Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Christian Fundy effect on official policy: Israel, Global Warming, Stem Cell, Schiavo

powerclown · 07-26-2006, 07:08 AM

In America, you have a majority of people who are white and Christian. You are inevitably going to get political involvement and influence from these people. What I question, though, is the immediate leap to radicalizing these people's influence and motives. Isn't there such thing as moderate, responsible, reasonable Christians? Why are all religious people (who run the entire spectrum of orthodoxy and observance) automatically branded as Taliban-like, fire-breathing radicals? Is it the phenomenon of internet communication? Is it the high-profile idiocy of certain irresponsible, egomanical televangelists?

Sorry I don't see the merit of recklessly and arbitrarily bouncing around in an attempt to study the situation - from religion to religion - from event to event - from issue to issue. Also, I believe that framing complex issues in highly emotional and incendiary language only clouds the issue, promotes divisiveness, closes people's minds, and pushes them further away from the truth - or at least a civil conversation.

----

PHILADELPHIA: The Surprising Spectrum of Evangelicals
By Paul Nussbaum
Staff Writer
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

PHILADELPHIA (June 19, 2005)--The only bumper sticker on the Rev. Ted
Haggard's red pickup truck proclaims: Vote for Pedro.

Haggard, founder and senior minister of the 11,000-member New Life
Church in Colorado Springs, is president of the National Association of
Evangelicals. Pedro is Pedro Sanchez, the inscrutable candidate for
class president in the screwball comedy movie Napoleon Dynamite.

This is not the politics usually associated with evangelical Christians.

Frequently portrayed as uniformly reactionary or fundamentalist,
evangelicals - drawing increased attention because of their pivotal role
in the 2004 election - are actually an amalgam of unpredictable,
sometimes contradictory, strains of Christianity across a broad spectrum
of the nation.

And many evangelicals are interested in far more than the hot-button
issues of abortion and homosexual marriage often used to define them.
Evangelicals have been active in seeking increased aid for Africa,
fighting poverty, battling the traffic in sex slaves, and supporting
efforts to reduce global warming.

Evangelicals are not just Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and George W.
Bush. They are also Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.

And Haggard. And the Rev. Rick Warren, the California preacher who wrote
The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold 23 million copies since 2002.
And Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action in Wynnewood.

"Evangelical does not mean any specific political ideology," said
Haggard, a conservative who talks regularly with President Bush and met
earlier this month in Washington with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"I think the power base is shifting," said Haggard, who sees a new
generation of leaders less bombastic and more socially active than
televangelists such as Falwell and Robertson. "We think differently than
the previous generation, the 1980s Moral Majority crowd."

Most Americans consider religion an important part of their lives (83
percent say it is "very" or "fairly" important). But there is no
consensus, even among evangelicals, on how to translate faith into
action.

"The vast majority in the evangelical center are regularly embarrassed
by what Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson say, but they don't go around
issuing press releases attacking them," said Sider, author of Rich
Christians in an Age of Hunger.

The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 30 million
evangelicals, last year adopted a new manifesto for social engagement,
For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic
Responsibility, cowritten by Sider. In it, the group spells out a broad
agenda: "To protect the vulnerable and poor, to guard the sanctity of
human life, to further racial reconciliation and justice, to renew the
family, to care for creation, and to promote justice, freedom and
peace."

"God measures societies by how they treat the people at the bottom," the
document states.

Broadly defined, evangelicals are Christians who have had a personal or
"born-again" religious conversion, believe the Bible is the word of God,
and believe in spreading their faith. (The term comes from Greek; to
"evangelize" means to preach the gospel.) The term is typically applied
to Protestants.

Millions of Americans fit the definition, although estimates vary on
exactly how many. Forty-two percent of Americans described themselves as
evangelical Christians in a Gallup poll in April, while 22 percent said
they met all three measures in a Gallup survey in May. The National
Association of Evangelicals says about 25 percent of adult Americans are
evangelicals. Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for
the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, puts the figure
about 33 percent.

"If you're talking about 33 percent of the population, they're not this
'other.' They're your next-door neighbor," Eskridge said.

And, like many neighbors, evangelicals can be maddeningly difficult to
categorize.

They are Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and other mainline
Protestants, as well as Southern Baptists and members of
nondenominational mega-churches. Without a uniform theology, they vary
widely in interpretations of the Bible and its application to their
lives and nation.

With these and other strands of evangelical Christianity, "sometimes the
most visible and those who shout the loudest are considered the core,"
said Bishop C. Milton Grannum, minister of New Covenant Church of
Philadelphia, most of whose 3,000 members are African American. "But
there are thousands of African American and Hispanic churches that are
evangelical, and they should not feel threatened by the fact that they
are not as visible."

Black evangelicals are often "charismatics," a trait shared with
Pentecostals and many other evangelicals. Charismatics believe the
active influence of the Holy Spirit is evident in such practices as
faith healing and speaking in tongues.

