What Now?

We have watched the crisis – the fragile accuser, the unflinching accused, the swirling confetti storm of theories and reactions and proceedings and reports – and we have ended where we began. The accuser stands alone, describing an event that left no mark upon the world, not even in the memories of those said to be present. It may be real in her mind but, as far as we can tell, nowhere else. With compassion for whatever brought her to this place, we have studied her accusation and her accusation is false.

Curiously, this discovery creates an even bigger crisis, because – in our desperate longing – the accusation had already become true. It had to be true because the accused and the accuser fit their parts so well. It had to be true because the accusation would prevent a victory for the bad guys. It had to be true because everyone was watching. It had to be true, except it isn’t true.

In my own circle of Christian friends, the “truth” of Judge Kavanaugh’s guilt has already been celebrated. His assumed offense provided a perfect example of the larger story we want to tell, a story called Christian Feminism in which our enlightenment transcends the culturally-warped scriptures and powerful male villains like Judge K. receive their comeuppance.

Christian Feminism doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it should. It’s a conduit by which much of the world’s thinking is imported into the church and much of the church’s truth is neutralized in the world. One might think that Christianity would, quite apart from Feminism, provide a mandate to honor women, and so it does. Or that Christianity would provide a procedure to prevent the damage we’ve done to innocent people this week, and so it does. Or that Christianity would challenge the cruel conclusions of Feminism, such as abortion, and so it does. Given all of this, one might think the large number of Christian Feminists would disrupt and transform the ethics of Feminism but, as we have seen again this week, it doesn’t. In the pronouncements of CF, the C is often silent.

And so, I wonder what will happen to Judge Kavanaugh and his wife and daughters? Can they be forgiven for being even falsely accused? Will there be apologies from those who rushed to judgment – especially their fellow Christians? Will they ever be safe again, or is their destruction acceptable – just collateral damage in the war to move this nation further from its roots?