Editor’s note: We received many, many replies to Gordon MacDonald’s June 2004 column in Leadership Weekly, “Have We Room for Thoughtful Political Discussion?” (To read the original column, click here.) While we cannot publish all the responses, we would like to share a sampling from the e-mail bag. Here they are, in no particular order, for your thoughtful consideration.
Leadership Weekly,I was moved to write in response to your newsletter article on the lack of real, meaningful discussion regarding our current political situation and the many areas in which our country is heading in dangerous directions. I am so pleased that someone of Mr. MacDonald’s stature and thoughtfulness is asking for real dialogue. Way too often in Christian circles there is a sense that if one questions or (heaven forbid) objects to a decision our current president or ruling party makes, you are looked at as if you blasphemed the Holy Name! Because he identifies himself as an evangelical and because he is a Republican, one mustn’t disagree or in any way question what is going on in our country today.
When I was a student at Wheaton College in the 80’s (an institution for which I hold the highest respect) the prevailing attitude among the students there was “repent and be Republican;” any other party leanings were not considered “kosher.” I had come from a part of the country in which many Christians I knew couldn’t fathom this sort of “groupthink.” Unfortunately, in the ensuing years it seems as if the entire evangelical subculture has succumbed to just such an attitude. If one wishes to debate or discuss various issues, it is seen as disloyalty and one’s faithwalk is brought into question. It is sad and dangerous for faith to be too closely married to one particular brand of politics.
I remember when we had a speaker at school who questioned this attitude; the reception among the student body was a bit chilly to say the least. This speaker encouraged us to do just what Mr. MacDonald has – to look at each issue in light of a biblical perspective and then see if what is being decided measures up. All too often today Christians are looking at the political landscape and then running to the Bible to back up the positions of on political party.
Thank you for bringing up the subject of the lack of meaningful debate. I think that a true biblical viewpoint as part of our decision-making process and discussions would be a refreshing and useful change.
Kim LewisWatertown, Wisconsin
I know that my stereotypes are just that—stereotypes—but I want to thank you, Gordon, for putting a dent in my stereotype that folks who label themselves ‘evangelical’ parallel themselves Christianity with the GOP. Five minutes before I read your article I read one of those shady email stories about a pastor from Uzbekistan who says that Christians in his country are praying fervently that President Bush is reelected since, under his watch persecution of Christians has dwindled while during Bill Clinton’s presidency persecution was at horrifying levels. The implication is that Republicans are Christians who will protect other Christians throughout the world and Democrats are the opposite.
Therefore, it was refreshing to read your take on the gospel’s connection to the environment, economic policies, healthcare and the political direction the President Bush is leading us. Only by shaking ourselves of the unwritten, unspoken notion that God is either a Democrat or a Republican (or that either party wholeheartedly reflects Christian ideals) will we be able to have room for thoughtful political debate. Bless you for making that call in your influential forum.
Darin WiebeOshkosh, Wisconsin
I am amazed at Christians who suggest that we consider the negatives of the Bush administration. How can anyone ignore the terrible state our country is in because of the rampant liberal bias of the judicial appointees making rulings that the vast majority of the American people outspokenly oppose? When I look at the hills that the Democrat party and its leaders are willing to die on, my heart aches—abortion, homosexuality, global opinion (even regarding standards for our supreme court deliberations). If one looks at Scripture, it isn’t difficult to see which side of those issues God is on. No human being is perfect. But it does behoove us to look at the direction the nation will be taken under the leadership of the Democrats. Certainly there are negatives in the Republican party and its leadership. But please consider the negatives in the Democratic party and its leadership. The comparison is alarming if Biblical principles are brought into play. I’m not a gloom and doom person, but I see the reality of the book of Judges unfolding before my eyes. The day may be fast approaching when Christians will have to stand up and be counted—we are either for God and what He has to say in His Word or we are against Him.
—Wanda Fisher
Just read McDonald’s comments and I add a hearty amen. If a Republican goes to church and opposes abortion, he receives accolades from the evangelical right regardless of what else he does. I like Bush, could never vote for Kerry but think Iraq is a mistake. So what does that make me? Confused mostly.
—Chris Smith
Thank God someone has finally said what I’ve been thinking for ages. Were is the balanced discourse on current political issues in light of the whole gospel—not just our own pet theological issues? I hope to see more articles about this subject and about the current issues we are facing in the world from differing Christian voices and perspectives.
—Linda Jamentz
Gordon McDonald’s reflections on the political conversations of the evangelical world prompted the following ruminations on my part:
Jim Wallis and the folks at Sojourners have been addressing political issues from an evangelical perspective for a long time. Unfortunately their voice is drowned out, ignored, or downplayed by “mainstream” evangelical publications like Christianity Today, Leadership, etc.
If the email I get from evangelical friends are any indication of the state of political thinking among evangelicals, most cannot distinguish the American Dream from the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. I am afraid that if most of us in the evangelical world were to be confronted by Jesus like the rich young ruler was, we would join him in turning away sorrowfully.
Most of us have sold out to our wealth, or our dream of wealth and success. This leads us to be afraid of those who advocate doing with less so that others might have a fighting chance. The idea that it might actually be appropriate for us to sacrifice and do without is not even on our radar scope. Consequently, most of us are drawn to politicians who tell us we can have our cake and eat it too. We don’t really trust the One who said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.”
The evangelical emphasis on personal salvation has eclipsed most of Jesus’ proclamation. For us, the Gospel is about forgiveness, grace, heaven, and having Jesus as our friend and companion. How we live, with exception of abortion, sex and homosexuality, is not really a significant concern. We have ignored or grossly spiritualized Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere.
The last President that we had (and I am not speaking of Clinton) who embraced the born-again spirituality of evangelicalism has been spurned and demonized by most in the evangelical world. To hear some of the rhetoric, many evangelical preachers and spokespersons would agree with the Ayotollah Kohemeni in denouncing Jimmy Carter as “the great Satan” (an appellation he earned by extending an act of mercy and hospitality).
Unless we take more seriously the Bible, which maintain is the centerpiece of our faith and practice.
Jim HolladayLouisville, Kentucky
Thank you for raising these important questions to the Evangelical Community. It seems to me that too many of us have been silenced by our brothers and sisters who believe that their particular politics are singularly biblically based and somehow singularly representative of Christianity. We, or perhaps I should say I, don’t speak up because the strongest voices in the Evangelical community have effectively silenced me with their wide spread message that Evangelical Christians are like “this”, which is really only a description of “them”. I recently emailed Focus On The Family asking them to consider joining with our Jewish, Islamic and other religious neighbors who also believe strongly in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman and the value of human life. I suggested that isolating ourselves as the only religious group that cares about such things, (which isn’t true), is arrogant, incorrect and it leads to a mistrust of evangelical Christians. I have not as yet received an answer from them, but my suspicion is that there just isn’t a willingness to join with anyone, (Christian or otherwise), who doesn’t line up with their political position.
As an evangelical pastor, a woman, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a democrat, I care very much about the advancement of the kingdom of God, injustice around the world, a lack of mercy toward the poor, the sick and dying, bad stewardship of all of our resources, (including the stewardship of stem cells), and the appeal by the Apostle Paul that the church present Christ’s message of truth and grace in such a way that the gospel is never slandered.
This reply is too long so let me conclude by saying, “Thank you for opening up the discussion”.
Robin SmithVictorville, California
Discussions aren’t possible with like-minded people.
If most evangelicals had not damned all the democrat/liberal evangelicals to hell many years ago they would still be members of the evangelical community and would be available for discussion. The few of us who are still in the evangelical community have learned to be quiet, circumspect, suspicious, ashamed, and have learned “discussion” means “diatribe” to most evangelical Christians. Don’t be shocked if we don’t jump right up to out ourselves as non-like-minded so you can have a good ol’ thoughtful discussion with us.
The Christian to be most suspicious of is the one who informs you of his Christianity right up front.
Anne RaybonAsheville, North Carolina
My name is Noal Atkinson and I am an evangelical pastor from Perth, Western Australia. Your article made me smile. Last year 10 of us pastors were sent to America to learn some of the latest outreach methods and see what could be applied to Australia. For this trip we toured the state of California and saw many of the different churches within California that were achieving outreach.
What surprised us in was not the similarities between our cultures (both ex-British colonies with western democracy), but the stark differences between Australian Evangelicals and American.
The Australian protestant church is growing as a whole (this is after many years of decline) and your article rang so true with us. All of us on our team were deeply committed to the gospel, so much that we would travel half the world to learn how to better share Jesus. But we were shocked at much of the American lifestyle.
