Christian readers of RRW might very well find an advocate in the new org, Christian Alliance for Progress (CAP). They were recently attacked by Jerry Falwell, so they must be doing something right. Christian or non-, if you want a great example of the Christian Right's understanding of "faith" (i.e., the Christian Right is really about [conservative] politics, not faith), the below reprinted e-mail from CAP is interesting. (The emphasis is not in the original.)
On July 8, the Reverend Jerry Falwell sent out an email to the Moral Majority Coalition and the Liberty Alliance attacking the Christian Alliance for Progress. He claims that we are “hardly Christian” in part because of our political views. Read his email here.
On the following Sunday, the Christian Alliance received a host of emails that were clearly fueled by Reverend Falwell’s words of anger. Many of these messages repeated his judgmental tone, but almost none said anything about the values Jesus taught. For example, "It's a travesty that your group has taken the 'Christian' name." Click here to see more of the comments that we received from his followers .
We suspect that Reverend Falwell’s criticism of the Christian Alliance for Progress is not really about faith. We think it’s more about imposing his radical right-wing politics and ideology. His statement illustrates how the leaders of the Religious Right try to mandate to Americans what it means to be Christian. Is Reverend Falwell’s way really the only way to express Christianity in the public square? Are the political views of the radical Religious Right really the only views Christians are permitted to have? We say no. Christianity is our faith. We seek to follow the values Jesus taught and to express those values in our political views.
We want to hear YOUR response. Perhaps you feel Reverend Falwell’s attack on the Christian Alliance is also an attack on YOU. Take a stand for the Christian values in which you believe. Tell us how you would respond to Jerry Falwell. If we get 5000 responses, we'll see how we can deliver these messages to Reverend Falwell. Let’s remember that, according to the Washington Post, Reverend Falwell is one of the people the White House has asked for input on the Supreme Court nominee. Send your response to Reverend Falwell so we can help remind him and the White House that there are many Christians who see our nation’s needs differently than he does. Ask your friends, your family, and your co-workers to do the same. Click Here to Respond to Reverend Falwell’s Letter.
Patrick Mrotek
Founder
This is what I sent to Falwell via the Christian Alliance for Progess link:
Two words that DO go together: Christian and Politics. You, Reverend Falwell, I believe to be firm in your faith and attempting to live a Christian life. Where it seems you fall short is in your judgment of others.
From you recent email regarding the Christian Alliance for Progress you point to Romans 1, quite rightly stating that Paul denounces homosexuality. I agree. Where we differ is that you choose to ignore chapter 2 which begins with: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."
Reverend Falwell, I urge you to continue your ministry to people in an effort to save souls but I must similarly discourage you from attempting to legislate Christian theology into the American mainstream from an overly pious pulpit. Faith can be shared from a preacher to a group and from person to person but when it is legislated as man's law it becomes no more than a face of faith, without the heart and mind taking part in that decision.
I want every person to come to faith if they choose to, not because they are told it is man's law. Let man judge man by man's laws, let God judge us by His law.
From Mark 12:
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[f] The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[g]There is no commandment greater than these."
Let us not be self-righteous, let us be speakers of The Word with love, with compassion, and caring for all.
Further, as regards abortion, I will agree with you that it is an abomination, a horror to all, especially to the child. That understood, we know what happened prior to Roe v. Wade: the rich went to Canada, Mexico and Europe to end their pregnancies in comfortable clinics while the poor went, quite literally, to back alley offices and often suffered a much worse fate.
Abortion law should be changed, but not in the manner that the Fundamentalist Right wants it, not as a complete illegality. There is no fairness in that law.
Consider the middle ground, please. You make it very difficult to bring the Word to those that have heard it spoken so often by you and your cohorts, full of condemnation, self-righteous piety, and obvious hypocrisy in the totality of your actions.
Posted by: Rich Hall | July 22, 2005 at 05:03 PM