It certainly was an "interesting" experience. 10-15 thousand men all in one auditorium screaming their lungs out for Jesus Christ. This past weekend, I attended a Promisekeepers conference at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria, Illinois. The experience helped me focus in more strongly on my own spirituality and politics. I respect what Promisekeepers is trying to do, but it also seems like a little bit of an exclusionary club, which does not recognize several character traits that are key to being fully human. One of those traits is tolerance. The group does not appear to be as tolerant as they could be of different races, cultures, and lifestyles. They also appear to not be too open to the democratic party, as a recent survey showed that about 90 percent of the membership are Republicans. There were some offhand remarks and jokes that were disparaging of both gays and Democrats.
Secondly, the entire conference, entitled MANHOOD 2008, focused on the many battles that men are fighting including at home, at the workplace and in society in general. Many of the videos had aggressive themes. One of the videos depicted a man who turned Christian from the Muslim faith, inferring that the man had gone from evil to good. The video connected Al Quada with the Muslim religion which I thought was very politically dangerous. There were generally good themes being promoted like integrity, honesty, accountability, and searching for the truth, but the undertones were of extremely conservative politics, homophobia and anti feminism. That kind of tone is unacceptable in my view. A lot of people who attended were probably also members of the NRA, given their political make-up. There was a loud, almost violent cheer when one of the speakers talked about support for our soldiers in Iraq, which was a little over the top. I believe in respecting the soldiers, but it seemed like these guys were a little too "gung-ho" about going into battle.
There were some other postives to the conference. The emphasis on the family and making it the number one priority got me thinking about my own family and how I need to continue to concentrate on its health and development. I also thought about my sons and how I need to set the best example possible for them. Some of the speakers talked about the importance of a being a good father. I enjoyed hearing large cheers from the audience when they were asked if they were interested in making a committment to being the best fathers or husbands they could be.
The Reverend Samuel Rodriguez also mentioned that Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are wrong to question whether or not the Bible is fiction or whether or not God exists, and that his God saves. That brought a thunderous roar from the throng of men. I believe Richard Dawkins would have probably been booed off of the stage no matter what he did or said. That's sad.
I also enjoyed a George W. Bush impersonator and a Christian comedian and a couple of the speakers including a youth ministry leader from the Milwaukee area who talked about sexuality and responsiblity. The event was interesting enough for me to do a mini-documentary on it. I will attempt to post it on my site or http://www.youtube.com/ soon.
I will write more later. What are your experiences with Promisekeepers? I would love to hear more. :)
5 comments:
I'm glad you survived the conference. I knew nothing of the Promisekeepers until learning of them here on your blog. I'm sure many of the attendees are decent people dedicated to the noble cause of improving their lives, but your own reservations about them came through loud and clear in your post: hints of intolerance, exclusiveness, homophobia; apparent disdain for feminism. These things would concern me too. In fact they fuel my prejudices about religious people, which is unfortunate because my search is for that which is common to the religious and the skeptical alike.
Welcome back to Earth.
Yes, Bill.
I too am, as you know, looking for commonalities between faith based and non-faith based thinking. It made me sad in a way to attend the conference and see that they were all so sure that they were going to heaven and everybody else who doesn't have the answer is just plain out of luck. Obviously, it's alot more complicated than that.
Not one person admitted that the Bible could be fiction. That's sad.
I am a Founding Member of Hearts ad Hands Elders.
I found your Blog because we have related interests. We like much of the same music and many of the same movies.We are both interested in finding peace. I look for tolerance with the Latino youth who get involved in crime, violence and /or dropout of school, I also believe peace can be found in certain universal truths found in science and yet I believe faith in a higher source guides our journey.
I have never heard of Promisekeepers. At first it seemed like a great concept to be the best husband or father possible. This is a factor missing in the homes of so many kids that drop out of school or get involved in the juvenile justice system. I am not in favor of strong male role models or mentors that are intolerant of the diversity that is reflected in America. I am a Democrat but I would not want a one party government in the USA.
As for tolerance towards religions or no religions...I once had an in depth conversation with an atheist. He was my boss. I didn't know he was an atheist because he was so kind, tolerant and generous with his time and money. I asked him if he believed in an afterlife ..heaven ..hell or reincarnation he said no. He said he believed we are here on planet Earth for a finite period of time.Therefore it was very important to him that he contribute to human kind before his life ceases to be. He had no fear of hell or judgement day. For this person everyday was a choice to contribute to a greater purpose. He seemed to be living a "religious lifestyle but he had no loyalty or faith in any higher spiritual existence. It made me think.
I had assumed that atheists would be materialistic and selfish and intolerant of those who consider themselves "believers". I was wrong about him. This conversation made me focus more on actions than words spoken or written. I hope I can be the type of individual who daily contributes to the fabric of humanity and find my purpose for the finite period of time I am given. Teresa
I guess, based on what you say here, it's unlikely that this group would ever have the pleasure of being entertained by Margaret Cho or likely to ever rent the DVD of her live show, Assassin. MMM. Pity!
I have been an atheist for a while now. But I grew up in a Catholic home and went to Catholic school until 9th grade. I attended church for a while, but found it hollow and shallow.
I tend to find peace within myself. I do not need some deity to tell me what makes me feel good about the things I do. And I beleive, if there is an after-life, that I will most certainly be there.
I belong to a homeschooling group that is about 95% Christian based families, and yet I am accepted. Why? Because I am a good person, and if you talk to any devout Chrisitan, you find, they do not beleive that someone who is a good person will enter the gates of Heaven, unless they accpet Christ as their Saviour.
I have a problem with that. I can count on both my hands, many a people just within my homescholling group tht profess to be Christians, but are by no means following his rules. Doesn't that make you a hypocrite(Took me forever to find the correct spelling for this word). You are so supposed to lead a "Christian" lifestyle, but you judge, gossip and ridicule those who are not like you. I see it all the time.
I da not announce my un-God like lifestyle, I do not want people to think I sacrifice chickens in my home, but if questioned, I openly admit to being a person of no faith.
One of my best friends gave me a test and I did not know it at the time. She had a homeschool meeting to go to in Orlando (she was the President of the FLorida homeschooling group at the time), so she wanted to leave her daughter(Who had never been to our home) with me for a few hours before her step dad came to get her. She would be with us for only a few hours, so no big deal.
Well years later, as our friendship grew stronger, it hit me one day..."You were testing me, weren't you?!" She said without missing a beat, "Yes." She wanted to see that I did not have a pentagram on my dining room floor. Which I do not.
But she has since gotten to know me and knows me to be a person of strong convictions, honest, caring, and a contributing member of society. So why would anyone else jusdge me before knowing me if they are gauging our friendship on who I do or do not beleive in.
I will pray for these poeple...Not!
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