I Guess I Don't Get It

Cole beat me to this, so I'll be brief. The most recent issue of Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal contains a damning critique of the Christian Alliance for Progress, which I recently joined, by Dr. Edward Hinson, who works under Falwell at Liberty University. Hinson argues that the Alliance and similar organizations are "a small, inconsequential fringe of loosely organized pawns of political liberalism." I take issue with his attacks for a few reasons:

He does not acknowledge "liberal" Christians as brothers and sisters in Christ: Of course, those of us who call ourselves "progressives" too often fail to extend the same courtesy to members of the religious Right. Still, I think that dismissing one's political opponents as somehow less-than-Christian is a cheap way to avoid serious dialogue within the church. The New Testament sets precedents for both council (Acts 15, for example) and schism (the Letters of John) as responses to disagreements about doctrine. While Christians today do hold varying beliefs about Christian dogma, I think that our main point of contention is not theology but the question of how to most effectively minister to others. (I could be wrong.)

He questions the legitimacy of Christian Alliance because "no one has heard of " the organization's leaders: One's credibility or ability to lead is not incumbant on popularity or name-recognition. Just as the news show with the best ratings isn't necessarily the show with the best coverage, the best known preacher isn't necessarily the one who is most faithful to the gospel. Building name recognition often involves making enemies as much as it does making friends. We teach our children that they shouldn't just listen to or emulate someone because that person is famous; this lesson applies to adults as well. Picking on someone because he or she is not popular is simply juvenile.

He overgeneralizes: Hinson intimates that Christian Alliance is a pawn of the Democratic Party and lumps it in with other "liberal" religious groups such as Call to Renewal and the Interfaith Alliance. For one, I know many progressive Christians who are as frustrated with Democrats as they are with the Republicans. Most progressive religious groups, at least in theory, seek to go beyond partisan politics. Secondly, there are distinct differences between the groups that Hinson mentions. Christian Alliance, for example, is significantly more evangelical than the Interfaith Alliance but significantly more (for lack of a better word) liberal than Call to Renewal. Though I am critical of Hinson and Falwell for making generalizations about progressive Christianity, I will also confess than I and other progressive Christians have been guilty of lumping together all of our conservative and fundamentalist brothers and sisters.

The tension between progressives and conservatives isn't going away; but, as Christians, we should make a commitment to extend love, grace, and civility to those with whom we disagree. (OK, I wasn't brief. Sorry.)