What Evangelicals Really Want in Society
WHAT EVANGELICALS REALLY WANT IN SOCIETY?
Who are Evangelicals and what do they want? That is the question being asked since the 2004 elections and the staggering success of The Passion. Although Evangelicals include a wide spectrum of American with very diverse views on the right and the left, the typical member is not as scary as one might think. More likely, your next door neighbor is one. The President of the National Association of Evangelicals defines an Evangelical as "a person who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that the Bible is the Word of God, and that you must be born again." So a belief system defines the group. Ironically, nearly all of what are now called Mainline denominations once fervently shared these convictions, framing the core of our society the first hundred and fifty years. 1. Evangelicals fiercely believe in religious tolerance. Most would follow the basic tenets of 17th Century Roger Williams who had observed religious abuses and wanted a society free from religious persecution. Although the phrase Separation of Church and State is absent in the Constitution, the First Amendment is believed to have followed the concept of Williams in preventing government to involve itself in religion, not so much the other way around. Although Christ commanded every believer to evangelize, they also believe that their rights end with offering a choice. Evangelicals believe in what we call the free moral agency of humankind, meaning that God does not force Himself upon any person. Coerced faith is an oxymoron. No Evangelical I have ever met believes that we have a right to ram our religion down someones throat. We find ourselves mostly in agreement with Mark Twain, certainly no Evangelical, when he said, "It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them." Evangelicals are not seeking a theocracy. Contrary to many opinions, the great majority of Evangelicals would not favor a system of government where religious leaders rule. They understand that the framers had observed the abuses of power when one religion rules. History demonstrates when you have one state religion you have tyranny. When a nation has but two religions you have civil war, but many religions require harmony. 3. Evangelicals are not asking for favoritism. Although we want to freeze the demise of religious influence to maintain the residual of faith, we are not seeking a return to the 1800s. We do not believe it is healthy for the media or the public forum to rubber stamp everything that happens in the name of religion. As long as there are power and money, people will be corrupted. We are just asking for an even hand. American society has developed a mind set which has eliminated nearly all bashing of minorities, gays, immigrants, etc., except the berating of Evangelicals and Catholics is condoned. Some schools across the land have eliminated any vestige of Christmas, even secular symbols such as Santa and reindeer and even the colors green and red while welcoming with open arms all things related to Ramadan, Hanukkah, and the recent alternative to Christmas, Kwanza. Some children have been expelled for having a Bible on their desk in school while other schools designate a separate prayer room for Muslims. State-supported professors get their jollies in bashing religion while conservative professors don't even get hired. Why should it be constitutionally permissible to attack religion in public institutions and it is impermissible to defend the same? We just want a fair shake. 4. Evangelicals believe in the Founders view of America. Chief Architect of the Constitution James Madison said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization on the power of government." Far from it! We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity . . . of each and all of us to govern ourselves . . . according to the Ten Commandments of God. After his visit to America in 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "Europeans practice religion from a barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live, but Americans combine the notions of Christianity and liberty so intimately that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other." There exists no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. As a result, while the law permits the Americans to do as they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust. We hold dear the writing found in the Declaration of Independence that says that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that if these rights come from government, they can be taken away by government. But if they come from God, no man or government can take them away. Granted, many of us are slow learners and those rights were not construed to be extended to slaves and First Americans. But it was the burning in the heart of a preacher's kid, Harriet Beecher Stowe, that sparked a bloody conflagration that ended the sin of America. Long before it was codified as law, slavery was recognized as a national sin. America was born a Christian nation. "America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture," said Woodrow Wilson. Herbert Lehman said, "Democracy and religion stand or fall together. Where democracy has been destroyed, religion has been doomed. Where religion has been trampled down, democracy has ceased to exist . . . Tyrants have come and have had their day then have passed away while religion has survived them all." Justice of the Supreme Court William O. Douglas said in 1952, "We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." And if we believe the Supreme Court is infallible, listen to the most honored first Chief Justice John Jay, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty . . . of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Strangely enough, some current Senators now have the view that if a candidate for the Supreme Court is either Catholic or Evangelical, his religious views automatically disqualify him for that position. Ironically, Moses and the Ten Commandments are depicted on the East Pediment of the Supreme Court Building, the same building in which they rule against the display of the Ten Commandments! There is a conscious and vicious onslaught to remove every vestige of Judeo-Christian values and symbols from our government despite our long history of religious influence. Even now, in Federal Court, is a suit to remove In God We Trust from our coinage and Under God from our pledge. 