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NationofChange / Op-Ed
Published: Monday 5 March 2012
“Why do these Christians allow conservative fundamentalists to dictate the popular perception of their faith? The answer is more complicated than it would seem.”
Where are the Progressive Christians?
Where are the left-wing Christian voices in American politics? The rise of Rick Santorum to a contender position in the GOP primary race, alongside the current debate over contraception has shown proof positive that Christian conservative politics are near the height of their power in guiding the national conversation.This month, while questioning President Obama’s Christianity, Bill O’Reilly said, “A Christan wouldn’t be telling other Christians that you have to put your belief system aside and do what the government tells you as far as birth control or anything else.” On every front it appears that this year’s Republican political race will be defined by theology, but why is the Christian perspective so one sided?
I, like nearly one in four Americans, am not a Christian. In fact, I was raised as secular and my understanding of the Christian faith has been an education from afar. I have never belonged to a church and likewise I have never seen any reason to deny anyone of any faith their right to worship. Over the past decade I have to admit that my primary source of information about the Christian church has been through mainstream coverage of fundamentalist talking points. I know that by human nature there must be a difference of political opinion within Christianity, if there wasn’t then numbers alone would dictate that the 78% of Americans who are Christian would continually out-vote liberals. But where are they in the national media? Why do these Christians allow conservative fundamentalists to dictate the popular perception of their faith? The answer is more complicated than it would seem.
In some schools of thought Christians are not supposed to, by virtue of their faith, publicly disagree with any church leaders. This is a bible-backed mandate based upon interpretation of scripture. In a February 14th, 2012 sermon on the nationally syndicated radio show The Gospel Truth (1), Rev. Andrew Wommack is quoted as saying:
“God calls people to be leaders in the church. He raises up apostles, profits, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. So god ordained this governmental system in the body of Christ. But does that mean that every pastor functions exactly the way god wants them to? Does that mean every one of them is perfect so therefore you have to just submit to everything that they say? No. This isn’t saying that people don’t make mistakes and that there’s not room for improvement, but I’m telling you this... that rather than you go in if somebody does something wrong as a member of the church and splitting the church and coming against the government system and saying I don’t like the way you’re doing it so I’m criticizing you, you’re worse than the person and what they’re doing wrong.”
This thread of ambiguous punishment for criticizing church authority is only one in a variety of issues facing the rise of a left-leaning Christian movement. Another set of obstacles is in the insular nature of the Christian community itself. If you are not inside of the Christian religious community you may be largely unaware of the amount of media outlets that cater specifically to the faithful. In every part of the United States you’ll find numerous radio and televisions stations that deliver information directly to their target audience. Aside from broadcast media, the local Christian infrastructure often includes multiple churches, faith-based civic organizations, Christian business coalitions, and after school programs. The need for national media outreach may seem unnecessary to liberal minded Christians when there are so many options for them to make themselves heard within the religious spectrum.
I asked the operators of the blog community, “Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented” (2), about this and received the following quote in email:
“Jesus never demanded attention, prominence, recognition, influence or wealth. He went about doing the will of the Father, touching lives one by one. While the Religious Right cloaks itself as the "Christian Choice" merely because they are anti-choice and loudly proclaim selectively chosen scriptures from the Bible as their political platform, it seems like they get all the attention. Generally, Christian Liberals are less interested in the attention and more interested in changing the lives of their neighbor through love and social justice.”
It may have the best of intentions, but the local action agenda may not be enough to combat the conservative media machine. The belief in ground-level insular politics is not shared by well funded right-wing organizations like The Speak Up Movement of the Alliance Defense Fund (3) which offers guidance and legal assistance to churches who wish to preach a fundamental political agenda while maintaining their tax exempt status. This goes hand in hand with methods employed by the Christian Coalition of America who regularly circumvent the issue of individual churches maintaining their tax exempt status by being a third party entity which supplies agenda pamphlets and other supporting materials directly to church members.
