I think it goes back to the fact that the evangelical community often does not have a biblical vision of God.
Women have the same privileges and opportunities as men, given the New Testament.
And we’ve got to ask ourselves some very serious questions as to whether or not certain religious leaders, in terms of raising money – I hate to bring this up – are pushing hot buttons.
Certain things happened in the early church. Women who had never had any freedom suddenly have the ability to stand up and speak and be treated as equals within the life of the church.
Getting the government to put money into social programs run by religious institutions is a practice that started during the Clinton years, when Bill Clinton advocated the AmeriCorps program.
I am not suggesting that all those missionary organizations working in Haiti should pack up and go home, but I am urging them to understand that Haiti does not need clever Americans with newly contrived schemes for saving their country.
I contend that Bush would be a lot more moderate if there weren’t some fundamentalists breathing down his neck every time he wants to establish the state of Israel, every time he wants to do justice for the Palestinian people.
I don’t know of many evangelicals who want to deny gay couples their legal rights. However, most of us don’t want to call it marriage, because we think that word has religious connotations, and we’re not ready to see it used in ways that offend us.
If being human requires freedom, then enslavement to the cares of this world is dehumanizing.
When you listen to Christian radio stations – and there are thousands of them now in the United States – and when you listen to Christian television networks – and there are thousands of Christian television shows across the country – they are all politically right.
What I am trying to say is that Jesus who incarnated God 2,000 years ago is mystically present and waiting to be discovered in EVERY person you and I encounter.
That a new humanity will be brought forth from this Christ consciousness in each person.
But I think it’s up to a local congregation to determine whether or not a marriage should be blessed of God. And it shouldn’t be up to the government.
When in fact we live in a society that makes life hell for gays and lesbians, this community has got to stand up and say, ‘We’re on your side as you struggle for dignity,’ and, ‘Yes, we will defy anybody who says otherwise, even if we have to go to Disneyland to prove it.’
When you talk about evangelicals, don’t forget that a significant proportion of the evangelical community is African American. And most African Americans – well over 90 percent, thoroughly evangelical, thoroughly biblical – will probably vote Democratic.
I’ve got some repenting to do.
I do not mean that others represent Jesus for us. I mean that Jesus actually is present in each other person.
One of the main reasons I remain a Christian is because I love knowing that my sins are not only forgiven, but also forgotten!
Some people think the theists get off easy by offering eternal life, but in my experience it is awfully difficult to reconcile the death of a child with the idea of a loving God. As a Christian, I knew what to say, but I don’t think my words made much of a difference. What mattered most was just being there and sharing the hurt.
I sometimes wonder how people like Bart, who no longer believe in the grace of God, handle their guilt. Perhaps, as Sigmund Freud suggested, they repress it by burying the memories of past sins deep within themselves. But Freud went on to explain that such repression doesn’t really work in the long run, and that guilt always emerges from the subconscious, sometimes as phobias and sometimes as neurotic behavior.
Francis of Assisi once said, “We should preach the gospel all day long – and if necessary, use words!