I have been watching with great interest the miniseries on HBO that started recently on the life of John Adams. If anyone of you is a history buff, I won’t go so far as recommend a subscription to HBO, but I will recommend that you find the DVD of the series as soon as possible. The acting is superb (Paul Giamatti as John Adams seemed a bit odd to me, but he pulls it off brilliantly). The sets are well thought out and detailed. The writing and dialogue transcends the time from our origins as a country to today with few obstacles.
The one part of the series that stands out for me is the breaking of the myth that our founding fathers were of one mind from the beginning when it came to the direction of our nation. We are given scenes of arguing, insults, mistrust, and of a political climate that would seem very familiar to those of us who follow the current state of events with any regularity.
We tend to think of our founding fathers as people who pushed their differences to the side with little apprehension for the sake of the common good some 232 years ago. The reality of the situation is that it was a long drawn out process where there were those who were considered winners and those who were considered losers when all was finally finished at Independence Hall.
Would we be just as surprised at finding out that our disciples had acted in much the same way? Now there is not nearly the historical information available to us to suggest that our founding disciples were at odds in the way that our founding fathers were, but what would lead us to believe that 12 men could agree on everything anymore than could 13 colonies?
So why are we surprised and shocked when different congregations, denominations, and Christian movements fail to reach a common ground where matters of faith and its relationship to our daily lives and our political climate our concerned. Like our founding fathers, where are we willing to compromise for the sake of the common good? What issues and matters of policy and polity are the most important for us in our churches? We look at our founding fathers as great men with vision. What made them great was a brilliant balance between conviction and compromise. Knowing when to sit down is just as vital as knowing when to stand your ground.
Part 4 out of 7 will air next week. Although I know how the story will turn out (Just like reading the Bible), I will watch with great interest. This much I can count on. It won’t be easy.
Shalom,
Andy
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