Why I Am No Longer "Evangelical"

I can't do it anymore. I can't identify or be a part of the the ultra-powerful, ultra-rich movement called Evangelical. I reject it. #weneedanewreformation

Why? I think part of it has to do with the Manhattan Declaration which was posted Nov 20, 2009. Basically, it's a call for Christians to unite under the issues of abortion, marriage, and "religious freedom." The only reason I can understand why this document "needed' to be published was the election of President Barack Obama and the fear mongering that came from places like Fox News, and some of many of the signatories of the MD, itself. This document made me realize that the evangelical church had lost it's moorings and continued the drift away from an approach that allows Christians to be in discussion on these important issues and settles them.

The first two reasons, abortion and "traditional" marriage, are not points in which all Christians agree. They never will. There are Christians who reject both and Christians who accept both. Christians, in this diverse, inter-connected world have no excuse for sticking their heads in the sand and being this uninformed about these subjects. Also, I have found in looking at both subjects have many lies supporting their version of the "truth." For example, the old lie that abortion causes breast cancer or reduces the chances of having children in the future. These are not true, yet the so-called pro-life movement clings to these. As for marriage, the historical development of "traditional" (aka man-woman) marriage is not as ancient as the authors of the declarations would lead you to believe. (I guess I should be putting links up, but I say just google outside your comfort zone, evangelicals, and realize the whole rich, diverse world that is actual Christianity.)

The third reason is "religious freedom." Looking again and again at the Evangelical Party the Republican Party we find that "religious freedom" basically means the freedom to be a bigoted, intolerant, uninformed "Christian" without any push back. Say you're "pro-life" and you will get push back in a Democratic society. That's not restricting religious freedom, that's just natural and healthy debate. Not having religious displays on government property or saying prayers before city council meetings is just realizing that historically, the USA was founded as a secular nation to avoid the squabbles that different religious beliefs bring up.

What the Manhattan Declaration is doing was solidifying the connection between a political party and a church. Remind you of something? I'm thinking of how powerful and influential and just plain rich the Catholic Church was in the 1500s. You know, that same church that inspired Martin Luther to nail those 95 Theses to the door. Ironically, the rich and powerful and influential church of today is claiming that it is the nailer. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Where am I in all this? As near as I can tell, I can affirm the Apostles' Creed as the actual declaration in which we find common ground: 

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic and apostolic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,

    and the life everlasting. Amen.

Now, even some of those statements may be up for debate among sincere Christ followers. For example: "What does virgin actually mean in that time in history, in that culture?" We shouldn't be afraid of expansive questioning. We should be afraid of when essentially political statements, like the Manhattan Declaration become some sort of add-on to what makes a "real" Christian. I'm beginning to use #weneedanewreformation on Twitter as a result of all this thinking. I think it's time. However, anything beyond these statements is just an add-on.

(Further reflection: Read this open letter by Frank Schaeffer to the GOP and follow Frank Schaeffer's writings to understand how the Religious Right has risen to such power in the US. I recommend his books, especially Crazy for God which shows how the views espoused by the MD evolved since the 1970s.)

The Truth Project: The Beginning of Something

I never got around to finishing my Master's degree. I think some of it had to do with my living with depression and anxiety. What really kept me back was a focus. Here I was coming to the end and I had no idea what I was going to focus on, so I stopped.

Now, I think I may have started to get the lenses in focus. Something is becoming clearer and maybe that will lead me to finish a degree someday, but I think I will use the blog to start to work out my thoughts and to get me writing again.

I call this focus The Truth Project, for now. I am becoming fascinated by discovering the truth behind positions, especially, positions taken up by the Christian Right. I'm seeing that truth (as in facts) are regularly being distorted to support untenable positions. I was struck by this in two cases.

The first case is outlined in the book, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul by Kenneth R. Miller. The court case happened in 2005 in Dover, PA. It spelled the end of the whole Intelligent Design movement and should have been the end of Creation Science in any rational world. The judge from that case ended up giving a severe tongue lashing to the side that represented the ID movement. They had distorted facts, twisted evidence, and dodged truth through language games. So the more "religious" side, when put up against a wall in a court of law began to, basically, lie.

The second case is the arguments against gay marriage. I need to get my links together, but, again, the side that was against was accused of distortions, denial of truth, etc. I will try to update this again, but I can tell from even my teaching experience that I find that the stability and support of the child from within the family is what makes a difference in a child's life. If there is love and a home to go to, the child will go far in school and life. If the home is broken, unstable, unpredictable, and the child is shuffled between different "homes," the chances for success become less. Not impossible, of course, but less. So where is the truth? I'm finding it is not found in the Christian Right's interpretation of marriage.

I am looking for patterns. My working hypothesis is that the Christian or Religious Right's intellectual position is under attack due to the fact that public support is weakening. The baby boomers, who seem to make up most of this belief system are literally dying off. Discovering the truth is going to be more difficult since the Christian Right do enjoy a lot of power in our media and in politics. However, I'm finding that the more I read and try to piece together facts, I'm coming down more and more strongly on the progressive side.

For the first time in a long time, I'm excited about writing and exploring deeper ideas. I may not finish the Master's, but I'm determined to look for the truth. I believe that God is the God of Truth, so I can't be on the wrong path,even though many in my Christian circles will shake their heads and believe that I'm on the road to hell.