My testimony at the Texas State Board of Education July 21, 2012
Austin
I have been a Presbyterian pastor for 20 years in Missouri, England and Texas. I am here to urge you to adopt the proposed curriculum standards and not to include intelligent design or creationist perspectives in Texas science curriculum.
I believe God created the heavens and the earth. This conviction that stirs my soul and directs my action as a Christian is a statement of faith. It is not science. By definition, at least according to Christian scripture, faith is “the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).” By definition, science requires physical evidence –things that can be touched, seen, tested. Faith is “We believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.” Science is the skeletal remains of Australopithecus and the 99% shared DNA between chimps and humans.
I do not want my children’s public school teachers to teach faith in God in a science classroom. I admire and support teachers who share their faith with students in after school Bible Studies, but it is my role as a parent, and the community of faith’s role to teach who and what God is. That’s freedom of religion. I find it sad that many children are not taught about God. But that sadness should bring me to more diligent work in ministries of outreach from my church, not trying to make science into theology.
We do our children such a disservice if we ask science to compromise itself by saying the existence of an invisible God is scientific fact. We do another disservice if we ask religion to compromise and be presented in such a watered down manner our kids don’t see the wonders of theology.
When scientists discovered that in fact the earth was not the center of the universe, theologians and church officials went into a tailspin, thinking everyone would lose their faith in God. I have yet to meet a contemporary believer who insists that the earth is the center of the universe. Our theology has adapted in the face of indisputable fact. True religion can handle truth in all its forms.
Let us not be afraid of the wisdom of science.
Thank you for your attention.
Most sincerely,
Rev. Kelly S. Allen, Pastor
University Presbyterian Church
San Antonio Texas
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Taking the first step
The Golden Rule is so often repeated it seems to blend into the background. The NRSV translation of the gospel of Luke says it this way: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31)
Today I happened upon Eugene Peterson's contemporary translation of the same passage, from "The Message:" Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!"
I am seeing the Golden Rule differently now. As people of faith, hope and love, surely we have the energy and spirit to be the ones beginning to behave as we would want others to behave, rather than sitting back to wait until someone else takes the first step.
Peace,
Kelly
Today I happened upon Eugene Peterson's contemporary translation of the same passage, from "The Message:" Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!"
I am seeing the Golden Rule differently now. As people of faith, hope and love, surely we have the energy and spirit to be the ones beginning to behave as we would want others to behave, rather than sitting back to wait until someone else takes the first step.
Peace,
Kelly
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
How do you celebrate a 21st wedding anniversary in Texas?
With Barbeque and bluegrass of course!
Well, the family has been in Texas now for a month, and we are still trying to adjust, having lived in England for 2 years.
John and I decided to celebrate our 21st anniversary a few days early, I guess so that if necessary we still had time for a "do over."
So, did we go to a nice restaurant and have pate and sip champaigne? Nope. We headed for one of San Antonio's famous BBQ places, Rudy's, at which you can also fill up your gas tank. Very handy. Sitting at a weathered wooden picnic table we enjoyed a romantic feast of brisket, three bean salad, chicken and potato salad, dabbing the sauce off the corners of our mouths with brown paper towels from a dispenser on the wall. We loved it.
Next we drove deeper into the heart of Texas: to Gruene, a small community settled in the 1800s by German immigrants. In the center of the town is Gruene Hall, purported to be the "oldest dance hall in Texas." It was about 6 in the evening and the heat was still going strong --somewhere around 103 degrees. We tried to adopt a Texas "saunter" as we pushed open the screen door into a building that looked like it might only have been up to a 1918 building code. The hall was cooled by about 10 ceiling fans working hard to stir the hot air. I was preparing myself for the possibility that my foot might, at any moment, find its way through the wood floor.
Gruene Hall sells beer and bad wine only, and people come to listen to music and dance. On this particular evening the featured singer was Paula Nelson, Willie's singer/songwriter daughter. The heat wasn't too bad as long as we sat very still. As tempting as it was, we might have been the only people not to carve our names in the long tables where we sat soaking in the music and doing major people watching.