Despite a common ground of Scripture and tradition, various evangelical
congregations often inhabit parallel universes, with different
priorities, experiences and politics.

"There's a difference in the way we identify politically because there
is a difference in the way we identify, period," said Grannum of black
evangelicals. "We have had totally different experiences... . The church
reflects the larger community."

Edmund Gibbs, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena,
Calif., said the popularity of right-wing politics is overstated.

"Many of us who consider ourselves to be evangelical Christians would
want to distance ourselves from that kind of alignment," said Gibbs, an
Episcopalian. "And it is very much an American thing; most evangelicals
in Europe would distance themselves from the politics associated with
evangelicals in the United States."

Haggard said his mission is to broaden the movement's base and its
vision.

"My role is to help the various members of the body to respect each
other and work together... to make life better for everybody."

Many Faces of Evangelicalism

Fundamentalists: They reject the theory of evolution, believe in the
literal accuracy of the Bible, regard Catholics as non-Christians, and
believe in separating themselves from the secular world. They do not
seek to change the culture through legislation. The number of
fundamentalists "is very small," said Jonathan Pait, spokesman for Bob
Jones University, a fundamentalist college in Greenville, S.C. Larry
Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American
Evangelicals at Wheaton College, estimates the number at "several
million."

Traditionalists: They are characterized by efforts to maintain
traditional beliefs and practices in the face of a changing society.
Predominantly Republican (70 percent, compared with 10 percent
independent and 20 percent Democrat), this group of white Protestants,
with well-developed conservative political connections and ambitions, is
closest to the popular notion of the "religious right." They represent
about 12.6 percent of the population, or about 28 million adults,
according to last year's National Survey of Religion and Politics by the
Bliss Institute of the University of Akron.

Centrists and modernists: They are less tradition-oriented and more
willing to adapt their beliefs and practices. They are more likely to
identify themselves as Democrats or independents than as Republicans.
They represent about 13.7 percent of the population, according to the
Bliss survey, about 30 million people.

Black evangelicals: Most of the nation's 21 million black Protestants
fit the evangelical definition, but their politics are the reverse of
the white traditionalists: 71 percent identify themselves as Democrats
and 11 percent as Republicans, according to the Bliss survey.

Hispanic evangelicals: Many of the six million Hispanic Protestants are
converts from Catholicism, and they skew slightly toward Democratic
politics.

Catholic evangelicals: This counterintuitive term identifies Roman
Catholics who embrace much of the public-witness style of evangelical
Protestants. "They have the fire and zeal usually associated with
evangelicals," said William Portier, a religious studies professor at
the University of Dayton and the author of the recent essay, "Here Come
the Evangelical Catholics." Portier estimates the number of evangelical
Catholics at 10 percent to 20 percent of the under-40 Catholic population.

