For the next couple weeks, I will be writing about the influences and writings that assisted me on my journey from being a religious exclusivist to being a religious pluralist.

There is one particular individual that I have found to be a kindred spirit. He is Professor John Hick. He was born in England in 1922. While studying for his law degree, he converted to Evangelical Christianity and changed studies. During the WWII, he served with the Friends Ambulance Service as he was a conscientious objector. A man after my own heart, as I served as a combat medic during the Vietnam era, as a conscientious objector.

After the war, he returned to University of Edinburgh and in 1950 he obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy at Oxford. As I read about him, I discovered that one of the reasons he began studying philosophy was his attraction to Immanuel Kant, again another similarity to myself.

In 2005, when I started at Franciscan University, I began, for the first time in my life, reading books on philosophy. As a Fundamentalist Christian, I scoffed and scorned philosophy- but when I began to remove the fundamentalist spectacles, I found a rich source of ideas and “truths” in philosophy. I also was attracted to the ideas of Immanuel Kant.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Professor Hick began as an exclusivist and journeyed into pluralism.

One of his ideas that I have found extremely fascinating and I passionately believe he has “hit the nail on the head,” so to speak is that we are undergoing a revolution in human thought, analogous to the revolution that occurred in the 16^th century with Copernicus. Prior to Copernicus, there was the Ptolemaic view that the earth was the center of the universe or cosmos. The Earth was the center of the universe, meaning everything revolved around the earth. Copernicus shifted the center from the earth to the sun.

Well, in the same way, we are currently undergoing a similar change from a Ptolemaic to a Copernican view of religion.

The Ptolemaic view of religion holds that Christianity is the center or the truth around which all other faiths revolve. (If I was Islam, it would be the center or I was a Buddhist, it would be center).

The Copernican revolutionary shift is from our particular religion being the center to GOD BEING THE CENTER, and ALL RELIGIONS REVOLVE AROUND GOD.

Next time I will write about the historical and philosophical reasons for this shift.

Any thoughts?

I wrestled over using that term in my recent book. I finally decided to read more about bigotry, especially the history of the word itself and history of bigotry in America. According to the Dictionary, the word first appeared in 1600 France, and it meant a religious hypocrite. The French usually applied it to the Normans. Around 1900 it began to denote someone who had excessive-narrow petty religious devotion. The 1913 Webster’s Dictionary defined a bigot as a person who regards his own faith and views in matters of religion as unquestionably right and any belief or opinion opposed to or differing from them as unreasonable or wicked.

The 2003 Webster’s Dictionary does not differ much from that. A bigot is any person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief or opinion.

There is no doubt in my mind- looking back now, I was a bigot.

I tell people- twenty five years ago, you would not have liked me. I am not sure I liked myself. I was a bigot and took great pride even referring to myself from the pulpit as a “Bible Bigot” as if intolerance based on scripture was morally acceptable. I should also like to state that I am not implying that all fundamentalists are bigots. But I certainly was. For 25 years I was a vicious carrier of hate. It is something that I am now not proud of but I am living proof that people can change. Yes, a bigot! What else to you call someone who believes he has all the answers- the absolute truth- and condemns everyone who does not fit into his theological box: Buddhists, Moslems, and especially liberal preachers, humanists and homosexuals. I had placed God in a box and God could only operate within the confines of that box.

It is one thing to say: I believe in my own conscience that homosexual behavior is morally wrong. If I would have left it there, in my own personal life, I would not have crossed the line. But I did not leave it there. I went out of my way preaching and writing –propagating myths and slander about homosexuals and I went into the public-political arena and worked at creating laws to discriminate against homosexuals. That is bigotry. It is something that I am not proud of and I am now working to protect the rights of the LGBT community.

The following is a feature article that appeared in the Red Oak Express on Jan 17,2017. (Red Oak, Iowa) Brad interviewed me the week before and I appreciate his article about my book.