Although their mainstream reach may be limited, some Christians are breaking the mold and speaking out against fundamentalists. I posed the question of why politically liberal Christians have not gained the kind of media traction that their conservative counterparts enjoy to the organization “The Christian Left”. They are a movement-based organization that fosters a growing Facebook community of over 60,000 members. Their CEO, Charles Toy, referred me to a recent radio interview on KLAV AM’s The Practical Christian (4) program in which board member Rev. Mark Sandlin is quoted as saying:
“One of the reasons why the right is so connected is because they’ve been around for so long and they kind of naturally formed these connections; and then you look at our side, in terms of if we’re naming who’s on what side, the Christian Left is, at least in comparison, a fairly new movement.”
Longevity may be a factor, but it’s not the whole story. Many Christians know that a ground-swell of conservative politics sprung up in their churches over the past thirty years, but not as many know how. To understand the rise of fundamental politics you need to understand one man, Pat Robertson. His position in the current world of conservative Christianity can’t be understated and in many ways he is the architect of it. In a playing field that included Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority and Robert Grant’s Christian Voice organization, only Pat Robertson’s political ministry has stood the test of time. Robertson’s influence extends not only into the media and church, but directly into American politics through campaign contributions and placement of his Regent University students in positions of government. He also actively fights the judiciary through his American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative counterpoint to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Robertson is one of the forefathers of televangelism, having started the foundations of his Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in 1960 by buying a small rural UHF affiliate. It wasn’t until 1977 that cable television made his long-established dream of a national media outlet for conservative Christians a reality. His rise to celebrity came quickly and donations to his organization could now be solicited at the national level through his ever expanding cable television properties, making his ministry one of the best funded in the world. In 1986, when Falwell’s Moral Majority was in its twilight, he gained greater exposure by running for the United State’s Presidency. Robertson is the son of Virginia congressman / senator Absalom Willis Robertson whose collective political career in Washington lasted 33 years. Robertson learned first-hand the power of political office and how the fundamentalist agenda could be served by mingling religion with politics. His 1988 bout for the Republican nomination ultimately failed, but what was left in its wake was a new era for right-wing theologians. In 1989, Robertson, now flush with cash from his exposure as a Republican candidate, continued to operate CBN and The 700 Club, but began building a network of theo-political organizations to further his agenda. The first was the aforementioned Christian Coalition for America. That same year he renamed his small campus for theological study to Regent University, placed himself as chancellor, and established a distance learning program to expand its reach nationally. In 1990 he founded the American Center for Law and Justice to fight on behalf of his beliefs in the court system.
In the years that followed, Robertson continued to directly aid political candidates, including being a major campaign financier to Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley (R), who in 1999 refused prosecution of Robertson on charges of willfully misleading the public in solicitation of donations against the recommendation of the Commonwealth of Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs. In 1994 Robertson’s Christian Coalition was sued by the Federal Election Commission for “coordinating its activities with Republican candidates for office in 1990, 1992 and 1994 and failing to report its expenditures”(5), after which the Coalition was fined for improperly financing current GOP primary candidate, and then Representative, Newt Gingrich.
Robertson’s acolytes have continued to foster the politicalization of Christianity with many Regent University graduates entering government under the Bush administration. These hirings came under fire in 2007 by The Boston Globe(6) due to George W. Bush’s appointment of Kay Coles James, former Dean of Regent’s Government School as Director of the Office of Personnel Management prior to the hirings.
In essence, a small group of well-funded, politically connected, conservative theologians have controlled nearly every aspect of the national Christian political message for over two decades. Robertson’s strategies for political organization in the name of Christianity have been used as a template to establish many modern conservative groups and churches.
Even though Christians may have their own religious conflicts with speaking against fellow believers, it’s clear that the system is rigged against them even if they decide to take a public stand. The statements from The Christian Left hold serious weight when examined against the history of the rise of fundamentalism. What makes things difficult for liberal Christians isn’t finding their voice, but finding the platform to broadcast it.The opposition to their message is well established. With conservative news organizations in close relationships with the fundamentalists, especially Fox who purchased Pat Robertson’s Family Channel in 1997, Christians who don’t share conservative political views are hard-pressed to get air time.
