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- From https://doctrineofdiscovery.org/assets/pdfs/GA-1324-Reflection-on-Christian-Theology-Final.pdf
- GA-1324
- (Item for Reflection and Research)
- Reflection on Christian Theology and Polity, the Christian Doctrine of
- Discovery, and the Indigenous Voice
- Proposal for Reflection and Research:
- That the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United
- States and Canada, meeting, July 13-17, 2013, in Orlando, Florida, accept
- “Reflection on Christian Theology and Polity, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery,
- and the Indigenous Voice” as an Item for Reflection and Research during the 2013-
- 2015 biennium. This reflection and research process would be accountable by report
- to the Administrative Committee, the General Board, and the 2015 General
- Assembly.
- This process would encourage the church to engage in reflection, prayer, and
- education about the Christian Doctrine of Discovery and its effect on Disciples
- theology and polity, and explore how the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) might
- become accountable to indigenous persons. Such a process may include:
- 1) Discernment on how the Doctrine of Discovery influenced Christian Church
- (Disciples of Christ) theology, polity, missional outlook, action and the ensuing
- loss of indigenous voice within the movement.
- 2) A study of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and how
- support of the document might enhance the physical and spiritual wellbeing of
- the North American landscape and her people.
- 3) Encouraging conversation with our religious neighbors to listen and share our
- common histories as affected by the Doctrine of Discovery.
- 4) Encouraging ministers, military chaplains, and seminarians to learn how the
- Doctrine of Discovery became embedded in their Christian teachings,
- theology, and polity.
- 5) Encouraging research and discourse as to why there are no American Indian
- or First Nations congregations within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
- Background
- The Christian Doctrine of Discovery (Doctrine) is a body of work beginning in the 15th
- century with a series of papal bulls and theological statements justifying the Age of
- Discovery and the colonization, conquest, subjugation of lands and peoples around
- the world. During the next 500 years, religio-political empires fashioned edicts, court
- decisions, treaties, and laws enhancing discovery efforts.
- For decades, North American indigenous scholars and theologians have asked North
- American Christians to examine the Doctrine of Discovery’s influence on Christian
- identity, theology and polity.i
- They have also urged Christians to explore how
- Doctrine-based theology and polity not only have impacted the North American
- landscape historically but also continue to do so at the present time. The need for
- exploration is manifest in the cultural, communal, and individual damage experienced
- by American Tribal and First Nations people: American Indian and First Nations
- teenage suicides outpace all ethnic constituencies;
- ii reservation unemployment ranks
- among the highest in North America;iii the incidence of Type II diabetes is extreme;iv
- and poverty is excessive.
- v
- American Indian and First Nations voices are chronically absent from discussion in
- the United States and Canada.
- Disciples of Christ have a particular responsibility to examine the presence of the
- Doctrine of Discovery because the Disciples began during an intense period of
- conflict with indigenous peoples. Writings of the church’s founders (e.g., Alexander
- Campbell and Walter Scott) during this era indicate a social mindset similar to that of
- their peers. Therefore, the developing theology and polity of the Christian Church
- (Disciples of Christ) may have aspects of the Doctrine of Discovery embedded.
- Exposing the Doctrine of Discovery’s entrenchment within a Christian religious
- structure has recent precedents:
- 2009—Episcopal Bishops repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery.vi
- 2012—Unitarian Universalist Association and Quakers repudiate the Doctrine.vii
- 2012—World Council of Churches Executive Committee denounces the
- Doctrine.
- viii
- 2013—United Church of Christ Council for American Indian Ministry brings a
- resolution for repudiation of the Doctrine to the United Church of Christ General
- Synod.
- ix
- The weight of our peers’ actions invites the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to
- thoughtful reflection concerning our theology and polity in the shadow of the Christian
- Doctrine of Discovery.
- For these reasons, we call for the Administrative Committee to explore ways for the
- church to engage in reflection, research, prayer, and education so we might better
- become “a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world,” and effectively respond
- to the brokenness of our society and our faith.
- Yakama Christian Mission, White Swan, WA
- Englewood Christian Church, Yakima, WA
- First Christian Church, Mount Vernon, WA
- First Christian Church, Bellingham, WA
- Lake Washington Christian Church, Kirkland, WA
- Open Gathering Christian Church, Bellevue, WA
- (Congregation in formation)
- Findlay Street Christian Church, Seattle, WA
- First Christian Church, Puyallup, WA
- Murray Hills Christian Church, Beaverton, OR
- i
- e.g., Vine Deloria Jr. in 1972 wrote, An Open Letter to the Heads of the Christian Churches in America, which in
- part he said, “The Doctrine of Discovery has never been disclaimed by the governments of the Christian nations
- of the world or by the leaders of the Christian churches of the world;” Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding
- the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, by Steven T. Newcomb; Native America, Discovered and Conquered:
- Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and Manifest Destiny, by Robert J. Miller.
- ii http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/suicide/statistics/rates03.html, http://www.sffa.sk.ca/wpcontent/uploads/teensuicide.pdf.
- iii http://www.indian.senate.gov/public/_files/January2820102.pdf, http://www12.statcan.ca/censusrecensement/2006/as-sa/97-559/table/t7-eng.cfm.
- iv http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6323/1/Native-Americans-The-Facts.html, http://www.hcsc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/diseases-maladies/diabete/index-eng.php.
- v
- http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb13-29.html,
- http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2006/11/24/child-poverty.html.
- vi Episcopal Church: http://www.doctrineofdiscovery.org/episcopalrepud.htm.
- vii Unitarian Universalists: http://www.uua.org/statements/statements/209123.shtml; Religious Society of
- Friends (Quakers): http://www.nyym.org/sites/default/files/Minute_Doctrine_of_Discovery.pdf.
- viii World Council of Churches: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/executivecommittee/bossey-february-2012/statement-on-the-doctrine-of-discovery-and-its-enduring-impact-onindigenous-peoples.html.
- ix http://uccfiles.com/pdf/gs29-1-DoctrineofDiscovery.pdf
- The General Board recommends that the General Assembly
- ACCEPT GA-1324 as an Item for Reflection and Research for
- the 2013-2015 biennium
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