What a collection of folk were gathered to listen, dance, talk and sample the Budweiser and Heineken! As you would expect in Texas, there were men with cowboy hats and buckles as big as Delaware. There were young women in the classic summer Texas ensemble of shorts and cowboy boots. There was the two year old with a Mohawk whose father was fully covered in rainbow tie dye. A guy with a barbed -wire tattoo around his upper arm shared a laugh with the young woman dancing with her niece. A man in khaki shorts and tube socks beat out rhythm on imaginary drums while a smiling senior citizen led his partner across the dance floor while wearing a baseball cap with a picture of piece of pie on it. Nobody seemed particularly hot. Everyone seemed like that was exactly where they wanted to be on a Sunday afternoon and nobody seemed out of place.
It was a great 21st anniversary.
Kelly
Well, the family has been in Texas now for a month, and we are still trying to adjust, having lived in England for 2 years.
John and I decided to celebrate our 21st anniversary a few days early, I guess so that if necessary we still had time for a "do over."
So, did we go to a nice restaurant and have pate and sip champaigne? Nope. We headed for one of San Antonio's famous BBQ places, Rudy's, at which you can also fill up your gas tank. Very handy. Sitting at a weathered wooden picnic table we enjoyed a romantic feast of brisket, three bean salad, chicken and potato salad, dabbing the sauce off the corners of our mouths with brown paper towels from a dispenser on the wall. We loved it.
Next we drove deeper into the heart of Texas: to Gruene, a small community settled in the 1800s by German immigrants. In the center of the town is Gruene Hall, purported to be the "oldest dance hall in Texas." It was about 6 in the evening and the heat was still going strong --somewhere around 103 degrees. We tried to adopt a Texas "saunter" as we pushed open the screen door into a building that looked like it might only have been up to a 1918 building code. The hall was cooled by about 10 ceiling fans working hard to stir the hot air. I was preparing myself for the possibility that my foot might, at any moment, find its way through the wood floor.
Gruene Hall sells beer and bad wine only, and people come to listen to music and dance. On this particular evening the featured singer was Paula Nelson, Willie's singer/songwriter daughter. The heat wasn't too bad as long as we sat very still. As tempting as it was, we might have been the only people not to carve our names in the long tables where we sat soaking in the music and doing major people watching.
What a collection of folk were gathered to listen, dance, talk and sample the Budweiser and Heineken! As you would expect in Texas, there were men with cowboy hats and buckles as big as Delaware. There were young women in the classic summer Texas ensemble of shorts and cowboy boots. There was the two year old with a Mohawk whose father was fully covered in rainbow tie dye. A guy with a barbed -wire tattoo around his upper arm shared a laugh with the young woman dancing with her niece. A man in khaki shorts and tube socks beat out rhythm on imaginary drums while a smiling senior citizen led his partner across the dance floor while wearing a baseball cap with a picture of piece of pie on it. Nobody seemed particularly hot. Everyone seemed like that was exactly where they wanted to be on a Sunday afternoon and nobody seemed out of place.
It was a great 21st anniversary.
Kelly
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his Muslim Army of Peace
An edited version of one of my earlier entries in this blog has been accepted for online publication in the Review of Faith and International Affairs. If you are interested, check it out at https://www.rfiaonline.org/extras/articles/520-khan-army-of-peace.Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a contemporary of Gandhi is a spiritual giant.
Kelly
Kelly
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Things I will miss....
My family has been in the UK now for almost 21 months. Despite the rumor (or rumour) that the language is the same, the fact that American movies (films) are everywhere, there is a Subway sandwich shop around the corner, and the American grey squirrel has taken over from the native red squirrel, one does feel constantly confronted with things that are slightly or even vastly different. There is a sort of minor, yet constant culture shock, which mostly makes life very interesting, but sometimes leaves you saying "Just could there be a Target superstore somewhere!" Driving on the left, writing the dates with the day first (which does make sense when you think about it), using the right terms for trash can (rubbish bin) and parking lot (car park) and making sure you ALWAYS say trousers and only in the most intimate company "pants," and trying not to speak too loudly in a restaurant, make for a situation of always being "on your toes."
