AJC Op-Ed: Churches insulated from war's harsh reality

Episcopal priest and author Barbara Brown Taylor has an interesting op-ed in the AJC today: "People of faith are divided over the war — as they are divided over abortion, gun control, homosexuality and many other things. While that's not unusual, people of faith also hold a vision of the undivided life, in which they dwell in unity with God and neighbor. Church becomes the safe house where they may dream this dream on a regular basis, finding sanctuary from the divided lives that dog them every other day of the week. If they cannot say something nice in church, then they say nothing at all, saving their more pungent convictions for the parking lot.

Like it or not, clergy are the arbiters of this uneasy peace. Called to be shepherds of the whole flock, we must think at least twice before taking stands that church members may hear as choosing sides. If we want to tell the truth, then we had better hide it inside a story, or else save room on our calendars to mend fences wrecked by bolting sheep."