Death of An Amish Child

32 Pages·2013·4.11 MB·English

Death of
An Amish
Child
,

LIBERTY (cid:9) March/April, 1981
1-4.
was Friday night, August 31, 1979, found herself hoping, as she wiped the concern and compassion for the youth and
It (cid:9) the close of a hot and humid day in blood from the baby's face. But she could their families, all of good reputation in the
Indiana. detect no breath. community. None of the young men had
The air was still stifling as Levi and "She's dead! She's dead!" she cried in been in trouble before, and all were popular
Rebecca Schwartz and their seven children anguish. Quickly the dazed father ran to the among their acquaintances. Still, so
headed back to their farm in their black nearest neighbor who had a telephone. incensed was public opinion that they had to
horse-drawn buggy. The Old Order Amish "Call the Emergency Medical Service and go outside the county to find attorneys to
family had spent the early evening visiting the police," he begged. "Adeline may be defend them.
friends near Berne, Indiana. Already dead." The four had pleaded not guilty when
thirsty, the children talked longingly of the She was. A piece of clay tile thrown from arraigned and had asked for jury trials. But
lemonade they had been served. the truck had fractured Adeline's skull. She when three were tried ten months later, in
The clacking of the horse's hoofs and the probably had died instantly while still in her Adams Circuit Court, they changed their
creaking of leather as they headed north on mother's arms. pleas to guilty and threw themselves on the
the Adams County road spoke of the simple Soon city, county, and state police cars mercy of the court. One youth's case has not
life of the Plain People. It was a hard life, were systematically covering town and yet been heard.
but uncomplicated. Because of their strict Before sentencing the three, Judge
religious beliefs they had no automobiles or Herman Busse, of Fort Wayne, Indiana,
tractors. Their house was heated by coal- Death ordered a month-long investigation to help
and wood-burning stoves; kerosene lamps him determine their sentence. Even in their
reflected the shining cleanness of the wood communities, odds were in favor of their
floors and rustic furniture. Their children, of an having to serve some time.
ranging from Adeline, 7 months, to Mar- July 29, 1980, Judge Busse sentenced the
garet, 11, would go through the eighth first two defendants, announcing his verdict
Amish
grade and then take their places in the to a crowded courtroom. He knew that no
closely knit Amish community of 2,000 sentence, however harsh, could return
living in Adams County. Adeline to her mother's arms. But the crime
Child
The bed would look good after the long, could not go unpunished. Each youth was
hot day, Levi remarked to his wife. Even the given a five-year prison term, but Judge
brown horse pulling the buggy seemed to Busse suspended the sentences, put the
agree, quickening its pace as they got within By Simon M. Schwartz youth on five years' probation, fined them
three miles of the 100 acres Levi farmed. $5,000 and court costs, and ordered them to
Traffic was heavy, with shoppers from make full restitution to the Schwartz family
Berne slowing as they saw the triangle- for medical and funeral expenses. In Sep-
shaped red safety reflector Indiana requires country roads in a search for the battered tember, Judge Robert Thompson gave the
on Amish buggies. The Schwartzes waved pick-up. Earlier in the evening police had third youth three years suspended sentence
as they recognized occupants. been notified that youth in such a vehicle and a $5,000 fine.
At 9:30 P.M., as nearly as the Schwartzes had been throwing objects at Amish homes The sentences might have been much
can remember, a battered old pick-up pulled and buggies. harsher had it not been for a plea entered in
alongside. As it passed, Mrs. Schwartz, An hour after the tragedy, the truck was the youths' behalf by the bishop of the
who was holding Adeline in her arms, felt a spotted in nearby Berne and the four young Amish community. His letter, endorsed by
sharp pain in her right wrist. "Somebody male occupants were taken into custody, the Schwartzes, was read in court:
threw something from the pick-up," she handcuffed, and driven to the Adams "We believe," he wrote, "that the four
said. A quick check of the children revealed County jail in Decatur, twelve miles to the boys have suffered, and suffered heavily,
no injury, and the Schwartzes continued north. There, charges of reckless homicide since the crime, and they have more than
home. were filed against the four. Two of the paid for what they did. Sending the de-
The modest but well-kept farmhouse was youth, 17 and 18, were from Berne; the fendants to prison would serve no good
only a white blob in the darkness when the others, 18 and 19, were from Monroe, five purpose, and we plead for leniency for
family arrived. As Levi waited patiently to miles to the south. Within a week, families them."