 

Journey into Love

 

Local minister’s book shares his life story of leaving bigotry and discovering that God and love are absolute

 

Brad Hicks

The Red Oak Express

The Rev. Ed Kelly Jr. this month published his first book, “Journey into Love.” It was released as an e-book by Amazon Kindle.

In the book, also available in paperback, the Rev. Kelly said he shares his life story of discovering that God is absolute, unconditional love, and of his personal, subsequent transformation out of anger, fear and bigotry.

The Rev. Kelly said he begins with his childhood and reveals how he developed the concept of a “monster God.”

“I viewed God as angry, punitive and separated from me because I saw myself as evil and deserving of his wrath.”

The Rev. Kelly calls these concepts of God “the box.” He said this box controlled and dominated his life even later as a Fundamentalist fire-brimstone preacher. He describes the change that occurred in him as the “box” began to unravel through a series of synchronistic events – a depressive suicide crisis and subsequent recovery, education, and a fearless questioning of his beliefs.

The Rev. Kelly lives in Red Oak with his wife, Rose. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a combat medic during the Vietnam era, a licensed practical nurse, and a certified mental health peer support specialist. He is currently employed part time as a LPN-peer support specialist with Waubonsie Mental Health IHH in Clarinda.

He was a Fundamentalist Protestant preacher for 20 years and in 1995 began a journey out of fundamentalism through the influence of such writers as Paul Tillich, James Barr and Hans Kung. Now Ed writes and speaks about the need for a non-partisan, non-dogmatic spirituality that embraces all faiths.

He has a BA from Buena Vista University, MBA from Columbia Southern University and a Master in Theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

Asked what he hoped others would take away from the life experiences he shares in the book, the Rev. Kelly said, “I would hope that readers would come to understand that no matter what label of faith we possess, we are all on the same journey – a process to return to the primal image – the image of God, who is love. That spirituality is not limited to one certain religious persuasion.”

“Also, sometimes our ‘ideas about God’ keep us from finding this God and also from becoming love. As an extreme Fundamentalist preacher, my theology – ideas about God – closed my heart and mind to people of other faiths. I became a judge – a meddler – of other people’s morality and spirituality. That mindset and attitude blocked me from developing a relationship with God and people. I discovered that in order to rightly relate to God and to others, I had to let go of absolute theological certainties and that God is bigger and better than my mind can conceive or imagine.”

The Rev. Kelly said he had been considering writing the book for about three years.

“What spurred me to write it was that many of my friends and colleagues thought I should put my journey into writing. I took me one full year of writing,” he said.

The Rev. Kelly also explained the influence the aforementioned writers had on his faith.

 

“I was introduced to the writings of James Barr and Hans Kung when I attended Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.

“James Barr is one of the foremost scholars on the Bible. And maybe here I should answer the question on the Bible. Through his writings I came to understand that there was another way of reading and interpreting the Bible; the way of looking at the Bible seriously yet not literally and by reading it in its social and historical context.”

“Hans Kung influenced me in the unique way he explained the paradigm shifts that have occurred in the history of Christianity. I did happen to stumble upon Paul Tillich, in whom I am indebted to for his idea that our theology can become an idol. And certainly as a Fundamentalist, my box – that is what I call my system of ideas about God in my book – my box had become a form of idolatry, something that I protected and held onto with all my strength. I call it idolatry because what was of ultimate concern to me was not God but my ideas about God.”

Asked what becomes of Christ in his newfound faith view, the Rev. Kelly said, “I spend a great deal of time in my book talking about Jesus’s most important teaching about love. In my previous fundamentalist view, I spent more time declaring who I though he was instead of his exhortations “to love one another” and “not to judge one another,” which I believe are so imperative for our present time. Martin Luther King Jr. explained it this way: ‘Love is ultimately the only answer to mankind’s progress and only love overcomes violence and hatred.’”

