved and improving." (p. 44).  Many churches feel they better step it up, especially during the summer, and offer something different from other churches, in order to "win" people to the Gospel.  So using consumerism and its emphasis on the new and always improving is viewed as an effective tool.

This is the kicker: with consumerism, all social relations, activities and objects can be exchanged as a commodity.  The message of the Gospel runs counter to commodification and the catering to those in the pews, because certain things are not exchangeable.  However, entertainment-driven churches frame the Gospel as "an exchange between God and us rooted in satisfying our untrained need." (p. 45).  Uncritically assuming the driving forces of capitalism is problematic because it depersonalizes and dehumanizes us, and turns the Gospel into "not enough."  When churches have to add on a "something else" to their message, this should trigger concern.  

At the same time, consumerism means that, if church members feel that the Gospel being presented is too costly and not meeting their needs, the consumer/church member can simply pack up and move to the church next door.  I don't think a church that spends the majority of its focus on the 2,000 Bible verses about the poor would see high attendance numbers.  That pill is too hard to swallow for us American Christians.  Instead, please make us comfortable and deliver the goods to us.  And entertain us, for we are bored.

Immigration: Bringing out the disconnect in American Christianity

Fred Clark at Slacktivist linked last week to an Ethics Daily post about the immigration bill recently passed in Alabama.  The governor, who signed the bill into law, is a member of the First Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.  One of the bill's sponsors is a member of another First Baptist Church, in Gardendale, AL. 

Recently, Roger Olson commented on a similar law in Oklahoma: "I would even go so far as to question the authenticity of the Christian faith of those who wrote the law."  To Olson, the fruit that was produced by Christians who support this law does not match up with the Bible's commands to welcome the stranger.  The Oklahoma law makes it a felony to transport or shelter undocumented immigrants, but allows emergency room medical personnel to provide life-saving medical aid.  The Alabama law goes even further, requiring schools to verify the immigration status of its students.

Clark is similar to Olson in his questioning of the authenticity of these lawmakers' Christian faith (and what about the Christians who sat on the sidelines in both Oklahoma and Alabama--and Arizona too?).  I can't go that far, as I don't feel it's my place to question whether anyone is a true Christian.  I can only examine myself.  As Streak said, I'm loathe to speak for God.  However, I do think it's a very valid and proper question to ask why those who claim to follow Christ would promote hate and simply fail to act like they follow him at all?

How is it that the largest denomination in the U.S., with such a strong presence in both Oklahoma and Alabama, and who places so much importance on "literally" believing the words of Scripture and reading those words every day, can allow these laws to pass?  I simply do not understand the disconnect here.  Which Bible are they reading?  

@na1alieNatalie Burris

When I love my neighbor as myself, am I supposed to ask for her immigration papers first?

I suppose with the SBC, and with many other Christians, it is completely acceptable to deny medical care, schooling, dignity, and economic opportunity to the most marginalized people in our country.  As long as these Christians intellectually assent to certain propositions of the faith they have constructed, any fruit they produce is irrelevant.  I will be the first to admit that my actions are woefully far from lining up with Jesus' teachings.  I struggle with loving God and loving others.  But a basic thing, such as offering aid to others, should be an action that we can all agree on as Christians.

It saddens me that my fellow Christians are allowing their American citizenship to overpower their status as a Christ-follower (I just gave my answer to my "why" question above).  Again, I'm certainly not one to judge, but it does confuse me to think that an active member of a church has no problem with explicitly and purposefully pushing more people into the shadows of our society.  This disconnect not only saddens and confuses me, but it just pushes me further away from identifying myself as a Christian.  

Photo credit

Re-creating a reality that suits us

 

An interesting part of the events surrounding the killing of Bin Laden is the fact that Sohaib Athar, an Abbottabad, Pakistan resident, tweeted the attack as it happened.  If you read through his timeline, it's clear that Athar, despite being hounded by the media and twitterers since the news broke, is a level-headed and humorous guy.