5. Evangelicals don't want to impose their brand of religion on society. They do not believe it is their brand. Take the issue of Gay Marriage. Every society since beginning of time, whatever your interpretation of when time began, held to the premise that marriage was between one man and one woman with some polygamy exceptions. We believe that the strength of a nation is built upon the strength of our families. As we have seen welfare replace the father in the home, we have seen the demise of the family and our nation. We are not asking or seeking a return to sodomy laws any more than we want to outlaw smoking, but we do not believe that elevating gay marriage to the level of sacred and sanctioned union is healthy for our nation. To oppose gay marriage is no more gay bashing than is the forbidding of a drag queen from using the women's room. We are not rewriting societal standards, they are. We are also against abortion. By why? We don't see a magical point in gestation where life begins except conception. Where is the logic in defining an unborn baby a human at the point the mother chooses? If she doesn't want the baby, she can take its life up until seconds before she is naturally born. But if she wants the baby it is human. If a baby is killed in an abortion clinic, it is a woman's right to choose. If that same baby is killed on the way to the abortion clinic, it is vehicular homicide. The Solomonic wisdom just oozes from that paradox. A fourteen-year-old requires parental consent to take an aspirin in school, but can be hauled across state-lines for a life-threatening surgery without a parent's knowledge. Yet, most Americans seem to agree basic issues surrounding abortion. If you consider that no Evangelical I know would prevent an abortion to save the life of the mother, many would remain silent on the issue of rape or incest, and a substantial majority of Americans do not believe abortion should be used as birth control, the Evangelical position is in no way extreme. 6. Evangelicals believe in absolute truth. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin of knowledge. Since we believe humans are finite, we would prefer to base our view of life on something extra-human. We choose the Bible as that source as opposed to the intellectual meanderings of a cult leader, philosophers who base their life views upon their personal frame of references, or even Jerry or Oprah. Most of us believe in the Creation story, not just because some evolutionists admit that their view is just the best viable alternative to God, but because we see the world as too complex to be understood by theories that cannot be replicated in a lab. We believe that true science and properly interpreted scripture are in concurrence. Evolutionists can in no way credibly explain where the ingredients for the Big Bang came from any more than we can explain where God came from. In tennis, that score would be called love. Our view of the Constitution comes from our view of Biblical Interpretation. It is our task to discover the original intent or the writers. Also, the admissions of two Supreme Court justices that foreign law may be required to interpret the Constitution is seen as ludicrous to us as calling upon the Koran to help interpret our Bible. 7. Neither are Evangelicals anti-Semitic. We do believe that Christ is the way to Heaven. Many religions believe their way is exclusive, i.e., Islam. But just because we cannot legitimate one's faith doesn't mean we assign to that person less than full humanity. Although far too many pre-WWII people were anti-Semitic, Evangelicals now are Israel's strongest allies and greatly respect Jews everywhere. Evangelicals have been accused, due to what is called dispensational perspectives of the future, of trying to push Israel into Armageddon, an earth destroying war. I associate with Evangelicals of all stripes and have never met a single Evangelical who shares that view. Conversely, we believe that we all have the responsibility to persistently make the world better because none of us has an inside track as to when Christ will return. 8. Evangelicals are charitable. In addition to having the highest percentage of church members who give 10 percent of their income to the church or charity, Evangelical causes out give other charities. The Salvation Army was the first on many locations when Katrina struck. Besides The Army, the names of Samaritan's Purse, Operation Blessing, and World Vision are among the most recognized relief organizations in the world. 9. An Evangelical View of the World: We believe that America is the wealthiest and most powerful nation, not because it is more deserving, but because its destiny is to be a steward. What nation in the world defeats its enemy and then spends its largess to rebuild the infrastructure of its enemies to become its major economic competitors? What nation in history has transformed more nations by sending missionaries with schools, hospitals, and churches around the world? What nation has ever spurned a greater freedom movement causing the proliferation of democracies around the world? While not perfect, we believe our nation is great and must remain great because of its giving and that the might and money of our wealthy nation must be used to better the world. Some religions send out a clarion call to zealots to strap a bomb on themselves and blow up innocent women and children. Our God calls His people to come and live and live to help others live abundantly. That is what an Evangelical believes and that is what an Evangelical must strive to be.- Dr. Clyde M. Hughes --Posted by CMH to The Quill and the Crowbar at 2/22/2006 10:14:14 AM