07-26-2006, 07:08 AM	#16 (permalink)
powerclown Junkie Location: Detroit, MI	In America, you have a majority of people who are white and Christian. You are inevitably going to get political involvement and influence from these people. What I question, though, is the immediate leap to radicalizing these people's influence and motives. Isn't there such thing as moderate, responsible, reasonable Christians? Why are all religious people (who run the entire spectrum of orthodoxy and observance) automatically branded as Taliban-like, fire-breathing radicals? Is it the phenomenon of internet communication? Is it the high-profile idiocy of certain irresponsible, egomanical televangelists? Sorry I don't see the merit of recklessly and arbitrarily bouncing around in an attempt to study the situation - from religion to religion - from event to event - from issue to issue. Also, I believe that framing complex issues in highly emotional and incendiary language only clouds the issue, promotes divisiveness, closes people's minds, and pushes them further away from the truth - or at least a civil conversation. ---- PHILADELPHIA: The Surprising Spectrum of Evangelicals By Paul Nussbaum Staff Writer THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER PHILADELPHIA (June 19, 2005)--The only bumper sticker on the Rev. Ted Haggard's red pickup truck proclaims: Vote for Pedro. Haggard, founder and senior minister of the 11,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, is president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Pedro is Pedro Sanchez, the inscrutable candidate for class president in the screwball comedy movie Napoleon Dynamite. This is not the politics usually associated with evangelical Christians. Frequently portrayed as uniformly reactionary or fundamentalist, evangelicals - drawing increased attention because of their pivotal role in the 2004 election - are actually an amalgam of unpredictable, sometimes contradictory, strains of Christianity across a broad spectrum of the nation. And many evangelicals are interested in far more than the hot-button issues of abortion and homosexual marriage often used to define them. Evangelicals have been active in seeking increased aid for Africa, fighting poverty, battling the traffic in sex slaves, and supporting efforts to reduce global warming. Evangelicals are not just Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and George W. Bush. They are also Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Haggard. And the Rev. Rick Warren, the California preacher who wrote The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold 23 million copies since 2002. And Ron Sider, founder of Evangelicals for Social Action in Wynnewood. "Evangelical does not mean any specific political ideology," said Haggard, a conservative who talks regularly with President Bush and met earlier this month in Washington with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "I think the power base is shifting," said Haggard, who sees a new generation of leaders less bombastic and more socially active than televangelists such as Falwell and Robertson. "We think differently than the previous generation, the 1980s Moral Majority crowd." Most Americans consider religion an important part of their lives (83 percent say it is "very" or "fairly" important). But there is no consensus, even among evangelicals, on how to translate faith into action. "The vast majority in the evangelical center are regularly embarrassed by what Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson say, but they don't go around issuing press releases attacking them," said Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. The National Association of Evangelicals, which represents 30 million evangelicals, last year adopted a new manifesto for social engagement, For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility, cowritten by Sider. In it, the group spells out a broad agenda: "To protect the vulnerable and poor, to guard the sanctity of human life, to further racial reconciliation and justice, to renew the family, to care for creation, and to promote justice, freedom and peace." "God measures societies by how they treat the people at the bottom," the document states. Broadly defined, evangelicals are Christians who have had a personal or "born-again" religious conversion, believe the Bible is the word of God, and believe in spreading their faith. (The term comes from Greek; to "evangelize" means to preach the gospel.) The term is typically applied to Protestants. Millions of Americans fit the definition, although estimates vary on exactly how many. Forty-two percent of Americans described themselves as evangelical Christians in a Gallup poll in April, while 22 percent said they met all three measures in a Gallup survey in May. The National Association of Evangelicals says about 25 percent of adult Americans are evangelicals. Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, puts the figure about 33 percent. "If you're talking about 33 percent of the population, they're not this 'other.' They're your next-door neighbor," Eskridge said. And, like many neighbors, evangelicals can be maddeningly difficult to categorize. They are Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and other mainline Protestants, as well as Southern Baptists and members of nondenominational mega-churches. Without a uniform theology, they vary widely in interpretations of the Bible and its application to their lives and nation. With these and other strands of evangelical Christianity, "sometimes the most visible and those who shout the loudest are considered the core," said Bishop C. Milton Grannum, minister of New Covenant Church of Philadelphia, most of whose 3,000 members are African American. "But there are thousands of African American and Hispanic churches that are evangelical, and they should not feel threatened by the fact that they are not as visible." Black evangelicals are often "charismatics," a trait shared with Pentecostals and many other evangelicals. Charismatics believe the active influence of the Holy Spirit is evident in such practices as faith healing and speaking in tongues. Despite a common ground of Scripture and tradition, various evangelical congregations often inhabit parallel universes, with different priorities, experiences and politics. "There's a difference in the way we identify politically because there is a difference in the way we identify, period," said Grannum of black evangelicals. "We have had totally different experiences... . The church reflects the larger community." Edmund Gibbs, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., said the popularity of right-wing politics is overstated. "Many of us who consider ourselves to be evangelical Christians would want to distance ourselves from that kind of alignment," said Gibbs, an Episcopalian. "And it is very much an American thing; most evangelicals in Europe would distance themselves from the politics associated with evangelicals in the United States." Haggard said his mission is to broaden the movement's base and its vision. "My role is to help the various members of the body to respect each other and work together... to make life better for everybody." Many Faces of Evangelicalism Fundamentalists: They reject the theory of evolution, believe in the literal accuracy of the Bible, regard Catholics as non-Christians, and believe in separating themselves from the secular world. They do not seek to change the culture through legislation. The number of fundamentalists "is very small," said Jonathan Pait, spokesman for Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist college in Greenville, S.C. Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, estimates the number at "several million." Traditionalists: They are characterized by efforts to maintain traditional beliefs and practices in the face of a changing society. Predominantly Republican (70 percent, compared with 10 percent independent and 20 percent Democrat), this group of white Protestants, with well-developed conservative political connections and ambitions, is closest to the popular notion of the "religious right." They represent about 12.6 percent of the population, or about 28 million adults, according to last year's National Survey of Religion and Politics by the Bliss Institute of the University of Akron. Centrists and modernists: They are less tradition-oriented and more willing to adapt their beliefs and practices. They are more likely to identify themselves as Democrats or independents than as Republicans. They represent about 13.7 percent of the population, according to the Bliss survey, about 30 million people. Black evangelicals: Most of the nation's 21 million black Protestants fit the evangelical definition, but their politics are the reverse of the white traditionalists: 71 percent identify themselves as Democrats and 11 percent as Republicans, according to the Bliss survey. Hispanic evangelicals: Many of the six million Hispanic Protestants are converts from Catholicism, and they skew slightly toward Democratic politics. Catholic evangelicals: This counterintuitive term identifies Roman Catholics who embrace much of the public-witness style of evangelical Protestants. "They have the fire and zeal usually associated with evangelicals," said William Portier, a religious studies professor at the University of Dayton and the author of the recent essay, "Here Come the Evangelical Catholics." Portier estimates the number of evangelical Catholics at 10 percent to 20 percent of the under-40 Catholic population.