American News Commentary

IT MAY BE TIME TO ASK: ARE THESE TERMS

"EVANGELICAL LEFT" AND "EVANGELICAL

LIBERAL" REALLY OXYMORONS?

Oxymoron – we hear the word frequently and use it

occasionally, and we have a fairly good idea as to what it

means . . . but let us take a few seconds to be sure. By
a common dictionary definition it means: A rhetorical

figure of speech in which contradictory terms are

combined. An example might be "thundering silence,"

"genuine imitation," "original copy" or "larger half."

Background. A few years ago we carried on an email

discussion/correspondence with one of our readers who

insisted that he was an Evangelical and a Liberal. As the

exchange of messages continued, it was obvious that

with respect to the term "Evangelical" he was not seeing

it as a theological issue, and with respect to the term

"Liberal," he was at heart simply anti-George Bush.

But we assumed he was a believer . . . and we assumed he

was sincere. But sincerity is really not enough. Some may

recall hearing about the Rose Bowl game of 1929, between

Georgia Tech and University of California, Berkley. The

game is memorable because of what has been described

as "The worst blunder in the history of college football."

Roy Riegels picked up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran 65

yards in the wrong direction. He was completely sincere

as he ran down the field, but he was sincerely wrong.

So it is with those who insist on being "Evangelicals" and

"Liberals." Those terms constitute an oxymoron. They are,

in dictionary words, "contradictory terms."

Ann Coulter, whose acerbic language cuts to the core,

describes the Liberal concept in these words, "Liberals

claim to be terrified that the Religious Right is going

to take over the culture in a country where more than

a million babies are exterminated every year, where

kindergarteners can be expelled from school for any

mention of God, and Islamic fascists are welcomed on

college campuses, while speakers opposed to Islamic

fascism are met with angry protests."

The current efforts toward a resurgence of "Evangelical

Liberals" and the views of the "Evangelical Left" are

being led by two long time Liberals, Jim Wallis and

Tony Campolo, both of whom claim to be Evangelicals.

Their fear is exactly as Ann Coulter expressed it – that

the "Religious Right" is taking over the Republican party.

The "Religious Right" was given prominence in political

issues by Hillary Clinton in her description of a "vast

right wing conspiracy" allied against her husband when

American Christian believers felt that it was wrong –

even a sin – when the president of the United States,
a married man, engaged in adultery through sexual

relationships with a young female employee in his

presidential offices. Tony Campolo was appointed

as Mr. Clinton’s "spiritual adviser" but no apology,

no confession of sin, no expression of regret, was

ever voiced by the president. Instead he lied under

oath concerning those sexual actions.

This is not the Evangelical viewpoint of the way such

matters should be handled, according to Scripture.

The proponents of Evangelical Liberalism have taken

on a new label – "Red Letter Christians." As explained

by Mr. Campolo, "Because being evangelical is usually

synonymous with being Republican in the public

mind ... we came up with a new name, ‘Red Letter

Christians." They are obviously concerned about the

Liberal anchor positions which support homosexuality,

same-sex marriage, and abortion.

They see the primary mission of the church as being

to relieve poverty, feed the homeless, and fight disease.

They claim to base their viewpoints on the words of

Jesus, which are printed in red in some Bibles. This

is not a new approach -- it dates from the turn of the

century, and was the basis for the "Social Gospel"

concept, which in simplest terms holds that it is

better to do good than be good.

In the words of Mr. Wallis, "The goal of the group is

to advance the message that our faith cannot be

reduced to only two hot button issues - abortion

and homosexuality. Fighting poverty, caring for

the environment, advancing peace, promoting

strong families and supporting a consistent ethic

of life are all critical moral and biblical values."

In their rejection of the basic factors of Evangelical

belief, they seem blissfully unaware of the words of

Carl F.H. Henry, the distinguished theologian of the

20^th Century, and father of the Evangelical movement.