Who are Evangelicals and what do they want? That is the question being asked since the 2004 elections and the staggering success of The Passion. Although Evangelicals include a wide spectrum of American with very diverse views on the right and the left, the typical member is not as scary as one might think. More likely, your next door neighbor is one. The President of the National Association of Evangelicals defines an Evangelical as "a person who believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that the Bible is the Word of God, and that you must be born again." So a belief system defines the group. Ironically, nearly all of what are now called Mainline denominations once fervently shared these convictions, framing the core of our society the first hundred and fifty years. 1. Evangelicals fiercely believe in religious tolerance. Most would follow the basic tenets of 17th Century Roger Williams who had observed religious abuses and wanted a society free from religious persecution. Although the phrase Separation of Church and State is absent in the Constitution, the First Amendment is believed to have followed the concept of Williams in preventing government to involve itself in religion, not so much the other way around. Although Christ commanded every believer to evangelize, they also believe that their rights end with offering a choice. Evangelicals believe in what we call the free moral agency of humankind, meaning that God does not force Himself upon any person. Coerced faith is an oxymoron. No Evangelical I have ever met believes that we have a right to ram our religion down someones throat. We find ourselves mostly in agreement with Mark Twain, certainly no Evangelical, when he said, "It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them." Evangelicals are not seeking a theocracy. Contrary to many opinions, the great majority of Evangelicals would not favor a system of government where religious leaders rule. They understand that the framers had observed the abuses of power when one religion rules. History demonstrates when you have one state religion you have tyranny. When a nation has but two religions you have civil war, but many religions require harmony. 3. Evangelicals are not asking for favoritism. Although we want to freeze the demise of religious influence to maintain the residual of faith, we are not seeking a return to the 1800s. We do not believe it is healthy for the media or the public forum to rubber stamp everything that happens in the name of religion. As long as there are power and money, people will be corrupted. We are just asking for an even hand. American society has developed a mind set which has eliminated nearly all bashing of minorities, gays, immigrants, etc., except the berating of Evangelicals and Catholics is condoned. Some schools across the land have eliminated any vestige of Christmas, even secular symbols such as Santa and reindeer and even the colors green and red while welcoming with open arms all things related to Ramadan, Hanukkah, and the recent alternative to Christmas, Kwanza. Some children have been expelled for having a Bible on their desk in school while other schools designate a separate prayer room for Muslims. State-supported professors get their jollies in bashing religion while conservative professors don't even get hired. Why should it be constitutionally permissible to attack religion in public institutions and it is impermissible to defend the same? We just want a fair shake. 4. Evangelicals believe in the Founders view of America. Chief Architect of the Constitution James Madison said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization on the power of government." Far from it! We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity . . . of each and all of us to govern ourselves . . . according to the Ten Commandments of God. After his visit to America in 1835, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "Europeans practice religion from a barren traditionary faith which seems to vegetate in the soul rather than to live, but Americans combine the notions of Christianity and liberty so intimately that it is impossible to make them conceive of one without the other." There exists no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America. As a result, while the law permits the Americans to do as they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust. We hold dear the writing found in the Declaration of Independence that says that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that if these rights come from government, they can be taken away by government. But if they come from God, no man or government can take them away. Granted, many of us are slow learners and those rights were not construed to be extended to slaves and First Americans. But it was the burning in the heart of a preacher's kid, Harriet Beecher Stowe, that sparked a bloody conflagration that ended the sin of America. Long before it was codified as law, slavery was recognized as a national sin. America was born a Christian nation. "America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture," said Woodrow Wilson. Herbert Lehman said, "Democracy and religion stand or fall together. Where democracy has been destroyed, religion has been doomed. Where religion has been trampled down, democracy has ceased to exist . . . Tyrants have come and have had their day then have passed away while religion has survived them all." Justice of the Supreme Court William O. Douglas said in 1952, "We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being." And if we believe the Supreme Court is infallible, listen to the most honored first Chief Justice John Jay, "Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty . . . of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." Strangely enough, some current Senators now have the view that if a candidate for the Supreme Court is either Catholic or Evangelical, his religious views automatically disqualify him for that position. Ironically, Moses and the Ten Commandments are depicted on the East Pediment of the Supreme Court Building, the same building in which they rule against the display of the Ten Commandments! There is a conscious and vicious onslaught to remove every vestige of Judeo-Christian values and symbols from our government despite our long history of religious influence. Even now, in Federal Court, is a suit to remove In God We Trust from our coinage and Under God from our pledge. 