Bishop Yvette Flunder discusses religious absolutism and other topics at Union Theological Seminary

UCC Minister Decries “Sin of Absolutism”

on February 12, 2016

Just last week, United Church of Christ (UCC) President John Dorhauer wrote an opinion piece claiming he supported religious freedom, so long as it wasn’t used to express “homophobia” or “religious misogyny.” Now, an outspoken UCC minister has decried religious “absolutism,” except in cases of racial, sexual, or gender identity.

Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder serves as an ordained UCC minister at City of Refuge church in Oakland, California, and Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. She spoke about the account of Pentecost from Acts 2 during a chapel service at Union Theological Seminary in New York City on February 10. She used the platform to declare there was a “certain intrinsic evil in our religious history.”

“It is the sin of absolutism, and we suffer from it horribly,” Flunder said.

Later, Flunder argued that so-called absolutism was “embedded in religion” and that “75 percent of what we call ‘absolute religion’ is in fact culture.”

Flunder couched her attack on absolutism within the topic of unity. She asserted that the “absence of unity is a critical problem that exists in the conversation of religion,” an obstacle which she said was religion’s “greatest challenge.”

Yet fighting for social justice apparently trumped Flunder’s appeal against absolutism. Flunder, who is a self-described Lesbian and has married her partner, said she had given the Holy Spirit free reign to guide her into taking controversial stands: “No more closets. Break out wherever you [the Holy Spirit] want to, under any circumstances, whether it’s politically correct or not.”

She told members of her audience that the Holy Spirit would give them power to “put your foot down.” She encouraged them to take a firm public stance on issues like race, sexuality, and gender:

“Now let me say to you while we’re talking about Black Lives Matter, while we’re talking about gay lives matter, while we’re talking about women’s lives matter, hallelujah. Let me say to you, if you’re not ready to be public, if you’re not ready to put something on Facebook and put your real picture, not an avatar, use your real face, take a real risk, then all of the justice work that we are doing behind closed doors is not helpful to the movement that we are called to. Question is not what you will live for, but what do you believe enough that you will die for. Somebody said, ‘Well I’m not ready to die.’ Well there’s a lot of ways to die. Not just in terms of the death of your body, but sometimes the death of your future in terms of how you have plotted it out. Because you want the big church on the corner – come on with me now – and you want to be politically correct so you can get a politically correct job. But the Holy Ghost, my grandmother would say, is calling you to out yourself as a justice warrior. The Spirit of God is not good for the cloister. The Spirit of God needs people that will take it the street, and pay the price for what it is that we both believe and have received.”

So apparently, select social justice issues fall outside of purview of Flunder’s admonition against absolutism. Putting your foot down, being willing to pay the price for your beliefs, and even accepting possible death for taking a stand, certainly sounds absolutist.

One issue that Flunder did not press her audience to take a firm stand on was their theology of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, Flunder – who identifies as a Pentecostal – expressed a highly pluralistic view of the Holy Spirit’s work during her remarks.

She argued that the Holy Spirit “comes different” to various groups. She initially noted that separate Christian denominations relate to the Holy Spirit in different styles, but then proceeded to explain how this principle might also apply to non-Christian traditions:

“In their own language and in their own culture, perhaps the Spirit comes in the dance around the holy fire; or the intimacy of a sweat lodge; or on the runway in the House and Ball culture; perhaps in the spinning of the Whirling Dervishes; in the bathing of the waters in the Ganges River. Perhaps God honors the expectations of our culture, but at the same time: same Spirit, same anointing, same presence of power to bring us from the cloister and to take the love of God to the street.”

Flunder thus welcomed a wide range of belief systems to experience God’s presence. This meshed with the premium she placed on religious unity. Summarizing another author’s comments, Flunder said the Holy Spirit “retreats from disharmony and disunity.” But at the same time she also encouraged others to follow her in taking a divisive stand on liberal social justice issues. That’s ironic, to say the least.

  1. Comment by Eternity Matters on February 12, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    She reminds me of Deepak Chopra — being absolutely sure that absolutes are bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qZ-MSuXzCo

    These people are a self-parody. She’s another UCC (Unitarians Counterfeiting Christ) “pastor” mocking God 24×7.

    Jude 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

    Oh, go read all of Jude — it is only 25 verses. It describes her perfectly.

  2. Comment by Mark Brooks on February 13, 2016 at 3:10 pm

    Loved the video. Thanks for this.

  3. Comment by Project Samizdat on March 11, 2016 at 9:59 pm

    Yes Mark, entirely agree with you – Orwell’s Newspeak is what Dr Flunder is all about – the discussion that is actually re-education:

    https://thereluctantsamizdatwordpresscom.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/discussion-as-disinformation/

  4. Comment by T_Ford on February 12, 2016 at 7:11 pm

    Lying is a sin. Gluttony and pride are sins. Murder is a sin. But not the contrived “sin” of religious absolutism. But then, Miss Flunder is UCC from Oakland. She’s got major big-time looney creds. Oh and if UCC president Dorhaur thinks “religious misogyny” is wrong then so is religious misandry. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

  5. Comment by TampaZeke on February 13, 2016 at 10:30 am

    If “absolutism” is wrong, then she can’t possibly say that homophobia is absolutely wrong.

  6. Comment by Mark Brooks on February 13, 2016 at 3:00 pm

    She’s speaking Newspeak, where such things are entirely possible.

    Ah George Orwell, if you could only see them now.

  7. Comment by NotAgnostic on February 14, 2016 at 8:34 pm

    “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” ― George Orwell, 1984

  8. Comment by Namyriah on February 13, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    “Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder.”

    Everyone on the left sounds like a character out of L’il Abner.

    I could not possibly take an “Yvette Flunder” seriously, any more than “Larycia Hawkins.”

  9. Comment by gewaite on March 27, 2016 at 2:47 pm

    Why do theologians always insist on having their PhDs mentioned?
    You’ll notice that those who are actual doctors rarely, if ever, do this.
    Pathetic status insecurity.

  10. Comment by The_Physetor on April 2, 2016 at 11:45 am

    From Oakland.
    I wonder if she ever spends time in America.

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