There are some things here I will miss very much and expect to experience a kind of reverse culture shock when we return to the states in a few weeks. These are things I wish I could take with me when we move. Some are very odd, I realize and I will probably have to add more later as moving day approaches:
1. Footpaths. You could probably hike across the entire UK using footpaths that traverse villages, farms, forest, hills. Some of these paths are the ancient routes of Romans or Saxons (or whomever was taking charge at the time). These right of ways are maintained right through private property and are a wonderful way to see the country. I can walk out my door and within five minutes' walk be heading through a sheep pasture with newborn sheep frolicking in the crisp air.
2. International news as "normal news." Sri Lanka, Mexico, Zimbabwe, India, France, are the top stories, not the stories "tacked on at the end" of news broadcasts, or the back pages of newspapers. The new of the world is "the news" here. Would Angela Merkel, Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Sarkozy be on the tip of my tongue if I were back in the realm of the 10 o'clock news in the US? It's all there, of course, but sometimes you have to dig for it or be one of those people who watches public television or subscribes to the New York Times.
3. Smaller portions of food and drink. The all you can eat buffet is an extreme rarity here. As is the doggy bag. That's because restaurants tend to actually serve a sensible amount of food and you are not likely to have a pound and a half of pasta con whatever to take home with you. No such thing as drive through fast food or big gulps. Our family went to a hockey game recently (sort of a minor league affair) and there were hot dogs, beer and popcorn, just as you would expect, but nobody ate them during the game! Part of me thought "What is wrong with these people!" The other part of me (the part with the extra fat cells) said "thank goodness I am not being seduced by a footlong and I can actually pay attention to who has the puck!"
4. Public transportation. There's a lot to gripe about here about public transport. The buses are expensive and often late. The trains to London can be really crowded. But it's here! And there are bus stops and train stations in small villages, and people of all economic backgrounds ride them. The government actually restricts the sizes of parking lots (how unAmerican!) in order to make it difficult for people to park. This also means you are more likely to only buy the amount of food or clothing or video game consoles that you can actually carry in your own two hands. What a thought!
5. Tea with milk. At 4 p.m. With one biscuit (translation: cookie). Wow. this is civilized. Tea does taste better with milk.
6. Healthcare as a basic human right. Poor or rich, employed or just laid off, you can take yourself or your kid to the doctor if you are sick. No one has to choose between food and medicine. No one has to keep a job that makes them miserable just so their wife can get her chemotherapy. Even the really conservative people here would not take that away. Your doctor's waiting room might not have tropical fish in it, but you don't have to show an insurance card, pay a copay or run a gauntlet of 5 gatekeepers before you are ushered into the examining room.
7. The accent. The prediction of yet another day of rain in the south of England just doesn't sound so depressing when said in "British."I'll miss that.
Kelly
There are some things here I will miss very much and expect to experience a kind of reverse culture shock when we return to the states in a few weeks. These are things I wish I could take with me when we move. Some are very odd, I realize and I will probably have to add more later as moving day approaches:
1. Footpaths. You could probably hike across the entire UK using footpaths that traverse villages, farms, forest, hills. Some of these paths are the ancient routes of Romans or Saxons (or whomever was taking charge at the time). These right of ways are maintained right through private property and are a wonderful way to see the country. I can walk out my door and within five minutes' walk be heading through a sheep pasture with newborn sheep frolicking in the crisp air.
2. International news as "normal news." Sri Lanka, Mexico, Zimbabwe, India, France, are the top stories, not the stories "tacked on at the end" of news broadcasts, or the back pages of newspapers. The new of the world is "the news" here. Would Angela Merkel, Robert Mugabe and Nicolas Sarkozy be on the tip of my tongue if I were back in the realm of the 10 o'clock news in the US? It's all there, of course, but sometimes you have to dig for it or be one of those people who watches public television or subscribes to the New York Times.