take the horse to the barn, Rebecca handed of the four had posted $10,000 bond, and This remarkable expression of compas-
Adeline to Margaret. "Take her into the the young men were released, pending trial. sion by the Amish community, many of
house and put her on the bed while I get the From the first, the reaction of the youth whom had been harassed by the defendants
others in," she directed. was one of shock and remorse. "We had no and others, brought tears to the eyes of
As Margaret turned up the wick on a idea we had injured, let alone killed, onlookers in the courtroom and gained
kerosene lamp, she noticed blood on the someone," they said. "We were just out for additional friends for the Plain People.
baby's face. Running outside, she cried, a little fun." Today, Amish buggies around Berne and
"Mother! Mother! Come quick! Some- As news of the tragedy made headlines Monroe seldom draw more than a cheery
thing's wrong with Adeline!" across the nation, hundreds of letters and wave from passing vehicles. Levi and
Levi and Rebecca ran into the house, and sympathy cards arrived at the Schwartzes' Rebecca Schwartz like to think that each
the mother anxiously picked up the infant. farm. Others, addressed to the police, wave is a tribute to baby Adeline. If so, her
Immediately they saw a large bump on the mayors, and newspapers in Berne and death was not in vain.(cid:9) q
back of Adeline's head. Blood was spat- Decatur, demanded quick justice for the
tered on her face, which looked strangely four youth.
pale and peaceful in the lamplight. Perhaps Locals too were stunned and horrified by Simon M. Schwartz is a free-lance writer in
she's only unconscious, Mrs. Schwartz the senseless tragedy. But there was also Berne, Indiana.
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY BOBBIE TULL
1.1131,RI
Chicken Little,
the Sky Isn't
Falling—Only
Some Clouds
I
By William F. Willoughby
Pr
The "in" thing today is to join the heard the wrong analysts, but I never heard professed liberal is as closed-minded as the
Chicken Little parade and repeat after them say, "The giant has awakened! The dyed-in-the-wool conservative ever thought
all the political and theological liberals: giant has awakened!" of being. Neither faction wants to allow
"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" And that is exactly what has happened. enough room for the other to live in.
The reference is primarily to the election The sky isn't falling. No, not at all. The The evangelicals—particularly the fun-
of Ronald Reagan, the unseating of thirty to sleeping giant sleeps no more, and there is a damentalists among them—are said to be
forty Congressmen—including eight of ten rumbling in the skies. But the sky isn't narrow-minded people, wanting to discard
Senators—who had been targeted for defeat falling. everything that does not fit into a clearly
by conservatives, and the sudden awaken- We have just gone through the first stages defined "Thus shalt thou do and thus shalt
ing of the too-long-asleep giant in America, of the second American Revolution. As in thou not do."
the coalition of evangelicals and conserva- the first revolution, people today still object I find no fault with that assessment,
tive Catholics. to being taxed without being represented. unless all evangelicals and even all funda-
Maybe we who are not textbook liberals In the second American Revolution, mentalists are painted with the same stroke
should fall in line right along with the people who were being taxed either by of the brush. The only fault I find is with the
liberals and say that indeed, the sky is direct or indirect taxes and by an inflation fault itself. Would to God that more of us
falling. that might not be all that necessary, who call ourselves evangelicals were not
As I heard the analysts repeatedly say that consistently saw the other side being repre- afflicted with that malady.
it was President Carter's ineptness as the sented instead of their own. They finally On the other hand, some of the most
kind of leader the United States needs that have said they have had enough. intolerant people I have ever met are people
cost him the election, I kept straining my There is a certain arrogance about many
ears to hear something else I knew I ought to who call themselves liberals. In all my years
be hearing. of covering the news, particularly the news William F. Willoughby is editor of Religion
Either I read the wrong newspapers or of religion and politics, I have found that the Today, Washington, D.C.
