1.      Christianity is not identical to political freedom, but are there aspects of Christianity that make it supportive of political freedom? If so, what aspects?

Early Christianity is an example of non-violent resistance to oppression leading to political freedom.  Eventually, Christianity was accepted as the state religion of Rome, the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire that lasted until the turn of the 20^th Century.  It all started with Jesus counseling the Pharisees to “Render unto Caesar…and to God” each’s due. That statement lead to Jesus’ death because it put him at great peril from two threatened authorities who eventually united to kill him.  Jesus sought neither revolt against Rome nor appeasement at the expense of God’s covenant.  In either case Jesus’ purpose and ministry would have been rendered impossible.  Instead, his was the ultimate affirmation of purpose, the wisdom of divided yet pragmatic loyalty, and total commitment to people, especially the least among us, rather than the powers that be.

2.      Most Christians viewed Communism as a threat to humankind. Why? 

Some Christians simplistically have labeled Communism “godless” and “atheistic.”  Ironically, the sense of total community and solidarity in the early Christian community could be considered, in retrospect, “communistic.”  The French writer and Nobel Laureate Albert Camus in his essays “The Rebel:  An Essay of Man in Revolt,” “Resistance, Rebellion and Death,” and “The Myth of Sisyphus” insists that artists live and create dangerously, that leaders risk everything, and that no freedom or right exists unless it is vigorously and pervasively act upon.

3.      The removal of the Berlin Wall and the changes it symbolized seemed at the time to make the world a safer place. Subsequently, however, new threats have arisen and humankind is divided as ever. What does that suggest about the nature of human interactions on a global platform? What does it suggest for Christian's who work for peace?

It seems much longer than two decades since the Berlin Wall came down, when Lutheran pastors and congregations stood up and Leonard Bernstein conducted Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the “Ode to Joy,” changing the word “Freude” (joy) to “Freiheit” (freedom).  It has taken time for divided peoples to unite – the Irish and Northern Ireland, South Africans, Vietnamese, Yugoslavians, and Czechs and Slovaks.  The “new threats” and divided humanity always exist, like “original sin,” always in our hearts.  Just as “the poor will always be with you,” they are descriptive of our challenges, not prescriptive of some “fix,” “law,” legislation, or sanction.  The “new threats,” “divided humanity,” and “original sin” are all walls we construct and maintain.  And there’s plenty of brick and mortar to go around.

4.      What "walls" should today's churches be trying to pull down? Why? 

Today’s churches should pull down their own walls of power, structure, and wealth because they not only keep people out but keep themselves inside.  An Earth Day precept works:  “Think globally and act locally.”  We begin in our own neighborhoods and congregations, with charity and grace.  We forgive and heal ourselves, our places, our earth.  To confront earthly power (evil), we first strengthen ourselves and our institutions.  We must include and affirm, mediate and advocate.

5.       What personal "walls" do you need to deconstruct? Why?

Personally, to deconstruct my ego, pride, greed, and anger, I begin with forgiveness, love and trust of myself while trusting, loving, and honoring my creator, redeemer, and sanctifier.  Only then can I truly lives in this world.