"The need for a vital evangelicalism is proportionate

to the world need...The cries of suffering humanity

today are many. No evangelicalism which ignores

the totality of man’s condition dares respond in the

name of Christianity... Modern evangelicalism need

not substitute as its primary aim the building of a

‘relatively higher civilization.’ To do that is to fall into

the error of yesterday’s liberalism. Its supreme aim

is the proclamation of redeeming grace to sinful

humanity...The gospel of redemption is the most

pertinent message for our modern weariness...The

battle against evil in all its forms must be pressed

unsparingly...in politics, in economics, in science, in

ethics – everywhere in every field." (From: "The

Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism,"

Carl F.H. Henry, Chapter VIII) There is nothing in

the clear statement of modern evangelical belief

which merits the essence of failure which the

Liberals assign to it.

They deliberately confuse the visible church of whatever

denomination with the Church which Jesus said He was

building. And they ignore the words of II Timothy 3:16-17,

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for

instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may

be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."

To get back to the question which opened this issue,

the answer is abundantly clear: "Evangelical Liberal"

and "Evangelical Left" are oxymorons – contradictory

terms – and cannot be supported or verified by Scripture.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, speaking

at a luncheon in his honor last week in New York, made

some effective recommendations, including these, "Relish

the challenge that comes with defending freedom . . . Stop

whining about unfortunate circumstances . . . Read the

Constitution before pontificating about it . . . Reason with

your mind to break free of ideological segregation."

And speaking of good quotes, in a debate with Jim

Wallis at the Value Voter Summit in Washington a few days

ago, Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Ethics

& Religious Liberty Commission, had this to say, "If we don’t

have laws saying no human being, even a mother, has a

right to absolute life and death over another human being,

we are not a civilized society, and we will still have abortion."

Fallout from the Anglican homosexual problems

continues, this time with one entire branch of the world-

wide Anglican Communion – the Traditional Anglican

Communion (TAC) – with some 400,000 members,

seeking full corporate sacramental union with the Roman

Catholic Church and is now awaiting response from the

Vatican on their request. Quite a dramatic change after

some 500 years of separation.

And from the Founding Fathers: "If there is a form

of government, then, whose principle and foundation is

virtue, will not every sober man acknowledge it better

calculated to promote the general happiness than any

other form?" – John Adams, 1776

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This issue is being written amid the distraction caused by the
wild fires which are destroying so much of San Diego County.
Superlatives are being exhausted. Referring back to the film
"The Perfect Storm," this is being termed "The Perfect Fire."

Simply, it is the worst fire disaster in the history of San Diego
County. As we write, more than 500,000 people have been
evacuated. By contrast, during the disastrous fires of 2003
some 50,000 were evacuated. A city of 10.000 evacuees has
been established in Qualcom stadium. A state prison has had
to evacuate its 4,400 prisoners. More than 1,000 homes have
already been destroyed. Santa Ana winds have gusted to 100
miles per hour, making aerial tankers unable to assist in
fighting the fires. Many hospitals are closed. Schools, colleges
and universities are closed, as are many businesses due to the
dangerous air quality. It is reported that there is not a single
hotel room available in all of San Diego. But emerging from
all this disaster are the churches of the area, stepping in to help.

Many have provided space for evacuees, others are providing
food and other necessities, and many of the volunteers at the
several evacuation sites are representing individual churches.

They are playing an important part of the overall civic effort
to cope with this tremendous disaster.

AMID ALL THE GLOBAL PROBLEMS FACING
US, THE CONCEPT OF SPORTSMANSHIP HAS

ALSO BEEN SERIOUSLY TARNISHED

Any collector of present day American humor certainly has

in his collection of favorite stories jokes about lawyers,

blondes and politicians. The blondes stories are about the

much maligned "dumb blondes," while the lawyer and

politician stories are about corruption, dishonesty, cheating,

twisting the facts, etc.

Thus two professions important in American history and our

way of life are vilified and made the point of ridicule. Yet the

most important document in the history of this nation –

the Declaration of Independence – was signed by 56 of our

founding fathers, and approximately half of those signers were

lawyers. All of them, if they had not been previously, became

overnight politicians, separating themselves from their former

government and rulers, and establishing a new, "rebel" form

of government which became the United States of America.

