I’m saddened today. The election results have left me confused. I am confused about what it means to be a Christian in a political world. I grew up a republican, but over the last few years I have abandoned the grand old party.
No party really represents my values. As a Christian I feel I must take elements from both. Middle of the road? Yes, but those middle of the road politicians take the opposite elements that I would. Perhaps the continuum from conservative to liberal is a circle, and I am on the other side of the circle from the moderates. What does that make me? A radical moderate? An anti-moderate?
At any rate, I felt this year that being a democrat my values would align on more issues. I mean what do I agree with the Republicans on anyway? The place of Christianity in society. The ending of abortion. To a lesser degree affirming the heterosexual lifestyle.
The democrats share my values when it comes to passive resistance, social justice, gun control, gay rights or any other civil right, environmental stewardship, humanitarian aide, education funding, and they don’t presume to legislate a change of heart. I figured that if I was going to let any group suffer it should be me. Let them take on the Christians. Bring some persecution, through defeat we find victory.
But those damned Christians came out to “vote their values” and wound up with Bush for four more years. God where will that take us? I trust you. I do.
Does this mean that I was wrong to look to extend mercy, grace and justice in your name? Does this mean that Christians around the country have confused biblical values with political conservatism?
Maybe, but God you are in control, aren’t you. I trust you, I do.
What do I do now? I will go on promoting biblical values here, bring social justice by my own hand where I can, and continue to engage system.
Viva la resistance!
I guess that Jesus really is on Bush's side.
ReplyDeleteI find it amazing how all the news channels are talking about the Bush campaign tactic of wooing the evangelical vote. According to this election, the only issues that evangelicals really care about are abortion and homosexuality. This is how the media sees it, this is how Karl Rove saw it, and the result of the election seems to prove it to be true.
The message that I championed (initiated and led by Jim Wallis of Sojourners Magazine) that tried to get across the point that Christians need to be more than one-issue voters failed.
We were unable to get evangelicals to think more holistically about issues. The message we tried to tell people is that Christians need to define more broadly the important "religious issues" in our society.
The Bush campaign succeeded to team with the Religious Right to keep the focus solely on gay marriage and abortion. The Falwells and Robertsons and Dobsons of "Media Orthodoxy" even said that good Christians could only vote for the president, and let it be known that Bush was God's candidate.
But Wallis rightly insisted God is not a Republican (or a Democrat).
He was also right in pointing out that poverty is also a religious issue, pointing to thousands of verses in the Bible on the poor.
The environment - protection of God's creation - is also one of our religious concerns.
And I am one of millions of Christians in America who believe the war in Iraq was not a "just war."And I also contend, along with many (including PBS's Bill Moyers) that the Bush Administration lacked integrity in how they over-sold the war by stretching their intelligence reports to include Saddam Hussein's alleged nuclear capabilities. (Maybe Moyers are wrong in that contention, but it certainly is worthy of Christian dialogue, instead of unquestioning loyalty to an "evangelical Christian" president.)
In any case, our message that Christians should be discussing many "religious issues" in this election (poverty, hunger, creation care, greed, health care, peace) failed.
But, to be honest, there is only so much that Wallis, et. al. can do if the candidate (in this case John Kerry) fails to embrace that message.
It was not until the very end of Kerry's campaign that he began to talk about his religious beliefs and how they might influence his decision-making. This was the most religiously-focused election in recent memory, and yet Kerry refused to engage in that conversation.
He deserved to lose because of that.
Until the Democrats come to terms that a vast majority of people in America are deeply religious, they will continue to fail to win their votes.
As Wallis famously said earlier this year, when it comes to the most important "religious issues" in our country, "The Republicans get it wrong, and the Democrats just don't get it." Bush defined religious issues as one or two things, and so he is the winner. Kerry refused to be aggressive in pointing at other issues as important religious issues, and so Kerry is the loser.
But until either party can more clearly communicate how their views will impact a complete range of Christian "religious" concerns, we are all losers.
vanguardchurch.com
Amen to that, Bob!
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI found that you linked to my blog on Technorati. Thanks for linking to me in your "blogs I watch" list. I'm honored. I really resonated with your post here. I am a former Southertn Baptist (they made it nearly impossible to STAY, and many have left to join other communities and some have gone to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Churches). Presently, I'm a Methodist, but still seeking soem authentic community somewhere.
I was crushed when I woke up Wednesday morning to find that Ohio had not improved for Kerry, and withj the prospect of 4 more years, with all that this administration has done to us, a nd now will continue to do --- unless --- they can shoot themselves in the foot somewhere and leave a trail that can expose them for what they are. With my son now 15, I'm scared to death of what the choices might be in 3 years and facing a draft, if not then, whenever the next president comes in and we can no longer avoid the draft because we are involved in so many worldwide conflicts.
As I wrote on my blog earlier today, the blogosphere has been like a Church for me in these past years, especially in the last year as some Christians began advocating getting Bush out of office. Now we are left to be "A Confessing Church", and I have taken to leearning more about Bonhoeffer and reading more of his stuff. Peace, and God bless.
Dale