By Pastor David Stoeger
I believe that all have human rights, including those who make the dangerous journey to this country in search of hope and a new life. Children have the right to not be separated from their parents at the border and not to be sent to unsanitary conditions with extremely limited resources. I believe the promise of America is for all people, not just those who look like me. I believe it is a historical irony that people who are descendants of immigrants who live on land stolen from native peoples would be so opposed and threatened by people who don’t look or talk like them.
I believe history is currently written by the victors, and what I was taught as a student in grade, middle and high school has been distorted by those victors. I have learned a great deal about history from it being told from an African-American and Native American viewpoint. Yet, at the same time, we cling to a group of traitors and their flag, and erect monuments to “honor” them and our nation’s original sin of racism and slavery – which they fought to preserve. I believe that racism is still prevalent in our world. It is pervasive, and there are those who want to preserve this systemic racism. Police brutality and mass incarceration of African-American persons are some of the results of this.
I believe that ending abortion is better done through understanding the causes of it and making changes in the system, offering compassionate care — rather than trying to regulate a woman’s uterus. I also believe that “pro-life” extends to people on the other side of the border and to the children of Flint, Mich., – who have been poisoned by an ill-devised and lethal attempt to save money. We have politicians talking about sacrificing our most vulnerable people in this time of pandemic in the name of “saving the economy.” However, I know of no anti-abortion activists that are involved in these protesting these anti-life practices.
I believe, and coming from a more conservative faith tradition, that the religious-religious right that we know of today is a heresy. It looks nothing like the Jesus who announced, “good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and the year of God’s favor.” It looks nothing like Jesus who spoke about the nations being judged on the basis of how they treat the poor, the outcast, those in prison, and those who had no home or place to stay. I believe Christian nationalism is also a heresy that has its roots in the doctrine of discovery and manifest destiny. For God sent Jesus for the world (John 3:16), not just for the United States.
I believe God calls us to love our neighbor unconditionally, and I strive to love all humanity – even the humans I struggle with. I believe that Jeff Erding is a beloved child of God, but that the opinions he represents are on the wrong side of history and theology – and that, his letter on June 29 is a smear of Christianity.
I am a believer in love and compassion for all people. I am bold enough to preach difficult biblical texts and do so with the great call to love God and neighbor at the center – because that is what Jesus actually commanded.
If you want to hear a different narrative – please come and join us at Preston and Wykoff United Methodist Churches. We are open to all people. You will not be judged by your past, or who you love, your finances, or place or origin. We will do your baptisms, weddings, funerals and serve you communion. God’s grace is for everyone. You will be stretched to ponder the meaning of Jesus’ command to love God and love neighbor – and what that requires of us.
These are my values and convictions. If this makes me a “radical left” pastor, I am very proud of it.
Anonymous says
I am a pro life Roman Catholic.-
Pro-life goes far beyond the belly, folks.
I pray that you desire to love and recognize all mankind as our Creator does. Pray that your heart may be like His heart-that His hands will empower your hands to reach out to those you feel are less than you.
Speaking of pro life:
What are children still doing in cages away from families at the hand of a corrupt government.
Our Father sees it all; and our country is rotting from within.
If we acknowledge we know God- then Walk the Walk.
Each day I pray for the intentions of every single member of mankind: whatever is broken or lacking & I rejoice for those who are having a good day.
But we can never fool ourselves to think for a moment that our Father has favorites; in our humanity each of us is lacking and yet beautiful in His creation.
Namaste.
Kim wentworth says
@ rev Stoeger:
I am going to address this mostly by paragraph response, here we go.
#1 there is a proper and lawful way to enter our great country. Your slight on “who look like me” exposes you for the radical you are. Natives stole land from each other, you ever learn history? I guess it must have been selective. Laws and borders my friend.
There are NO natives here in America. Being first, DONT make you native. Police brutality is just that, NOT A RACE ISSUE. Mass incarceration? Where is this. If you committing a crime, who the heck cares about your race.
