It takes a specific skill to deconstruct the ills afflicting the Right. This minister gets to the core of the Right’s self-righteousness. She not only admonishes them but her prose may force some to rethink their interpretation of what they believe is right.
I met her in Dallas at a Texas Democratic Convention in a coffee shop. We got into a casual chat, and when I realized she was a devout Christian, a minister, and someone that seemed more Progressive than I had envisioned for people of the cloth in Texas, I asked her for an interview. I found her way with words capturing and tended to bring people together.
Charlotte Vaughan Coyle’s recent article titled “If the Right Must be Right then the Left Must be Heresy” blew me away not only because it admonished the Right for their hypocrisy and unconcern for others, but because she did it without once using those terms that would immediately put many on the defensive. In other words, anyone reading her prose will start to self-examine before the defensive trait kicks in.
Her opening paragraph suggests to those on the Left that they try to understand the ‘why’ of those on the Right.
I was raised as a fundamentalist Christian. People who don’t live in this bubble have no idea how much power such an ideology carries. In this way of thinking, there is this deep conviction that we must be RIGHT. Being wrong meant judgment, shame and a hell of a lot worse consequences. We Fundamentalists had to be right and that meant anyone who disagreed with us must be wrong. Again – if you haven’t been there, you have no idea and I get that so, please keep reading and hear me out.
For both sides, she captures the reality that ‘truth’ can have many forms.
Right and Wrong are interesting categories. They are appropriate descriptions in some fields, but even mathematics reminds us how broad truth can be. 2+2=4 but also 3+1 and 12-8. Right can be right in a variety of ways.
Charlotte points out that as complex beings with issues that are not black or white, right or wrong loses of its value and as such we should consider a different conversation.
Because we are complex human beings, our human issues are ever complex and multifaceted. Labels of right and wrong are unhelpful and even unhealthy. Instead of “if I’m right, you must be wrong” thinking, let’s venture more “I truly believe I’m right but I admit I could also be a little bit wrong. Tell me why you believe you are right. I’m curious.”
She then points out to those on the Right in words they should understand the following.
Right practice matters more than right belief.
Throughout our Christian Scripture, the overwhelming call is to DO and to BE, not to think or simply believe. To act like Christ, to become more and more like Christ. To live lives marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Like Jesus. To feed the hungry and clothe the naked and welcome the stranger and protect widows and orphans. Like Jesus.
Right practice matters more than right belief.
Therefore this is my plea to my Evangelical friends: when you look at the rest of us Christians, please measure us according to the life of Jesus, not according to your own particular orthodoxy. “Heretic” (as some would label us) smacks of judgment and does not invite relationship. When you evaluate the practice and policies of politicians, consider how they measure up to the divine call to lead with wisdom and to practice justice for “the least of these.” And when you judge your own faithfulness, please step outside your bubble and try to see yourselves as others see you. This is hard and even painful but it is also painfully true that many people reject Christ because of the Christianity so many of us practice so poorly.
The nation is in turmoil. Many believe at our core that the calculated manipulation of believers to twist their doctrine into one who sees hate by hating caused the dysfunction. Voices like Charlotte can reach these people encouraging many to self-examine.
Read the Charlotte Vaughan Coyle’s entire article here. It is worth the read.