William Sloane Coffin, “A Politically Engaged Spirituality”

November 27, 2007 · 8 comments

The iTunes store subdivision iTunes U makes available tons of lectures (audio and video) from 28 colleges and universities, including MIT, Yale, Fuller Theological Seminary, Duke, UC Berkley and others (Click here to open iTunes U in your iTunes). It's essentially a free goldmine of collegiate and graduate level lectures that you can download individually or subscribe to podcast-style. JR Woodward recently posted about iTunes U as well.

I recently had the chance to listen to several lectures from the Yale Religion Department (link opens in iTunes), including one from April 2005 entitled "A Politically Engaged Spirituality" by the late William Sloane Coffin. Coffin was an outspoken political activist (he was indicted by a Federal grand jury in 1968 for conspiracy to aid draft resistance) and he was a gay rights advocate before it became trendy.

The lecture can be downloaded from iTunes (again, for free), and Yale has a full transcript available as well. Before I found the transcript, I had made mental notes of several quotes that stuck with me - check them out below:

I believe Christianity is a worldview that undergirds all progressive thought and action. The Christian church doesn't have a social ethic as much as it is a social ethic, called to respond to biblical mandates like truth-telling, confronting injustice and pursuing peace. What is so heart-breaking is that, in a world of pain crying out for change, so many American churches today are basically down to management and therapy.

The Religious Right is also not going away. As Robert Kennedy properly observed, “What is dangerous is not that extremists are extreme but that they are intolerant.” Almost equally dangerous, I would suggest, is the sense of superiority that keeps theologians and biblical scholars from taking on the Falwells of the world because they don't consider them worthy antagonists. I sympathize. The delusional is no longer marginal but has come in from the fringe and occupies the center of power.

The problem is not to reconcile homosexuality with biblical passages that condemn it. The problem is to make Christians face up to the fact that everything biblical is not Christ-like, and that Christians are called upon to worship the Word made flesh, not the Word made words.

I can only hope that I'm as passionate and fiery in my old age as Coffin was.

Anyway, I encourage you to listen to his lecture and let me know what you think. Also, take some time and poke around iTunes U. What do you find that piques your interest?

Looking for more on William Sloane Coffin? Check it:

  • Religion & Ethics Newsweekly profile of Coffin, August 2004
  • Coffin's entry on Wikipedia
  • Remembrance of Coffin in The Nation

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    Tagged as: church, gay rights, homosexuality, itunes, itunesu, podcast, politics, religion, religious right, william sloane coffin, yale, yale divinity school

    • http://shanevanderhart.wordpress.com Shane Vander Hart

      "What is so heart-breaking is that, in a world of pain crying out for change, so many American churches today are basically down to management and therapy."

      It is easy for him to throw a comment out there like that and not explain it. Did he elaborate on that?

      "The problem is not to reconcile homosexuality with biblical passages that condemn it. The problem is to make Christians face up to the fact that everything biblical is not Christ-like, and that Christians are called upon to worship the Word made flesh, not the Word made words."

      While I'll agree that the Church as not ministered well to homosexuals. There are many who do – it just doesn't get highlighted. We have to do more, however. I agree that we shouldn't condemn… not our job. This is where I would take issue with the professor and many who hold his view. I do not think believing that homosexuality is a sin is intolerant (actually don't you have to have a disagree with somebody before you can tolerate them?). Also I don't think that opposing same-sex marriage is condemnation either.

      Jesus would not condemn, but He would tell people to "go and sin no more." So he didn't brush off sinful behavior/lifestyles. Ultimately, and you may disagree with me, is not so much opposition to same sex marriage or poorly written civil rights codes (like what we saw in Iowa), but that is the only interaction many homosexuals have with us. We need to serve them (participate in AIDS walks), befriend them, and love them.

      Ephesians 4:15 – speak truth in love… to love doesn't mean we don't speak truth, it just means we do it in a context of a relationship.

    • Jake

      Shane: He elaborates on the first comment in a roundabout way – the full transcript is here.

      I’m not fully sure whether or not homosexuality is a sin (although I am leaning towards “no”), but I agree with you that we need to serve them – not because some of us deem them sinners, but because they are marginalized in our society, and it is the marginalized to whom Jesus reached and to whom we’re commanded to reach out. I agree with you.

      I think if we establish a true relationship with homosexuals, one where the incarnational presence of Jesus exists, we won’t need to argue over the sinfulness any orientation; lives will be transformed for the better in the kingdom of God on earth.

      Thanks for your comments!

    • http://shanevanderhart.wordpress.com Shane Vander Hart

      “I think if we establish a true relationship with homosexuals, one where the incarnational presence of Jesus exists, we won’t need to argue over the sinfulness any orientation; lives will be transformed for the better in the kingdom of God on earth.”

      I agree in that often times we ask people to behave in a Christ-like way before they know Christ. Kind of like putting the cart before the horse.

      I’m curious as to how you are arriving at your conclusion regarding homosexuality.

    • Jake

      Shane: I’d like to say first that I haven’t arrived at any sort of “conclusion” regarding homosexuality within the Christian worldview. For me, it’s a work in progress… figuring out whether sexual orientation is nature or nurture. Admittedly, I’m much more concerned about the treatment of and rights for homosexuals than I am about the scientific debate.

      But if I had to sum up my “stance” regarding homosexuality in one sentence, I’d say, “I’m not a biblical literalist”.

      In the end, this post is about Reverend Coffin, and he has this to say, which is pertinent to the conversation here, “In reality, there are no biblical literalists, only selective literalists. By abolishing slavery and ordaining women, millions of Protestants have gone far beyond biblical literalism. It’s time we did the same for homophobia.”

    • http://www.johnnylaird.blogspot.com Johnny Laird

      Hey Jake

      ….just bounced over from the Headphonaught, so I thought I’d say hello.

      Peace & blessings

      J :-)

    • Jake

      Johnny: Thanks for stopping by. Keep on with your subversive ways.

    • http://girlfromthenorthcountry.wordpress.com Ann

      I was just nominated for the Subversive Blogger Award. What a fantastic idea! Thanks for starting it.

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