The present day jokes about lawyers and politicians would not

have applied in those 18^th century days and we have always held

those signers in highest respect. By contrast, it will be recalled

that 150 years earlier, in his play, "Henry VI," Shakespeare had

used the phrase, "The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers."

(Those words have been used by lawyer-bashers for years, yet

they were actually spoken in defense of the role lawyers play.)

So in recommending a life-long profession for young people,

two choices are more or less removed due to the reputation of

certain practitioners. And what remains as an example of

honesty and decency? One could always point to athletics or

sportsmanship which take the rules of conduct from the historic

Olympic games, begun in 776 BC and continued until they

were canceled in 393 AD, after approximately one thousand

years of the finest in athletic competition. The Games were

revived in 1896, and were held that year in Athens where

they were born. They continue to this day, expanded into

competitions which have become international in scope.

But even in this realm, corruption has crept in, and we have

just witnessed the women’s sprint champion from the

Sydney Games having to give back her medals due to the

use of steroids . . . and the 2006 Tour de France biking

champion had his title stripped for the same reason . . .

baseball’s Barry Bonds home run title is in some disrepute

over steroids . . . a professional football star is in deep

trouble for animal cruelty . . . and even this past weekend

the baseball playoffs had a star pitcher under investigation

for possible steroid use.

Thus all the way from the traditional lawyer critiques
to the here-to-fore sacrosanct athletic sportsmanship,

virtually every aspect of our present day life is tarnished

by a form of conduct which comes under the Bible label

of sin. We have spoken before of the need in this country

for a spiritual awakening, or a "revival" to use an Old

Testament term. We who make up the Christian church

cannot continue to allow every aspect of our way of life

to be compromised by these failures to live according to

the pattern Jesus established for us.

Freedom of the press was an 18^th century problem.

George Washington on influence of foreign powers:

"But if we are to be told by a foreign power what we shall

do and what we shall not do, we have Independence yet

to seek, and have contended hitherto for very little." --

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A friend and adviser to this newsletter returned last week

from a visit to the Ukraine where he was engaged in the

development of an expanded program of evangelism. His

comment upon his return, "The Christians in the Ukraine

put American Christians to shame." He was speaking of

Christians who live in a small country, located next to, and

in the shadow of, Russia where religious freedom has long

been abandoned.

And he is right. Last week, in the issue of this newsletter for

October 10, we cited the report that North America is the only

continent on earth where the Christian church is not showing

growth. That is a startling fact, and some of the reasons for it

are alarming to Christians committed to the Evangelical cause.

Among all the surveys and the reports generated by them,

two recent reports from the Barna Group of Ventura, California,

stand out as particularly significant. One report, dated October

8, 2007, relates directly to teenagers, who are perceived to be

among the most religiously active Americans. Among their

religious practices, 72% say they pray in a typical week, 48%

attend worship services, 35% attend Sunday School, and 31%

read the Bible.

Encouraging as those figures would appear to be, they do

represent quite a sharp decline from a similar survey 10 years

ago – from 81% t0 72% as to prayer; from 53% to 48% as to

worship services, and from 37% to 31% as to Bible reading.

With respect to church attendance, the most important

reason for doing so was "to worship or make a connection with

God" at 45%. To choose between a church which teaches tradition

and background of their faith, and one that teaches how their faith

should influence everyday decisions and life styles, they chose the

latter by 39% to 16%. However, overall, 45% of teenagers said

they didn’t prefer either type of church. An earlier report from
the Barna Group, dated September 24, 2007, was focused on the
young adult portion of the population, those in the 16 - 29 age
bracket.There the declining reputation of Christianity was most
apparent.

In the 10 years since the last such survey, when a strong majority

of non-Christians felt favorably toward the role of Christianity in

society, the current figure reflects a sharp decline to 16% of non-

Christians in this age bracket who have a good impression

of Christianity.

