Nearly 30 years after religious conservatives decided to re-enter the political arena — after abandoning it as “dirty” and leading to compromise — what do they have to show for it? The country remains sharply divided and the reconciling message they used to preach has been obscured by the crass pursuit of the golden ring of political power. In the end, they got neither the power, nor the Kingdom; only the glory and even that is now fading, as these older leaders pass from the scene.
This is not to say there is no role for conservative Christians in the civic life of their nation. There is. But Christians must first understand that the issues they most care about — abortion, same-sex marriage and cultural rot — are not caused by bad politics, but are matters of the heart and soul. Some evangelicals wish to broaden the political agenda beyond these issues to poverty, social justice and the environment. Politics can never completely cure the ills of any of these, but the message Christians bring about salvation and redemption can. Besides, they can never “convert” people to their point of view.
Too many conservative Christians have focused on the “seen” rather than the “unseen,” thinking appearances at the White House, or on “Meet the Press,” is evidence that they are making a difference. And too much attention has been paid to individual personalities, rather than to the One these preachers had originally been called to exalt.
He is saying that many leaders of the “religious right” have lost their focus. Christians should always influence their culture positively and fight for what we believe is right. But like Thomas says in a previous paragraph, “Politics is about compromise. The message of the church is about Truth.” The Truth has been lost or conveniently forgotten. You will never be popular by telling the whole Truth about Christianity and its requirements on believers in Christ. The answer to societal ills and moral decline isn’t a political one. It’s a spiritual one. Once we recognize that, maybe those who wish to speak for evangelical Christians will start concentrating more on changing hearts and minds on these social issues, than on gaining political power for themselves.
Tags: religious right, Cal Thomas
Let’s remember that our ancestors came to America, in part, for religious freedom.
Yet today, the ‘tolerant Left’ insults and decries the very existence of American Christianity, the very principles that guided the founding of the nation back in the day.
That being said, Christian Conservatives do the country a grave disservice by electing to be single issue voters. The abortion litmus test is dangerous because low Christian voting turnout will elect a Democrat by default.
It frustrates me to no end that Christians lack the understanding of our political process to grasp the principle of the lesser of two evils.
I have nothing to add to this. 😉