 

After the attack on Bin Laden's compound, but before any announcement of what actually happened, Athar jokingly--I assume--comments about recreating a reality that suits us.  Later, Athar tweets the above, about the "official story."

I find it so intriguing that one of the only witnesses of such a newsworthy, symbolic event has this perspective -- and even his twitter handle speaks to this phenomenon!  Governments, terrorist networks, religions, and even individuals all carefully attempt to craft official stories and create realities that suit us.

The most convenient and comforting reality created and re-created by my government and a lot of its citizens is that we are the harbingers of freedom, democracy, and capitalism.  Things are much more black and white when "the bad guy" is killed, and any moral shortcomings are of course not on the USA's part.  

For example, reports came out that Bin Laden used his wife as a shield, which I'm sure further fueled many Americans' hatred of him.  Now that a clearer picture is surfacing, we know (or do we really...) that Bin Laden and others with him were unarmed and that his wife ran toward the U.S. attackers before she was shot.  The image in most of our minds, a woman being used as a shield while Bin Laden cowers behind her, quickly dissolves.  Here's a take from Slate, and another one from Salon (h/t Art) on the myths and revised narratives of Bin Laden.

photo © 2009 dennis crowley | more info (via: Wylio)

There are more realities than just international relations-based ones - we have domestic stories, too. For some, the wealthy need the freedom from taxation, so they can stimulate the economy and create jobs. For others, it's not fair for the wealthy to have an equal or lesser tax burden.  "Cutting taxes" is a huge plus for conservatives, but often it's code for placing the burden of budget cuts on teachers, factory workers, and low-income families who are forced to rely on government aid.  

It happens with Christians, too.  The New York Times has a feature on David Barton, who promotes a reality that "the United States was founded as a Christian nation and is on the road to ruin, thanks to secularists and the Supreme Court."  

Whatever side you may be on --or somewhere in between -- usually someone has created a tidy story that justifies which positions to take. Whether it's about a specific historical event, the ongoing budget debates, or the separation of church and state, we are fed a story from the media, government, and even self-styled "historians" like Barton.  So I make an effort to listen and read with care, and I try to avoid taking any "official" narrative at face value.  How do I do this?

• The internet:

The internet makes poking holes in any created reality much easier -- who knows who will be unknowingly live-tweeting the next historical event?  It becomes trickier for a government to craft their version of events when someone else has already described part of what happened.  So I rely on the internet, of course.  The internet has its own set of problems though, as we saw with the recent misquoting of both Mark Twain and Martin Luther King, Jr.  Even still, the democratization and de-centralization of information makes the web a great tool.

• Relationships:

Another important aspect in getting down to the nitty-gritty is actually engaging in relationships and listening to people's stories.  This is especially true for immigration. Each person's anecdotal evidence can obviously end up supporting any side, but I guarantee if you get to know immigrants as fellow human beings, the reality created by some quickly falls apart.  Here's a good example: Undercover Gringo: The microeconomics of an illegal immigrant in Oklahoma.

• Global perspective:

Gaining a global perspective has been an immense help for me in countering the often-incorrect narratives created by governments and Christians.  And it encompasses the first two tools, the internet and personal relationships.  Realizing my place in the world as a wealthy American Christian has affected my views on foreign policy, and I've realized my government is not the pure, moral, democracy-bringing actor it portrays itself to be.

Recognizing that there are many "official stories" in play doesn't mean that I am completely relativistic when it comes to truth.  I just feel that it's important to maintain a healthy skepticism about what the media, governments, and even some Christians tell us.  I wonder what stories I'm still taking at face value, despite my efforts to be aware?

Counteracting the hate

Oklahoma Senate OKs bill targeting illegal immigrants

I accidentally came across some of the most hateful, vitriolic, and ignorant comments about immigrants while reading the above article.  The comments are appalling.  Unfortunately, the anti-immigrant crowd yells the loudest and perpetuates fear in our communities and our legislatures.  Pretty ironic considering our nation was founded by a group of people who immigrated here "without papers" and simply took the land from those who were here first.

