Obama and the Evangelicals
E. J. Dionne, Jr has an account of how Barak Obama got invited to the Saddleback Valley Community Church, an evangelical megachurch headed by Rick Warren, to give a talk about the AIDS crisis. What Obama had to say is certainly worth noting, but it is Rick Warren himself that I find most interesting. And the reaction of his congregation to the speech.
Dionne concludes with:
If you read Obama's speech, you'll realize he demonstrates a much truer Christian spirit than the GOP masterminds who have recently tried to push people away from Obama by pointing out that his middle name is Hussein.
But read the whole thing. Warren sounds like a breath of much needed fresh air.
posted by Clemens @ 4:01 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Rick Warren is a legend!
Take a glance at his much-maligned 'The Purpose Driven Life'. It may not be high-brow or academic, but the sources he draws on are extremely broad and the message simple and profound.
I love the guys at the Pentecostal church I go to, but they can be quite insular and tend not to listen to opinions outside a fairly narrow set of Christian ideas. Such suspicion is perfectly commendable of course, living as we do in a deceitful world. But back when we studied Rick Warren's book the multiplicity of sources had a big positive effect on some of them. It was a while ago, but there were all kinds of philosophers and thinkers from many religions and beyond in there, some scientists as well. I seem to remember even a quote or two from the Dalai Lama (one of my personal favourite people).
I just read the news article you linked to.
'Facing down right wing pressure'... sheesh, what alternative dimension do these guys live in?
Take it from me, the only reason most Christians vote conservative is abortion, and to lesser degree other moral issues mainly affecting children and families (NB. excluding 'gay marriage', mainstream 'gay rights' barely raise an eyebrow), but abortion is the big number one. In every other respect it's an uphill battle trying to disabuse them of the usual Leftist feel-good claptrap.
If the US Democrats went pro-life, they would probably lock in the mainstream Christian vote for generations.
Yes - at least in general- that's why I found it interesting to read about Rick Warren. He seems much more intellectually grounded and fair minded compared to some I have met here in Lykesboro.
abortion is the big number one
Abortion doesn't matter (in the US at least) as:
1.) A huge part of the population want to keep some types of abortion legal.
1b) Most people do not want zero constraints on abortion.
2.) If Roe V Wade is overturned each state makes up its own rules. See number 1.
3.) South Dakota, one of the most conservative states in the country, knocked down a proposed ammendment to make it illegal.
If the US Democrats went pro-life, they would probably lock in the mainstream Christian vote for generations.
They would drive away a lot of their base as well. Abortion is a weird wedge, because it cuts both ways, there are people that are Democrats or Republicans soley based on their opinion on that issue.
--Joey
Oh sure, I understand any political stance on abortion is purely symbolic for you guys.
My point was, though, that the idea that Christians as a bloc are solid supporters of conservative policies just isn't true.
Christians on the whole are moral conservatives (although a _lot_ less rigidly so than most hollywood liberals imagine), but on most policies (economic for example) they are extremely varied, but tend to be more Left than Right.
I wish it weren't so, but I can't deny it.
Over here, conservatives are lucky that the Labor Party is so full of rabid feminists and socialists.
I know most of the guys at church would probably vote Labor (for their education and health policies for example), if they weren't so darn vocal about how much they hate us!
I definitely agree, Kip. When you have two parties, the welcoming tents have to be pretty large, and as such you will find a variety of opinions within each.
There are absolutely Christians that vote for Republican because of moral issues, just as there are Democrats who promote Conservative economic ideas but are scared of the Religious Right. Single issue voters are tough to understand.
--Joey
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