I think the church I go to (Central Lutheran on Seattle's Capitol Hill) is unique, and if it weren't the way it is, I probably wouldn't go to church at all. Most of the other churches in the synod alternate between admiring and being horrified by Central. Our former pastor, now retired, spent several sessions in jail for getting involved in protests (demonstrations outside the Bangor Trident nuclear submarine base, sit-ins with homeless in perfectly good buildings that were due for demolition, things like that). He walked the walk. Our present pastor, a woman in her early thirties, has also done a few sessions in the slammer for similar activities (she drew a bit of fire once for holding up a Bible and saying "This is NOT the Scout Manual. It contains questions, not answers!"). As far as I know, it was the first church in this area, certainly the first Lutheran church, to include the phrase "regardless of . . . sexual orientation" in its Affirmation of Welcome. There is the usual liturgy and general background of belief (which frequently gets called into question), but I don't think anyone has ever told me what I had to believe. I think we (including the pastors) are all groping around, trying to learn what it all means. In the meantime, feed the hungry, find homes for the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, respect those whose beliefs differ from ours (after all, they may be right) . . . a really neat bunch of people who do some real good in the real world, but aren't afraid to haul off and be zany at times. Even though Central is in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, they don't "evangelize" -- except by example. I'm not trying to sell the church I go to -- this is just background for the following statement:

Considering the political activites and self-righteous pronouncements of some very loud people in this country who call themselves "Christians," it sometimes embarrasses me to call myself a Christian. People forget -- people who regard themselves as religious forget -- that religion is about spirituality. It is not about secular power.

And anyone, for whatever reason, who destroys books, art, and artifacts is committing a crime against humanity. No matter what reasons they can come up with for what they do, I don't think that God or Allah or whatever anyone wants to call Him/Her likes that very much.

Don Firth