The Rev. Kelly wanted to make something else clear about his view of God. “I should also like to state that I am not implying that all fundamentalists are bigots. But I certainly was. For 25 years I was a vicious carrier of hate. It is something that I am now not proud of but I am living proof that people can change.”

 

The following was a presentation – called an Odessey – at the First Unitarian Church in Omaha Nebraska on  Jan 15, 2016 during the 1020am service.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in is 1963 book entitled Why we can’t wait”, wrote:

“Hate is a contagion; that it grows and spreads as a disease; No society is so healthy that it can automatically maintain its immunity.”

 I know about hate for as a Fundamentalist preacher, I was a vicious carrier of that disease that Dr. King spoke of…-a disease marked by the symptoms of fear, hatred and bigotry. And I carried it and spread as a contagion for 25 years.

BUT I changed …and discovered as Dr. King so often spoke about that

“LOVE IS ULTIMATELY THE ONLY ANSWER TO MANKIND’S PROBLEMS…”

I am living proof that change is possible and one of the reasons why I stand here this morning in a Church that I once demonized – one of the reasons- is because there were people who were into love and would not tolerate my message of fear and hatred.

I would like to share some of the seeds of love that were planted in my life that help me see the Light of love…

The first seed that was planted some 36 years ago was from a Pastor Lauris Meek – In 1980, he stuck his neck out for me and recommended me for licensure in the Nazarene Church and how did I reward him? In that year I opposed an Ecumenical event in our community that Pastor Meek was leading. He responded in a loving way- he came over to our home and asked me why I was opposing it and I told him. He respectfully disagreed with me and asked me not to be so narrow minded. Well, I was young and arrogant and did not listen. But it was a seed that was planted.

In 1986, another seed was planted by a History professor; Dr. Bruce Wilson during a Bible Study I was leading said to me “Ed, you only see black and white.” Now, at the time, I thanked him because I honestly at the time thought he was complimenting me. But years later, that comment would haunt me. The seed had been planted.

And I could go on with many more examples…planting a seed does not take much energy…but it takes concern and patience…for the seed to sprout. The truth is you and I are always planting seeds by your manners, by your behavior and by your actions. And be sure- Fundamentalists are always watching- trying to catch you in something. They already assume and prejudge you as evil. One more example of a seed planted…So imagine my surprise when I observed a registered nurse who was so professional and emphatic with his patients – I mean he went out of his way to meet their needs. Imagine my surprise- because it was a seed that tore at the very fabric of my fundamental judgmental worldview. Imagine my surprise when I learned he was gay.

The point is- as we enter 2017 and if we are going to stem the tide of fear and hatred that has been unleashed in our communities in the last 12 months, then we can no longer afford to tolerate fear and bigotry. We must loving resist darkness with the light of love for only love overcomes hatred. Only the seeds of love overcome violence. May I suggest that we can change our community by living as Jesus and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr suggested we live- by resisting darkness and fear and hatred with the seeds of love, a love that can never fail.

Since I left Fundamentalism in 2006, I have been reading much of what I used to demonize. For example, I just finished reading Bertrand Russell’s Why I am not a Christian. I found it to be refreshingly honest and enlightening. He had a trust in what he called the “good life inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” (pg 44)

Although I am a deist (not in a strict sense), I can only hope, having shed the chains of Fundamentalism, to aspire to Russell’s trust of a good life inspired by love and guided by knowledge. There is much we can and should learn from atheists and agnostics. There is much passion to be absorbed from their knowledge and hopes.

I see in Russell a commitment to be more conscious of social influences…of how we live will affect others. Russell explained it this way:

“When I said that the good life consists of love guided by knowledge, the desire which prompted me was a desire to live such a life as far as possible, and to see others living it; and the logical content of the statement is that, in a community where men live in this way, more desires will be satisfied than in one where there is less love or less knowledge.” (pg 49)

There is one other individual that surprised me: Ernst Bloch, a German Marist philosopher. Twenty years ago, I would never have thought of reading him. But I absolutely devoured his writing about hope. It is found in his main work, Das Prinzip Hoffnung.

