The Evangelical Crackup

[babsbunny]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/magazine/28Evangelicals-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp&oref=slogin

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: October 28, 2007
The hundred-foot white cross atop the Immanuel Baptist Church in downtown Wichita, Kan., casts a shadow over a neighborhood of payday lenders, pawnbrokers and pornographic video stores. To its parishioners, this has long been the front line of the culture war. Immanuel has stood for Southern Baptist traditionalism for more than half a century. Until recently, its pastor, Terry Fox, was the Jerry Falwell of the Sunflower State — the public face of the conservative Christian political movement in a place where that made him a very big deal.

With flushed red cheeks and a pudgy, dimpled chin, Fox roared down from Immanuel’s pulpit about the wickedness of abortion, evolution and homosexuality. He mobilized hundreds of Kansas pastors to push through a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, helping to unseat a handful of legislators in the process. His Sunday-morning services reached tens of thousands of listeners on regional cable television, and on Sunday nights he was a host of a talk-radio program, “Answering the Call.” Major national conservative Christian groups like Focus on the Family lauded his work, and the Southern Baptist Convention named him chairman of its North American Mission Board.

[fasttense]

1. And here's the zinger.....

"So when Fox announced to his flock one Sunday in August last year that it was his final appearance in the pulpit, the news startled evangelical activists from Atlanta to Grand Rapids. Fox told the congregation that he was quitting so he could work full time on “cultural issues.” Within days, The Wichita Eagle reported that Fox left under pressure. The board of deacons had told him that his activism was getting in the way of the Gospel. “It just wasn’t pertinent,” Associate Pastor Gayle Tenbrook later told me."

[Warpy]

2. The number of times this thread has appeared

over the last 24 hours tells me almost as much as the thread, itself.

People really are sick to death of preachers in politics.

[ginchinchili]

5. Fascinating article, but there's another lesson to this story.

It's not just about being too heavy handed in promoting a particular religious point of view or the corrosive ties between church and state; it should also make us mindful of the chilling effect of being too aggressive with any ideology.

Many of the posts I read on DU express a belief that this presidential election is going to be a cakewalk for the Democrats and that a strong swing to the left will rule the day. After all, considering what Democrats have had to tolerate over the last decade or so the Republicans really have it coming to them.

The fact that HRC is so far out in front and that she is the most divisive of the candidates is cause for concern. Just because Bush has been such a bad president doesn't mean our nation's political pendulum has swung back to the left. Though I do believe there are Americans who see themselves as Republicans who are questioning their Party's leaders and some of the more extreme elements of the Right Wing, this shouldn't be misconstrued as a swing to the left. Instead, it's more likely a moderation of some of their more extreme manifestations resulting from their Party being in power..

I point this out only as a cautionary reminder that as the Democrats power in American politics increases, we should stay mindful of the lessons we hopefully have learned from the Republican's mistakes. It's not us against them, as many RW pundits would have us believe. We're one nation with differing points of view that must come together to work out our problems in a way that our entire country benefits from. The good news is that the Republicans did a pretty good job of demonstrating that their ideas and leadership have failed miserably. It's now time for the Democrats to prove that they have a better way.

[acmavm]

3. Too damn bad it's taken soooooo long to happen.

[PDittie]

4. This is your best reading of the day

Long, but worth the time. Lots of insights, including how the conservative e-mail smear corrupts the thinking of the ignorant (which I previously read in this Nation article):

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071112/hayes

[Frustratedlady]

6. Excellent article.

It appears the tide is turning. I was especially impressed by Hybels approach. Refreshing. I have some diehard friends who aren't going to change easily, but I'm hoping they see the light. At least they have figured out the mistakes they made the last time.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Read it this morning...there's votes to be had in this community

Many of them rate ending the war as more important than tiltng at the abortion rights windmill and fighting gay marriage. The younger evangelists are more socially and environmentally conscious...we need to pursue the opportunity that's presenting itself here.