The left is also at fault. Many progressive news organizations consider faith-based commentary outside of their editorial mandate, and they may be doing a disservice to themselves by that. Perhaps the left oriented political press should be more welcoming of voices from Christianity who have a different point of view from what is presented by the fundamentalist lobbying arm of their religion. With three out of four Americans associating themselves as Christian, embracing the liberal voices from that community and giving them a platform might help to close the rift between secular America and believers; A rift that a select few conservative political organizations have fought so hard, and spent so much, to widen.
(1) http://www.awmi.net/radio/2012/week7
(2) http://christianstiredofbeingmisrepresented.blogspot.com/
(3) http://speakupmovement.org/church
(4) http://soundcloud.com/thechristianleft/111022-1
(5) http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1354172.html
(6) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/04/08/scandal_puts_spotlight_on_christian_law_school/?page=full
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ABOUT Dekker Dreyer
Dekker Dreyer is an award-winning filmmaker, visual artist, and activist. He is a member of the Stevens Institute of Technology Board of Communications and head of the progressive media production company Fringe Majority.
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By Tara Culp- Ressler
38 comments on "Where are the Progressive Christians?"
July 08, 2012 4:30pm
I am a born again Pentecostal Christian and somewhat progressive (just left of center) and here are some of my political positions; I voted for President Obama, and God willing I will vote to re-elect him in the fall. I am personally against abortion, especially tax payer funded abortions of convenience but I favor a woman's right to choose. I am uncomfortable with the term marriage being applied to non-heterosexual unions, but I favor the same rights for non-heterosexuals in contractual unions as those afforded married heterosexuals. I support the President's Affordable Care Act, but feel a true universal health care program without the insurance companies would have been ideal. I support the President's initiatives to reward American companies that create new jobs in America and penalize those that ship jobs offshore. I agree with the President that we should do all we can to keep the best teachers in the school system and help under-performing teachers find other employment. I oppose conservative initiatives to limit and possibly eliminate unions (collective bargaining). I think we should not tolerate wage disparity based on anything but skill and performance. I support a fully integrated military; every law abiding American should be able to serve our nation in the military. I believe a great deal more must be done to prosecute hate crimes and discrimination against LGBTQ and all minority members of society. I believe in a strong right-sized military defense coupled with wise international diplomatic relations. I believe in strict immigration controls here in the United States and everywhere in the world. I am an American patriot in the strictest sense and passionate about upholding, defending, and promoting The Constitution of the United States of America and its role in the protection of the individual freedoms and liberty of American citizens.
March 10, 2012 2:42pm
On Mar 7, Oldhat asserted that the left declared the USA "evil". That's rather like saying "love it or leave it". Being critical of US policy or practice is not the same as calling the USA "evil".
As I said earlier, As long as we "liberal" Christians confuse witness with "forcing our views on others", the public is never going to be reminded why there isw more than one flavor of Christian!!!!!! Mainline churches (progressive/liberal?) began losing members in the late sixties when we failed to back up our successful social action (educational rights, civil rights, women's rights, war on poverty, opposition to the vietnam war) with strong witness to the theology upon which our actions have been based. We have been reticient to enter the public theological debate, trusting that the public would get the message from our example. Jesus may have said that they will know us by our actions, but he had to say that didn't he? We caved to Robertson and the Moral Majority and never recovered....spiritually, numerically or "politically". You have to ask, when looking at the social/spritual attitudes of todays young people and other independents, why we are not witnessing to them instead of wimping out!!!!! We need to meet the Cardinal of Boston's call for a war for religious freedom with a witness to the meaning of religious freedom: freedom of and freedom from.