“The important thing is to learn to hope….”

I could not agree more! But listen to how he describes it.

“The work of hope does not give up; it is in love with success and not with failure. Hope, which rises above all fear, is neither passive as fear is nor-still less –entrapped in nothingness. Hope is passionately outgoing, it broadens men instead of narrowing them, can never know enough of what they are inwardly seeking or of what may outwardly be making demands on them. The work of hope requires men who can throw themselves actively into what is coming to be, into that of which they are themselves a part. It will not put up with a dog’s life, it will not be content to be thrown merely passively into existing reality, into the unexamined or what is barely recognized. Work against fear of life and the stratagems of fear is directed against the causes of these things, largely very easily demonstrable, and it looks in the world itself for what will help the world; this can be found. How rich have been the dreams at all times, the dreams of a better world that might be possible.” (vol 1. Pg 7)

I do not think I have ever read a better description of hope than Bloch’s.

The point is- if we are going to change the world- into a “better world” based on “love guided by knowledge”, then we need to become people of hope- actively working to produce a better world. A world where: each individual is treated as worthy and valuable, each individual is able to earn a living wage, each individual is able to receive adequate health care…..the list goes on.

The point is- we are responsible to work here and now in the present moment to work out solutions for our present earthly social problems. For too long we have waited for the messiah to come and solve all our problems. For too long mankind has suffered from our passive expectation of the promise of a millennium kingdom. As a Fundamentalist preacher for some 25 years, I was guilty of perpetuating that myth- no longer. Now I will do the work of real hope- passionately “throwing myself into what is coming to be” to create that better world. Do not misunderstand, I still believe in a “higher power,” but I come to realize, rather late in life, that this higher power sent me here to planet earth to be an instrument of love and peace and to make this a world of love and peace for all people.

Yes, there is much we can learn from each other. I began to learn from others when I realized I did not have all the answers and that no one religion has all the answers. When we see that it takes of us. No wonder America is so great because we are a melting pot – a mix of all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs…with all kinds of ideas.

I have learned the hard way not to be so arrogant to think that I possess the only answers. It not only limits me but also limits endless possible solutions.

In 2000, I saw a movie called The Matrix which made me stop and think. It is not so much the storyline or the action but the underlying thesis that mesmerized me. The theme of the movie was that the material world is not reality but an illusion created by a computer. In one dialogue between the two main characters, Morpheus says in answer to Nemo’s question “what is the matrix?”

It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you to the truth…Unfortunately no one can be told what the matrix is. You have to see it yourself…

In a certain sense, the world had been pulled over my eyes for the first fifty years of my life and twenty-five of those years as a minister. The matrix was my box, my set of beliefs. The matrix was the product of education and tradition through the natural network of family and church. Both family and Church possessed and utilized an aura of authority which I dare not question nor deviate from or else invite family and ecclesiastical wrath. It has only been since 1996 that I began the slow journey of pulling out the “matrix plugs” that clouded my mind with illusions and taking the time to enjoy my life. This is my story of my journey out of the illusion of fear.  Someone asked me to explain how I change from being such a hateful preacher to now a preacher of the absolute unconditional love of God.  The answer is – I am still a work in process but it began when I began to think. My transformation began when I began to think for myself, that is when I began to look at my belief system – my box and question everything. Understand that the most frightening experience for a Fundamentalist and the most dangerous, (in terms of his present life and what he sees as reality) is to think outside the box.

Life is journey

A never ending river -flowing eternally

waves coming and going

Awakenings bursting through

a process to return to the primal image-

the image of God- that is LOVE.

The following is a article I wrote for a local Mental Health Outpatient Center’s internal newsletter.

