duuuh...yee-ah, ahma krischun
this article highlights the need for those who agree that most Christians are rational, thoughtful, educated and culturally adept people to take seriously the responsibility of demonstrating this to the world, not so that we may gain some political or social respect (which is not likely to happen anyway), but because there is a world of such "elites" and not-so-elites that need to hear the message of hope that Christ provides for every walk of life and to understand the rationality of the Christian faith.
"In a recent speech at Tufts University, Andy Rooney reflected on the election and said, according to The Tufts Daily, that Christian fundamentalism is a result of 'a lack of education. They haven't been exposed to what the world has to offer.'"--------
"[Andy] Rooney is reflective of the 'liberal elite' in America that suffers from an odd disconnect with much of America and those who voted for President Bush. With respect to Isaac Asimov, I have decided to create 'The Three Political Laws of Christian Fundamentalists' for the confused 'liberal elite':
A Christian is a human being capable of independent, logical reasoning to the highest order.
These laws might serve a good base as these elites attempt to reach out to those in 'Jesuslan' [sic] over the next four years and work to correct their lenses that only allows them to see 'homophobic knuckle-draggers'
In terms of practical examples supporting these laws, it might be good to look back in history and be reminded that some of these Christian fundamentalists served a significant part in our great nation's birth. From Sir Isaac Newton to George Washington Carver, from Abraham Lincoln to Woodrow Wilson to Martin Luther King Jr., these were all what liberal elites such as Andy Rooney would define as 'uneducated, uninformed Christian fundamentalists' simply based on their religious beliefs."
--------
"For some liberal minds that cannot reach to their grade school days, I made a summary of their accomplishments:
Christians always had intellectual giants and agents of change whose faith did not conflict with becoming a great inventor, statesman, or advocate of human progress. From Cyrus McCormick to Charles Malik to Fyodor Dostoyevski to Mother Teresa, the driving force behind their intellect, sweat, and compassion was their faith in Jesus Christ."
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 12/02/2004 01:30:00 PM
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8 Comments:
hi. i came across your blog by way of alex forrest's blog.
i thought this article was interesting. being a member of a fairly prestigious academic institution (what would be considered part of the 'liberal elite'), i've shared such sentiments over the past years. however, i've also come to realize that, while a bit exaggerated, accusations like Rooney's aren't without merit.
the 'turn or burn' form of christian evangelization that has run so rampant through the past century has caused a lot of damage to how the rest of the world, or at least the 'liberal elite', views christianity. while on an individual level it might be possible to show others that christians can be rational, loving and peace-seeking people, some of the strongest images that get portrayed to the world are those of icons like jerry falwell proclaiming that he'd kill a homosexual man if such a man ever looked at him in a questionable way, or of america's "christian" president waging a pre-emptive war that has resulted in the death of tens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of human lives. this sort of fundamentalism is, what i believe, the majority of the 'liberal elite' is so (rightly) afraid of.
the problem that compounds further on images like this is that, to much of the world, american christians have seemingly banded together in this last political election to re-elect bush. while you and i might believe that a person's presidential choice is theirs to be decided based on their own values and convictions, many leaders in the christian community (e.g. pat robertson) announced that it was a christian's responsibility to vote for bush. when other people (the 'liberal elite') hear things like this, you can probably rationally understand why christians might be viewed as people who don't really think, but instead just follow the leader.
while christians have made a great impact on society throughout the ages, they have also done much damage (i'm thinking of the crusades, for example). in order for christians to again be respected as "rational, thoughtful, educated and culturally adept people", we must attempt to actively reclaim our heritage as the "light and salt of the earth." however, as long as our image continues to be molded by the likes of leaders like falwell, robertson, and bush, and as long as christians continue to display solidarity with these types without ever holding them accountable to some of Jesus's less tractable commands (love thy neighbor...), it's going to be a pretty difficult job.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I agree with you that there are reasons why some view Christianity negatively. There have been events throughout history (crusades, as you pointed out for example) that have given an improper protrayal of Christianity. I had not heard about the statement from Falwell, but if it's true, that is clearly wrong. Jerry Falwell certainly doesn't represent the whole Evangelical community just as Andy Rooney doesn't represent all liberals. Clearly, there are some who would claim to be a Christian and a liberal at the same time, with good reason.
Among those that carry the label of "liberal" are many shades (and I'm speaking politically)...one person might be liberal primarily in relation to social issues like abortion, women's and civil rights, animal rights, etc., with little concern for other issues like the poor and homeless, etc. Some of those issues are very compatible with Christian belief. Though I may hold different views with how one goes about dealing with the issue of the poor, we still may agree that it is our responsibility as Christians to do something. Others, however, like the gay agenda, abortion, etc., frankly, according to Scripture, are incompatible with biblical Christianity (sad that I have to add biblical in front of Christianity).
There are some who consider themselves fiscal conservatives who disagree with the war or other traditional conservative positions. Though I am no fan of war, I disagree with your assessment of this one. Some things are worth fighting for and I think these issues are. Nevertheless, that can be a divisive issue, but doesn't have to. There is room for discussion. As a president, I like Bush, but I don't want him as a spokesman for Christian Evangelicalism...I don't agree with all of his theology. I probably don't agree with everything Falwell believes (I obviously don't if that's his view of gay people--I differentiate the sin from the person), and I certainly don't believe everything Robertson believes. Besides particular theological points where we may differ, I disagree with their politicizing the Christian faith. I don't believe there is anything wrong with having strong political views as a Christian, but I believe they have helped marginalize Christianity by helping turn it into just another Washington special interest group, thereby rendering it irrelevant to speak to the culture...it all looks like so much self-interest. In my opinion, that encourages a wrong assessment of what the faith of Christianity is all about.
