On Evangelism and Politics

Responding to this article:

Americans have always trusted in God, and even today atheism is little more than a quiet voice on the margins. Faith, working calmly in the lives of Americans from George Washington to Barack Obama, has motivated some of America’s finest moments. But when the faith of so many Americans becomes an occasion to embrace discredited, ridiculous and even dangerous ideas, we must not be afraid to speak out, even if it means criticizing fellow Christians.

"Evangelical anti-intellectualism" is, to me,  a false pairing. God gave us minds for thinking, and logic for reasoning: to assert that the mind is against God is akin to asserting that the heart is against God - both the mind and heart have done great good, and great evil. The mind has led to great scientific discoveries; it has also led to Eugenics and clever methods of thievery. Or hearts summon us together, and yet draw us to bad decisions, or to rise up in defense of a perceived slight with an assault that outweighs the infraction.

There are those among us who embrace Evangelism, and those who reject it. There are those who embrace the mind, and those who reject it. The groups are not the same, though I'm sure you can find a statistical correlation thanks to hidden variables. But the evangelism I speak of - loving, witnessing, and sharing one's love of Christ - is different than the political Evangelical movement. In that movement of fundamentalism, doctrine is king - regardless of the facts. I fear that, years ago, the leaders  of the Republican party are so worried about a small number of doctrinists attacking them that they fail to call white white and black black.

We are now at the result of that decision taken decades ago - where the absence of truth has allowed falsehood to run rampant; the farthest right can declare truths with impunity - "LET US DEFAULT" - without caring about the economic rampage that would result. This battle between doctrine and evidence is dangerous - but it is not evangelism.

That's the premise of this piece's authors; we only differ on the role of politics in today's Evangelical movement, and how far fundamentalism has infiltrated the Christian heart. Perhaps they are right; I can only speak for my personal experience. But that experience has showed me that fundamentalism isn't the issue - standard politics are the issue, such as differences about abortion, the death penalty, and other questions we wrestle with as a country.

Is there an evangelical "parallel universe?" Sure, but considering the depravity of culture today (Toddlers and Tiaras) in some places I could hardly blame communities for turning inward. We all do that, when we reject politics, the news, in favor of the local, the untainted. Do charismatic leaders manipulate their flock? Yes, but such men and women have always done this. To give a new name to an old phenomenon is not to make a strong argument.

It may appear more extreme now, but I see that as a sign of insecurity as young people turn away from homophobia and towards Christian pursuit of social justice. Just as it is always darkest before the dawn, the language of politics will become the most frightening before the revival of values and the reassertion of truth. There is so much that can be done in partnership, if we can ignore the voices from the verge that urge us towards clashes and their profit.