Stigma is a common problem in our world. No corner of the world is free from it. Stigma is a mark or label that is placed on someone who is perceived  as different and this label leads to myths, stereotypes and finally to devaluation and discrimination. Stigma is prejudice, plain and simple. I am sure many of you having worked in mental health for years have witnessed stigma in action with regard to our clients. Our clients are particularly vulnerable to the way our culture views the individual who is experiencing a mental illness. The most common myths and stereotypes(stigmas) are that they are dangerous, weak willed, incompetent, beyond recovery and morally evil. Yet, it is not just those with mental illness that suffer the slings and arrows of stigma; it is any person who is different.

Sad to say, there are groups that face multiple stigmas in our communities from living in poverty, living with a disability or being of a different color or religion. Recently, one particular group, the LGBTQ community has seen a sharp, serious rise in stigma and discrimination. This stigma is considered one of the factors for the high suicide rate among the LGBTQ. According to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), suicide is the leading cause of death for LGBTQ people aged 10-24. LGBTQ youth are 4 times more likely and questioning youth are 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than straight people.

But what really bothers me, if I may speak personally, is that the LGBTQ either delay seeing their primary care doctor or hide their gender identity/sexual orientation from their care givers out of fear of being ridiculed. In Sept. of 2016, Reuter’s News Service reported a study by the Journal of Medical Care that revealed “30% of transgender patients report delaying or not seeking care due to discrimination; and one our of four say they were denied equal treatment in healthcare settings.” The article also went on to report a case of a 50 year old transgender woman who went into a New York VA emergency room with symptoms of “coughing up blood.” The doctor kept asking her about her genitals, diagnosed her with TB and sent her home on antibiotics. Three months later, she discovered she was misdiagnosed. She had cancer.

The CDC reported in a 2016 study that stigma was partially responsible for the staggering high percentage of transgender men who have HIV.

NAMI suggests the following ways to overcome stigma:

1. Think carefully about the labels applied to people, as labels can create further isolation and discrimination.
2. Don’t assume someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity; also don’t assume what their treatment needs are based on stereotypes of either LGBTQ people or those living with mental illness.
3. Empathize and validate LGBTQ person’s experiences.
4. Recognize that discrimination exists for LGBTQ persons and can affect access to may resources.
5. Work in coordination with people with mental illness rather than assuming that providers have all the answers.

LET US BECOME LEADERS IN SUPPORTING THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY AND WORK TOWARDS ENDING THIS PLIGHT OF STIGMA

Rev Ed Kelly Jr.

PS. As well as being a licensed minister, I am also a Iowa Certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist and a Licensed Practical Nurse.

 

 

 

 

 

A letter to the Editor recently published by myself:

Martin Luther King Jr, in a speech entitled “Give us the Ballot” in 1957 spoke of a “dire need for a liberalism which is truly liberal” and warned about a “liberalism which is neither hot nor cold but lukewarm.” Today with the election of a man who proclaims values of white supremacy and appears as a racist, xenophobe, Islamophobe, and a misogynist, that warning appears even clearer. I believe the time is upon us for a new vision of liberalism: a vision of a liberalism not submitting to the voices of fear and hate, a liberalism which will respect the office of the President but will not submit to policies of oppression and injustice.

We need a vision of love and not fear. Fear builds walls not only on our Southern borders but in the hearts of our communities. Fear divides. Love builds tables where we sit down together. We may have different views but love creates a bond that does not separate.

We need a vision of standing for justice, resisting the dark chains of oppression no matter what the cost. Let us not kid each other. The road to justice for all is difficult. But there can be no compromise with racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia or misogyny. Let us take the energy that we are wasting on fear and anxiety and use it to be a vessel for creating an inclusive, loving, peaceful community. This vision will require each one of us to take responsibility. Yes, one person can make a difference but as history has shown us, we cannot create change on our own.

