I'm sure many people who read today's HuffPo piece by Christine Wicker titled "If You Love Jesus, Vote for Obama" (link) won't appreciate it, won't get it. I do. Though I wouldn't tell anyone that a love of Jesus requires voting for any particular candidate (which, by the way, is what many on the religious right actually do), I'm in agreement with much of what Wicker writes in the article. For example:
After more than 20 years during which the Religious Right has been the dominant ethical and moral voice in the public square, the reputation of American Christians is at an all time low, especially among young people. As the political ambitions of the most right wing Christians have soared, the influence of Christian teachings on popular culture has plummeted.
I recommend following the link above and reading the whole piece. Personally, I like Wicker's article because it expresses in a clever and provocative way ("If you love Jesus, vote for" is certainly provocative language) something that I believe to be true: the strong association of the religious right with the political far right is a liability in accomplishing the mission of the church among about half of the population.
I think there is a real danger for the stink of politics to mask the beautiful aroma of the gospel. Look at the way the current campaign has inevitably ended up in the gutter despite the initial promise of a different kind of campaign from these two candidates. And the way people like Dobson wield political power is so distasteful to me. And the culture war? That's the way to engage outsiders? There's a reason why they like Jesus but not the church.
I don't think the answer is for the religious left to become the new religious right in the political realm, but I think it would be very healthy for it to be more obvious that Christianity and Republicanism are not synonymous.
Theme by Danetsoft and Danang Probo Sayekti inspired by Maksimer
Comments
I believe abortion is
I believe abortion is murder. God tells us it is not right. I believe gay marriage is wrong and God tells us it is. If that makes me a religious right kook, then so be it. I believe following God's rules is important and I use my vote to try to do that.
Before you put your vote in
Before you put your vote in just make sure the candidate will indeed do something to eliminate or reduce abortions. The democrats have put out an initiative called "95/10" calling for a 95% reduction in abortions in the next 10 years. www.democratsforlife.org. It definitely has me thinking...I don't see how having Bush in the White House the past 8 years has done ANYTHING significant to stop abortions (please let me know if I'm wrong on this, which is possible). If we are not going to be able to illegalize abortions (which is the opinion of John Roberts, the most conservative, pro-life Justice on the Supreme Court http://www.ontheissues.org/John_Roberts.htm)lets at least reduce the number of them. During the last debate McCain clearly stated that pro-life would not be an ultimate determiner for his choice of justices. I think traditionally Republicans have been able to win Christian votes just by this one issue. They've become relaxed enough to simply state they want it illegal, but do very little to do anything about it.