4
March/April, 1981
who pride themselves on being liberal. succeed in politics. Certainly the NCC used More realistically, the leaders of the
They too see the world in a very narrow way the political process to the hilt to back many second American Revolution were saying
but have neither the eyes nor the inclination of the humanist-oriented social programs that, if they are to be taxed and taxed dearly,
to see through their myopia. liberal politicians espoused. they want someone in office who represents
That's precisely the reason TV Evan- By and large, I cheered them on—not their point of view instead of a constant
gelist Jerry Falwell can be called by the necessarily for the content of all their potpourri of humanist-liberal programs and
liberals anything from Hitler to the Ameri- programs, but for the very fact that they social agendas that often seem to be
can Ayatollah Khomeini. If they can't were concerned enough to do something. self-defeating.
discredit his argument for turning America I'm proud that they backed Dr. Martin To these leaders of the revolution,
away from a stance of open-ended immoral- Luther King, Jr., in his fight for civil rights. abortion on demand, the fallout from ERA,
ity and softness, then they will discredit I was ashamed of my fellow evangelicals a deteriorated public education system, a
him. who, by and large, sat on the sidelines— largely unwarranted inflation, insensitive
I am glad the giant is awakening. For jeering. But now those who jeered are being sex education, and an inhumane system of
altogether too many years I have been jeered at by their unwitting mentors. And public welfare that debilitates the humanity
advocating, not only in my writing but also they're trying to tell us that the sky is out of its recipients were the clouds that had
in my preaching as a layman and as one who falling. What the leaders of the second gathered over the sleeping giant.
has run for public office three times, the American Revolution are trying to do is pull Now the giant has done more than rub his
need for people who care about the way the some of those polluting clouds down out of eyes. There is rumbling. But, Chicken
country is headed to get out there and do the sky, not the whole sky. What clouds? Littles of America, calm your fears. The sky
something about it besides bellyache. Not "single-issue" items, as the news is not falling. Just some clouds.
It is the liberally tilted National Council analysts so facilely dismiss the subject. Relax. After the worst of the pollution
of Churches that should be taking credit for Reagan wasn't elected because he was a has been controlled, maybe we'll all breathe
teaching the evangelicals, et al., how to one-issue man—not by a mile and a half. a little better.(cid:9) q
ILLUSTRATION BY RENEE GETTIER(cid:9) 5
LIBERTY
From the Moral Minority:
A Post-Election
Reflection
By David L. Shields
The recently completed Presidential is that one's faith should remain separate understanding of Christian theology
campaign thrust upon America's con- from one's politics. Though separation of involved.
sciousness an old question that urgently church and state may sound as American as The first critique—the one more com-
needs reexamination. Now that the smog of apple pie, the degree of separation never has monly heard—I consider to be both mis-
campaign rhetoric has dissipated. it is time been and never should be total. directed and threatening to the integrity of
to look anew at the critical issue of church My position is based upon three supposi- faith. If faith captures and inspires our total
and state. In particular, How are faith and tions. First. God loves the world and being. it cannot help but influence our
politics to be related? therefore cares about what happens in political actions. To argue that Christians
In 1980 the politically right-leaning and history. Second, faith is an expression of should not try to influence the political
theologically conservative churches of the total personhood and must be lived out in all process is to separate faith from the
Moral Majority raised the question most the varied contexts of life. Third, the life, :Meaningful decisions of life. It would be sad
forcefully. Many Americans were amazed death, and resurrection of Jesus reveals the indeed if in response to the abuses of the
and not a few liberal politicians sent packing meaning of human existence and orients us Moral Majority we denied faith a role in the
as conservative Christians exercised their in our faith response to the world. activities of the nation. This danger is
muscle. I make one further assumption, namely, inherent in the argument for separation of
1 can't delve fully into the quagmire of that there is something basically wrong with religion and politics. To be faithful to our
questions implicit in the issue of church and the activity of groups like Moral Majority. Christian heritage, we must permit faith to
state. My more modest aim—as one in- Two types of critiques might be leveled. interact with and inform our politics.
voluntarily defined into the Moral Minor- The first is that religious bodies have no Having said that, however, there is a
ity--is to caution against a prevalent but, in business meddling in the affairs of state; limited truth to the separation argument.
my opinion, faulty resolution of the prob- religion should not be mixed with politics.
lem. That false resolution, expressed stri- The second critique does not so much
dently during the campaign by John Ander- charge that people should keep their faith David Shields is a free-lance writer in
son and numerous political commentators, inside church walls as it does question the Berkeley, California.
