Feb 14, 2016
The Big Lie About Evangelical Voters
2-15-16
This crazy political season is notable for several things. First… its craziness. Second, its politics; that is, we have a virtual saturation of political arguments, political bitterness, political warfare. Like never before.
I am a political junkie. Politics is my second-favorite spectator sport after baseball; and, as a sometime cartoonist and columnist, politics is also among my favorite team sports.
Unfortunately, in America today, politics virtually has become a contact sport too; a blood sport.
I was reminded of that fact this week when I listened to two people arguing over issues, using the most abusive and foul language, personal attacks and insults, dirty words and exaggerated claims. And that was just two grandmothers at a local McDonald’s. OK, not really, but nearly the case across the fruity plain.
The problem is that politics permeates every aspect of our lives these days. You cannot think of an issue that has not been politicized, from children’s playground activities to workplace conversations, the size of soda containers to opinions on movie awards. Notice I do not address partisanship – I do not mean Democrat vs Republicans; nor even liberals vs conservatives.
The Political Tendency is a virus that is, rather, an aspect of our busy-body culture, basically a totalitarian impulse. We have been persuaded that it is our duty to persuade. Or cudgel. People must agree with us. Every idea is merely the first half of a debate… that must be won. People who disagree with you are not only wrong or even deluded, but morally reprehensible.
When I maintain that this imperative has infected all of society, I cannot exclude religion. It is within our faith life, as a nation, in fact, where this new ethos runs most rampant. It doesn’t merely run; it sprints; gallops.
One of the distillates of this cultural fermentation is being served up in the current presidential campaign. I have come to the point of gagging every time I hear the term “Evangelical” in the news, in speeches, in analyses.
Are you an Evangelical? There is no denomination simply called Evangelical (in Germany the Lutheran Church, though, is formally called Evangelische) although it survives in a couple adjectives. The word and its root is associated with evangelizing… and only a small percentage of “Evangelical” voters are those who approach strangers or ring neighbors’ doorbells to convert people to belief in Christ.
No, the word “evangelical,” to paraphrase Peter (who referred to love), covers a multitude of sins. That is, under the umbrella can be found Fundamentalists and Pentecostals and Born-Again believers and Orthodox and traditionalists. Uneasy allies like Primitives and Catholics, meeting in anti-abortion battles. Socially conservative Seekers and socially liberal Emergents. Old-school worshipers and Post-Modern innovators. Black, White, Hispanic. Mennonites, Quakers, and the Urban Churches.
We have differences, but common interests. We might not be unified, necessarily, but we are united on many, many issues. We all believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and our hearts bleed for His Kingdom. And, by the way, also among us, according to surveys about attitudes among people of faith, are conservative and Orthodox Jews; Mormons and other traditions; and I am sure certain conservative Muslims who also care about patriotism and safety, morality and security.
Memo, then, to politicians and the media: stop lumping us all as “Evangelicals” and taking us for granted until election day. You display your ignorance, and your contempt. Let me explain it this way – not exactly a verse from scripture, but you will get the gist: Shut up. Stop pretending that you know us (or are one of us!)… learn who we are… share our concerns, or don’t; but get to know us.
This political junkie, offered the distilled spirits from the political still this year, is ready to take the pledge. To “swear off.”
Ever since I was a child in chronological terms, I have heard people claim they were resigned to voting for the “lesser of two evils.” I have said so myself, scarcely acknowledging that the lesser of two evils is still, by definition, evil. I used to say, “I don’t vote for any of the politicians; it only encouragers them.”
This year, for me, there are more candidates than usual who I can tolerate, or even admire. But the campaigns, in both parties, have devolved to infantile food fights. Insults. Petty “gotchas.” Wild claims. Personality clashes. Name-calling. “Did too / did not” spitting matches. And not, this time, old birds in McDonald’s, or even my young grandchildren. But, among them, leaders of the greatest country on earth, ready to sit for portraits to be displayed next to Washington, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
It is demoralizing. The insults really are suffered by us, the voters. I think I will cast my vote for the first candidate who says, “I don’t care what you say about me. I am going to talk about what I propose to do as president.” Even if that is somehow uttered by a candidate’s dog.
