“4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.” (1 Cor 8:4-13 ESV)

“40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.” (Mark 1:40-45 ESV)

There’s pain in any home base. There’s also alienation from a comfort zone we should own. We should own the hope promised by Scripture, minus the feeling we are “going soft”, “compromising”, being one of “those people”. And a first observation is, that the pain in any home base, is the pain of genuine opinions and disagreements. The reformers’ and counterreformers’ zeal, their pluck and aggression, their diatribe and polemic, all this is no false religion but an opportune alignment of the stars, a time and a place, for actual Purpose and Creed.

And yet the home base called “ill theology”, “satanism”, is to a Pastor nothing to jibe against, nothing to churl and exhort against: it is after all a welcome embrace at the end of the day. It is someone’s own mendicant walk, their final arrival at Peace with mom and pop’s religion. There is something deeper going on, some both-and to the fact both sides can be right, and both sides can be Relevant.

Relevant to the state of Home Base, the human Need for Horizon and bosom to rest in. The embrace that relies on the average pew-sitters’ willingness to go the love route, rather than abstracting into colorful garb and headdresses while the pundits and bishops debate finer points.

There is a time when all of us can take a deeper breath for a moment and reflect on our condition. Humanity’s terrifying bouts with that satanism found in no pewsitters’ personal creed but in what the devil tries to do to the innocent ones in our midst. And we then find ourselves, Job-like, pleading but also submitting.

The pain in any home base is the fact of opposition sanctioned by those same polemicists and martyrs and saints we read about in the history books. The John Jewels and Thomas Cranmers. Latimers and the Bradfords. The Thomas Mores. The Mother Teresas. It is no cakewalk to begin to discourse on theology and creed. And the thankless job of vitriol and repugnance, is owned by we the people who defer to Christ’s ownership of the estate and personally our own ownership of the punch and the fight. To talk the trash, and to ape the opponent, to gesticulate and murmur like David did upon encountering Goliath: “who is this uncircumcised Philistine to defy the armies of the living God?”. In ways unsaintly, to some. Unholy and vitriolic. Because we defend and purify the Home Base with our saints who debate and dispute. It keeps things clean ‘round here. We expel and we excise, no simple sinner but rather the dastardly sin that keeps rearing its ugly head. It keeps us sane and sober, to have this Opponent called Sin. To hear the diatribe and to walk the polemic. Against rampant satanism, idolatry of the cemetery’s purgatory or of the good works. God heals by forgiving our sins of Religion itself, no sins of concupiscence or greed alone, but sins of Religion. To know a peace that descends on the muttering excommunicant one in the corner. Who has Nothing to vouch for them, in the way of good works. Who is dastardly of speech and pugnacious of mode. Yet who acknowledges that Peace King Christ, we are sinners and deserve our punishment, but this Man has done nothing wrong!