THEOCRATS LOSING THEIR RIGID HOLD ON EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucas/20061223/cm_ucas/theocratslosingtheirrigidholdonevangelicalchristians

THEOCRATS LOSING THEIR RIGID HOLD ON EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS
Fri Dec 22, 8:43 PM ET

For a few decades now, a narrow view of Christianity has dominated the public square; it's a pinched theology consumed with sexuality but also taking a variety of conservative positions -- such as opposition to tax hikes -- that don't seem to have much to do with the Gospel. That hard-shell Christianity has as its standard-bearers such men as Jerry Falwell, James Dobson and Pat Robertson.



The good news of this Christmas season is this: Not only have those theocrats seen their political clout erode with Republican losses in the mid-term elections, but their brand of Christianity is also losing its monopoly on the public square. Moderate-to-liberal Christians such as Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., have given voice to a competing theology, as have more conservative Christians such as evangelist Rick Warren. Indeed, some of the most energetic opponents of the Falwell-Dobson axis are other conservative believers who want to reclaim the traditional emphasis on helping the needy.

There was always a cognitive dissonance in the ideology of groups such as the Christian Coalition of America. The political network of conservative Christianity grew into a formidable force after the
U.S. Supreme Court's controversial ruling in Roe vs. Wade in 1973, a decision that still angers social conservatives, who view abortion as murder.

But the same groups who so forcefully denounce abortion have cheapened their claims to morality by actively opposing policies that might help poor, single mothers support their children. As much as they proclaim themselves "pro-family," those groups have shown little enthusiasm for welfare, Head Start, the earned income tax credit or other programs designed to help struggling families. They love children fiercely right up until the time they leave the womb. .........