It is a vision of a resisting, in which we will not sit idly by and allow the justice which we have gained to be taken from us. What will we resist? Any attempt to block a woman’s access to health care. Any attempt to deny the right of any person to have adequate health care. Any attempt to deny entry into this country based on their religion. Any attempt to build a wall denying entry to the poor and oppressed of the world. Any attempt to keep the poor –poor by denying them a living wage.

May I suggest that this liberalism with peaceful non-violent resistance “disturbing the tranquility of the nation” …”will inevitably win the majority of the nation-because our hard won heritage of freedom is ultimately more powerful than our traditions of cruelty and injustice.” (MLK)

 

In Luke 2, there is a delightful yet revealing story of Jesus’s parents looking for Jesus and when they found him he answered:

“why are you searching for me? Do you not know, I must be about my father’s business.”

Wow!

Jesus is probably around 12 years old here and even at this young age, he has an awareness of his own spirituality. At this young age, Jesus discovered …the source of life. He called that source- that higher power- FATHER. Jesus knew at a young age the secret of life; that there is a higher power in the universe. Call it: God, the universe, the power, the presence, higher power or Father.

And Jesus also said: I must be about my father’s business. He also was revealing some kind of relationship with this higher power. he says :

MY FATHER

meaning he was his son. And by implication, we are all sons and daughters of the FATHER. Every single person on this planet no matter what race, religion, nationality…everyone is a son or daughter of God.

Every one is a son and daughter of God.

In his greatest sermon found in Matthew 5-7- called the Sermon on the Mount….he taught us to prayer to “OUR FATHER.

In Psalms 8, the writer asks a question:

WHAT IS MAN…

FOR YOU HAVE MADE HIM A LITTLE LOWER THAN ANGELS (ELOHIM)

AND CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR.

Jesus at a young age discovered his true identity. He was a son of God. The moment he recognized that he began to increase in wisdom.

And Jesus grew, waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace pof God was upon him.

Luke 2:40 (vs 52)

Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus did not all of sudden become a spiritual giant. It was not by leaps and bounds. He did not all of sudden discover a secret way or a magical way to become the all powerful teacher-prophet healer, that he was. No, there was a slow steady progression. A progressive increase in wisdom and strength in the spirit.

Yet, that moment of awarness of his identity and his submission to the “business” of the father seemed to move him to a higher plane of spiritual vitality. He had found his purpose and that purpose was like a flame in his heart and mind.

The same is true in our lives- as we find our true identity- that we are also sons of God- and as we submit ourselves to the purpose of our lives- we too will find a higher plane of vitality- a passion- a fire will consume us.

May this year- 2017 be the year you discover your true identity, your flame…your passion …your purpose

Local Minister reveals his Journey out of Bigotry in new Book.

Rev. Ed Kelly Jr, a local Red Oak minister has published his first book, entitled Journey into Love published and released this past week as an E-book by Amazon Kindle.

Rev Ed Kelly Jr shares his life story of discovering that God is absolute unconditional love and his subsequent transformation out of anger, fear and bigotry. He begins with his childhood and reveals how he developed the concept of a “monster God.” “I viewed God as angry, punitive and separated from me because I saw myself as evil and deserving of his wrath.” Ed calls these concepts of God- “the box.”  This box controlled and dominated his life even later as a Fundamentalist fire-brimstone preacher. Ed describes the change that occurred as the “box” began to unravel through a series of synchronistic events, a depressive suicide crisis and subsequent recovery, education and a fearless questioning of his beliefs.

Ed lives in Red Oak with his wife Rose. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served as a combat medic during the Vietnam era, a Licensed Practical Nurse and a Certified Mental Health Peer Support Specialist.  He was a Fundamentalist Protestant preacher for twenty years and in 1995 began a journey out of fundamentalism through the influence of such writers as Paul Tillich, James Barr and Hans Kung.  Now Ed writes and speaks about the need for a non-partisan, non-dogmatic spirituality that embraces all faiths. He has a BA from Buena Vista University, MBA from Columbia Southern University and a Master in Theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio.