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Christianity Today, May (Web-only), 2008 |

Speaking Out

A Gentle Plea for Civility

Why America needs An Evangelical Manifesto.

Os Guinness, Religion News Service | posted 5/09/2008 12:05PM

A terrible question now stalks this land: Who will step forward to lead America out of the bitterness and divisions over race and religion in public life?

Race is the older problem, and to Americans it ...

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leeza24

Posted: May 17, 2008 12:17 PM

Just More Politics In Another Disguise The leaders did the same thing every election time at TCOTW, Jack Hayford's church. He was usually careful, but many of the other pastors on staff there weren't. I was there when one of them actually publicly stated from the platform during a service that he didn't see how anyone could call themself a Christian and be a Democrat! People were upset and some even got up and left the service. Wednesday Night prayer meetings were more of a political campaign than a spiritual gathering. Prayers were invoked for certain politicians in the running but not for others. I was there the night we were all told to hold hands across the aisles to pray for all those in the running, but when we did the pastor asked God to let so-in-so win. That was the night I walked out. I was disgusted at being manipulated and lied to to make me pray for a certain candidate to win! It was pretty obvious the Powers in charge were Republican and felt we all should be too.

Camille K. Lewis

Posted: May 16, 2008 3:20 PM

If civility does require healing and forgiveness, it should be something at which we believers excel. I must admit that I'm skeptical about the call for "civility" as such, since I connect it to modernist/platonic and Habermasian "ideal speech situations." Habermas and his ilk would eke out all religious discourse in the civic sphere as uncivil. But perhaps we Evangelicals can grab the term and privilege the repentance and healing that our culture needs. Some are trying. I see that right now at the very same time as this call for civility/forgiveness was posted. And it's about religion and race too. Graduates and former students of Bob Jones University are appealing to their alma mater to reconcile their past racist policies. http://www.please-reconcile.org/ Will it work? Don't know. Don't really care. It's not about effectiveness, I don't think. It's a beginning. And it's a beginning move toward civility, I believe.

Christina

Posted: May 12, 2008 10:48 PM

I'm grateful that someone finally had the courage to stand up and say something about this. I'm a Christian college student, and I've been so annoyed recently by die-hard evangelicals aligning themselves with a particular party ideology. We're ready to get back to a theology that we know is firm, so we know what we believe. I'm tired of people viewing Christians as intolerant and hate-mongers. We're tired of people telling us that we have to belong to one party or another, and that's what makes us good Christians. We're tired of an establishment view of Christianity, that it is the ONLY religion that belongs in America. We want good strong doctrine so that we can go out and change the world for Christ, in a CIVIL manner, with respect to other beliefs. Thanks for making that stand.

Gregory Peterson

Posted: May 12, 2008 7:38 PM

Conservative evangelicals hardly have a decent track record on pluralism. Pluralism is not a recent "explosion;" a rather condescendingly racist-like notion, by the way. Pluralism is the way it's long been...but hidden under the "melting pot" idea, in which Protestant people of European descent were allowed to "melt" into whiteness, and repressed, if not legally forbidden in large areas of the country, for those who were designated as having the one drop of blood that would allegedly stain the steaming kettle of white privilege. There is little reason to think that the group that invented "name it and claim it" theology, the Jim Crow Bible Belt, exclusive prayer circles around the flag pole, and the tawdry ethnic cleansing fantasy of "left behind" rapture, will be content with sharing the pubic square on an equal footing with people they erroneously think just suddenly appeared in some mysterious and alarming explosion.

Pr.Bill LtCol (USAR)

Posted: May 10, 2008 1:11 PM

Certainly, a well-intended article noting an on-going problem. Marilyn, when you speak of "ideology" being "over" what do you mean? And by "polarized" do you mean politically? And Scott says it's "achievable...to have a consistent, intelligent, respectful and united message." Have I missed something these last 500 years? When did Protestant individualism ever have a "consistent" or "united message"? I'm afraid Marilyn is closer to reality. The "evangelical" principle is anarchy. So, yes, today ( 500 years of Reformation), "'Civility'...doesn't mean squat". forestphilosopher.blogspot.com

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