"What Being Evangelical Means to Me" (by a retired bishop of the ELCA Lutherans)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

(snip)
So why am I so emphatic in saying that I am not an "Evangelical Christian"? It's because I now find myself living in a culture where some folks who call themselves "Evangelical Christians" are putting a very different twist on that old and revered term. They have sullied and secularized it by tacking on a political agenda. They tend to identify themselves not simply by what they believe, but by the stance they take on controversial issues. The majority of them are anti-abortion, pro-death penalty, anti-gay rights, pro-preemptive war, anti-immigration, pro-home schooling, anti-Palestinian rights, pro-Republican party, anti-Democratic party, pro-literal reading of the Bible, anti-higher taxes, and so on.
(snip)
In this election year I will be evaluating candidates, whether they are seeking local office or the presidency of the United States, on the basis of their qualifications as wise and reasonable women and men.

• Do they have compassion for the poor and vulnerable?

• Do they understand that politics at its best is practicing the art of the possible?

• Do they have the capacity to work for compromise on difficult issues?

• Do they have the intelligence to see all sides of a complex question?...

More at http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/13543751.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Similarly Brian MacLaren "A Generous Orthodoxy" calls himself evangelical but not Evangelical

[Warpy]

2. I know evangelical Christians of the worst sort

who do work for the poor. In fact, they spend all long weekends and vacations working for the poor.

Their problem is that they don't think the poor exist in the United States. They do all their work for the poor in Mexico.

Because they don't think there are any poor people in the US, they vote GOP.

[knitter4democracy]

3. They must not listen to their own church leaders, then.

When I was an evangelical, we did mission trips to inner cities to help with groups already working there.

All they'd have to do is visit Hopi Mesas in Arizona. Looks a lot like barrios in Central America I worked in. Disgusting and horrifying.

[skater314159]

4. Unfortunately, they may soon be VERY aware of the poor in the US.

With the way that the economy is heading in the US, middle-class, Republican, "Evangelicals" may soon be as affected by health care issues, hunger, and homelessness just like poor, blue-collar and working class people have been for years. Maybe then they will not only help people inside the US, but maybe they will consider voting Democrat!