Nuance is often lost on talk shows, in comment threads, and at the dinner table, but this discussion involves complexities ranging from statistics to examining our deep-seated beliefs.  To counteract the ignorance, hate, and fear, I wish I could take the time to point to all of the resources that show that undocumented immigrants pay taxes yet do not qualify for the majority of government aid.  I wish I had time to explain that there is no line to get into for many who want to immigrate here through the proper channels.  

As we have seen from the "birther" movement, actual facts do not convince everyone.  Instead, I wanted to share a post by Rinku Sen from Colorlines:  May Day Rallies Reveal America's True Self--Its Promise and Its Fear.  It's much easier to rail against statistics and groups of people, but perhaps if more individuals share their stories, we can counteract the vitriol and ignorance of those who are anti-immigrant.  

Feel free to click here for my past posts on immigration.

Indebted and thankful...

While reading The Rise and Fall of the Bible, I've noticed that Beal is careful to credit his parents' influence on him, despite the fact that he no longer follows their version of the Christian faith.  He writes:

Although I've drifted quite a distance from the familiar biblical waters of the conservative evangelical tradition in which I was raised and which my parents so admirably represent, I hold much respect for that tradition and gladly acknowledge my own enduring debt to it.  Its emphasis on introspection in search of personal growth has challenged me always to dig deep within myself in order to examine critically my own presuppositions and vested interests.  Its emphasis on working out one's own salvation with fear and trembling has inspired in me a lifelong restlessness of mind and spirit.  Above all, its biblical literalism and its supreme valuing of every iota of the Bible have instilled in me an abiding passion for biblical interpretation and a love for the smallest details of the text.  All these gifts have served me well not only as a teacher and scholar of religious studies but also as a person of faith. (p. 26)

Beal continues, "There is no way to grow and mature in one's faith without wrestling with the ideas and traditions that one has inherited" (p. 26).  He handles a sensitive issue very well: criticizing the faith tradition taught to you by you parents and still held by those you love.  

I often mention my "religious upbringing" and reference the Southern Baptist churches in which I grew up.  More often than not, I point out areas of disagreement, or instances that were hurtful.  Beal's approach reminded me that I probably haven't made clear that my critiques are not personal attacks, and that I appreciate those who took the time to encourage me in my faith growing up, whether it was my parents, Sunday School teachers, or youth ministers.  

Like Beal, I too am indebted to and thankful for what my parents and church leaders taught me.  I grew up during the "culture wars" of the '90's, so it's safe to say that the issues I have with the religious right aren't personal.  Also, as you can see on my dad's blog, he too was moving away from his more conservative upbringing, and the same is still true for my mom.  

Who I am today is shaped by those who took the time to teach me as a young Christian, even if I no longer agree with many things I was taught.  And for that, I'm thankful...

There's a wideness in God's mercy

One of the my favorite things about coming down to Oklahoma to stay with my family is playing music with my brother.  Today, we jammed out with traditional Easter songs from the Baptist Hymnal.  We have the version published by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1975.  

I came across a little hymn, number 171, that I don't ever remember singing in church.  The words have such a beautiful meaning, which seems to have gotten lost over time.  

Maybe we should focus less on exclusivity and more on the broadness and wideness of God's mercy:

"There's a Wideness in God's Mercy"

There's a wideness in God's mercy, 
Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice, 
Which is more than liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner, 
And more graces for the good; 
There is mercy with the Savior; 
There is healing in His blood.

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own; 
And we magnify His strictness 
With a zeal He will not own.

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.

Drive them out?

The state of Oklahoma recently passed a strict anti-immigration bill, and some say that the consequences could be harmful to the state's economy: Strict immigration law rattles Okla. businesses.

Via ImmigrationProf Blog, I found a TV spot created by MATT.org (Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together) that highlights Riverside, NJ. This community eventually rescinded a harsh anti-immigrant law after the effects were devastating. The video can be found here: Drive Them Out. Maybe Oklahoma could learn from Riverside?