6
March/April, 1981
"When I hear the First Amendment with less than 6 percent of the world's the voice of the voiceless and to side with
used as a reason to keep traditional population utilizing 80 percent of its the poor and oppressed? In a similar way, to
moral values away from policymaking, resources? Christians need to raise their endorse increased expenditures on weapons
I am shocked. The First Amendment prophetic voice when two thirds of God's of mass destruction would seem to be a
was written not to protect the people humanity go to bed hungry while a major dubious posture for the church, which finds
and their laws from religious values health issue in the United States is overeat- its reason for being in the power of a
but to protect those values from gov- ing. A political perspective grounded in the crucified, suffering Servant.
ernment tyranny. But over the past doctrine of creation would challenge a Third is the doctrine of Christian liberty.
two or three decades the federal gov- foreign policy that can excuse Third World According to Paul, "All things are lawful"
ernment seems to have forgotten both torture and tyranny when the ruling junta is (1 Corinthians 6:12). Christianity is rooted
`that old-time religion' and that old- friendly to U.S. interests. From the per- in grace and freedom. While Christian
time Constitution."—President Ronald spective of creation, one might well wonder liberty must not be confused with the
Reagan in a campaign address to the whether policies advocated by the New "do-as-I-please" mentality, neither should
Roundtable, an association of evangeli- Right are conditioned more by nationalism it be identified with legalistic checklists
cal Christians, at the organization's than devotion to the God of heaven and constructed to determine who is and who is
August 23, 1980, meeting in Dallas, earth. not acting or voting in accordance with
Texas. Second is the doctrine of the incarnation. Christian morality. It is dangerous to tie
God became human, not as a U.S. citizen or particular political or moral options dog-
even as a powerful Roman of the first matically to Christian self-identity. Cer-
While church and state must interact func- century, but as one of an oppressed people tainly the Bible does not offer clear direc-
tionally, since both are concerned with the of a small, occupied nation. When Jesus tives for escalating an arms race or lessening
promotion of human welfare (or pretend to proclaimed the purpose of His ministry He clean air standards. Nor does the Bible
be), the two must remain distinct institu- used the prophetic words of Isaiah: " 'The explicitly settle the question of abortion, and
tionally. Within the individual, religion and Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he it seems to offer considerable comfort to
politics converge; but within the institutions has anointed me to preach good news to the those who support the Equal Rights Amend-
of church and state, separation must be poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to ment (Galatians 3:28). Whatever our view
maintained. The state must not dictate the captives and recovering of sight to the of the revelatory nature of Scripture, it is
church policy or prescribe a religion for the blind, to set at liberty those who are fallible humans who must interpret it. To
nation. Neither should the church attempt to oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year claim to articulate the Christian position of
run the state as some form of theocracy. To of the Lord' " (Luke 4:18, 19, R.S.V.). the Moral Majority is to sin presumptuously
protect minority religious groups from Even the most cursory reading of the New and by so doing to offend religious sensi-
coercion by the majority faith, the state Testament reveals a Jesus who identified bilities.
must remain institutionally free from con- with the downtrodden. All people of all faiths have the right to
trol by the church. While the Moral Is it significant that the Moral Majority exercise their political options in harmony
Majority has the right to seek to influence comprises primarily middle-class white with what their faith suggests, but Chris-
political decisions, it must be careful lest it North Americans and that it advocates tians should be careful not to equate limited
blur the important institutional separation. positions corresponding to the interests of human views with the absolute. Our critique
It is the second line of critique, however, the affluent? Should Christians not be must aim at the legitimacy of the views
that I consider crucial, particularly as we sensitive to the distribution of wealth as offered, not at the obligation of people to
consider what our response as fellow economic policies are formulated? Has not take political stances based on faith under-
Christians should be to our brothers and the church a prophetic obligation to become standings.
sisters of the New Right. I think we should
commend them for their sincerity in trying
to live out their faith commitments in the Can the "Inquisition" Be Humane?
midst of complex social and political
realities, but we should challenge them to Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority already is looking to 1982. Liberal politicians once again
deepen their faith understandings. Speaking will be up for reelection in the House. And in the Senate a third of the members will look into
out on political issues is certainly a more Falwell's eyes for the first time in their bid for an additional six years.