March 10, 2012 1:14pm
I was really frustrated by the Christian Post in a recent article on a Mormon senator who attacked President Obama's interpretation of the Bible on taxes and the principle that to whom much is given much is required (to indicate, ostensibly, that the 1% may be called upon to kick in more than they do now). The article quoted theologians from protestant Bible colleges who uniformly disparaged the President. The paper made no journalistic attempt to balance the story with those who believe otherwise. Moreover, there was no mention of OT Scripture that talks about justice and mercy for the poor --- the way we as a people treat our weakest and most vulnerable ---- as a condition for the blessing of God to be upon a nation!
I feel that Christians who more represent their politics than their faith are those who present stumbling blocks. The Bible says better that a millstone be tied around the neck of someone who causes another to stumble in their faith than to make such a grave mistake. And yet this is precisely the mistake --- to display more passion with regard to politics than faith --- that too many people make. In the modern context "believers" who advance their ideological values more than their spiritual values are making the same mistake the Pharisees made in their response to Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees were, in fact, the intellectual elite of their time but they were willing to put their hubris and trust in their own righteousness above that of a less conventional teacher who nonetheless knew the Scripture as well as they did. There are some Christians --- not all --- who are forgetting their call to be ambassadors of the faith. They fail to realize that without love being right isn't right --- the Bible compares it to being a noisy, annoying, clanging gong! To love one's neighbor as yourself --- and it doesn't add a conditional statement, e.g. "only if your neighbor is the same party/faith/gender/orientation/race" --- IS the fulfillment of Scripture. There's not a lot of "love" that comes through when people are emphasizing their differences. For Christians, it is important to step back and remember what's more important. The worldly view is a politically-charged thing but the eternal view --- that's for keeps.
March 07, 2012 3:13pm
the problem is [i stand in the middle with few] is that progressive Christians start of with USA is evil before launch todays topic this turns those not alined off -- that is one thing the conservative branch learn [very little hell fire]
March 07, 2012 1:43pm
The public needs to be reminded why there is more than one flavor of Christian. A theocracy run by Catholics would terrify conservative Baptists.
March 07, 2012 3:26pm
As long as we "liberal" Christians confuse witness with "forcing our views on others", the public is never going to be reminded why there isw more than one flavor of Christian!!!!!! Mainline churches (progressive/liberal?) began losing members in the late sixties when we failed to back up our successful social action (educational rights, civil rights, women's rights, war on poverty, opposition to the vietnam war) with strong presentations of the liberal theology upon which our actions have been based. We have been reticient to enter the public theological debate, trusting that the public would get the message from our example. Jesus may have said that they will know us by our actions, but he had to say that didn't he? We caved to Robertson and the Moral Majority and never recovered....spiritually, numerically or "politically". You have to ask, when looking at the social/spritual attitudes of todays young people and other independents, why we are not witnessing to them instead of wimping out!!!!! We need to meet the Cardinal of Boston's call for a war for religious freedom with a witness to the meaning of religious freedom.
March 07, 2012 9:35am
As far as I'm concerned, religious progressives have been organizing and acting on our values for years in Minnesota!
But we're not loud, flashy and deeply funded like our "Focus on the family"-type counterparts. We also struggle against a media landscape that still dismisses religiously liberal people (who may or may not be political liberals in the partisan sense) as fringe and somehow not as legit as conservative Christians.
March 07, 2012 4:48am
Christianity has always been progressive, starting with the Founding Father. You don't honestly believe Jesus preached conservatism, do you? He wanted social reform. God always spoke through the prophets about social injustice. Always! Never about riches, never about power. Even to the point where He stated that He would no longer listen to the songs, the preachings and the services in the temples if there wasn't a tsunami of good deeds first: take care of the poor, the muddled, the masses. Conservatism is at odds with the bible. God is no conservative. No-one is as progressive as He is. He never complained about the multitude of wives that David had, or Salomon. He appreciates and respects our cultures, our progress, our inquisitive minds. He appreciates Life. David Lived. He cheated, he murdered, he carried grudges even on his deathbed, he stole. (come to think of it, that's what most televangelists and religious politicians do ...) But he Lived. He enjoyed, couldn't stand injustice, and had a good heart. That's what counts, obviously, because David is the only person within the Christian faith that God has called man to his liking. It's not about following the rules, because David clearly did not do that.