It is particularly disturbing to note that Evangelicals are hit

most hard in this evaluation, and only 3% of the 16-29 age young

people express favorable views of Evangelicals. The overall
opinion expressed as to present day Christianity was that it is
"judgmental" 87%; "hypocritical" 85% and "old fashioned" 78%.

The perception of Christianity that is now the most common
one is that it is "anti-homosexual." 91% of non-Christians and
80% of church-goers have that impression. Among the most
frequently voiced opinions of Christianity were: "It has changed
from what it used to be," and"In today’s society it no longer looks
like Jesus."

Many reasons are offered for these unfavorable trends in the

opinions of young people as to the Christian faith. A demographic

reason would reveal that the percentage of non-believers increases

with each generation. Among adults over the age of 40, they
number about 25%. Among the 16-29 age bracket, they number
about 40%. Following this trend, in the next generation they will
represent an even greater percentage of the population.

This is not an in-depth analysis or study. We have briefly presented

a summary of the results of some surveys conducted in a
thoroughlyprofessional manner by a respected research group.

This must be faced, that today Evangelicals and their churches

have failed and are failing, and are not withstanding the attacks on

our faith by liberals, atheists, agnostics and those who represent

another religion. It may well be asked, "What ever happened to the

much touted success of some of the ‘Mega’ or ‘Giga’ churches, and

some of their much publicized televangelists?" "Revival" may not

be a New Testament word or a New Testament concept, but using

some acceptable terminology we need a "revival" or a "spiritual

awakening" in America ... and soon.

A familiar, much needed Scriptural prayer: "O Lord, I have

heard thy speech and was afraid. O Lord revive thy work in the

midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath

remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3:2)

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AS EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS,
WHICH CURRENT ISSUES ARE
MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU? HERE
ARE SOME NATIONAL RESPONSES


But first, note this reminder of our position on the national
election in 2008. Several months ago we took the position that
we would not comment on the upcoming presidential election
until the year 2008. There is still more than one year until that
election day, and at this point in time no one can really be sure
exactly who the candidates will be. So we will hold to our policy
of refraining from any comments until early in 2008.

Now for today’s discussion, TIME Magazine, the oldest and
largest of the nation’s 3 leading weekly news magazines, each
week selects "Ten Most Popular Stories of the Week." From week
to week the lists run the full range among stories of the antics of
show business personalities ... national politics ... the war in Iraq
... the activities of terrorists ...governmental affairs ... human
tragedies ... natural disasters, etc. The list reflects the diverse
interests of the American people as perceived by TIME editors.

The current list, released on October 4, is, as usual, made up of a
wide ranging assortment of subjects. Those subjects include – for
example – the controversial military plane, the V-22 Osprey, now
going to be deployed in Iraq; the matter of Britney Spears losing
custody of her children; riots in Islamabad and killings in Burma;
and mixed in among all of them are two items of particular interest
to evangelical Christians – one as to whether "mega preachers" are
scandal prone, and the other about the problem of the developing
negative image of Christianity.

If those are of top interest to Americans, generally, what are
the top items of interest among Evangelical Christians? In September
the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) conducted a survey to
determine "the top issues of concern to American evangelicals today."
The results of that survey were not released in the form of a list of
the "ten top" items. The concerns expressed through the survey
were presented in groupings. For example, cultural concerns in -
cluding consumerism, materialism, family finances and the pre -
servation of traditional families were reported as the top items of
concern among the 30 million members of the NAE. Highest among
those cultural concerns were reduction of abortions and defense of
the sanctity of human life. There was little concern expressed about
national politics or the war in Iraq.

The next highest level of concern was "helping the hurting," which
included HIV/AIDS, poverty reduction and immigration reform.
The third high response area was evangelism, including the clarity
of the Christian message, freedom of religion in other countries,
the credibility and integrity of Christians, and an increased passion
for evangelism in our churches.

Other issues of concern included health care, emphasis on Christian
doctrine, the issue of homosexuality, the increasing influence of
Islam, and racial reconciliation. NAE President, Leith Anderson said,
"The answers were so diverse that they were difficult to categorize.
Maybe that’s the whole point – that evangelical leaders have a
long list of concerns."

