Self-fulfilling assumptions January 12, 2008
Posted by Zack in Uncategorized | write a commentThe exit polls conducted in Iowa and New Hampshire last week did a funny thing: they only asked Republicans about church attendance and whether they considered themselves “born again Christians” or “evangelicals.” Likewise, they only asked Democrats about union membership.
The headlines after Iowa proclaimed, “Huckabee helped by Born Agains!” But should there also have been a headline, “Obama edges out Clinton thanks to Born Agains?” We’ll never know. And was Huckabee also helped by union voters? Again, no way to know.
And so the assumptions of the punditocracy go on fulfilling themselves. And we are presented with a picture of a more and more divided America.
See the NH exit polls yourself for Democrats and Republicans.
A lot of people have written about this already, e.g. here, here and here.
And now Faith in Public Life has released a letter signed by a gaggle of leaders, calling upon the networks to change:
Tag: 2008With voters entering polling sites in Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina in the coming days and weeks and Super Tuesday following shortly thereafter, it is imperative for you to remedy the imbalance in your exit polling immediately. Evangelicalism is not a monolithic movement that fits neatly into one party. For the sake of accuracy and dispelling shopworn stereotypes, we urge you to allow all evangelicals an opportunity to be represented in your surveys and polling data.
Deep shift January 10, 2008
Posted by Zack in Missouri | 3 commentsThis is an add-on to my previous post. I want to make sure you read Thom Stark’s latest entry on his blog. It’s an amazing look into how a new generation is struggling with its elders over complex theological issues. If I tried to explain the actual content of this struggle, I would get a lot of it wrong. But it amounts to a deep shift (to use Brian McLaren’s phrase) in the very foundation of Christianity.
In his post, Thom tells the story of attending a funeral of a 16 year old boy who was killed in a car accident. The pastor tried to console people with the “he’s in heaven now, so let’s not grieve” line. And also used the death as an “are you right with God?” evangelistic opportunity. Later, he wound up talking to the pastor and told him what he thought:
I told him his gospel was unbiblical, that it was a neo-gnostic escapist fantasy, and that the life and teachings of Jesus proclaim a gospel in which “life after death,” while significant, is certainly not “what it’s all about.” “It is what it’s all about!” To which I could only respond, “Well, I guess you’ll have to read it all again. Focus on the teachings of Jesus. Oh, and do you remember the shortest verse in the Bible? [John 11:35 - “Jesus wept.”] Read that one again, and then go on and tell these families at these funerals that they don’t have to grieve.”
Proponents of this “new” theology believe that it is actually a return to a very old theology, the original Way of Jesus and the first Christian communities. It’s not “all about the afterlife” but about building a new kind of life on earth. And it’s about feeling, experiencing, joy and suffering here and now in solidarity and celebration with all of humanity.
…at least that seems to me what it’s all about. Check out Brian McLaren’s “Deep Shift” website and tour here. And one last thing to note: the “generations” involved in this shift aren’t necessarily age-defined. Leaders appear from all age groups, and some of the most important recent texts behind the shift were written decades ago.
Those of you in the church: please give me some other examples of this kind of struggle between the “generations.” You can redact all the names and places to protect the innocent! 
Christian Revolutionaries are blogging January 10, 2008
Posted by Zack in Uncategorized | 4 commentsFamous Christian preachers and writers now have blogs. So do un-famous preachers and writers. And so do millions of Christian missionaries, students, workers, parents and children. Therefore, anyone outside the church can now get a broad and deep view into this bustling culture.
Here are four interesting blogs to check out from Joplin, MO, Abilene, TX and Beverly, MA. Reading these, you’ll get insights into how Christian “revolutionaries” look at life, and live it.
I’ve also added a ton of diverse blogs to my blog roll (down and to the right). Please suggest your favorite Christian bloggers for me to add!
Tag: Christian bloggersWhat voters mean by “Moral Values” January 9, 2008
Posted by Zack in Uncategorized | 3 commentsThis is just a press release from the Harris Polling group. No journalist has found it interesting enough to include in a news story yet—perhaps because it presents facts so far outside of the bounds of conventional wisdom.
Turns out, when people say (or hear) “moral values”…as in a poll asking, “How important are moral values to your voting decisions?”…they are thinking about integrity, and usually not abortion or gay marriage:
Of all the people who say moral values are very important in
deciding how to vote, less than a third (30%) are referring to the
candidates’ positions on issues, with by far the largest number (14%)
referring to abortion. In addition, they mention gay rights (3%), that
marriage is between a man and woman (3%) and gay marriage (3%).
A few, but only a very few, mention homosexuality (1%), and stem cell
research (1%).The greatest majority (78%) of these voters mentions personal
characteristics of the candidates including their honesty (28%),
integrity (11%), ethical values (8%), and someone who does the right
thing (8%), is trustworthy (7%), truthful (6%) or keeps his/her word
(6%).
I saw this press release in the Faith in Public life daily email update. If you like this blog, you’ll love their daily email — sign up for it here.
See a sample of what they send here. (Though their email updates come with little blurbs about each article.)
Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic? January 7, 2008
Posted by Zack in Uncategorized | write a commentToday the Barna Group released a new report on the rise of the Charismatic movement in America. It’s called “Is American Christianity Turning Charismatic?” and Barna’s answer is: Yes.
The Barna Group is kind of the evangelical movement’s equivalent of Stan Greenberg. George Barna himself has been swept up in the “Revolution” I’ve been writing about here. In fact, his book “Revolution” was what gave me the confidence to go around calling these folks “Revolutionaries.”
