Selecting stories for print or web is much more art than science. But it is a part of an editor’s job.
Stories are chosen for a variety of reasons such as interest, intrigue, relevance and sometimes oddity. Such was the case with the Religion News feature currently posted at the Baptists Today web site.
The story is about how some pagans have found a home within the most liberal branch of Quakers. The writer notes that the three other branches are explicitly Christian.
But this one small branch of Friends seems to make room for the odd combination of Pagan-Quakers.
Pagan rituals are mixed with Quaker traditions like pastor-less meetings. (Which suggests something more significant than the pastor is missing in the worship experiences.)
Historically, Quakers were seekers before seeker-sensitive was cool. And a welcoming environment for those in search of the divine is commendable in any religious tradition.
However, I’ve often been critical of Christians — especially Baptists — who keep narrowing theological boundaries. But on the other hand, it does seem that Christians of any denominational tradition should at least share the historic confession that Jesus is Lord.
(Of course some of us have been called Pagan-Baptists by fellow Baptists who think we don’t believe enough of the stuff they do.)
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.