Commentary by Wanda
Rev. Jerry Falwell passed away on Tuesday at the age of 73. He is responsible for Evangelicals getting involved in politics starting in the 1970's. Falwell mobilized Christians across the US after the passing of Roe vs. Wade and the development of the Equal Rights Amendment, to defend Christian family values through political engagement. Jerry Falwell who co-founded the Moral Majority was responsible for the election of Christian president Jimmy Carter and then later Reagan. I grew up listening to him on the TV because my Dad was a big fan. He made a huge impact on American politics; he was one of the most influential Christians outside of King in the 20th century.
Today I had lunch with a friend who asked me "Do you think the Religious Right will be able to recover from losing this influential leader?" I immediately answered him,"Trust me he has a prodigy. And his passing may actually encourage the conservative vote to continue his legacy of protecting family values." Monday on the Larry King Live show "God and Politics" had several religious leaders who discussed the impact of a candidate's personal religious faith on the success of their campaign. They also discussed Falwell's influence on politics and the emerging voices in the conservative camp led by mega-pastor Rick Warren and theologian N.T. Wright. These men feel that the true moral issue of our country is not the family but poverty. Unfortunately, Falwell did not participate in that discussion because of his illness but it would have been interesting to hear his perspective on the matter. According to the Gospels, Jesus was concerned and even commissioned his followers to take care of the poor and the widows. So if the Conservatives want to know WWJD, it would be to keep the poor and the marginalized as our focus. Possibly work on public education and healthcare, etc.
I am a moderate so I won't bother you with my issues with the Christian/Religious Right. However, it is encouraging to hear a prophetic voice from the Right; one that seeks to find common ground and truly embrace the Christian spirit of brotherhood and love. Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what Conservative Christians will do about their front runners one of which is Pro Choice and the other a Mormon. Hummm... I think upcoming discussions should be very interesting.
To read more from Wanda logon to SummerBloggin.
Response by Cantice
I had to learn from Wanda that Jerry Falwell died, but I don't keep up with the news in up-to-the-minute or even up-to-the-day accuracy, as I probably should. I do know who Rick Warren is. I've visited his church and attended the Purpose Driven Church conference twice (my husband has four times). Our church, Destiny is Purpose Driven and has been since 1997, before the movement was popularized. Our pastor, Dr. Bryan Crute, embraced the model after he had already started the church in 1995. I think the history of my church and my pastor's vision for it, connects interestingly to the Religious Right.
Before starting Destiny, Pastor Crute was the leader of a non-profit organization that targeted college students to train them to be Christ-centered leaders with bibliocentric principles. Many of the messages that Crute delivered to us focused on integrity. At that stage in our lives many of us had either rejected or faltered to uphold standards of sexual integrity. We needed encouragement to upohld other Godly virtues, but we didn't need the same strength of encouragement to remember to do good to the poor or to remember the widows. Many of us were the "orphans" of the New Millenium, having fathers who deserted us in presence or action. And how could we forget the poor? Many of us were numbered with them.
As Jesus said, the poor will always be with us. Today, nonprofit organizations abound, and largely, they attend to the educational, healthcare, and other poverty related needs of children. If they do so from a religious platform they are often denied government funding. Many of those who operate without government money for religious reasons, are led by people who vote Republican, whose impetus to do good is intricately entwined with their religious beliefs. To imply that poor people are being neglected by either party or candidate is to misrepresent the facts. Republicans and Democrats disagree on the manner in which to support the poor, but they agree that they shouldn't be neglected.
I doubt that Jesus would be concerned about politics the way that we are. After all, having a king, president, or other earthly absolute authority was not God's intention for us. If he lived today, I don't think Jesus would care in the least about public education. Education is the charge of parents and not the government. Jesus was educated in the trade of his Jewish earthly father and he was prompted by his heavenly father to educate himself in spiritual matters. Jesus spent his time setting individuals free spiritually and correcting false teachings of authorities. Once people gathered, he would feed them. That is what churches and those nonprofits who do not receive government funding still do today.
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