Matt’s Musings

Dear St. Paul’s Friends and Family,

“Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Matthew 11:19b)

Ryan Burge, a data analyst who blogs about religious trends in the United States, recently shared what was the most prevalent denomination in each of the original 13 colonies.  Much to my surprise, German Reformed pastors were the highest number of clergy in Pennsylvania at the time of the American Revolution.  In other words, the ancestors of our current United Church of Christ congregations in Pennsylvania were the majority Christian denomination in Penn’s woods!  

William Penn, a Quaker, sought a charter from the British Crown to establish a colony in North America that would be founded on religious freedom.  Pennsylvania quickly became a place for religious tolerance as German Reformed, Quakers, Amish, Mennonites, Presbyterians, and others lived mostly peaceably together.  The crown granted a charter for Maryland and Georgia to be Catholic.  In New England, the colonies were founded by Puritans, later Congregationalists, who desired to establish a city on a hill, a light to the nations, founded on their brand of Christian principles.  Ironically, the Puritans had left England seeking religious tolerance for themselves, but did not practice tolerance once they became the religious majority in the new colonies.  Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams, a Puritan minister, who ended up becoming a Baptist when he was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for differing with the Puritans in doctrine & practice.  

The religious history of the United States is much more diverse and complicated than is often presented in popular culture.  The often-debated notion that the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation does not appreciate the nuances and complications that were the realities for our colonial ancestors.  Perhaps the better question is, whose Christianity held sway in the founding of the nation?  More accurately, the diverse Christian traditions present in the colonies influenced the founders in a myriad of ways that has brought most historians to regard religious freedom as a key tenant of being an American.  Freedom to express one’s own religious beliefs or no religious beliefs without fear of correction from the state.

For those of us marking the 250^th anniversary of the founding of our country, a more pressing consideration regarding our faith is how do we best express that faith in a culture and society that is much more religiously and culturally diverse than it was 250 years ago?  

Jesus offers us some much-needed guidance on living a faithful life, regardless of our nationality or citizenship.  In the gospels we learn from Jesus that the important thing is not believing the right thing but doing the right thing.  In other words, our faith and beliefs are measured not by correct doctrine, but by doing the kind of things that Jesus would do.  William Penn provides an example of “right doing” when he chose to negotiate and compensate the native tribes of what would become Pennsylvania for their land, even though the crown had granted it freely to him.  His faith and beliefs motivated Penn to do what other colonial founders chose not to do — to treat the native population with the same property rights that were accorded to him.  In this case, Penn chose to practice his faith and beliefs by putting them into action.

There’s been a lot of noise lately coming from politicians and influencers regarding what it means to be an American and a Christian.  Both the American and Christian stories have stirring examples of people living up to the greater ideals of their founding while there are also lamentable failures to embody those ideals.  For Christians, those ideals are living as Christ lived: loving God, neighbor and self; turning the other cheek; praying for both friend and enemy; and always living a hopeful life that brings about reconciliation with others and ultimately life from death.

May God’s wisdom, the Holy Spirit stirring among us be vindicated by our deeds as we live as God’s children, working out a community and nation that celebrates the divine image that is imbued within each of us.

Blessings on your journey,

Pastor Matt