March 07, 2012 4:50am
Double post, please remove
March 06, 2012 12:28pm
One progressive evangelical Christian with a fairly high profile is Jim Wallis, author of "God's Politics" and founder of the Sojourners magazine and website. He emphasizes the Bible's message of social justice, found in both the Old and New Testaments. Sojourners also emphasizes stewardship of the earth (rather than "dominion", which right-wingers always misinterpret as domination and exploitation) to the degree that it has recently spun off an organization of Christian environmentalists to pursue the crucial issue of climate change, which "Mr. Hope" Obama has abandoned. Obama's not a Christian any more than Newt Gingrich or (horrors) Rick Santorum: he's just another Clinton-style politician.
March 06, 2012 9:55am
The more liberal among us simply don't believe in forcing our views on others--whether in religion or other matters. There are many left leaning Christian organizations; they just aren't out there trying to force the rest of you to do it their way.
March 06, 2012 8:47am
At least Joel Osteen focuses on a real positive message.
March 05, 2012 9:04pm
I personally never care of what O'Reilly say, he is a flag in high post floating in any direction that the wind (GOP) push to go. Santorum on other hand is an opportunist appealing to his religion and serving as a puppet of the Pope in Rome. What does he will do as President, consult the Pope every time that a decision of going to war, etc, etc that affect the views of his religion belief and go against any other agreement of the Congress or High Court just because his superior leader in Faith say so. Woou, that will be the day that our country and IRAN will look alike in government. Americans should think about seriously into vote for someone as Santorum and his boss in Rome. A Pope that think of himself as some kind of Pop Star trying to overshadow the charisma that John Paul the II had and still have in the catholic world and beyond. The true is that by thousands in our country and in each country of the Americas are very, very disappointed with the changes and projects that this Pope Benedict has dictated in the last one year and half in the Catholic Church. While he pushing the Christians women with his Pro life agenda, has almost cover all the scandals and abuses of sexual molestation to children by Males Priest in the church, a duty that was on his hands since John Paul II was alive. CHOICE IS IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS. Jesus Christ protected women and forgive them while was on earth, the four Gospel shown that.
March 05, 2012 8:44pm
Steve Tanton: Tell it to Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Or the Berrigan brothers. Or former Congressman Robert Drinan, S.J. Better yet, after very carefully and slowly reading the Sermon on the Mount, tell it to Jesus Christ.
March 05, 2012 7:12pm
Actually it is quite simple really, for to be a (political) liberal/progressive and to be a Christian, it would be somewhat of an Oxymoron.
March 08, 2012 6:44am
you'll have to do better than a parroted talking point. The people here arguing that progressive/liberal Christians are legit are backing their arguments up.
March 05, 2012 6:35pm
DUMB IT DOWN DUMMIES: We Liberal and Democratic Believers need to dumb down the discussion to the level of those who wish us harm: A rhetoric of catchy phrases such as "those sex-obsessed self-proclaimed Christians" would like us to believe their spin on Christianity is about the teachings of Christ? How much longer do we have to let their "PIOUS POOP"? put the stain on our (and all) religion and beliefs and worse our language? And our discussion about country? It's a mud fight - a wise friend once said "When you start throwing dirt you are losing ground". Worse, for them, their mud is full of s---! To be polite let's just call it what it is - "PIOUS POOP"? To challenge it with intelligent debate is like arguing with a drunk. Time to dumb it down for the weary masses who don't have the time or luxury to decipher more. My Catholic teachings made it clear when I was a young child that it was a sin to take the Name of the Lord in vain. Bringing the name of God or Christ into a political discussion, or an econimic agenda is simply a sin and not just for Christians. As my favourite money lender likes to say "Stop the Madness". Jargon. In Helvectia.
March 05, 2012 5:32pm
A good article! I hope more progressive news outlets will follow nationofchange's lead and reach out to the largely ignored Christian left.
