LAT: Evangelical Leaders Reexamine Principles

[DeepModem Mom]

THE NATION
Evangelical Leaders Reexamine Principles
A draft affirms the need for government to aid the needy and warns of excessive nationalism.

By Larry B. Stammer, Times Staff Writer


The National Assn. of Evangelicals is circulating a draft of a groundbreaking framework for political action that strongly endorses social and economic justice and warns against close alignment with any political party....

***

It affirms a religiously based commitment to government protections for the poor, the sick and disabled, including fair wages, healthcare, nutrition and education. It declares that Christians have a "sacred responsibility" to protect the environment.

But it also hews closely to a traditional evangelical emphasis on the importance of families, opposition to homosexual marriage and "social evils" such as alcohol, drugs, abortion and the use of human embryos for stem-cell research. It reaffirms a commitment to religious freedom at home and abroad.

In the midst of a presidential election year, war and terrorism, the framework says Christians in their devotion to country "must be careful to avoid the excesses of nationalism." In domestic politics, evangelicals "must guard against over-identifying Christian social goals with a single political party, lest nonbelievers think that Christian faith is essentially political in nature."...


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-evangelicals20jun20,1,6675698.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[mhr]

1. Are The Fundies Having Second Thoughts Because Bush Is Stupid?

eom

[girl gone mad]

3. I think they're having second thoughts because..

fewer people are effected by abortion and gay marriage than are effected by job loss, lack of access to health care, and diseases from pollution and poor nutrition.

I'd like to believe that evangelicals are genuinely interested in heelping the poor and even middle class, but they've alligned themselves so closely with the right wing of the Republican party that it is difficult to believe they have any compassion.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. I'm wondering if African American evangelicals...

are having some influence --

From the article:

"A March poll for Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly and U.S. News & World Report found that 69% of white evangelicals said they were Republicans or leaned toward the GOP. By contrast, 84% of African American evangelicals called themselves Democrats or said they leaned toward the Democratic Party."

[Journeyman]

2. And the Foucault Pendulum of society continues its swing . . .

n/t

[FlemingsGhost]

4. Too late! ... A deal with the devil is forever.

Isn't all of this moot anyway? (You know, "the rapture" and all ...)

[whistle]

6. This is a position paper, let's not pay attention to what the fundies...

...write about or say, but instead watch what they do.

[gratuitous]

12. By their fruits you shall indeed know them

But a position paper is often the first step toward change for a large group. After critics beat them over the head with their own words for a little while, I should think the evangelicals (distinguish from fundamentalists) might indeed start re-thinking their approach to social problems.

Give them the grace, and give them the space to change. They can only surprise you.

[izzie]

7. This is some what hard to believe, after all ----

They have been telling us for years we could be rich, powerful and good if we would be just like them. It is our own fault we are poor and evil because we do not do it all by our selfs like they have. The sad part is the govt. had to step in as churches could not take care of the people that needed help in the first place. Or would not , I am not sure which is true there.

[Jane Austin]

17. I don't think this group has been telling us that.

I'll bet most of us couldn't name more than five or ten fundies who do all the talking for them.

They are self-annointed, as it were.

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Relax. There are still plenty of evil Fundies.

The National Association of Evangelicals is part of the "liberal" faction of the Fundies. Yes, even though they are heaping praise on Ronald "Churchill" Reagan.

Here is a page from their website with a list of who's who in the NAE. Note that it is free from such names as Jerry "The Perfesser" Falwell, Pat "Chief Liquor Officer" Robertson, Ralph "Blow-Dried" Reed, or James "Spanky" Dobson.

In addition, there are no representatives on the list from the Unification Church or the entire Chrtistian Dominionist movement.

It's proof that there are many Christians who are not "Christo-fascists" (to borrow a linguistic structure from the Conservatives). But it only speaks for part of Christendom.

--bkl

[kikiek]

9. I think the "President" who loudly proclaimed to be a uniter

has divided not only the general population of this country, but every major religious group. The Baptists, Catholics, and Protestants have all recently had very public disagreements, and splits.

[doni_georgia]

10. About the this group

Please note that the Southern Baptist Convention is not part of this interdenominational group. Ted Haggard who is the president of this group is a regular on TBN's "Praise the Lord," and prophesied that God told him in a dream that Saddam Hussein would simply get on a plane and leave Iraq like Idi Amin had left Uganda years before. This group is largely Pentecostal and involved in the prophetic movement. They are big into prayer walks and prayer mapping and "taking cities for God." I've had a lot of contact with these folks. They are not liberal by any stretch of the imagination. they believe strongly in the biblical verse that says God appoints national leaders. They believe that whether we get the president we deserve or the president we need is a matter of God's will. During the 2000 presidential campaign, leaders from Ted Haggard's church started a World Prayer Center on the Internet. Several prominant people from his church in Colorado prophesized that Bush was appointed from God and so people should pray that he would be elected. Part of the dogma of this particular branch of the prophetic/prayer movement is that God cannot work without the prayers of the people putting God's will into action (read Dutch Sheet's Intercessory Prayer). Last summer, Dutch Sheets (from Haggard's church) prophesized in Atlanta that the world would come to GA and there would be a great revival out of that that would move the nations for God (referring to the G8 summit which had been announced to be at Sea Island the day before in the news papers). This group believes in the Kingdom Now theology embraced by Pat Robertson, that we are currently living in the kingdom and that Christians will usher in the return of Christ through their actions (research Dominionism for more).

All this to say, don't even think this means that the evangelicals are going to support a Democrat. It's more a call to remind them not to support Bush unless he stays on task and follows their directives. Most likely, if Bush strays from their agenda, they will throw their support behind a third party candidate or stay home. I will bet, also, you will see a resurgence of the Christian Coalition if/when Kerry wins.

[UpInArms]

11. is this the equivalent of

the Grand Aytollas(sp?) issuing a fatwa?

:puke:

I am sick and tired of all the mixing of religion in politics.

[phoebe]

13. Foes confounded by limited outcry against Gay Marriage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54966-2004Jun19.html

snip

Across the country, evangelical Christians are voicing frustration and puzzlement that there has not been more of a political outcry since May 17, when Massachusetts became the first state to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Evangelical leaders had predicted that a chorus of righteous anger would rise up out of churches from coast to coast and overwhelm Congress with letters, e-mails and phone calls in support of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

But that has not happened.

[FlaGranny]

14. That's not too surprising because

most people, even if the concept of "gay marriage" does not appeal to them, have more important things to worry about. In other words, preventing gay marriage is just not that high on their priority lists.

[progressivebydesign]

15. I hope this is true...

It's time for the Churches to return to real religion instead of building multi-million dollar social event/ego shrines aka churches, and it's time for them to get out of politics. Helping people, not preaching to them, I thought THAT was what Jesus was all about.

[2cents]

16. LOL.

Putting the fear of God in Baby George. Sounds like a not so subtle warning, should Georgie renege on his promise of "faith-based" cash.