The NY Times has a very interesting article about an evangelical minister who decided that subordinating his religious beliefs to the Republican Party and the Holy Defender of the Blessed Blastocyst was a bad idea:
After refusing each time, Mr. Boyd finally became fed up, he said. Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called "The Cross and the Sword" in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a "Christian nation" and stop glorifying American military campaigns.
"When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses," Mr. Boyd preached. "When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross."
Well, Boyd's congregation of 5,000 lost 1,000 members, but the rest stayed. Another minister realizes that the blurring of (or, actually, Olympic long-jumping over) the line between church and state might be why more people would not vote for an evangelical than a Jew or a Catholic:
"There is a lot of discontent brewing," said Brian D. McLaren, the founding pastor at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Gaithersburg, Md., and a leader in the evangelical movement known as the "emerging church," which is at the forefront of challenging the more politicized evangelical establishment."More and more people are saying this has gone too far -- the dominance of the evangelical identity by the religious right," Mr. McLaren said. "You cannot say the word 'Jesus' in 2006 without having an awful lot of baggage going along with it. You can't say the word 'Christian,' and you certainly can't say the word 'evangelical' without it now raising connotations and a certain cringe factor in people.
"Because people think, 'Oh no, what is going to come next is homosexual bashing, or pro-war rhetoric, or complaining about 'activist judges.' "
While this is encouraging, too many Christian conservatives still think this mural (from a mega-church) is appropriate:
Well, at least some evangelicals are starting to realize that the First Amendment protects them too.
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The article is behing the pay-barrier, but AOL has a reprint which I linked to as well as an interesting online poll related to the story.
that mural is fu*$ed up. Should have been Cheney and Dobson on each side of Chimpy, and an inverted cross in back. Thank Goddess for photoshoppe - this will be corrected.
I wish folks would stop referring to Bush as "Chimpy." Really. I have a great deal of respect for chimpanzees.
Why did they cut off the clown on the trike with a banana in each ear? It should be in a bubble over Dimwit McFlightsuit's head.
You didn't imagine he was thinking of the troops did you?
Of course, if a church cow tows to YOUR politics, that always seems to make them enlightened.
What is funnier than shit is that when so called liberals are in control, I am STILL controlled my the government.
"Down with the old boss...meet the new boss."
The church needs to stand up and tell the stinking state that separation of church and state means separate AND EQUAL.
The state doesn't tell us ANYTHING!!!
VICTORY FOREVER!
Gerry, part of me wants to agree, but why not ask them what they think - of being compared to a primate cousin with peculiarly similar behavioral traits? Maybe they'd be pleased? He's certainly no Bonobo, whatever the case may be. That said, I think "DubyaDumbass" is indeed a better fit.
cheers,
-skunq
thanks for all
thanks for all