Conservative evangelicals generally offer an unbiblically narrow policy agenda focused on just a few moral issues such as abortion and gay marriage instead of tackling the full range of biblical concerns, which include poverty, oppression and war. And when they do engage some of these other issues, such as the foreign policy of our nation, they are (ironically) not Christian enough. Their faith doesn’t inform their vote in a way that makes sense biblically. They are getting their values from somewhere else — not from Jesus — which is why they look so uncomfortable whenever anyone raises the “Jesus issue” in relation to their support for, say, torture.
Would it surprise you to learn that an evangelical Christian wrote that paragraph? David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, president of Evangelicals for Human Rights, and author of The Future of Faith in American Politics, to be released this week.
Read his riveting article about faith and politics here.
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Jim Wallis is another name that comes to mind. He is a “progressive” Evangelical Christian. You get some good information if you google him. He has written several books about faith and politics, including God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It. He’s also a regular contributor for Sojourners magazine.
And yes, I realize that this comment is quite a shameless plug for Mr. Wallis….
@ Ashley: Sounds interesting. My pastor recommends Sojourner magazine, too. I’ll have to look into God’s Politics.