March 05, 2012 5:03pm
Conservatism and Christianity are philosophically incompatible.
Jesus Christ preached social and economic justice for the poor and disenfranchised, NOT social and economic justice for the rich and politically-privileged.
(Joel Osteen and his Prosperity Theology are full of shit!)
Remember how Evangelical Christians of America leader and Denver megachurch homophobe Pastor Ted Haggard took the "Christian" out of the right-wing conservative (NeoNazi authoritarian) "Christian Family Values" voters by getting caught doing methamphetamine repeatedly and having a long-term sexual relationship with a male prostitute and then unsuccessfully trying to lie his way out of it repeatedly.
Then Dr. George Rebers, University of South Carolina psychiatrist and co-founder of the homophobic, ultraconservative Family Research Council, took the "Family" out of the right-wing conservative (NeoNazi authoritarian)"Family Values" voters by getting caught heading to Europe on vacation accompanied by a RentBoy male prostitute and then unsuccessfully trying to lie his way out of it repeatedly.
Now, the current crop of Republican presidential candidates are taking out the "Values" from the right-wing conservative (NeoNazi authoritarian) Values voters -- their GOD is money, and they worship at the altar of GREED and Selfishness.
Thank Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell for right-wing authoritarianism/fascism cowering behind the sanctimonious facade of religious piety in this country.
Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions named his political party the "American Taliban" because they hate liberty and justice for all --
they would reinstitute slavery for people of color and poor whites, including children;
they would revoke women's voting rights and return them to the status of 3/5ths of a person valued less than a good pack animal;
they would only allow rich, white, landowning men to vote and to hold public office;
they would establish a right-wing theocracy/dictatorship in America similar to the ones in the Middle East and dictate to people what they can't do. (Right-wing authoritarian idea of freedom.)
March 05, 2012 4:39pm
the problem progressive Christians have is that find themselves at odds with the bible [except a few cherry picked verses]this causes them to loose those who investigate Christianity when they remove themselves from Christian circle or drift to the right
March 05, 2012 10:22pm
If you truly "investigate" Christianity you will discover that it is transparent MYTHOLOGY ! Seems that every culture needs a mythology and this is the current one in the USA. Western Europe, which has a history of slaughters due to the clashes of indefensible beliefs, is beginning to emerge from the Faith Fog and is abandoning the churches.
March 05, 2012 3:51pm
Thank you Crazycomposer you expressed my thoughts far better than I could have.
March 05, 2012 2:31pm
http://www.faithfulamerica.org/ is a Progressive Christian group taking action against the pseudo-religious regressives who are trying to hijack the Christian tradition.
Jesus' message was a message of love for all people. Those who preach hate are not true Christians.
March 05, 2012 2:27pm
Republicans have conciously gone after "conservative Christians" by staking claim to the anti-abortion argument. They're also trying to capture Catholic voters with the anti-birth control votes, but that may backfire on them.
If you really look at it, that's the end of Republicans' Christianity. Once the baby is born, there is no charity for the poor, no help pulling families out of poverty, reduced money in public education and health, no efforts to improve employment, a zeal for prosecution, incarceration and execution, a constant beating of the war drums, and cuts in pensions and programs for the elderly. They want to guarantee that the child gets born, but after that it's cradle-to-grave indentured servitude. At the same time, Republicans are falling all over themselves to please corporations and wealthy campaign donors, at the expense of the other (dare I use the phrase) 99%.
These liberal Christians that supposedly exist need to stand up and out-shout the conservative Christians. They need to contribute to the political dialog, or the vocal minority (aka Moral Majority) will take over.
March 05, 2012 2:15pm
How about going back to calling ourselves the People of the Way?
March 05, 2012 2:11pm
http://www.ucc.org/ Open and affirming! Exploring, communicating, reaching out, social activism -- this is my progressive Christian faith.
March 05, 2012 2:01pm
The Christian Left, or what is left of it, is not a new movement. It is known as the Social Gospel and it was the dominant force in Protestantism a century ago only to be sabotaged and hijacked by the rise of fundamentalists. It is long overdue for a revival. btw Obama is no progressive Christian; he is an older type known as a hypocrite.