mature religious posture than turning one's The impact the growing "Christian Right" had on this year's election is unmistakable.
back on historical reality while waiting for Of ten liberal Senators specifically targeted for defeat, eight have packed their social
one's transport to heaven. But if a more programs, special rights, and left-wing policies and returned home.
mature approach to history characterizes the In the House, thirty-five representatives were targeted for defeat. Of these, twenty-two
New Right, theological maturity does not. I will spend the next Congressional session at home.
would like to suggest three general points Moral Majority, as are most Christian conservative lobbying groups, is not yet two years
around which dialogue might occur. old. But already Falwell has been referred to as Hitler, a despot, a fascist, antichrist,
First is the doctrine of creation. Contrary demogogue, the American Ayatollah Khomeini, Mussolini. and whatever other tyrannical
to the operational belief of many Christian names come to the minds of his liberal opponents.
conservatives, the Christian view of cre- And Falwell has suffered badly from inaccurate press reports, misquotes, and
ation is not that in the beginning the world exaggerations. But, after the ballots were cast, Falwell came up smiling, having proved two
was without form and void and then out of points, say his followers:
the chaos God created America. God First, many Americans really are concerned about morals, and second, in a democratic
created the heavens and the earth and all the society an "inquisition" can be performed with humaneness.
lands and peoples therein—including the Not all his opponents would agree. Defeated Senator George McGovern (D-S.D.) has
Soviets. The Christian perspective must be said he will spend his time finding "an antidote to 'extremism' in America."—Religion
global—and will not that perspective call Today.(cid:9) fl
into question the legitimacy of one nation
7
LIBERTY
AWord We delight in the sophistication that tells
us there are no absolutes, no moral author-
ities. And one result is that we confuse and
frustrate our children, who keep telling us
From the
(though usually not in words) that they want
rules: consistent, reliable guidelines for
running their lives.
Wonderfully It is this abdication, I suspect, that
principally accounts for the continuing
attraction for our young people of what we
call "sects." These young people (and
Tolerant
some not so young) seem to be looking for a
value system that comes from outside their
own heads. They yearn for an authority that
will speak of absolutes, even at the cost of
suspending their own intellectuality.
By William Raspberry And the more morally uncertain their
families and the established churches
become, the more attractive become the
authoritarian sects.
Not everyone, of course, is dismayed at
Things that decent The people who call themselves the the notion that all questions are open, that
Moral Majority surely include some there are no final answers. Indeed, some of
people used to whose views are more political than moral: us find it exhilarating to be freed from the
views favoring an increased budget for the religious, social, and political myths we
shun—or at least Pentagon, for instance, or the repudiation of learned as children. We want to give our
the Department of Education, or the estab- children a shortcut to this same freedom by
feel guilty lishment of economic and social conserva- teaching them right from the beginning that
tism. truth is relative.
about—are now But, just as surely, their ranks include But for many children the shortcuts
people who are convinced that America is in produce not exhilaration but frustration. It
described in morally danger of losing—perhaps already has may be well enough to question everything,
lost—its moral compass, that we are, in but young people seem to need some place
neutral terms as your grandfather's phrase, going to hell in a to stand, something to hold on to, while they
handbasket. are doing the questioning.
"alternative life You don't have to be a pro-Vietnam, And yet we are giving them less and less
anti-SALT religiopolitical fanatic to agree to hold on to. Family pride, school spirit,
styles." Liberals feel that maybe they've got a point or to concede patriotism, universal principles—all these
that many of the more disturbing trends are things strike us as so much silliness, which
guilty about interlinked with modern-day liberalism. intelligent people quickly outgrow, and we
The reference here is not to liberalism as wish to save our children the bother of
inflicting it relates to governmental programs and making these pointless detours in their
social ideals but to liberalism that is nervous intellectual development.
guilt. about making moral judgments. Nothing is And we are dismayed when our children,
just plain right or wrong; everything is liberated from intellectual error, run off and
relative. join up with Reverend Thus-and-Such who
Things that decent people used to promises them certainty.
shun—or at least feel guilty about—are now Nor is the phenomenon limited to reli-
described in morally neutral terms as gion. When things start to come apart at the
"alternative life styles." Liberals feel seams, people start looking for something
guilty about inflicting guilt. they can believe in and rely on. For some it
This liberal attitude is wonderfully toler- is the marvelous immutability of the free
ant—particularly appealing when con- market. For others it is the gold standard, or
trasted with its opposite number, intoler- world government, or passivism, or politi-
ance. cal militancy.
