I’m not unfamiliar with the world of evangelical Christians. I say evangelical Christians, instead of the usual broad reference of evangelicals, because I know a lot of Christians who would not want to be identified with the moniker “evangelical”. I am one of them.
But like I said, I am well acquainted with the evangelical world. For one thing, I was raised in that culture. Many of my family members are a part of the evangelical circle. But despite my previous relationship with that culture, I don’t identify with it. The truth is, I don’t understand all of what they believe. But I’m trying. I know I identify with some of their core beliefs—such as the divinity of Christ. But other things that they hold dear, such as being ‘born again’, the virgin birth, and the inerrancy of Scripture are either unimportant to me or outside my realm of beliefs.
In any case, as I journey on the path to a new faith community, I have to confront the evangelical movement one way or another (nearly all churches and most Quaker Meetings in North Carolina have an evangelical bent). I am reading a book called “God and Country” in an attempt to understand these folks.
Here are a few things I’ve discovered so far:
They are far more comfortable with the culture at-large than we realize. They are in greater numbers, too. Their recent influence on our government is no accident, and may be around for a long time. They are courted by the Republicans, but mainly because they courted the Republicans first. Their attraction to the conservative political movement surprises me—conservative politics is to me in direct conflict with the Gospel. But not if you view the Gospel from an evangelical perspective. See, they believe in the responsibility of the individual. Individual attention to being ‘saved’. Individual obligations to one’s own family, taking responsibility for your own actions, etc. So, in that light, it makes sense (though I must say I still believe it’s in direct conflict with the Gospel) that evangelicals do not support government social programs, don’t want sex education in the schools, and other ‘causes’ they are known for championing. What doesn’t make sense is their persistence involving other matters that I would think they would believe to be an individual's responsibility—the right to choose an abortion, the right to pray or not to pray at school, the right to choose to blow off the Ten Commandments (which Christ didn’t seem to be too obsessed with any way). I guess I’d understand them more fully if they were consistent about what they considered the realm of the individual.
But as I said, I do think such things are in the realm of the villagers, to use a Hillary Clinton concept. I think we must have social programs—you cannot count on the religious sector to meet all the needs of the poor, and if government does what it should, the poor should be protected and maybe we’d have less poor people to begin with. The church cannot dictate what the market place pays workers, or how long a workday should be—government must play a social role, despite what the conservatives wish. And Jesus said to love my neighbor as myself, which means I must not see things as solely an individual’s responsibility. It takes a community to keep a community. If that makes any sense. But I stop short of where evangelicals boldly march on—I do think it’s an individual’s right to choose to have a baby (or not), and so many other things. But as a follower of Christ, it’s my ‘job’ to be a good neighbor, to care about the situations I find my fellow neighbors in, and to help those in need. It’s not about my personal Jesus and me—it’s about me, you, and all other life on this planet.
But like I said, I am well acquainted with the evangelical world. For one thing, I was raised in that culture. Many of my family members are a part of the evangelical circle. But despite my previous relationship with that culture, I don’t identify with it. The truth is, I don’t understand all of what they believe. But I’m trying. I know I identify with some of their core beliefs—such as the divinity of Christ. But other things that they hold dear, such as being ‘born again’, the virgin birth, and the inerrancy of Scripture are either unimportant to me or outside my realm of beliefs.
In any case, as I journey on the path to a new faith community, I have to confront the evangelical movement one way or another (nearly all churches and most Quaker Meetings in North Carolina have an evangelical bent). I am reading a book called “God and Country” in an attempt to understand these folks.
Here are a few things I’ve discovered so far:
They are far more comfortable with the culture at-large than we realize. They are in greater numbers, too. Their recent influence on our government is no accident, and may be around for a long time. They are courted by the Republicans, but mainly because they courted the Republicans first. Their attraction to the conservative political movement surprises me—conservative politics is to me in direct conflict with the Gospel. But not if you view the Gospel from an evangelical perspective. See, they believe in the responsibility of the individual. Individual attention to being ‘saved’. Individual obligations to one’s own family, taking responsibility for your own actions, etc. So, in that light, it makes sense (though I must say I still believe it’s in direct conflict with the Gospel) that evangelicals do not support government social programs, don’t want sex education in the schools, and other ‘causes’ they are known for championing. What doesn’t make sense is their persistence involving other matters that I would think they would believe to be an individual's responsibility—the right to choose an abortion, the right to pray or not to pray at school, the right to choose to blow off the Ten Commandments (which Christ didn’t seem to be too obsessed with any way). I guess I’d understand them more fully if they were consistent about what they considered the realm of the individual.
But as I said, I do think such things are in the realm of the villagers, to use a Hillary Clinton concept. I think we must have social programs—you cannot count on the religious sector to meet all the needs of the poor, and if government does what it should, the poor should be protected and maybe we’d have less poor people to begin with. The church cannot dictate what the market place pays workers, or how long a workday should be—government must play a social role, despite what the conservatives wish. And Jesus said to love my neighbor as myself, which means I must not see things as solely an individual’s responsibility. It takes a community to keep a community. If that makes any sense. But I stop short of where evangelicals boldly march on—I do think it’s an individual’s right to choose to have a baby (or not), and so many other things. But as a follower of Christ, it’s my ‘job’ to be a good neighbor, to care about the situations I find my fellow neighbors in, and to help those in need. It’s not about my personal Jesus and me—it’s about me, you, and all other life on this planet.
*Photo courtesy of Martin LaBar. Contact him at hathach3@earthlink.net*
No comments:
Post a Comment