The least of these

Growing up, when I learned about slavery in the US and the later civil rights movement, I always wondered how I would react if I had lived during those times. I didn’t necessarily question the fact that I wouldn’t be compassionate in a face-to-face encounter with people who were being oppressed, but instead wondered how far I would really go to protest and to break the law. In college, learning about colonialism brought the same questions.

I also wondered what issue today would be equivalent to slavery, civil rights, and colonialism. What issue would be a challenge to step up for today? For what would I be willing to perform civil disobedience—in the face of my church and community’s supporting the status quo?

I strongly believe that immigration is one of those challenging issues. In Oklahoma, it is now a felony for U.S. citizens (knowingly) to provide shelter, transportation, or employment to undocumented immigrants. This is where following Scripture and obeying the laws of my country come head to head. Which one will the church choose? Will Christians continue to parrot the line that breaking the law is un-Christian while remaining uncritical of the fact that laws can be unjust? Literally enslaving another human being was once within the parameters of US law.

****

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”

The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:35-40

Small towns and suburbs

Nicole wrote a thoughtful post about her experience living in Chicagoland. She points out many lies that the suburban environment brings us: consumerism, the illusion of safety, and also the fact that many suburbanites will never experience suffering. We are also trying very hard to avoid those that are indeed suffering. Nicole does not feel that she is called to remain in the suburbs, and she and I are from the same type of hometown, so I can relate to how she feels.

I grew up in a wonderful small town, but many times it is looked down upon. Relatives who have moved to bigger and better things and friends from a church I attended in Oklahoma City enjoy poking fun at Tuttle. According to them, it is not sophisticated enough for their tastes. I always tried to pinpoint exactly what it was that they were ridiculing. I mean, they have the same level of education, still have an Oklahoma accent, live a mere 20 or so miles away, and don’t think in a radically different way than we do. In fact, I have a feeling that if someone from St. Louis (squarely in the Midwest, which is itself looked down on by both coasts at times) were to meet someone who grew up in OKC, they would probably giggle a little at a few differences. 

So what’s the deal with the 'tude toward Tuttle? I realized perhaps it’s because Tuttle doesn’t have a Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, or a mall. If you look at the high school, for example, perhaps clothing/hair styles wouldn’t necessarily reflect the latest trend. So it boils down to the fact that we, because of our geographic location, are unable to be consumers in the way that those who live in OKC are able to. Therefore, in some people’s eyes, we are missing out on something and are unsophisticated.

As I’ve come to value things like community, relationships, and living simply, I’ve realized that Tuttle enjoys something that may possibly be lacking in a “suburb” (OKC comes nowhere close to having suburbs like Chicagoland!). In school, in church, in whatever else I was involved in growing up, I knew nearly everyone! The superintendent, the mayor, the pastor, etc. were not merely names, but family friends who probably knew my parents and grandparents growing up. If I were to go out on a Saturday night, my parents knew what I did before I even got home. Heck, people may actually wave to you when you pass them driving down the road! If I forgot to lock my car door or shut down the garage door at night, everything would be intact the next day. That would never happen in the ‘burbs! My hometown a unique community that has a lot of close-knit relationships; some people may lament that fact, but I treasure it. Another plus, the layout of the town is such that my family’s home is not literally 5 feet away from the neighbor’s. We have fresher air, pretty views, and more space. The suburbs bring an endless line of strip malls, identical houses, and no views of the stars at night.

With Al Hsu’s The Suburban Christian, I’ve been learning that the suburbs in fact do have redeeming qualities, and that it’s possible to live christianly here. Therefore, I don’t want to be completely negative about the suburban way of life. Nor do I want to be like the haters and turn the unfounded criticism back on them. I’ve recently realized, though, that no matter where you live, relationships, getting to know your neighbors, and good stewardship of resources are pretty important. Living in an environment like Tuttle facilitates those things, which is why smirk a little (on the inside of course) when folks get a kick out of making fun of small towns!