Infectious stupidity September 21, 2007
Posted by Zack in Iowa , trackbackToday I posted an article at The Huffington Post about an evangelical Christian Obama supporter we interviewed in South Carolina. I’ve written several articles about about Christian “revolutionaries” at HuffPo and other secular progressive spots. Usually, a heated discussion in the comments follows. Each time, it underscores why a blog like this is necessary.
For example:
Christians can have all the “revolutions” they want. Doesn’t change the fact that organized religion is a form of infectious stupidity that endangers us all.
I’m sorry - perhaps I missed something in the interpretations here, but how can an evangelical be “progressive”? An evangelical, by their own definition, believe in the absolute accuracy of the bible….An evangelical, by their own statements, say that the only way to salvation is through a man called Jesus Christ. That is Christian, not progressive. Now, can you please explain that oxymoron again of a “progressive evangelical”?
But so many believers speak up too, who are out there dying to get out from under the stereotypes:
Thank you. Of course, you’ve probably put the “Believers, go home” crowd in a state of shock. Not only do they insist on stereotyping evangelicals in the manner you describe, but they love to paint ALL believers as conservative and intolerant. Maybe the bigots will learn something from this. Or, more likely, not.
Tags: barack obama, South CarolinaYes! Hallelujah!! My point is that the religious left exists, we are just clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, visiting those in prison, welcoming the stranger; not talking non-stop about how great we are. In fact, I posit the religious left is way, way bigger than the religious right. We are quietly following our Lord and Master as he instructed us, while the modern day Pharisees are clamouring on the street corner… Same old, Same old.
Comments»
Just found and subscribed to your blog. For a long time now, I’ve been looking for some kind of clear gradient in the evangelical movement. It makes me extremely angry and sad that evangelicals have allowed the current administration and the conservative evangelical movement to tear this country apart.
While following your blog, I’m going to be skeptical.
First, we know that Christians make up many different sects.
Catholics, Episcopalian, Unitarians….
It’s much easier to know how these groups stand with current events.
So far Evangelicals have proven to be pretty intolerant publicly.
Whereas I find it nice to see evangelicals feeding the hungry and helping the homeless, you and I know that evangelicals often target these communities to “spread the good word”. The missionary movement is well known for going to developing countries and helping people…but the real goal is to make new converts to Jesus Christ.
Bring people in with a meal, and then start preaching. I would love to see some examples where evangelicals help others with no attempt to convert so I can change my opinion.
What if I don’t want to believe in Jesus as our savior. What if I just want a fair and equitable world? This is the big question for evangelicals in my book. Can your community live with the secular humanists without needing to pass laws that enforce an evangelical sense of morals?
It’s great that you represent a progressive thread within the evangelical movement, but I find it an outrage that your community has been so silent the last six years ESPECIALLY if you have millions and millions members as you propose. Again, I would love to see examples if I speak out of ignorance.
My skepticism believes that you may not really like President Bush, Pat Robertson, Focus on the Family, etc….but you certainly must like the Supreme Court nominees they’ve pushed through, and the govt funding of faith-based groups which further pushed religion into US government. Do you disagree with these polarizing agendas enough to openly fight against them?
You say that secular progressives will never “succeed” because they don’t recognize the millions of progressive evangelicals. Well, secular progressives are very open and clear about where they stand and have been taking action. Your community has been extremely quiet publicly. I look forward to reading the concrete examples and links you provide in future days ahead. It’s time for definition on the reality around us to see if we can really live together on just terms.
This nation is being torn apart…and is tearing the world apart…because of the conservative evangelical movement’s sense of manifest destiny. If you represent an alternate branch, please school us.
I’m going to answer my own comment.
I’ve done some research on Zack and read up on some folks like Rob Bell. I hope a progressive evangelism is real and solid. It’s new to me so look forward to seeing what you share with us.