April 5

Today in 1566, the Spanish Inquisition faced a setback in the Netherlands when a group of petitioners brought “The Compromise of Nobles” to the king’s representative. As the Spanish Inquisition clamped down on Protestantism, it created more resentment among both Protestants and Catholics in a land where freedom of conscience had been a cultural value. 

Today also marks the death, in 1922, of Pandita Ramambai, a Sanskrit scholar who became a social reformer and Hindu convert to Christianity. She defied rules of gender, caste, and Christian and Hindu hierarchy, and was active in women’s education, health, and voting rights. She also translated the Bible into Marathi from Hebrew and Greek. 

Today is also the United Nations’ “International Day of Conscience”. 

Reflection: 

Speaking at the International Council of Women in 1888, Pandita Ramambai said: 

Regarding the Compromise of Nobles: Studying the history of the wars of religion in Europe can become tedious and make one cynical about religion and politics. Protestants and Catholics tended to oppress each other and minority religious groups depending on whoever had the upper hand. In this devotional, I celebrate any saint of any denomination who stood up to religious oppression. As an American pastor, I see the long struggle for religious tolerance as a core value we have managed to salvage from a legacy of settler-colonialism and enslaved labor. 

But most American Christians are ignorant about the religious wars that shaped their current faith and practice. “Non-denominational” churches often promote the lie that they have no denominational history or theological tradition, that they worship and practice just the way Jesus and his disciples did—according to the Bible, of course. They do not teach, nor do most members care, that they walk in Anabaptist, Pentecostal, and Congregationalist shoes, and that even their alleged belief that denominational particulars are unimportant was bought with blood. 

I say “alleged belief” because there is no such thing as a non-denominational church. You can ask: “Do you ordain women or gay people? Do you baptize infants? Do you allow modern biblical scholarship to inform your preaching? Do you promote speaking in tongues, publicly or privately? What kind of control do you exert over new churches you start?” These questions quickly reveal the denominational tradition of “non-denominational” churches. 

I believe there is another reason for this historical amnesia: If people learned about how religious enthusiasts from John Calvin to John of Leiden kept trying to establish a theocratic “New Jerusalem” the violence they inflicted on people, they might be more skeptical of today’s White Christian Nationalism. Theocracy is a terrible form of government, and winds up perverting both religion and politics. Theocracy is idolatry, a toxic mix of religious delusion and naked corruption that subjugates minorities and reduces the quality of life for everyone. As in the Trump regime, religious delusion provides cover for corruption, and corruption is baked-in because loyalty to a leader or to dogma become more important than competence.

This is why, in addition to being full of religious hypocrites, the current regime is such a clown show. It is a marked contrast from today’s saint, Pandita Ramambai, whose competence, compassion, and open-minded wisdom I celebrate.

Prayer: Great Spirit, inspire all your people to trust in competence and conscience more than dogma. Amen.