But the line is fine indeed between the And for some—the Moral Majority—it is
tolerance that says you must not impose the old-time religion.
your values on another and the tolerance Some of the answers these true believers
that amounts to a sort of moral laissez faire. come up with make me very nervous. But I
Some members of the Moral Majority think it's about time we recognized the
have crossed the line, electing to impose on legitimacy of their questions.(cid:9) q
the rest of us their peculiar view of religion
and morality. But too many of the rest of us
have opted for a tolerance that denies the William Raspberry is a columnist for The
very existence of a societal morality, that is Washington Post. © The Washington Post
willing to say, "This is wrong." Company. Reprinted with permission.
8
r(cid:9)
March/April, 1981
Yesterday's Minorities:
How Quickly We Forget
Joseph Smith
Founder of the Church
of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints
Darely has a religious minority been so describe America as an exclusively "Chris- That means that Roman Catholic prayer
1(cid:9) shamelessly persecuted in this country tian nation." Yet that is what Elder Tom books, though admirable and uplifting,
as the Mormons were in the last century. Perry, a member of the church's Council of cannot legally be passed out in the public
They were hounded out of the East through the Twelve Apostles, said at Lewiston, schools.
the hatred and violence of bigots who Idaho, recently. And it is dumbfounding to That means that the Book of Mormon,
refused to accept the fact that ours is a truly hear a descendant of the people who pulled though admirable and uplifting, cannot be
pluralistic society, by custom, by right, and the handcarts across the prairies to freedom passed out in the public schools.
by inviolable constitutional law. from majority persecution actually stand up That means that the Koran, though
But the country at the time was ap- in public and say, "We shouldn't let admirable and uplifting, cannot be passed
parently incapable of respecting either the minority religions dictate what the rest of us out in the public schools.
word or the spirit of the First Amendment, do. After all, most of us are Christians." That means that the Talmud, though
which plainly safeguards the religious pref- Any number can play that game. admirable and uplifting, cannot be passed
erence of each American. And so the After all, most of the people in the last out in the public schools.
members of the Church of Jesus Christ of century were non-Mormons. So they felt And that means, as the U.S. Supreme
Latter-day Saints headed West where they they shouldn't let a minority religion offend Court has ruled, but with Perry complain-
could practice their religion in peace— the majority by practicing new beliefs that ing, that the State of Kentucky cannot
where other people could no longer try to the majority neither agreed with nor require that the Christian Ten Command-
cram contrary majority views down Mor- approved of. ments, though admirable and uplifting, be
mon throats. But this most certainly is not a Christian posted on the walls of the public schools.
But even in the West they did not entirely nation. Legally, it is a neutral nation. It That is a government act that tends to
escape persecution. The non-Mormons includes more Christians than anything foster—and therefore to illegally estab-
sometimes made life rough for them. To this else. But it is a nation that also includes lish—a religion.
day the Idaho Constitution bears testament millions of people who are something other The Constitution says No to that.
to the ugliness of that period with its than Christian. And the Constitution gives So does the golden rule.(cid:9) q
embarrassing though quite unenforceable those others ironclad legal protection
prohibition against letting Mormons vote or against the use of any agency of the state to
hold office. impose the majority's religious preference This editorial by Bill Hall appeared recently
Given that history, it is frankly astonish- on them or on their children. The Constitu- in the Lewiston, Idaho, Morning Tribune
ing to hear a modern Mormon leader tion forbids "establishment of religion." newspaper.
9
PHOTO BY FMS
LIBERTY
Does God
Hear the Prayer
of a Jew?