Abortion? I am pro life. But there have been times when I wish abortion was retroactive. Flint, another example of a dem run city. Cuomo sending people to nursing homes, nice. Another dem logic.
Simply put, the Bible does not exist ONLY in the new testament.
You calling out Jeff Adding shows your smallness as a preacher, shame. Maybe do some research on a GREAT man, the Rev Billy Graham and what he discovered about politics and religion.
This letter comes from a simple with vast experience in life.
Kim wentworth says
Erding, sorry Jeff 😃
Jeffrey Erding says
@ Rev. Stoeger, please explain how your support for letting dangerous violent felons remain in America makes you a good Christian and my supporting legal immigrants while deporting illegals who perpetrate violence on innocent Americans makes me a terrible person.
If the mainstream Methodists in Preston and Wykoff support your extremist ideology,Fillmore County is in more trouble then I thought. If a few of these gangbangers, rapists, and murderers move next door to you, I predict your position will evolve.
,
Aaron Bishop says
Greetings Jeffrey,
There are countless ways to distort an opposing view when using a strawman. Common ways to do so include:
–Oversimplifying, generalizing, or exaggerating the opponent’s argument.
–Focusing on only a few specific aspects of an opponent’s argument.
–Quoting parts of the opponent’s argument out of context.
–Arguing against fringe or extreme opinions which are sometimes used in order to support the opponent’s stance, but which the opponent didn’t actually use.
In addition, there are various other ways in which people create strawman arguments, which can be as minor as changing small details in their opponent’s original statement, or as major as completely fabricating claims that their opponent has never made in the first place.
However, all of these techniques share one thing in common: they all involve someone distorting the opposing stance, in order to make it easier to attack.
As such, strawman arguments are relatively simple to recognize in discourse. Essentially, when you realize that there is a mismatch between someone’s stance and the stance that their opponent is attacking, it’s a clear sign that a strawman is being used. Nevertheless, in practice it can be sometimes difficult to notice or to be sure whether this type of argument has been used, especially if the person who is using the strawman knows what they’re doing.
One way to ensure that you’re not using a strawman is to try to re-express your opponent’s position, and then ask them whether they agree with your description of their position before you start arguing against it. This is the best way to make sure that your opponent agrees with your formulation of their stance, and is a good way to engage in productive discourse.
Now, there may be times where you might choose to use a strawman argument intentionally, for whatever reason. However, keep in mind that while this technique can be persuasive in some cases, research suggests that using this type of argument is not always the best option from a strategic perspective, aside from the inherent logical and moral issues which are associated with using fallacious reasoning.
Specifically, a study on the topic showed that as a rhetoric technique, strawman arguments are useful only when listeners are relatively unmotivated to scrutinize them, meaning that they don’t care much about what’s being said. This is because, when listeners are invested in the discussion and care enough to pay attention to the arguments that are being proposed, the strawman technique is generally ineffective, and can even backfire by reducing the persuasiveness of the person who is using it.
I hope you found this helpful.
https://effectiviology.com/straw-man-arguments-recognize-counter-use/#How_to_avoid_using_strawman_arguments_yourself
Kim wentworth says
Aaron, you just wrote the most B.S. windbag post in the history of the FCJ.
Aaron Bishop says
Greetings Kim,
Could you please elaborate? Thanks! (No hard feelings)
Ken says
It is not only him this rederick its going across the country with the Methodists churches not sure of their motive $$$. The reason they split the children from the adults at the border is to verify that they with their parents as human trafficking is a big problem. I retired from a female Federal Prison in Fort Worth Texas I have worked with illegals and the people that bring them across the border and all the other crimes associated with the boarder. We need shut down the boarder.
Greg Rendahl says
Thank you. I’ve been lucky enough to occasionally attend the United Redeemer Lutheran Church in Zumbrota where the pastor also preaches love and is a follower of Christ. Christianity and America’s ultra hyper form of capitalism are an unnatural fit and thus many have lost their way and are content to avoid Christ’s teachings. As I see it, some so-called Christians have seen fit to make a deal with the Devil, some reluctantly, and some with surprising enthusiasm.