Fundigelicals Head Toward Schism as Folks Realize Jesus Not Republican

...and He's not Democrat, either!

Church is tomorrow. After the sermon (and before election season kicks into high gear), check out David Kirkpatrick's "The Evangelical Crackup" [New York Times, 2007.10.28]. It puts into perspective why the religious right -- the "fundigelicals," as Mrs. Madville Times so playfully portmanteaus them -- sounds so desperate: their power is on the wane, and people are getting the message that applying values to politics means a lot more than waging war against secular humanists, homosexuals, and Kate Looby. As a matter of fact, some are starting to wonder whether applying values to politics means not waging war at all.

The Madville Times generally avoids the cut-and-paste blog style of some other bloggers. But Kirkpatrick hits a lot of nails on the head. Some excerpts [emphasis added]:

Meanwhile, a younger generation of evangelical pastors — including the widely emulated preachers Rick Warren and Bill Hybels — are pushing the movement and its theology in new directions. There are many related ways to characterize the split: a push to better this world as well as save eternal souls; a focus on the spiritual growth that follows conversion rather than the yes-or-no moment of salvation; a renewed attention to Jesus’ teachings about social justice as well as about personal or sexual morality. However conceived, though, the result is a new interest in public policies that address problems of peace, health and poverty — problems, unlike abortion and same-sex marriage, where left and right compete to present the best answers.

...The generational and theological shifts in the evangelical world are turning the next election into a credibility test for the conservative Christian establishment. The current Republican front-runner in national polls, Rudolph W. Giuliani, could hardly be less like their kind of guy: twice divorced, thrice married, estranged from his children and church and a supporter of legalized abortion and gay rights. Alarmed at the continued strength of his candidacy, Dobson and a group of about 50 evangelical Christians leaders agreed last month to back a third party if Giuliani becomes the Republican nominee. But polls show that Giuliani is the most popular candidate among white evangelical voters. He has the support, so far, of a plurality if not a majority of conservative Christians. If Giuliani captures the nomination despite the threat of an evangelical revolt, it will be a long time before Republican strategists pay attention to the demands of conservative Christian leaders again. And if the Democrats capitalize on the current demoralization to capture a larger share of evangelical votes, the credibility damage could be just as severe. [Go ahead, Bob -- form that third party. We Dems can't wait.]

...In June of last year, in one of the few upsets since conservatives consolidated their hold on the denomination 20 years ago, the [Southern Baptist] establishment’s hand-picked candidates — well-known national figures in the convention — lost the internal election for the convention’s presidency. The winner, Frank Page of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., campaigned on a promise to loosen up the conservatives’ tight control. He told convention delegates that Southern Baptists had become known too much for what they were against (abortion, evolution, homosexuality) instead of what they stand for (the Gospel). “I believe in the word of God,” he said after his election, “I am just not mad about it.” (It’s a formulation that comes up a lot in evangelical circles these days.)

...“Most of us Southern Baptists are right-wing Republicans,” [Page] added. “But we also recognize that times change.” For example, Page said Christians should be wary of Republican ties to “big business.”

...But many younger evangelicals — and some old-timers — take a less fatalistic view. For them, the born-again experience of accepting Jesus is just the beginning. What follows is a long-term process of “spiritual formation” that involves applying his teachings in the here and now. They do not see society as a moribund vessel. They talk more about a biblical imperative to fix up the ship by contributing to the betterment of their communities and the world. They support traditional charities but also public policies that address health care, race, poverty and the environment. [Time to change focus, Leslee and Roger!]

...“I think that a superpower ought to be the exemplification of a commitment to peace,” [former President Jimmy] Carter told Hybels, who nodded along. “I would like for anyone in the world that’s threatened with conflict to say to themselves immediately: ‘Why don’t we go to Washington? They believe in peace and they will help us get peace.’ ” Carter added: “This is just a simple but important extrapolation from what a human being ought to do, and what a human being ought to do is what Jesus Christ did, who was a champion of peace.”

...In the past, Hybels has scrupulously avoided criticizing conservative Christian political figures like Falwell or Dobson. But in my talk with him, he argued that the leaders of the conservative Christian political movement had lost touch with their base. “The Indians are saying to the chiefs, ‘We are interested in more than your two or three issues,’ ” Hybels said. “We are interested in the poor, in racial reconciliation, in global poverty and AIDS, in the plight of women in the developing world.”

Oh, that crazy New York Times, always trying to inject religious values in the news....