By William G. Johnsson
A look at Biblical evi- from Jewish or Christian sources, were devotees of Mithra, Cybele, Isis, Osiris,
similar in one respect: they were an and the traditional deities extolled their
dence not covered in pre-
emphatic repudiation, with almost no powers, Christianity proclaimed that there
election reactions to Bai- attempt to give reasons. Smith had given was one God of all: "For although there
voice to the unthinkable, and no thinking may be so-called gods in heaven or on
ley Smith's reply. man's response was needed. Although most earth—as indeed there are many 'gods' and
of the participants in the fray were religious many lords'—yet for us there is one God,
With Ronald Reagan installed in the leaders, they advanced no significant Bibli- the Father, from whom are all things and for
White House, memories of the Long cal or theological arguments. whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
Campaign are fading fast. If members of What could they have said, had they through whom are all things and through
Reagan's camp occasionally reflect on researched God's Book? As we might whom we exist" (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6,
events that led to the smashing victory of expect, the specific question, Does God R.S.V.).
November 4, they probably quickly sup- hear the prayer of a Jew? is not raised. If it The oneness of God is matched by the
press one—the candidate's August meeting were, the forces of the New Right, heavily Bible's concept of the oneness of humanity.
in Dallas. It was there that Bailey Smith, tinged with fundamentalism, could be God made all people, not just Jews. Adam
president of the Southern Baptist Conven- counted on to give it. and Eve are the progenitors of the race: we
tion, dropped his well-publicized bomb- The overarching concepts of the Bible, have common ancestry. "Made of one
shell: "God Almighty does not hear the however, do enable us to discern its blood," in God "we live, and move, and
prayer of a Jew." response. As we study what the Scriptures have our being" (Acts 17:26, 28). And the
Bombshell is the word! Jewish voters teach about God and man, and about new heaven and earth that God promises
would be antagonized by the people of the religious exclusiveness and prayer, the will be peopled by "a great multitude,
New Right, who were rallying around answer emerges clearly. which no man could number, of all nations,
Reagan. The candidate, sensing the poten- Whether Old or New Testament, there is and kindreds, and people, and tongues"
tial fallout, moved quickly to disavow but one God. "Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our (Revelation 7:9).
Smith's sentiments. In a meeting on Moral God is one Lord" proclaims the Shema, Throughout history men and women have
Majority territory in Lynchburg, Virginia, sacred to Judaism (Deuteronomy 6:4). found unpalatable this idea of the common-
he took pains to state his belief that God Yahweh is Israel's God—but He is more. ality of humanity. Individuals and groups
does indeed hear Jewish prayers. He is not just another tribal or national deity have sought to claim superiority by reason
Smith's remark brought rebuttal not among the contending gods of the Middle of the pigmentation of their skin, the size of
merely from Jewish spokesmen; Christian East. Yahweh is unique, the only God. their bank account, their social status, or
thought leaders also condemned his words Creator of heaven and earth, He sustains their sex. And in religion they have claimed
as unfair, ill-chosen, and simply false. J. humanity and all life on earth (Genesis 1, 2; a "special relationship" with God. They
William Angell, professor of religion at Psalm 148). The gods of the surrounding have wanted to box God in—with them
Wake Forest University, compared Smith nations are nothing; idols are foolishness, alone.
with Haman, Hitler, Arafat, and Khomeini, beyond contempt, utterly impotent (Isaiah But God is too big to be put into a human
and suggested that the SBC president was a 45:20; 46:5-7). box. And we are too small to own Him for
"self-righteous bigot." Bailey Smith found The singleness and oneness of Yahweh our exclusive workshop.
himself isolated, even among Southern undergirds the New Testament. Although In the Old Testament the currents of
Baptists. W. A. Criswell and Adrian the magical papyri gathered lists of the religious exclusivism and universalism
Rogers, past presidents of the SBC, while names of God, hoping that the supplicant constantly oppose and interact. On one
supporting Smith's leadership, disasso- might chance on the one effective title, hand, Jewish patriots urge the "special"
ciated themselves from his views. Rogers Jesus taught His followers to address God
attempted a weak defense: it was a side simply as "Father" (Luke 11:2). God is the
comment as he was praising Jesus. If he had "Unknown," said Paul, the One after William G. Johnsson is an associate editor
had more time, he would have framed his whom the Athenians were groping by their of the Adventist Review, general church
statement better, or perhaps not at all. sacrifices (Acts 17:23). Amid the religious paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
Reactions to Smith's statement, whether ferment of the Greco-Roman world, as Washington, D.C.
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