Former Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong at left is among my favorite theological writers, I do not agree with all of his views, but his book Rescuing the Bible From Fundamentalism, is a great scholarly read and reveals the idiocy of those who claim that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. His books definitely were of great help to me in ridding myself of the spiritual poison with which I had been indoctrinated growing up Roman Catholic. Spong has a column in the Washington Post that critiques the recent Saddleback Church presidential candidate form. Not surprisingly, it is not overly kind to the evangelical Christianist world view which relies on ignorance and bigotry as its base. Here are some highlights:*
The Saddleback Forum was good theater, but it was theologically naïve. The questions asked reflected an evangelical world view that is one to which educated people today cannot relate. It did reveal that evangelical Christianity is broadening in its interests to concerns about life after birth and the environment, but part of that is because the old hot button issues of abortion and homosexuality are simply fading in importance.
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The pity is that the same people who fight against abortion also fight against sex education, birth control and the availability of safe contraceptives. It is not a surprise, therefore, that abortions have risen rapidly during the administration of pro-life George Bush.
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Homosexuality is no more a choice for gay and lesbian people than heterosexuality is a choice for straight people. It takes a while for that knowledge to trickle down to the masses. Prejudice lives only in the untrickled down gaps. The condemnation of homosexuality as a sin or as a distortion by the hierarchy of the Vatican or the leaders of evangelical Christianity is simply a sign that both groups live in the backwaters of knowledge and education. As this knowledge spreads, those groups will look like what they are - dated people similar to the members of the Flat Earth Society.
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Of course evangelicals have a right to be involved in politics. They also have a responsibility to educate themselves on the issues. Thank God they are a minority of our population. If they were not, then America would be subjected to what John Stuart Mill called "the tyranny of the majority." That is not democracy in action, that is nothing more than religious imperialism.
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