March 05, 2012 1:55pm
Living in Canada gives me a slightly different perspective, but my family is from the U.S., so I've been interested in the political scene for a long time ... call it my hobby. As it happens, I also happen to be an Ordained Minister (as well as a professional composer). Let me offer the following observation: just because someone calls themselves a Christian, or they attend church, doesn't necessarily mean anything. If I sit in a garage for 12 hours I can call myself a car, but it won't MAKE me a car - it WILL prove that I'm deluded, but it won't mean that I've been transformed into an actual bona fide car. The same can be said for many of the people who "call upon the Name of the Lord" - as it is written in the Word (paraphrased: "many will call me by my Name, but I won't know them,").
When we look at who and what Jesus represented the image that is created is that of a man who cared deeply - passionately - for the poor, for the sick, for the disenfranchised of His day - He was totally unimpressed with the rich and unconcerned with "their" world.
Mat 5:3-12 "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Notice that Jesus doesn't mention anything about the "rich" - the "wealthy" or the "businessmen" - he speaks of the "meek" - of "peacemakers" - of "poor in spirit" ... traits that contemporary conservatives seem to mock as being drains on society. In fact, if Jesus happened to walk into one of today's "mega churches" I'm quite certain that He would be escorted from the building - imagine - a bearded Jew wearing a long robe, sandals (no doubt dirty feet), and unwashed - long - hair. What a SCANDAL! How could such a man dare come to OUR church? That's the point - the church is not "ours" ... it's "HIS".
"Liberal" Christians are drowned out by the christian Taliban - the radical right that has usurped the message of the Lord in favour of a "social gospel" that has absolutely nothing to do with the redemptive message of love that was preached from the Cross. If the Lord went to the Cross for my salvation He went there for EVERYONE - including people who are of the same sex who happen to fall in love and women who want to use contraception or who decide they have to have an abortion (I wish they'd put the child up for adoption - but sometimes it can't be helped - I'm not going to tell a woman she has to have a child).
Shall I cast the first stone? Shall I judge someone when I've been told that it's the Lord's job - not mine ... talk about "above my pay grade". No - if God made us in His image then he made some of us straight and some of us LGBT - that's just the way it is - and He loves each and every one of them, regardless of their view about Him.
The sad thing is that those who call themselves "christians" but deny the Love that He has for the poor and the sick cannot conceive of how much damage they do to the message of the true Gospel. So much more could be accomplished by leading with a lifestyle example than with the hateful deeds the conservative movement perpetuates by trying to legislate the rights of women and gays away rather than ensuring that everyone is considered to be equal under the law.
"Alas, I knew them not."
March 05, 2012 1:48pm
At www.christianadvocate.com, we are waging the fight on behalf of those interested in a true Christian walk. The question is not "Where are the Progressive Christians?", but "Where are the Christians?" I'm afraid the answer, an obvious one, is that my American faith leaders have placed us securely in the pockets of the GOP and their policies that favor serving that "second master." Just know that today's Christian Right leaders are often at odds with Christianity at its most basic core fundamentals, and there will need to be a battle fought on those grounds first and prior to my faith being effective in carrying out the ministry as directed by Christ.
March 05, 2012 1:37pm
When a professional journalist finally gets interested in writing an informed report on this topic, she or he actually will find and read the denominational newsletters, Sunday School curricula, and magazines of nonfundamentalist denominations and church communities. I know it will be harder than turning the radio dial or surfing the web; it will require actually setting foot in some churches to see what are in literature racks and distribution boxes, but that's an important means of communication with most Christian groups -- they meet and interact in person for worship and discussion. Did this writer never come across The Christian Century or America magazine, or even Christianity Today, let alone U.S. Catholic or Sojourners? United Methodist Reporter? The Mennonite? This kind of story is like someone publishing a report on Pocahontas based on the Disney movie and their child's 3rd-grade school play. And then complaining about the lack of reliable information publicized on the topic. Please.
