Over the last several years the conservative wing of the Republican Party has created a very inaccurate perception. Since the days of Ronald Reagan, the Religious Right has become a predominate voice within America politics attempting to define politics using the barometer of morality clothed in the garments of Christianity. I find it interesting that while they parade around as the moral and spiritual conscious of America, when it is convenient they alter their message i.e. Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter pregnancy as a statement of the pro-life movement. In the end, the message declares by implication that they are authentically and genuinely Christian, and Democrats are just the opposite.
Well I come to declare that DEMOCRATS ARE CHRISTIANS TOO. Please understand that for me this is more than a political statement, this is really a spiritual/moral statement. Democrats have over the last 30 years aggressively embraced a message and an agenda for social justice and economic equality. This call for social justice and economic equality is apart of the evolution of the message of the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama. His continual verbal commitment to not cut taxes for the middle class is a clear statement of the Democrats’ historical commitment to the masses. As well the deeply ingrained passion for the poor and the disenfranchised is a pervasive theme found not first in America politics but the theology of the Israel particularly in the Old Testament. Read Isaiah 58:6-12; Luke 16:19-31
The Republicans though they espouse the morality of the Christian faith fail to understand that social justice and equality is as much evidence of Jesus Christ as your Lord as fighting abortion and proclaiming yourself pro life. For me the pro life argument loses weight theologically because when I survey scripture, I see clearly God creating humanity with the privilege of choice. Now please understand I am not naïve, so I do understand the argument of the pro life segment but I also deeply embrace the value and power of God who gives to us choice. Attempting to take away legally a person’s right to choice is both unfair and theologically inconsistent. The fight then loses weight in light of the fact that protecting life at its inception but not creating a just and fair society is still immoral. God has called us to love, serve, and care for our fellow human beings. This means that we take seriously all persons and that class, gender, and race are not the prevailing influences for how we construct our country’s political and economic system.
So as we bring this intense two year political season to an end, please join me in declaring that DEMOCRATS ARE CHRISTIANS TOO.
