It seems that God's influence on the Republican party has begun to fade. Gone are the days when Abortion and Family Values ruled the Right, or so it would seem. But will God make a swinging comeback in time for the 2008 election? Will the top question in evangelical minds be the stance of a candidate on abortion or taxation? God's political agenda will no doubt be a player in the political landscape of the future, from the local level to the White House, but how substantial will that role be? My experience tells me it will play out differently than we have ever experienced and the Liberal Christians should look to be ready and here's how.
The current administration prides itself on Christian values and follow "His" plan. But whose plan are they really following and why does the religious right still support these officials? Will James Dobson's agenda finally become the White House's agenda? I understand that this particular issue has been raked through the coals of the blogosphere many times but I haven't read that many responses that ask what the left can do about it. Some writers, like David Kuo, offer the Christian perspective on the political landscape with a fairly objective, albeit sometimes bitter, view.
Why can't the left start to offer its own set of values and beliefs that are attractive to the religious right. I am not ashamed to call myself a liberal evangelical and neither should the many people who, whether they realize it or not, fall under the liberal belief umbrella. They simply allow themselves to be bullied by the pulpit rather than taking up the freethinking beliefs upon which Protestantism (the evangelical base) is derived.
Take the current crop of Presidential hopefuls for example. Every top Democratic (and by this I mean registering on the polls at some level, yes you too Chris Dodd) is married and has never divorced. Not a single one of them. On the Republican side one need not look farther than John McCain or Rudi Giuliani to find divorce rearing its head. I only bring up this issue because often while I am in church fellow parishioners will ask me the most interesting of questions since my position in politics is relatively well know ‘round the house of worship. Questions generally begin with the following statement, “You cannot be a democrat and a Christian…I just don’t understand, how does that whole thing work?” Those same people usually walk away angrily confused, more understanding of the separation between politics and faith, or hell-bent on converting me to the correct party. Church, I find myself explaining, exists to allow others to learn about and worship God. I recently took a consulting job with a candidate for city council running city wide on the basis of bringing in better transportation options, storm water management (a big issue in Florida), and more open city government. Sounds fairly straightforward, right? Wrong! The opponent in the race was a city council incumbent who happened to attend a church where I once worshipped. This particular candidate had served 8 years on the city council and had accomplished little more than attending functions with our congressman to get some pork flowing down to widen a few roads. Oh and he also served as the chairman of the most influential government committee for transportation and had acted in favor of developers to bring in as much new development as possible with little disregard for environmental impact or infrastructure. But policy aside, he was a churchgoer and that’s what counts. I started to receive a few phone calls and emails a few days after accepting the job from concerned church members regarding the security of my faith and their worry over my turn “against the Church and God’s plan.” Seriously. I would like to note, however, that the candidate I supported did wind up winning the election and my world hasn’t collapsed yet. Liberal Christians need to find one another so that this system of attacks won’t keep one another down. Jesus Christ, I believe in my heart of hearts, is the one method of attaining salvation. That is what I believe and there is nothing that will ever change that. Period. Having said that I believe His issues are the ones that still plague our country and require our attention. More on what those issues are and how Liberal Christians can fight for them over the next few days. It is Sunday morning after all and Church is a few hours away.
I leave you with a song a friend of mine and I came up with a few years ago during my time on the West Coast, it is sung to the tune of God Bless the USA and makes for serious karaoke fun:
"God Bless the G.O.P."
If tomorrow all the laws were gone, I’d lobbied in my life
And I had to start again, with just my musket and steak knife
I’d thank Ronald and George to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and Dems can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be a Republican,
not a Frenchie with his brie
And I won’t forget the Gingrich House,
who delivered liberty.
And I’ll get a tax cut, bright and new
due to laissez policy
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land…
God bless the G.O.P.
From the deserts of Nevada,
to the hills of West VA
Across the skies of I-Ho,
red state to landlocked state
From Memphis down to Cheyenne… Let’s forget the costal bays!
Well, there’s pride in every Republican heart,
And it’s time to stand and say:
That I’m proud to be a Republican,
not a Frenchie with his brie
And I won’t forget the Gingrich House,
who delivered liberty.
And I’ll get a tax cut, bright and new
due to laissez policy
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land…
God bless the G.O.P.
And I’m proud to be a Republican,
not a Frenchie with his brie
And I won’t forget the Gingrich House,
who delivered liberty.
And I’ll get a tax cut, bright and new
due to laissez policy
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land… God bless the G.O.P.