I think most Christians would agree with you that telling someone that to be a good Christian, they must vote for Bush is wrong. I can see pointing out the differences which may make a decision more of a no-brainer, but telling someone who they must vote for in order to be a good Christian is clearly wrong. Doing so is not a widely held Christian position, but I know there are many yahoos around who do it. I think it important for a Christian to be a critical thinker (for himself), and to evaluate where the candidates stand on each issue and prayerfully make a decision based on that. If a pastor or other minister can help an individual clarify what issues Scripture speaks to, I see no problem with that. However, in my view, that's as far is it should go. We shouldn't shame an individual for voting the way we do.
We need to keep in mind, though, that we're looking for the BETTER candidate, not the PERFECT one. Just because I like Bush doesn't mean that I think he's perfect or that I can't disagree with some of his positions. Actually, if I agree with everything any candidate ever says or does, probably I'm either not thinking critically enough or I'm naive (maybe there's a third option, but something isn't right).
As for your final statements regarding salt and light I couldn't agree with you more and couldn't have said it better. No one should blindly follow any leader, save Christ Himself, and our goal should always be to live a life of grace, dignity, and honor so that we can accurately reflect the Lord we serve. Thanks again, for your comments.
thanks for the response. i wasn't planning on writing anymore, but i thought about your response a little and wanted to ask you something.
one of the problems i see with america right now is that our foreign policy has severely damaged our reputation in the eyes of the world. to make this problem worse, people around the world are confusing george bush's actions and policies with christianity (or at least american christianity), because of the overly abundant support of bush from the christian evangelical community, as well as bush's persistent use of God-mandate language in his justification for the war.
anyway, you wrote in your response about how certain issues, like the gay agenda, abortion, etc., "are incompatible with biblical Christianity." a few paragraphs later, you wrote (concerning our current military situation), "Though I am no fan of war, ...Some things are worth fighting for and I think these issues are." as you know, there are many places in the four gospels where Jesus speaks very clearly against the use of violence ("turn the other cheek", "love you enemies", "whoever lives by the sword shall die by the sword", etc.). i guess what i'm curious to understand is, in you desire to live out biblical Christianity (which i whole-heartedly believe you desire), how do you reconcile our current military situation, (which factually was pre-emptive and has cost the lives of thousands and thousands of people, many who were innoncent civilians) with the words of Jesus? personally, i've found ways to justify this war within the context of different reasonings. however, i've never been able to justify it within a context of biblical Christianity.
anyway, please know that i'm not trying to attack your views here or anything, i'm just trying to understand your viewpoint. looking forward to your response...
Kidpositive,
Thanks so much for your response and your question. It is really a great question and I want to try and answer it thoughtfully and honestly. I may be a few days in getting a full response to you because I'm at the end of the semester and I have a few days of hard work ahead of me to get through it. I will, however, answer you in full, so please check back in. Again, I appreciate your question and the spirit in which you asked it.
while you're finishing up your semester, i just realized that my earlier reference was incorrect; it was not jerry falwell, but jimmy swaggart who in fact said, "I've never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm gonna be blunt and plain; if one ever looks at me like that, I'm gonna kill him and tell God he died." i went ahead and found a clip of the broadcast on the net. you can find it here:
http://www.oliverwillis.com/stuff/swaggart.wmvi'm guessing that you and i disagree on on a number of issues. however, i'm hoping that we will probably agree on how aweful it is that a leader of the christian community could get away with saying something like this (on television nonetheless), and that what he is saying is NOT the message of love and redemption found through the work of God in Christ.
yes, we are in total agreement. i found his statement ignorant and without grace. the fact that swaggart said he wasn't bashing the "poor gay people" doesn't erase nor excuse what he said. it's amazing what is said when people are applauding you on. i should point out, also, that biblically, swaggart should have stepped down from ministry the day he had his affair. i wasn't a swaggart fan before the incident to start with, but please don't think he is in any position to be a spokesman for Christianity (even though he confessed his sin after he got caught...he still disqualified himself for ministry, forgiven or not--see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1). though i told you i don't view falwell as being the best "front-man" for evangelicalism at this point, i did not think that was the kind of statement he would make.
the fact about homosexuality is that the Bible clearly DOES describe it as an abomination before God (see Romans 1), but we MUST be able to differentiate the sin from the sinner, because not one of us are without sin before God. however, i must acknowledge sin to be what it is in my own life and in others. if i lie, i am a liar...that is sin according to Scripture. i must confess that and get right before God. it is the same with homosexuality or any other thing God calls sin. it may be culturally "in" to deny practicing homosexuality is a sin, but the REALITY is only by calling it what it is, acknowledging it and confessing it as sin before God can there be forgiveness and deliverance. So, i don't slam homosexuals any more than i slam myself for the sin i am guilty of. i respect people who are homosexuals as creations of God whom He died to save, but i don't buy into and will not support their political and social agenda. in order for them to receive the salvation from God, they must (like me with my sin) turn from it and ask Him for the gift (for more on my views on this, see my post from november 29, "a moral dichotomy").
ok, two more days and i'm free. i'll be able to post more then. thanks, kidpositive.
still (eagerly) waiting for your reply on this...
sorry, man, totally forgot. i'll get it up here as soon as i can. thanks for the reminder.
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