In Australia guns are heavily used for sport and farming, no church in their right mind holds the theologcial view that people have a ‘right to bear arms in their home’. We were shocked when we were told to avoid ‘down town’ at night, in my home city of 1.6 million that is where everyone goes when the sun goes down. We would have about 12 people a year die by gun shooting (usually farming accidents or hold ups) and were shocked that this position would have us called ‘liberal’ in America.
We were stunned that pastors could eat so much that they were obese and on TV. In our country that would be called a major sin. In fact we looked sickly thin compared to our American passangers in the air port. We kept asking ourselves, we understand why the culture has gone this way, but surely the church must speak out against this rampant consumerism.
I was stunned to see so many people eating out of bins and people giving money to beggars. In our home country it is not a right to bear arms, but there is a right to receive the basics of life from the government (i.e., food, a cheap flat, education and money for clothes). How can some churches defend the right to bear arms but not the right for survival? (and eating out of bins is not survival as far as we are concerned). In Australia the churches have been so vocal on this the government now pay churches to run low cost Christian schools, low cost Christian housing and low cost clothing shops. The Christian schools especially have received exemptions from discrimination laws so they may teach whatever religious education they want and hire whomever they want. Over 1/3 of Australians are now educated in low cost Christian schools. the government pay churches to run job agencies etc and local councils pay churches to run Christian youth groups for the whole community. Seeing some of the huge cars in America made us shudder. Seeing pastors drive them made us almost cry.
In Australia only 10% of Australians are in church on any given Sunday, but recent data shows the evangelical/charismatic church is growing rapidly and the liberal end is dying. I was stunned to see Americans hate their churches so much they would erect gay pride flags in defiance of the church (in many large cities across california this can be seen). And gay marriages are on the horizon too! In Australia (host to some very large gay pride marches) both political parties are abhorrent to the idea of gay marriages and the concept of activist judges is totally foreign. I have never seen the local council establish a ‘gay zone’ with flags until I attended America. In Australia such flags could lead to rioting. Both political parties know that the Christian community is divided between the two political parties and any support of gay marriages would cost them the next election. Christians are both left and right. Unionist and business oriented. All Christian conferences involving politics have Christian speakers from the left and right, who never bring up politics but their faith in Jesus Christ.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my time in America and learnt heaps (any country with a 40% church attendance has some good things going for it). But I can see why church attendance is falling and why people who care about the environment, believe food & shelter for kids is a universal right (unlike guns) and think that obesity is a sin are leaving the church in droves. I am not saying there is a right and wrong on these issues, I am just saying we were surprised by our evangelical cousins across the oceans and learnt to keep quiet for our whole trip.
God bless ya mate,Noal AtkinsonPerth
Mr. MacDonald,Each time I open my mailbox and see that Leadership Weekly arrived again, I get excited. I learn so much from your writings that they include.You make me think! You did again this week. As a pastor who is facing some of those speaking out against some of my practices, I empathize with President Bush. Certainly, his critics are on a more national scale than my dinky little church, but as a man in leadership I know how he feels. You see, both of us have been accused by people wanting to destroy the legacy we wish to leave. We all know the media can be biased and that the Democrats’ best strategy is to use (abuse?) those in the media to get the reaction they want. In the same way, my critics are not reporting what is factual, and in fact are taking petty things and blowing them out of proportion (I am not saying the Iraqi prisoner treatment was petty; it was sinful). How does a leader sift through all of the junk that people report about them and come to the conclusion that some of what the critics has value and merit?
As an Evangelical Christian pastor, I do agree with you that people are more concerned with putting a “born again man” in the White House than they are with making sure that their life measures up to being a committed Christ-follower themselves. Thanks for making me think again!
Mike WillisPortsmouth, Virginia
I was disappointed in lack of thought that Gordon MacDonald put in his opinion piece for Leadership this week. Seems there is no real deep thinking or study on his part as to these matters. I didn’t bother with his “solutions” to the matters. (I trust he gave some!) If they are the same as we are hearing from the far left, he is out of line!
Randy WrightLehigh Acres, Florida.
I just spent a wonderful weekend with my grown son who was in New York City for a medical conference. On Friday evening we engaged in one of our frequent discussions/debates related to many things political and their relationship to our Christian faith.