3. Smaller portions of food and drink. The all you can eat buffet is an extreme rarity here. As is the doggy bag. That's because restaurants tend to actually serve a sensible amount of food and you are not likely to have a pound and a half of pasta con whatever to take home with you. No such thing as drive through fast food or big gulps. Our family went to a hockey game recently (sort of a minor league affair) and there were hot dogs, beer and popcorn, just as you would expect, but nobody ate them during the game! Part of me thought "What is wrong with these people!" The other part of me (the part with the extra fat cells) said "thank goodness I am not being seduced by a footlong and I can actually pay attention to who has the puck!"
4. Public transportation. There's a lot to gripe about here about public transport. The buses are expensive and often late. The trains to London can be really crowded. But it's here! And there are bus stops and train stations in small villages, and people of all economic backgrounds ride them. The government actually restricts the sizes of parking lots (how unAmerican!) in order to make it difficult for people to park. This also means you are more likely to only buy the amount of food or clothing or video game consoles that you can actually carry in your own two hands. What a thought!
5. Tea with milk. At 4 p.m. With one biscuit (translation: cookie). Wow. this is civilized. Tea does taste better with milk.
6. Healthcare as a basic human right. Poor or rich, employed or just laid off, you can take yourself or your kid to the doctor if you are sick. No one has to choose between food and medicine. No one has to keep a job that makes them miserable just so their wife can get her chemotherapy. Even the really conservative people here would not take that away. Your doctor's waiting room might not have tropical fish in it, but you don't have to show an insurance card, pay a copay or run a gauntlet of 5 gatekeepers before you are ushered into the examining room.
7. The accent. The prediction of yet another day of rain in the south of England just doesn't sound so depressing when said in "British."I'll miss that.
Kelly
Friday, 30 January 2009
Human Rights heroines in Iran
One of the phrases President Obama used in his inauguration speech I have heard repeated below are many many open hands reaching out in hopes that they will find US hands open as well.
I have just finished reading Iran Awakening, the memoir of Shirin Ebadi, the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace prize for her work as a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has worked there tirelessly on behalf especially of women and children. Custody rights, divorce, and morality laws have been heavily repressive under the Islamic Republic.
In order to publish her memoir in the US, Ebadi had to file a lawsuit against the US Treasury, because of the trade embargo against Iran. Her publishers in the US otherwise would have faced the possibility of prison time.
This book, along with two others I have read over the last few years (Persepolis--a graphic novel that is now a film and Reading Lolita in Tehran) have given me a great appreciation for the strength, wisdom and resilience of women in the Islamic Republic. They give me hope for the possibilities of change, yet I worry that if the US puts too much pressure on Iran, they will be unable to secure the change they work so hard for. A nation on the defensive has the tendency to increase, rather than decrease, repression.
Women were a major force in bringing the Ayatollah Khomeini into power in the first place. Angered and weary of the Shah's repressive regime, his lavish lifestyle while poverty gripped the lives of many, and his unyielding secularism, women took to the streets in millions to chant revolutionary slogans and demand the toppling of the Shah's regime. They claimed a public voice, organized tirelessly and paved the way for Khomeini's return from exile in France to become the supreme leader of Iran.
The ironic tragedy is that as soon as Khomeini gained the reins of power, he began to systematically dismantle, silence and punish women's voices and participation in public life. Women lost their jobs. Ebadi, who served as judge under the Shah, was relegated to a clerk position. Morality police began combing the streets for women whose headscarves were askew or who were seen in the company of an unrelated male. You've heard the storiess...torture, executions, imprisonment for minor offenses. Many women felt completely betrayed. In the fervor preceding the revolution they had been treated as equals.