March 05, 2012 4:13pm
He does actually mention that. Did we read the same article?
"If you are not inside of the Christian religious community you may be largely unaware of the amount of media outlets that cater specifically to the faithful. In every part of the United States you’ll find numerous radio and televisions stations that deliver information directly to their target audience. Aside from broadcast media, the local Christian infrastructure often includes multiple churches, faith-based civic organizations, Christian business coalitions, and after school programs. The need for national media outreach may seem unnecessary to liberal minded Christians when there are so many options for them to make themselves heard within the religious spectrum."
March 05, 2012 1:27pm
Republicans don't want to discuss what the country really needs such as tax reform. That's why they start arguments about religion, women's rights, immigration, drilling for oil, and lies. We need Tax Reform more than anything in order to get our great country back to Greatness. The Great Depression was brought about in large part because of income inequality in the 1920's. The Great Recession we are now in was brought about in large part because of income inequality. The lowering of the top marginal rate is one of the problems that brought about the Great Depression and when they raised it back up, we started to come out of the Depression. That is what we need to do today. In 1938 we had 33 tax brackets from 4% for all income up to $64,000. all the way up to a top marginal rate of 79% for income over $79,000,000. My Motto is "Tax Em Like 1938". The leaders of today don't want to offend all their rich donors. You know, the handful of Billionaires that run the country. But this stretching out of the brackets from the present 6 to 33; which is what we had in 1938 in order to come out of the Great Depression. The rich have gotten richer over the last 30 yrs, because they convinced the politicians that by lowering their tax brackets, they would have more money to donate to the political parties. Our own politicians have sold us out, and we just can't take this anymore. The 99% need to start a Battle Cry of "Tax Em Like 1938", and keep it up until someone does something about this income inequality, by taxing the rich higher rates and the super rich even higher rates. 33 Brackets from 4% to 79% would be what this country needs. Not like these Greedy One Per-centers, who advocate a flat tax or dropping the 6 brackets to 2 or 3. These people are so un american and against the working man and middle class, that it borders on Treason. "Tax Em Like 1938", is my motto. God Bless the 99%
March 05, 2012 1:16pm
Thank you for this article. It could easily become a thesis project or a book. As a Christian, I view this issue primarily as a (serious) problem within the church. Christianity, in the US, has been hijacked and turned from faith and service to a (largely dishonest, uneducated) socio-political force.
To call something "Christian" it should follow Christ's example and teachings. More often than not "conservative christianity" is at odds with Jesus. The adherents of this movement have either never known who Christ was/is or are actively engaged in ignoring him.
...and yes, this most certainly has political ramifications.
March 10, 2012 1:38pm
Conservative Christians like the Mennonites and the Amish do not view it the better part of wisdom to become overly political. The media-seeking cohort that identifies themselves as the conservative wing of Christianity does not represent Christians who are progressive, nor do they represent old-school Christian conservatives.
March 05, 2012 1:11pm
There are many other Christian perspectives which are not right wing, attempting to influence the public discourse, most notably Sojourners.com. and its leader Jim Wallis. Check it out.
March 05, 2012 1:09pm
I'm a liberal Christian, and I feel your frustration. Sojourners is also doing great work on progressive Christian issues, by the way. http://www.sojo.net/ Progressive Christian denominations include the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ.The biggest problem I see with liberal Christianity is the same for the Democratic party. We believe in diversity and we respect differences of opinion, so it's difficult to create One Message that everyone can support. And we weren't into building a hypocritical media empire to manipulate folks into giving more money.
March 05, 2012 2:33pm
Most Catholics are pretty progressive too... but if the Republican conservatives frame the debate as an attack on the Church, then members tend to close ranks. Most Catholics have long ignored the Church's rule against birth control, so I don't think it will be a productive argument for the Republicans, but it's still divisive.
March 05, 2012 12:53pm
Progressive Christians are everywhere: even the President qualifies. They're just not religious demagogues.