A Passion for Purple
10 Nov 2006
A few years ago I heard a well-known pastor from New York City say, “There are only two kinds of people in the world: Those who watch FOX News and those who don’t.†At the time, it seemed like a careless thing to say, definitely not a way to warm up to your audience. I wasn’t impressed and dismissed his statement for what I thought it was: nonsense. However, as it turns out, he was on to something.
Little did I know that the experienced pastor from New York wasn’t attempting to break the ice with his listeners. And he wasn’t just another solid Bible teacher with poor comedic timing. He was speaking out of his pastoral experience. He was pointing us to something true, a cultural reality. Who would have thought that an entire nation—a “Christian†nation—could be subjugated, depending on political affiliation, to a particular cable news channel? Looking back, the minister from Manhattan thought so.
Recently, I had an unimaginative conversation with a few well-meaning church members who were attempting to undermine my political ambiguity. They were clearly intending to convert me to their side. I felt the pressure, loathed it in fact. But I endured the evangelists’ zeal, secretly wishing that they would apply this same passion to their other evangelistic endeavors. Sadly, in my experience, the red and blue kingdoms of America produce far more loyal subjects than the kingdom of God. That’s one of the reasons why I’m purple.
Being purple is not a political statement. It’s a pastoral one. It has more to do with the Sermon on the Mount than the State of the Union. Though it certainly influences my political perspective and shapes my vision for our world, being purple is not a way to strike a balance between liberal blue and conservative red, whether in politics or theology. It’s not an avoidance tactic either, a strategy for sidestepping political activism or theological debate.
I suppose that being purple is a contemporary adaptation of Paul’s passion to “become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some,†which doesn’t mean that I’m an ecclesiastical doormat looking for opportunities to shed my orthodoxy and tweak the ancient creeds and practices that have sustained Christian communities for centuries. It just means that I’m with Jesus, hopefully not in a self-serving, rebellious way, but in a way that is different enough to notice.
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Comment by molly
6.22 am on 11 Nov 2006
***Sadly, in my experience, the red and blue kingdoms of America produce far more loyal subjects than the kingdom of God. ***
This is really true…
I have been making it a point to pay attention to any and all political comments within sermons and Bible studies, etc…and it is AMAZING how prevelent… (In my circles, being a Democrat means you can’t be a Christian, but every circle has their slant)…
Comment by Jason
4.51 pm on 11 Nov 2006
Thanks Tom, I love the image of ‘purple’ for politics and so many other polarising issues and false dichotomies.
Jase
Comment by Joshua Case
8.46 pm on 12 Nov 2006
The real struggle particularly within the Amercian context is getting past the historical, religious, economic baggage that comes with the polarity of politics.
The red/blue tendancies will not be “rooted out” by any new model to come. And one really must ask the question as to whether or not in the next 20 years there could be some changes from “within” the different parties.
The place is divided. And in fact, I can imagine some people would even say, “if you are purple, you might as well be blue”.
It really is a chronic-systemic situation. One that hopefully some are choosing to take on. One that I think Jesus actually calls people to take on.
Comment by Helen
1.56 am on 13 Nov 2006
Purple is a great colour!
Comment by Tom
5.24 pm on 13 Nov 2006
Molly, it sounds like we share the same “circles.” I live in a blue state. However, I church with people who are all over the map politically, socially, and theologically. But even within that diversity, there are still those who insist on equating a particular political party with biblical faith.
Jason, my 4-year old daughter has a wonderful habit of asking me what my favorite color is. She already knows the answer. I think she just likes to hear me say, “Purple.”
Joshua, I don’t know that I’m proposing a new model. In fact, I tend to agree with you that there needs to be significant changes within the two dominant parties in the next 20 years, hopefully sooner. But twenty years from now I’d like to be able to look back and know that the transformation of the American political landscape was the result of change agents who were some shade of purple. Who knows, Joshua, maybe that’s just a pipe dream, wishful thinking, hopeful optimism. However, it seems to me that deep change, whether personally or politically, is messy work that requires a profound sense of faith in the impossible actually becoming a reality.
Comment by Molls
7.42 pm on 13 Nov 2006
My state is red, and the politics (at least with all the folks I’m close with) are red, and there IS no other way to think about these things and still be a Christian. (Until the last few years, I never questioned it, myself)…
Comment by Tom
8.19 pm on 13 Nov 2006
Molls, I grew up in churches that shared many of the same characteristics as your state. They were blood red, fiercely so. Dissent was forbidden (so were beer and cigars), so no one voiced or valued questions that may have disrupted the status-quo.
Comment by Tom
8.27 pm on 13 Nov 2006
Molls, just thinking about your situation and wondering if God may have placed right where you are, in the midst of people that God made and loves despite their political affiliation, to start asking new questions. Maybe you’re the one he’s calling to creatively and thoughtfully “stir the pot,” so to speak.
Comment by Joshua Case
5.31 pm on 16 Nov 2006
Tom-
I couldn’t agree with you more. It’s no dream. It’s not wishful thinking! It’s what i think many of us feel deeply called to be about, and to live for!
sorry if that did not come out in my contribution! Let the tides of change come!
Comment by Tom
7.15 pm on 16 Nov 2006
Josh,
I never doubted your passion to see deep change happen. But thanks for clarifying.
Peace to you.
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