In the wake of the elections, the media is filled with punditry from atheists and liberal "christians" to so-called evangelical leaders saying that the evangelical message must be changed to appeal to voters or the Republican party simply needs to jettison conservative Christians. Even Bible-believing Christians are being pitted against one another.
Hello?! By definition, a message that is truly evangelical CANNOT be changed.
For background, read Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare and also read Will 'Wimpy' Pastors Engage War on Christianity? as well as Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism
UPDATE 12/2/12: Rev. Ken Hutcherson says Jim Daly is hiding behind compromise and alienating conservative Christians
UPDATE 11/22/12: GOP Moderation Lost the Election, Say Evangelicals
-- From "Hodges: Christian right must soften its tone, widen its agenda" by Corey J. Hodges, pastor of New Pilgrim Baptist Church and Special to The Salt Lake Tribune 11/14/12
Conservative evangelicals have to change if we intend to remain influential in the public arena. Changing our core values is not the solution. Christians derive their values from immutable biblical principles. But some shifting is necessary.
First, the tone of our discourse must change. . . . there is no place for intolerance and the divisive language . . .
Our focus has almost entirely been on opposing abortion and gay marriage. We have neglected issues such as poverty, health care and immigration reform, which arguably have just as much biblical support as the agendas we oppose. After all, the scriptures command us to exhibit love and compassion and to care for the less fortunate.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Focus on the Family head takes conciliatory tone after election" by Mitchell Landsberg, Los Angeles Times 11/10/12
[Focus on the Family leader Jim] Daly is willing to say things that few conservative evangelical leaders are likely to say. He believes, for instance, that the Christian right lost the fight against same-sex marriage in four states in part because it is on the losing side of a cultural paradigm. He says the evangelical community should have been considering immigration reform years ago, “but we were led more by political-think than church-think.”
These are controversial views in Daly's world, and he concedes that some of them have stirred anger among some of his fellow conservative Christians. But Daly, who exudes preternatural cheerfulness, said he believes that evangelicals need to win over friends, not make more enemies, and that the results of the election underlined the need to reach out to people with whom they have disagreements — including Obama — and seek common ground.
“Maybe we've been looking in the wrong direction and we've got to be more ecumenical,” he said.
Still, Daly parts ways with many of his associates when he says that the evangelical right is “fighting an uphill battle of demographics” on gay rights . . .
. . . Daly spoke of a willingness to work with abortion-rights groups to find common ground on adoption — a notion that would probably strike many Christian conservatives as appeasement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Evangelicals struggle to stay relevant in Republican politics" by Ralph Z. Hallow, The Washington Times 11/13/12
The clout of evangelical voters, once a crucial part the Republican Party’s winning electoral coalition, has come under question after what some say was their failure in the past two presidential elections to put the Republican candidate over the top against a Democrat who had made few friends among social conservatives.
. . . Mr. Daly’s sentiments sit well with traditional Republicans and economic conservatives, some of whom have always felt that loud and uncompromising stands on social issues have cost the party support among a variety of constituencies, including women and a growing cadre of libertarian-minded younger voters.
But reflecting the views of many other conservative religious leaders, evangelical political organizer David Lane, founder of Pastor and Pews, said it was “an outrage” for Mr. Daly to call for Christians to stop engaging in culture wars. Mr. Lane said Mr. Daly was flying the “white flag of surrender” to political opponents of traditional values.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Evangelical Leaders Urge Immigration Shakeup" by Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal 11/13/12
More than 150 evangelical leaders called on President Barack Obama Tuesday to make revamping the nation's immigration system a top priority, following a presidential election in which the Latino vote was a decisive factor.
An open letter from the group demanded that Mr. Obama and the heads of the Senate and House of Representatives support a legalization program for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Among the signatories are Leith Anderson, president of the [seldom] conservative National Association of Evangelicals, and Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners, a liberal group.
It laid out six principles, including an immigration overhaul that protects family unity, respects the rule of law and guarantees secure borders. The letter said these principles reflect a "growing convergence" with positions by other religious, civic, business, labor and law-enforcement leaders.
Not all evangelicals are on board with legalizing undocumented immigrants.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "White Evangelical Asks Black Evangelicals Why They Re-Elected Obama" by Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter 11/13/12
In an open letter to black evangelicals, Michael Brown candidly asks whether they compromised their beliefs by voting for the re-election of President Barack Obama.
"I simply do not understand how my black evangelical friends who so staunchly oppose same-sex marriage and who stand against abortion could cast their vote for the most radically pro-abortion, pro-gay-activist president in our history," he said as a fellow evangelical.
Brown said he is not attacking black voters in his open letter but that he's simply inquiring why nearly the same percentage of black Americans who voted for Obama four years ago did so again this year.
Black Christian leaders have expressed their disapproval of Obama's policies while on Brown's radio show and have even urged parishioners not to vote for the president. Brown listed Bishop Harry Jackson from the Washington, D.C., area as one of them.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Election 2012 Marks the End of Evangelical Dominance in Politics" by Jonathan Merritt, The Atlantic 11/13/12
. . . 79 percent of white evangelicals voted for Romney on Tuesday. That's the same percentage that Bush received in 2004, and more than Senator John McCain received in 2008. The evangelical vote was 27 percent of the overall electorate -- the highest it's ever been for an election.
Their support wasn't enough. Not only did Obama win soundly, but four states voted to allow same-sex marriage. [Correction: Three states]
[Why?]
First, evangelicals' size is a limitation. . . .
Second, evangelicals' influence is waning. Conservative Christian ideas are failing to shape the broader culture. . . .
Third, evangelical leadership is wanting. . . .
[The rising non-evangelicals] give me hope that American Christians may be on the cusp of a healthier engagement with the public square.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pastor Warns America of Socialism, Calls for Prayer
