A Christian Liberal is NOT an oxymoron.

Posted by XT on July 24th, 2008 in Progressive Faith

Pastor Dan doesn’t understand why Rick Warren’s church is a political venue. He asks:

If you look at the numbers, Catholics and mainline Protestants are the swing vote this year, not Evangelicals. So what makes the latter so much more desirable than the former? I’ve never gotten a straightforward answer to that question.

Dan Nejfelt, at Faith in Public Life, has an answer:

From our end, promoting an event that reflects and furthers the changing values debate is an end in itself, but talk about who could benefit from it is also a useful exercise. Dan mentions a recent Pew Poll showing that mainliners, Catholics and evangelicals are all viable targets this year. McCain trails Bush’s numbers by at least 4 points among all three groups, Obama is 7 points behind Kerry with Catholics but tied with his evangelical and mainline numbers, and the percentages of “don’t know”‘s has tripled among evangelicals and Catholics and doubled among mainliners. If the campaigns weren’t looking for ways to win over these undecideds, they wouldn’t be doing their jobs. Cosponsoring an event that gives them an opportunity to do so by addressing compassion issues like AIDS, climate change, human rights and poverty is a great way to help change the values debate, and we’re excited to do so.

I think this exchange shows PD’s limits. I like him, and I genuinely respect him and his efforts. But the last time I posted something at Street Prophets, Dan made it clear that he doesn’t want to “engage” with – well, apparently with anyone who disagrees with him. I had engaged in a three-part discussion with mystical seeker and Bruce Ledewitz at Hallowed Secularism. For that, I earned Dan’s ire. Since it’s his house, I figured that I either played by his rules or left – so I took down the offensive post, along with the other things I’d written there.

In his way, Pastor Dan is every bit as wrong-headed as the right-wing zealots he gnashes his teeth about. Oh, I agree with him on just about every issue – or, at least, our disagreement is simply a matter of degrees. But he thinks he is right, they are wrong, and a pox on them for being wrong. I think his approach is just as divisive as the churches that I rejected in the past decade or two.

It’s a problem that I have in political circles, as well. Many of my liberal friends hate George W. Bush for his disastrous policies. I do, too. However, many of them are willing to engage in the same methods of policy that George W. Bush has used – simply declare a mandate and tell everyone to obey. I reject this as inherently evil and dangerous to the human spirit, not to mention the national identity (at least, when it is taken too far and not tempered by willingness to moderate and settle for incremental change).

It is never a waste of time to talk to people – even though I sometimes get exasperated and say as much. Words are immensely powerful and there is no limit to their reach. I have often sat in Bible study or in discussion with various people and recalled words that I heard or read many years ago. More often than not, I find that time has lent a shift in perspective.

I was shocked once to overhear a student of mine repeating a line I had thrown-off in class as if it were his own original thought. More than once, my adult children have done this to me. Words are powerful because they convey ideas.

From a political point, it might actually be wasted time – this year, anyway. There’s no way to tell if anyone at Warren’s church will vote for Obama. But just the fact that Obama shows up will get some people to listen who wouldn’t otherwise. Many – perhaps even most – will reject much and maybe all of what they hear. Some won’t. Others will have ideas tucked away in their brains where it will ferment for years. Time and perspective may open some hearts and minds. Not all, no. But some.

If there is an ideological war, then it has many fronts where many battles are being fought. Churches are one of those fronts. This is one single battle. That it is being fought on “the enemies” ground does not make it a bad idea – in fact, it is an indication that we are moving the front forward. It may go back and forth many times, but we shouldn’t be afraid to push it forward.

I’m sure that Pastor Dan will disagree, but his calling appears to me to be rallying the troops – also derided by some as screaming into the echo chamber. It’s an important job, but it isn’t the only job.

None of this, by the way, is a criticism of Pastor Dan. He’s just doing his job. We need people like that.

Sphere: Related Content