An evangelical laments: "Jesus is not a Republican"
Thanks to my colleague Paul Peterson for passing on this essay, published this week in the Chronicle of Higher Education. In it, Randall Balmer, professor of American religious history at Barnard College and an evangelical Christian, provides a comprehensive indictment of the alliance between the religious right and the Republican party, as well as a vision for evangelicals to reclaim the heart of their faith.
Religious belief, he argues, is at its best and most powerful when it is outside of its culture - a fringe or counterculture. Free from the power structures, it is able to offer its good news faithfully and never compromise its message to kowtow to political factions in order to grow a power base
In truth, the power base of evangelical faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ, a message that becomes more ridiculous and more dangerous the more enmeshed with the trappings of power and worldliness one becomes. Jesus and his followers acknowledge the rule of those in power for the present, but they did not curry favor or seek to align themselves with those powers. They did not disdain the world - quite the contrary, they constantly did good works to alleviate suffering here and now and to bring joy and hope to those needing a good word - but they knew all too well that every structure of human power is rotted from the inside by the corrupting influence of sin.
Scripture is clear: the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is the single solid foundation, the base of power, and its cornerstone is the risen Lord himself. The closer that truth is to the heart of the church, the closer the church is to the heart of its Lord. That is the goal toward which all the faithful - evangelical, mainline, Orthodox, and Catholic alike - should be striving with a singleminded determination.
Excellent article, although it's lengthy. For those interested in pursuing Balmer's argument in greater depth, his book Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical's Lament is on the presses now. Look for it next month.
Religious belief, he argues, is at its best and most powerful when it is outside of its culture - a fringe or counterculture. Free from the power structures, it is able to offer its good news faithfully and never compromise its message to kowtow to political factions in order to grow a power base
In truth, the power base of evangelical faith is the gospel of Jesus Christ, a message that becomes more ridiculous and more dangerous the more enmeshed with the trappings of power and worldliness one becomes. Jesus and his followers acknowledge the rule of those in power for the present, but they did not curry favor or seek to align themselves with those powers. They did not disdain the world - quite the contrary, they constantly did good works to alleviate suffering here and now and to bring joy and hope to those needing a good word - but they knew all too well that every structure of human power is rotted from the inside by the corrupting influence of sin.
Scripture is clear: the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is the single solid foundation, the base of power, and its cornerstone is the risen Lord himself. The closer that truth is to the heart of the church, the closer the church is to the heart of its Lord. That is the goal toward which all the faithful - evangelical, mainline, Orthodox, and Catholic alike - should be striving with a singleminded determination.
Excellent article, although it's lengthy. For those interested in pursuing Balmer's argument in greater depth, his book Thy Kingdom Come: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America: An Evangelical's Lament is on the presses now. Look for it next month.
posted by Bob at
11:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home