This point is very clear – the interests and concerns of the
American public differ widely from the interests and concerns of
American Evangelicals. This should not be unexpected because
it is doubtless due to the over-riding importance of the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ, to go into all the world and preach
the gospel to everyone – and the Christian way of life arising out
of belief in that gospel which includes the various cultural concerns
expressed in the NAE survey.

It is of extreme importance that this wide difference between
the interests and concerns of Evangelical Christians and the
interests and concerns of the American public be maintained,
and that as Christians we do not allow our rightful concerns
to be come diluted and de-emphasized in the growing concept
of "diversity" and "political correctness," which the Liberals
speak of as "progress."

The importance of being a Christian: "Christianity, if false,
is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only
thing it cannot be is moderately important." – C. S. Lewis

Afterthoughts . . .

Borrowing from computerese, some new terminology.
With the number of so-called "mega-churches" growing at such
a rapid rate, the largest of those churches have now been given
a new label: "giga-churches." According to the annual list of
the 100 largest American churches as reported in Outreach
Magazine, the largest church is Lakewood Church in Houston
with an average weekly attendance of 47,000. The list discloses
that 36 of the top 100 have weekly attendances of at least 10,000,
earning for them the "giga-church" label . . . the remaining 64
have a weekly attendance of 6,000 or more. The churches in
the "mega-church" category have a weekly attendance of at least
2,000. An estimated 1,300 churches are in that size range in
America, but that number is growing rapidly – and at a time
when 70% to 80% of US churches are either have a fixed level
of membership or are in a decline.

And to follow-up on that thought, is the statement by Eric
Ramsey of the Southern Baptist Convention North American
Missionary Board, "North America is the only continent
in the world where the church is not growing." Southern
Baptist is the largest Protestant denomination in America, but a
recent study discloses that 29,900 of their 42,000 churches in
the US are not growing – only 30% are showing growth. But
the study disclosed a more alarming fact – among the "growing"
churches, 1,409 reported no baptisms in an entire year,
indicating that they are really "shuffling Baptists from one
church to another church." A surprising fact emerges from
such studies – that the Christian church is growing faster in
China, under persecution, than in almost any other place on
earth. It should be a wake-up call for American Christians to
realize that we are the only place in the world where Christianity
is not growing.

In case you wondered about Atheists, yes, they are still
around, and still active. The Atheist Alliance International
just sponsored a conference in Crystal City, Virginia, where one
of the conclusions reached was that science must ultimately destroy
organized religion. Oxford Professor Richard Dawkins, a familiar
name, denounced the "preposterous nonsense of religious customs,"
and compared religion to racism. He had this to say about moderate
Christians, stating that "so-called moderate Christianity is simply
an evasion," and seemed to be saying that as an Atheist or Christian
a person should be solidly for whatever they believe. The conference
did not seem to have the aggressive tones of earlier years, when
Madelyn Murray O’Hair was influencing the US Supreme Court.

Christians in the Sudan are still being killed while the US,
the UN and the rest of the world sits back and watches. Just two
weeks ago, on September 27, a suicide bomber attacked a Baptist
church in the Southern Sudan town of Khorfullus killing six
children and injuring the pastor and three others. The bomber
was reported to be in full army uniform. It is Southern Sudan,
mostly Christian and ethnically African, which is the victim of the
ethnic cleansing by the mainly Muslim North, largely Arab. In the
past several years an estimated two million have been killed and
more than four million forcefully displaced. And no relief is in sight.

The importance of church membership. Dr. Philip Graham
Ryken, the pastor of the 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia,
in his book "Communion of the Saints" draws this important
conclusion, "Martyn Lloyd-Jones went so far as to describe
church membership as ‘the biggest honour which can come a
man’s way in this world.’ There is no union with Christ apart
from the communion of the saints. Nor can the saints have true
communion without belonging to one another by belonging to
Christ in His church. The communion of the saints is for members
only."

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