5. Evangelicals don't want to impose their brand of religion on society. They do not believe it is their brand. Take the issue of Gay Marriage. Every society since beginning of time, whatever your interpretation of when time began, held to the premise that marriage was between one man and one woman with some polygamy exceptions. We believe that the strength of a nation is built upon the strength of our families. As we have seen welfare replace the father in the home, we have seen the demise of the family and our nation. We are not asking or seeking a return to sodomy laws any more than we want to outlaw smoking, but we do not believe that elevating gay marriage to the level of sacred and sanctioned union is healthy for our nation. To oppose gay marriage is no more gay bashing than is the forbidding of a drag queen from using the women's room. We are not rewriting societal standards, they are. We are also against abortion. By why? We don't see a magical point in gestation where life begins except conception. Where is the logic in defining an unborn baby a human at the point the mother chooses? If she doesn't want the baby, she can take its life up until seconds before she is naturally born. But if she wants the baby it is human. If a baby is killed in an abortion clinic, it is a woman's right to choose. If that same baby is killed on the way to the abortion clinic, it is vehicular homicide. The Solomonic wisdom just oozes from that paradox. A fourteen-year-old requires parental consent to take an aspirin in school, but can be hauled across state-lines for a life-threatening surgery without a parent's knowledge. Yet, most Americans seem to agree basic issues surrounding abortion. If you consider that no Evangelical I know would prevent an abortion to save the life of the mother, many would remain silent on the issue of rape or incest, and a substantial majority of Americans do not believe abortion should be used as birth control, the Evangelical position is in no way extreme. 6. Evangelicals believe in absolute truth. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin of knowledge. Since we believe humans are finite, we would prefer to base our view of life on something extra-human. We choose the Bible as that source as opposed to the intellectual meanderings of a cult leader, philosophers who base their life views upon their personal frame of references, or even Jerry or Oprah. Most of us believe in the Creation story, not just because some evolutionists admit that their view is just the best viable alternative to God, but because we see the world as too complex to be understood by theories that cannot be replicated in a lab. We believe that true science and properly interpreted scripture are in concurrence. Evolutionists can in no way credibly explain where the ingredients for the Big Bang came from any more than we can explain where God came from. In tennis, that score would be called love. Our view of the Constitution comes from our view of Biblical Interpretation. It is our task to discover the original intent or the writers. Also, the admissions of two Supreme Court justices that foreign law may be required to interpret the Constitution is seen as ludicrous to us as calling upon the Koran to help interpret our Bible. 7. Neither are Evangelicals anti-Semitic. We do believe that Christ is the way to Heaven. Many religions believe their way is exclusive, i.e., Islam. But just because we cannot legitimate one's faith doesn't mean we assign to that person less than full humanity. Although far too many pre-WWII people were anti-Semitic, Evangelicals now are Israel's strongest allies and greatly respect Jews everywhere. Evangelicals have been accused, due to what is called dispensational perspectives of the future, of trying to push Israel into Armageddon, an earth destroying war. I associate with Evangelicals of all stripes and have never met a single Evangelical who shares that view. Conversely, we believe that we all have the responsibility to persistently make the world better because none of us has an inside track as to when Christ will return. 8. Evangelicals are charitable. In addition to having the highest percentage of church members who give 10 percent of their income to the church or charity, Evangelical causes out give other charities. The Salvation Army was the first on many locations when Katrina struck. Besides The Army, the names of Samaritan's Purse, Operation Blessing, and World Vision are among the most recognized relief organizations in the world. 9. An Evangelical View of the World: We believe that America is the wealthiest and most powerful nation, not because it is more deserving, but because its destiny is to be a steward. What nation in the world defeats its enemy and then spends its largess to rebuild the infrastructure of its enemies to become its major economic competitors? What nation in history has transformed more nations by sending missionaries with schools, hospitals, and churches around the world? What nation has ever spurned a greater freedom movement causing the proliferation of democracies around the world? While not perfect, we believe our nation is great and must remain great because of its giving and that the might and money of our wealthy nation must be used to better the world. Some religions send out a clarion call to zealots to strap a bomb on themselves and blow up innocent women and children. Our God calls His people to come and live and live to help others live abundantly. That is what an Evangelical believes and that is what an Evangelical must strive to be.- Dr. Clyde M. Hughes --Posted by CMH to The Quill and the Crowbar at 2/22/2006 10:14:14 AM
posted by Don Daniels at
6:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home