I’m serious. Nobody likes me.
Don’t believe me? Consider the following:
My Democratic friends don’t like me because I’m pro-life. I’ve been told by some Democrats that there is no room for me in their party if I don’t support a woman’s “right” to abort her unborn child. Many Democrats don’t like that I oppose how society and various governmental entities continue to redefine the institution of marriage. Because I don’t support the recent decision to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, I’m an extremist who should be ostracized from society. And to make things really uneasy for my leftist friends, I think the United States military is the last bastion of freedom in the world. I advocate an increased American military presence in every corner of the earth, even if the United Nations and other countries don’t support such action.
My Republican friends don’t like me because, as noted last week, I’m not a big fan of how the modern court interprets the 2nd Amendment and have no problem with increased gun control regulations. These Republicans really don’t like that I support national health insurance for every American citizen (truth be told, I think a single payer system is the solution to our health care ills). And to makes things really troublesome with my GOP pals, they go ballistic when I advocate higher tax rates for the wealthiest among us…significantly higher…like 2-3 times higher.
Honestly, sometimes I feel like I talk out of both sides of my mouth. Maybe this is why nobody likes me?
I am a huge proponent of the public school system, which means I oppose vouchers, but I encourage my parishioners to financially support and when available, to enroll their children in a parochial school. I’m an avid environmentalist, but I cringe every time I hear the term, ‘Mother Earth’. I support social security reform, for example, raising the retirement age, but have no desire to privatize it. I cannot embrace the increasingly acceptable sexually deviant behaviors of society, but place the majority of the blame on my heterosexual friends. Heterosexual adultery is the real problem we face today. I’m a pastor in a theologically conservative Christian church (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod), but have little in common with the Religious Right. I support equality among the sexes in the workplace, the classroom, and in politics (which I why I understand the need for affirmative action programs), but don’t believe women should/can be ordained to the Office of the Holy Ministry.
My Lutheran clergy friends don’t like me because they think I’m a papist that wants to reunite with the Roman Catholic Church. I remind them that the Reformation was never meant to last forever and that Vatican II has done much to alleviate the objections of Luther and our Lutheran confessions. I love the former pontiff, Benedict XVI and am elated at the social justice emphasis of Pope Francis. Is it time to “go home to Rome”? Perhaps. But before ever I consider swimming the Tiber, I’ll continue to remind my Lutheran brethren of the place from whence we came…that is, Rome.
My Protestant chaplain friends don’t like me because I refer to Christian worship as the Divine Service where the one holy catholic and apostolic church celebrates the Eucharist. I loathe contemporary Christian music and don’t understand what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus. These same chaplain peers of mine get frustrated when I am precluded from co-officiating a service with them and I make their heads spin when I tell them I became a Christian at my baptism…when I was 5-weeks old.
There you have it, a few of the reasons why I don’t think anybody likes me.
I’m not even sure anyone likes me at ‘The Jagged Word’. I haven’t figured out what the hell is going on yet and every week someone seems to object to my column.
Oh well, I suppose I’ll take solace in a quote a friend of mine posted earlier today: “Veritas Odium Parit”:
“Truth Begets Hatred”.