But as a Christian, especially, I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of candidates who talk down to me… who take my vote for granted… who stereotype us… who pander to our supposed views, which are precious and basic and essential; views that are not for sale at any price.
Politicians and candidates should learn-and-earn. If they thirst for our votes, let us require them to recognize our standards and values, not our clichéd labels. We are patriotic citizens of faith who care about our nation, its heritage, and our common future. We have shadows of difference, as significant as, yes, the things that unite us as a bloc. Learn what they are! It is not difficult. Then talk to us.
Stop insulting each other; stop insulting us; and, for once in your careers, all of you… remember us between elections.
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Click: How Firm a Foundation
Rick, I have been encouraged to see Franklin Graham come forward – labeling himself an Independent – and calling Christians across this nation to prayer for our country and leaders. He is telling Christians, “I’m not telling you whom to vote for. But I AM telling you to pray and then vote as God leads you.” He is going to the states – ahead of the primaries – and rallying the Christians to get on their knees, repent, turn to God and pray. I believe that as we do this, God will put the person in charge of the USA whom HE has chosen for whatever HIS PURPOSE is. We are nearing the return of Jesus. If we want to see America being used by God in the days ahead, we must – we MUST – pray. And we MUST vote. Yes, politics is dirty. But we have been given great privilege, and with that privilege comes great responsibility before God.
Using Evangelical in the political context refers to the religious voters who tend to think their religious views should be legislated, mandated, and adjudicated into public law that governs all. They tend to be conservative and became a very real voting block starting with Reagan, though you could make a weak case for Carter. From my perspective this type of voter is very real, and very dangerous to those who don’t share those views. It is the start of sectarianism, not just party affiliation. As someone who would never claim evangelical in either political or personal context, this is a dangerous road to go down. There are nations with sectarian divisions. They are in every real sense basket cases economically and other worldly measures. That roads leads to the bloody, brutal Europe the Founders were trying to get away from.
7 years war and its sectarian undertones, right before our Revolution, which Washington fought in, is just one example.
Thanks for your comment, but I disagree in the main. The point of my article was the inexactitude of the term Evangelical. And I cited the myriad shades of differences under that “umbrella.” Except that so-called Evangelicals — in the parlance of cheap politics — are united in their being incorrectly stereotyped, I suggested that there is very little commonality. Don’t worry: “Evangelicals” are not plotting to break into your comfy home at night. To pick some of my examples, and speak metaphorically, the Orthodox would try to convince you to leave; Post-Moderns would shame you out of full pantries; Pentecostals would say that God told them that you should surrender your sound system; Seekers would paint your house rainbow colors before breaking in. You have nothing to worry about.
We can disagree on your main point. I think we are making two different points, actually. I don’t dispute yours, but submit mine as an addition, that “Evangelical” in the political context has a different meaning than religious. Oddly, one of my favorite books is the OED.
I do dispute your point that I shouldn’t worry. Here are my points of worry that have real religious conservatives in positions of power right now trying to do things that are theologically pure to them but do harm to me, religious freedom, and the nation built on secular power and freedom, as well as rigorous scientific inquiry (“promote science and the useful arts”):
-access to vigorous science education in public schools, to include Evolution as the single most important basis for modern biology, in danger nationwide but especially in the South
-access to accurate sex Ed either in schools or libraries -abstinence only is a theocratic failure and endangers children
-access to and herd immunity resulting from widespread HPV vaccines, attacked for promoting fornication, among other things. We can eliminate some forms of cancer, as well as sterility, and it is attacked on religious grounds
-I was personally berated by the judge who signed my marriage certificate in 1999 because I did not attend church. Others have called my marriage invalid because no religion has touched it (they were high ranking military folks after I joined in 2001).
The list is longer if you care to read more.
Or the thing in Idaho right now with their Senate trying to make the Bible a source book for biology, geology, astronomy, and history. It is none of those things, though it is closest to a history book, at least a semi-primary source for Christian history 60 AD-present.
Any attempt to use the bible for science abuses the Bible and lacks an understanding of science. This threatens religious liberty for anyone not a fundamentalist, biblically literalist Christian.