As a lifelong middle of the road but more often slightly Republican, I am now the mother of mostly Democrats, and they have reached that political position in large part because of the issues you have cited in your Gloom and Doom article. To hear their own evangelical faith equated with a conservative political position is often a matter of real concern for these children of mine, and I personally cringe when I hear evangelical leaders sounding as though one has to be a Republican to be a Christian. Yes, there are concerns with many of the liberal agenda items of the Democratic party too, but we are not showing much trust in God’s overwhelming power and majesty when we make it sound as though the Christian church will disappear if a particular political philosophy does not remain dominant in this country.
I will be forwarding your comments to my son with a hearty Amen! attached. Oh, and I also plan to share these thoughts with some of my more Republican friends with whom I also have discussions on these same topics. Thank you for your thoughtful words about a very important message—and thanks too for including the words of one of my favorite hymns.
Helen
Amen, Amen and Amen! Over a decade ago, after a lengthy discussion with some college students about how abortion was the sole issue that determined their vote, I made a private list of social issues that I considered vital in my political decisions. Abortion was on the list, but far below others like hunger, poverty, decent housing and protecting children from a number of threats. With the exception of Campolo and Sider and a few others like them, evangelicals are silent on these issues that mean life and death for millions each day. Thank you for speaking out!
Paul RaybonAsheville, North Carolina
Well said! We do a little better in Canada but we could engage more in Christianly political discussions. We also are in national elections mode but our run is a lot shorter than yours. Ours will be interesting this time because of a merger of our two conservative parties. It is quite possible that we could emerge from the voting with a minority government.
Just this morning on CBC radio there was a thoughtful discussion about whether or not a person’s religious beliefs should play any part in how they vote. The two participants were spokespersons for a) the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and 2) the Catholic church. Their contributions were non-partisan but very helpful and both pointed out that everyone votes out of some worldview structure — why not one that is formed, at least in part, by religious convictions. May God guide us all as we go to the ballot box.
Dianne CunninghamKitchener, Ontario
Gordon – I normally appreciate your articles. However, this one left me running in circles. You say you’re not a G&D person yet put forth a laundry list of G&D statements. You “touch on” Biblical issues and start to put my feet to the fire – then you pull me away from the fire by saying I don’t need to send money. There’s an old saying “If you can’t stand the heat – get out of the kitchen.” I’m leaving the kitchen because it didn’t get hot enough and your article came across as a thinly disguised critique of the Republican party. Gordon – next time hold my feet to the fire – make me squirm a bit more – make me deal with the Biblical issues you raise – then we can talk.
Douglas S. WiddowsonCincinnati, Ohio
I always look forward to Gordon’s thoughts, but this time I found him particularly excellent. As an evangelical Anglican from the other side of the Atlantic – based in London – I have drawn lots of inspiration from developments in the USA. I have attended conferences at Willow Creek and Saddleback, and implemented much of what I have learned in the church I lead. I read more books by American Christians than British ones. And the USA is even my favourite holiday destination. But I have never understood the American evangelical attitude to political engagement. In the USA it seems the political issues which get the church going are all about abortion, family, homosexuality etc., and these issues lead most evangelicals to be Republican. Now, I don’t have a problem with evangelicals voting Republican, but there are other issues that a Christian voice should be heard on as well – the environment, gun control, poverty, business ethics – which might point evangelicals in another direction.
In the UK, evangelicals have been waking up to the need for political engagement for a generation now. We are inspired by the example of people like William Wilberforce and the Clapham sect, who fought their successful campaign to end slavery from the area where I now live. British evangelicals generally recognise that there is no such thing as a perfect Christian political platform, and even on the issues we think are important we don’t always agree. Because no political party has a moratorium on truth we end up voting for all the main parties. And there is much more of a sense of a debate going on within the evangelical church – and a debate in wider society to which evangelicals contribute.
Perhaps after all the inspiration we have received from the American church, it might be the Brits’ turn to inspire you.
Stephen HanceLondon
As a European it might be regarded as not being appropriate for me to respond to Gordon’s thoughts this week but I would like to. America is the most powerful nation the world has ever known and that brings responsibilities, especially if it is portrayed as a Christian nation. So thank you Gordon for being brave enough to say what you said.
Many of us in Europe have a fear of the USA, your power could be used to create so much good, but the reaction to the environment, the way you use Oil, the attitude to the Palestinians, the war in Iraq and so much more give us concern.
