Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Losing my religion...

The evangelicals are a-comin'!!

Aren't they just everywhere since the election? The following is a passage from a New York Times op/ed piece about John Stott.


There's been a lot of twaddle written recently about the supposed opposition between faith and reason. To read Stott is to see someone practicing "thoughtful allegiance" to scripture. For him, Christianity means probing the mysteries of Christ. He is always exploring paradoxes. Jesus teaches humility, so why does he talk about himself so much? What does it mean to gain power through weakness, or freedom through obedience? In many cases the truth is not found in the middle of apparent opposites, but on both extremes simultaneously.

Stott is so embracing it's always a bit of a shock - especially if you're a Jew like me - when you come across something on which he will not compromise. It's like being in "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," except he has a backbone of steel. He does not accept homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle, and of course he believes in evangelizing among nonbelievers. He is pro-life and pro-death penalty, even though he is not a political conservative on most issues.


The relationship of Evangelical Christians to America is something that I would like to explore in this space a little further. There is a very good site that I've been meaning to look into in more detail: www.truthgirl.com. The person who created the site refers to herself as a converted evangelical. She's dedicating the site to helping Democrats and liberals to understand, and ultimately "convert", evangelicals. The site was one of Eric Zorn's recommended "Blogs of Interest".

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