...be a cautionary tale to those evangelical leaders who have written NAE President Anderson to push for a like-minded replacement to Mr. Cizik. Their distinguishing of themselves from the 'Christian right' has a real naivete to it, when considering the current theological and moral crisis faced in TEC, a microcosm of what is beginning to come to sour fruition all over the United States.
Often I think those evangelical Christians who have not experienced directly the furor and terror (and I do not speak lightly -- it is tyranny!) of the Left's agenda in U.S. Episcopalianism are very naive about the consequences of supporting it and its stands. There are many Episcopalians who stand for the historic Christian faith and have a high view of Holy Scripture and at the same time are extremely concerned about the environment, business ethics, and the worldwide AIDS crisis, among so many other things, yet have come to realize again (or for the first time) that concern for human life from conception on must always come first in tackling these related issues. Letting our guard down on it, with the spread of legal abortions, will never allow us to strive with God toward the full humanity and re-creation that He intends for us in our salvation and in Jesus Christ's Second Coming.
Having seen the ugly stances of the Episcopal Church and noting its disregard for human life in its official positions, those Episcopal/Anglican Christians with their very real and valid concerns about abortion and homosexual unions have seen again how important it is to 'Choose Life' and have much to offer in terms of a deeper discussion with these 60 evangelical leaders and their cohorts, who need to give up their language of opposing the 'Christian right' and instead work to offer an intelligent, coherent, integrated account of the Life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Libbieof NM10:02PM December 18, 2008
The NAE document "For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Social Responsibility," to which Mr. Gushee refers, does not mention climate change or take any position on it. Instead, it calls for stewardship of creation. Mr. Cizik made hundreds of public statements that created the impression that the NAE backed his own view that global warming was one of the greatest moral issues of our day and that God would judge those who disagree, but in fact the NAE never took such a position--a point Leith Anderson confirmed in his comments on Cizik's resignation. The Barna Research Group released a poll in September showing that evangelicals generally rejected Cizik's views and believed instead that climate change is largely natural, cyclical, and not primarily manmade, and that efforts to fight global warming could hurt the poor by slowing economic development. Cizik was, in other words, as out of step with the NAE and evangelicals as a whole on global warming as he was on same-sex unions.
Calof FL5:07PM December 17, 2008
Thanks for posting this. There is now also an online version of the letter that anyone who supports Cizik's leadership can sign on to. Visit: www.wholegospelagenda.org
Bethof DC12:46PM December 17, 2008
Why is a small minority of Christians setting the agenda for the religion? Where is the Great Commandment which overules anything else in the Bible? If one loves ones neighbor as ones self, then the last thing one wants to do is tell one's neighbor that I know better than you what is good for you. The problem is that evangelical no longer means sharing/spreading the Word of Christ; it means using the Word of Christ to control others. That isn't Christianity--that is tyranny.
The media emphasizes The Christian Right, as if the movement represented a majority of Christians and speaks for us all. This is because of the desire to undermine the power that a strong belief gives to an individual to be self-reliant and think independently of the government.
There has been a movement to discredit religion since Communist philosophy was first offered. Reality is that religion is not the opiate of the masses, but the Prozac of the masses--if one has the right to develop a personal relationship with God. To portray religion as closed minded and self serving only encourages those who would build power in government by subjugating the people and removing their desire for self reliance. Thus the practice of giving a man a fish rather than teaching them to fish. In our country, we see politicians talking about teaching fishing while they provide defective poles, deplete the fish population in the pond, or plant the pond with fish and then blame the fisherman when the pond suddenly fishes out.
The Christian Right, by insisting on its own brand of Christianity and refusing to accept that others may also have a legitimate interpretation of the Bible, plays into the elitism and anti-religion bias of the media and education. The rest of the Christian religion needs to stand up and get vocal--but not at the Christian Right. We need to tell the media to lay off their anti-religion bias and portray Christianity and other religions in their true light--which include a wide variety of sects and beliefs, the vast majority of whom are not fanatical or dogmatic.
Religion is an important aspect of all cultures and promotes the evolution of the mind--especially in that it is a primary source of overcoming excessive narcissism. Science cannot teach this as it focuses on expanding the power of the brain, which encourages narcissism. The two must be parallel, not diametrically opposed. Both are important for the outcome of the species.
The Bill of Rights, with its provision for the separation of state and religion was meant to allow a wide diversity of religious thought to flourish. Instead it has been abused and misinterpreted to allow the repression of all religions. We must reverse that movement. It too is tyranny.
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chris of OH 10:28PM December 18, 2008
Libbie of NM 10:02PM December 18, 2008
Cal of FL 5:07PM December 17, 2008
Beth of DC 12:46PM December 17, 2008
MontanaMountainWoman of MT 9:30PM December 16, 2008