We are not anti-American, we are just concerned. Thank you Gordon.
Peter WelshGreenhithe
Well – since you almost solicited it, this is my opinion. As Christians we are supposed to be concerned with what goes on around us However, in my opinion God wants everything to start in the heart not the mind.
Yes, environmental issues are a problem. But watch the where the facts are coming from which you base your thinking on. Drilling for oil in Alaska? Bad for the environment. But first go talk to former “environmentalists” working at the department of natural resources at the Denver Federal Center. You’ll learn a lot about the real impact drilling would have; not to mention that the misinformation put out by “environmentalist” groups is just as bad as that put out by “conservatives”.
Iraq. Misconceived and mismanaged? Come on! This is a war for goodness sakes! And its the first one that we get to enjoy dissecting every move like Sunday morning quarterbacks. Misconceived? On what basis? Saddam killed hundreds of thousands of his own people? Does this alone not justify taking out his regime? This seems to be what you argue for in the rest of your piece — that christians are not involved in the plight of minorities, the elderly, the disadvantaged. Does removing a murdering, reckless despot not fall under the same rubric you cite of “biblical compassion”? — Beyond that, how many of we citizens are really privy to all the information as to Saddam’s future plans and capabilities? – Or the geopolitical consequences of letting the man stay in power. Eventually he would have attacked Saudi Arabia. They were not his good friends. What would we have done then? Stand by and watch? Not really possible. And with years of uncontrolled oil wealth to fund his military machine; how much money and Blood would it have cost us to remove him? — Or, Saddam would have hit Israel. Then what would have we done? Step aside? Probably not. – More likely than not the Israelis would have taken care of the problem of Saddam on their own, long before it reached a critical point. — And then we would have had a real mess on our hands… “The US and Israel vs. the Arab (Islamic) World + Europe”. Hmmmm. Seems like a pretty prudent decision to remove Saddam when we did. — Mismanaged??? Probably so. Look up the meaning of the acronym “snafu”. Its a military term and it didn’t start with this war.
Debt. Go talk to people on Wall Street. Yes personal debt is not good. And the Bible counsels against it. But the national debt? Its Keynesian Economics. And that’s what we use since the 1930’s to get out of economic downturns. Had we not incurred the great amount of debt we’ve have in the past several years, ask an economist what type of depression we’d now be in. (Notice I said “depression”… not “recession”). No plan espoused by the left could have gotten us out of the economic downturn without large amounts of debt (and the equivalent stimulant – tax cuts on the people who pay them … corporations and the “wealthy”). The left doesn’t tell you this though. It only decries the great amount of “unnecessary debt”. Will this be a millstone around the necks of our grandchildren? Yes, if the economic engine is hobbled in the future by government taxes to take care many of the needs of people – which should rightfully be the responsibility of the church. Not Government (Jesus, to my knowledge, never said the government should do anything about the poor… correct me if I’m wrong). Remember, it all starts in the heart. From people, — not from christian people forcing government (which includes many non-christians) to take care of people (i.e., through taxes.)
AIDs. Yes we’ve failed here. Probably not enough effort has been put forth here. Yet the US is not the whole world. Where is the european, asain, etc. responsibility? To our government’s credit, Bush last year (I believe) launched a huge new AIDS initiative (which was promptly criticized by AIDS groups as insufficient). Again, it starts with the heart. CHANGE PEOPLE’S HEARTS IF YOU WANT THE WORLD TO CHANGE. Applaud what is being done, and join in it. Isn’t this what the Bible teaches? When you see something good being done, JOIN IN!!! Don’t sit back and say it isn’t enough.
Seniors. Yes there are many seniors who have a lot of problems with healthcare. But again, who’s responsibility is it? The heart says that families should take care of their own. Not put them off on society so taxes can take care of them. And remember, taxes are paid by all. What happens to individual responsibility? … “Oh, the government should take care of it…I pay my taxes…so it should be covered.” And here we go again. In reality, if you make below $40k/year (I think this is the level).— you are Not paying any taxes (besides sales taxes… remember FICA is not a “tax” … it is supposedly being invested for your future). — Is the cost of healthcare too great? Yes. But should some hard decisions be made if surgeries on octenagenerains (sp) at $80K paid out of the public healthcare till? Absolutely. Especially when young children are living with life threatening diseases because their parents cannot afford correct preventative treatments. IT HAS TO COME FROM THE HEART. — And lets not forget about personal responsibility. Some people haven’t planned at all. Yes tragedy strikes many of us. But some people refuse to plan ahead because they are only concerned about themselves and the now. And expect someone else (meaning “the government”) to take care of them in the future. … Remember the seven virgins with the oil waiting for the bridegroom? When the bridegroom finally came, the foolish had run out of oil and wanted those who brought extra to give them some. …sounds very, very familiar.