Despite the repressiveness of the Islamic Republic (or maybe because of it), Iran (and Iranians living outside Iran) has become a crucible for Islamic feminism. Regardless if their preference would be for a secular society with freedom of religion, people like Shirin Ebadi, in order to advocate for their clients within the framework in which they live, have had to become Islamic scholars themselves. Ebadi and others like her, have delved deeply into Islamic jurisprudence, Qur'anic scholarship and the sayings (or "hadith") of the Prophet in order to argue for more fair and just treatment of women, children, and other vulnerable people in society. They have found within Islam itself the tools for their own liberation. They have taken on the narrow and restrictive policies of their theocracy using the same tradition. And in many cases they have made significant progress.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians met Ebadi in Tehran when she returned from receiving the Nobel Prize. These are the people with open hands. I hope Obama can tread lightly enough that they stay that way.
Kelly
I have just finished reading Iran Awakening, the memoir of Shirin Ebadi, the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace prize for her work as a human rights lawyer in Iran. She has worked there tirelessly on behalf especially of women and children. Custody rights, divorce, and morality laws have been heavily repressive under the Islamic Republic.
In order to publish her memoir in the US, Ebadi had to file a lawsuit against the US Treasury, because of the trade embargo against Iran. Her publishers in the US otherwise would have faced the possibility of prison time.
This book, along with two others I have read over the last few years (Persepolis--a graphic novel that is now a film and Reading Lolita in Tehran) have given me a great appreciation for the strength, wisdom and resilience of women in the Islamic Republic. They give me hope for the possibilities of change, yet I worry that if the US puts too much pressure on Iran, they will be unable to secure the change they work so hard for. A nation on the defensive has the tendency to increase, rather than decrease, repression.
Women were a major force in bringing the Ayatollah Khomeini into power in the first place. Angered and weary of the Shah's repressive regime, his lavish lifestyle while poverty gripped the lives of many, and his unyielding secularism, women took to the streets in millions to chant revolutionary slogans and demand the toppling of the Shah's regime. They claimed a public voice, organized tirelessly and paved the way for Khomeini's return from exile in France to become the supreme leader of Iran.
The ironic tragedy is that as soon as Khomeini gained the reins of power, he began to systematically dismantle, silence and punish women's voices and participation in public life. Women lost their jobs. Ebadi, who served as judge under the Shah, was relegated to a clerk position. Morality police began combing the streets for women whose headscarves were askew or who were seen in the company of an unrelated male. You've heard the storiess...torture, executions, imprisonment for minor offenses. Many women felt completely betrayed. In the fervor preceding the revolution they had been treated as equals.
Despite the repressiveness of the Islamic Republic (or maybe because of it), Iran (and Iranians living outside Iran) has become a crucible for Islamic feminism. Regardless if their preference would be for a secular society with freedom of religion, people like Shirin Ebadi, in order to advocate for their clients within the framework in which they live, have had to become Islamic scholars themselves. Ebadi and others like her, have delved deeply into Islamic jurisprudence, Qur'anic scholarship and the sayings (or "hadith") of the Prophet in order to argue for more fair and just treatment of women, children, and other vulnerable people in society. They have found within Islam itself the tools for their own liberation. They have taken on the narrow and restrictive policies of their theocracy using the same tradition. And in many cases they have made significant progress.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians met Ebadi in Tehran when she returned from receiving the Nobel Prize. These are the people with open hands. I hope Obama can tread lightly enough that they stay that way.
Kelly
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Braving the Chaos
John 14:18-27 (Jesus speaks to his disciples as part of his "farewell discourse")
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. " New Revised Standard Version
This sermon celebrates the ways in which the Holy Spirit empowers people to come alongside those who live on the edge of chaos, embodying the ministry of the Advocate. Most of the stories used in this sermon come from the ministry of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Click here to listen:
http://www.box.net/shared/js9v0k0uoi
Blessings,
Kelly
‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. " New Revised Standard Version
This sermon celebrates the ways in which the Holy Spirit empowers people to come alongside those who live on the edge of chaos, embodying the ministry of the Advocate. Most of the stories used in this sermon come from the ministry of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
Click here to listen:
http://www.box.net/shared/js9v0k0uoi
Blessings,
Kelly
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