"Our Movement Has Been Used"
I have refrained from commenting on the whole Ted Haggard debacle because... well... what exactly does one say? Or maybe it's because I knew that someone would say what I was thinking better than I could. Gordon MacDonald has done so. Here is an excerpt from his recent op-ed piece for Christianity Today:
...We are now part of an evangelical movement that is greatly compromised—identified in the eyes of the public as deep in the hip pockets of the Republican party and administration. My own belief? Our movement has been used.
...[Evangelicalism] is beginning to fragment because it is more identified by a political agenda that seems to be failing and less identified by a commitment to Jesus and his kingdom. Like it or not, we are pictured as those who support war, torture, and a go-it-alone (bullying) posture in international relationships... Our movement may have its Supreme Court appointments, but it may also have compromised its historic center of Biblical faith. Is it time to let the larger public know that some larger-than-life evangelical personalities with radio and TV shows do not speak for all of us?
Read the full text here.
...We are now part of an evangelical movement that is greatly compromised—identified in the eyes of the public as deep in the hip pockets of the Republican party and administration. My own belief? Our movement has been used.
...[Evangelicalism] is beginning to fragment because it is more identified by a political agenda that seems to be failing and less identified by a commitment to Jesus and his kingdom. Like it or not, we are pictured as those who support war, torture, and a go-it-alone (bullying) posture in international relationships... Our movement may have its Supreme Court appointments, but it may also have compromised its historic center of Biblical faith. Is it time to let the larger public know that some larger-than-life evangelical personalities with radio and TV shows do not speak for all of us?
Read the full text here.
posted by Bob | 9:04 PM
4 Comments:
It's a sad truth I think. But I don't think we can say this surprises us. I think MacDonald has put into words what I've been feeling since 9/11 when the top evangelical leaders (or at least those who appear to the general public as such) claimed that the attacks in New York was the punishment of God on the gays of the nation. Ever since then I've cringed at the mention of the word evangelical Christian.
I heard an interesting comment from one of my non-Christian friends that really drove home the point of the article. He wondered if the difficulties with the war in Iraq would lead Christians to question their faith in Jesus (and sort of suggested that it should). His comment illustrated his belief that the faith of Christians is founded just as much on Republican politics as it is on the cross of Christ. After some of the examples that he has seen (including myself at times) I can't blame him for thinking this. It makes me feel sick.
Derek Webb's lyrics have been growing on me since his concert at Coram Deo. This discussion reminds me of what he said in one of his songs off of the Mockingbird album.
"I have heard two great lies in my life...(one being) that Jesus Christ is a white middle class republican, and if we want to be saved we have to learn to live like him."
In this piece, MacDonald is describing what I see on a daily basis. It is also the reason the gospel isn't being spread, therefore, more of a reason it should be spoke truthfully. In my culture, I am not seeing the gospel spread, but the ideas of the different congregations of churches. This has become customary. For example, when I talk to people about Corem Deo, their first question is always, "What affiliation is it". I respond, "Well we are not exactly affiliated, we just love Jesus". After a while of this dialoged, some have even gone as far as saying that CD sounds like a cult, just because we are not affiliated. A cult? You have to be kidding me! Well a Jesus loving cult I guess. What I am trying to explain, is that when I start talking about Jesus, peoples first reaction is what kind of Jesus are you talking about? It is sad that in order to talk about the gospel you first have to tell people what affiliation of the gospel you are talking about. Since when has Jesus fit into a box? The last time someone tried to fit him into a box, he ended up condemning the whole group. (Pharisees) Are we as a culture heading down the same road?
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