Prisoners, racism, tribal massacres. You have a point here. We should be doing a lot more. But why not get behind Chuck Colson, Joyce Meyer, and others who really ARE making a dent in the prison problem? Don’t expect government to take care of it. IT CANNOT. People are in prison because we, as christians, have not done enough to change their HEARTS. Our hearts are often indifferent to this problem. We often take very little responsibility for what goes on around us because our hearts are hardened. …”someone else (often followed by, “like the government”) will/should take care of this problem”. — And, I believe our government has at least made an attempt to stop racism and tribal massacres. — As someone who has live for considerable periods in Europe and other places such as Australia/NZ..racism in the US is minor in comparison. Is this ok? No. But I wouldn’t want to be a Jew in “enlightened France”, or a Maori in “egalitarian” New Zealand. How about a Korean in Japan? The laws on these countrys’ books, if they exist, are hardly enforced as they are in our country. And many of these laws on our books are the product of sound christian thinking and ACTION. Because those who got these laws on the books acted on their conviction – which came out of their HEARTS. … Notice that in many other countries where protection of minorities is minimal (Japan, Sudan, Turkey, India, Indonesia, etc.) there is not much of an evangelical community. And, in places where there is sound debate (such as Aust. and NZ) there is a growing evangelical movement.
This all brings me to George Bush. Lets stop beating up the man for what he has not done! For goodness sakes, he at least attempts to put his faith into practice! Get behind what he has done! Look at Faith based Initiatives. Look at the steps he’s taken for individual responsibility. Look how he has (tried) to restore integrity at the top levels in this country. — The greatest thing he does (in my opinion) is that he prays about his decisions. And this is something that we evangelicals can directly influence though our own prayers. I believe He is at least trying to listen to God. — Based on what I saw during the previous administration, I really doubt that much praying on decisions was going on at all (within the White House). Do you honestly believe that Kerry spends much time praying about decisions? Look at his life. Is there much evidence that God has moved in much of it? Or has it been of his own power? I’d much rather have a man at the helm of government who has seen the power of God move in his life and change his heart, than a man who has accomplishments but acknowledges God very little as responsible for them. Which sets a better example for our nation? Someone who is led my a changed heart, or someone who has literally thrown away his heart? Lets let all of our hearts be changed – and go forward on that basis.
In closing, I hope this isn’t interpreted as an “angry” email. I am not angry. Just surprised because I believe that biblical principals are being upheld better today by the administration than at any other time in recent memory. The “tone” of your piece implies that evangelicals aren’t doing enough. And you are right. We’re not doing enough to change people’s hearts about important things going on around us. But we cannot force these changes on society which is – by and large these days – not christian, let alone evangelical. Suggesting that the president is ignoring important issues of the day isn’t true. I suggest we look deeply into what the Bible really says about the above mentioned issues and ask if what has and is proposed being done is really out of God’s will. And while doing this, be mindful of the world’s explanation of things entering into our reasoning as to whether its right and wrong.
S. PenceDenver, Colorado
I couldn’t agree more with MacDonald! The apparent empty-headedness of so many evangelicals can make them, to my thinking, more like American-civil-religionists—with personal prosperity and nationalism as their true gods. Blind support for one political party—many of whose policies, regardless of the faith of its leader, I just cannot align with biblical teaching—does not a faithful Christian make.
I am proud to be a liberal (it’s not a bad word!) and currently registered as a Democrat! I consider myself to be a thinking evangelical, who does not need to be told what political choices to make by a preacher or a party. When I think WWJD?, I don’t imagine one party or the other being consistently supported. The complex questions of our country and world are not easily answered by political blacks-and-whites. It would be nice if evangelicals could be thoughtful enough to lead the way in recognizing this fact.
Karen Johnson ZurheideNew London, New Hampshire
Replies to Gordon MacDonald’s column from 6/1/04
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