You know, right wing evangelical Christians and the rest of humanity seem so different from each other. But I think it's a question of psychology and patterns of thinking.
It starts with the basic premise of evangelical Christianity. Evangelicals accept Christ as their savior and that's it. Other religions ask their followers to look at the religious texts and make up their own minds. In seminary, students really begin to understand what the Bible represents. The evangelicals regard it as an article of faith, rather like a prayer cloth blessed by Jerry Falwell. Many think that marking up the Bible (making notes, using a highlighter) is sacrilege. Now that's extreme.
What is it about certain people that they're afraid of the truth? It's as if we have two different kinds of people living in this country - those who are comfortable with a limited understanding of the universe, and the rest of us - who know that their understanding is limited, and want to know more.
These closed-minded evangelicals scare me. These are the kind of people who will follow a leader blindly into battle, because 'My country right or wrong.' They'll accuse you of patriotism because you question whether the government's making the right choices. They were the kind of people that joined the Hitler Youth and the Nazi Party. Religious organizations, especially those that are personality-driven, love this climate of fear because it increases membership.
On the good news front, many prominent evangelicals have said that Bush II, a self-proclaimed evangelical Christian, does not reflect evangelical Christian values.
George W. Bush might be as consistent as he claims, but being consistent isn't a good thing when he's consistently wrong, and being consistently wrong without acknowledging it or correcting it goes directly to character. If he earnestly believed the things he said to the nation and to the world then a Christian should acknowledge the error of his ways and fix it - his refusal to do so reflects poorly on the Body of Christ. The truth is that George W. Bush isn't consistent either - his own flip-flops are legion, for they are many
So it's reassuring that the evangelicals can think for themselves on some issues. But if we can't get around this evolution issue then we'll never manage to unite this country. We need to separate church and state. The Pod People will continue to hold back progress, all in the name of Christ.
Let us not find ourselves like the people Jesus talks about in Matthew 7:21-23, at the Judgment Seat of Christ saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not vote Republican in Your name, and in Your name cast out homosexuals, and in Your name oppose many abortions?" just to hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness." George W. Bush's character and policies directly oppose the commands of Jesus Christ. We cannot support him, his policies, or his candidacy. Christians must vote George W. Bush out of office.
Direct your evangelical friends to this website. It's got one of the most cogent arguments I've seen against George W. Bush. Not that it matters any more - we can't elect him again! But it will help the mindset next time this issue comes up.
http://dfa.bmgbiz.net/evangelical.html