I realize that there are upset people out there: people who differ from me on interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, scripture, oh, any number of things. Some of these people are saying they will resist, some say they will divest from and boycott companies owned, invented, etc. by gay folks and their allies.
Ok, those are social tools that are open to everyone. Well, depending on whether there are other providers for those goods and services, you can afford them, and if you can find a way to get by without those things.
So that got me thinking — if they are serious about setting themselves apart (as opposed to “divorcing, setting themselves on fire, or moving to Canada”), are we looking at the birth of a new sort of Anabaptist movement? Whole communities of people who opt out of cellphones and computer networks (which, come to think of it, puts them decades behind some of the existing Amish communities), dozens of brands of coffee, clothing, computers….? Will they really do that?
What if they do?
Perhaps they’ll build little towns on the campuses of their megachurches. Maybe they’ll develop distinctive architecture and crafts, and whatever other art forms are sustainable in atmospheres of chastity and constraint (but not those kinds of restraints!). If they are insistent on having a separate economy, so they can deny emoployment to certain people, or certain benefits to others, perhaps we should let them try.
For years I’ve heard their advocacy, their odd simultaneous demands that Jesus told them not to be “of the world” but that also the world should nonetheless conform to their ideas of Godliness.
They re-make the error of early Believers who expected the Kingdom they had been told about would come via military victories and other triumphs.
Go.
See what you can build without us. We’ll check in a few decades from now to see if your baked goods are worth a visit….
Rethorykal Questions 