Baptists and Quakers

The other day at lunch, as we dug into the tortilla shells of our taco salads, I looked across the table.  The  old lady facing me was telling about a wonderful sermon she heard on Sunday at the First Baptist Church of Dallas.  She has been a member of that church – one of the largest Baptist churches in the U.S. – for more than 50 years.  Now it is a long drive from our retirement home in the northeast corner of Dallas.  She still drives herself there every Sunday morning, negotiating heavy traffic on the freeway in order to hear the much-admired pastor’s harangues.  .

When I was a child the pastor of College Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth preached against drinking alcohol, dancing, and playing cards.  “A deck of cards is the Devil’s prayer book.”  By the time I was in junior high I realized those prohibitions were just plain silly.  I loved to dance.  I enjoyed bridge games with my friends; I still do.  Margaritas are delicious. I regret that the medication I take prevents me from drinking any alcohol.  But I do not think a person who relaxes with Scotch in the evening is committing a mortal sin.

The lady who sat across from me at lunch never learned to play bridge.  But I noticed that she had a small glass of wine with supper.  I did not ask this Bible-quoting Christian if her excuse was that Jesus passed around the cup of wine at the Last Supper. When the Baptists celebrate the Last Supper, these people, who claim to base everything on the Bible, pass around trays of tiny glasses filled with grape juice.  

I did not dispute any of her beliefs.  She is too old.  I did not want to upset her, although I sat there thinking that her pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas is an evil man.  His pronouncements are much worse than my childhood’s experience. 

Every Sunday he preaches against a number of things.  He is against gay marriage: “Marriage should be between one man and one woman.”  Abortion kills babies.  Every word of the Bible is true.  The World was created by God in six days in 6,000 B.C.  Evolution is something that some silly “philosophers” dreamed up. Texas schools must teach “creationism”. All scientists are to be distrusted.  Global warming is not happening; it is something Al Gore promotes to make money.

Isn’t it surprising that in the year 2014 some people still believe such nonsense?

Another of their dangerous beliefs is that “The Founding Fathers established our country as a Christian nation.”

Many of the Founding Fathers were not Christians.  Thomas Jefferson made a thorough study of the Bible and then rejected all the myths and fables he found there.  He deliberately made sure that the word “God” is not anywhere in the Declaration of Independence.  Instead, our rights come from a vague “Creator.” 

Some of the Founding Fathers were Quakers.  They refuse to be called a religion.  They are the Society of Friends.  They are Pacifists, who refuse to fight in our wars.  But they are always there to help people in need – and they never ask others about religious affiliation when dispensing charity.  I first heard about them after World War II, when the American Friends Service Committee did heroic work aiding people displaced by the war.  The Quakers and the Mennonites were the first to rush to help the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.   

I will have a lot more to say about the Quakers.  More than I can publish in one blog.  Look for it in the weeks ahead.  They are not Christians, but they are admirable people.