As an individual that has worked, and continues to work, in the arena of Christian rights, this author was shocked at the degree of political pandering carrying the banner of religious righteousness. From the very beginning, this debate was more hubris than humility.
Its website is topped with a large banner proclaiming Values Voters as "America's largest voting bloc" and its organizers, arguing Values Voters wield the power of the GOP nomination, predicted doom for those candidates failing to appear. This behavior has undermined the Christian faith and caused the bride of Christ to weep.
It is not coincidental that the road to Hell is paved with the best of intentions, thus while one hopes that conservative leaders, such as Don Wildmon, began their crusade motivated by morality, it appears that a number of them have been hypnotized by the siren song of the almighty dollar.
Christian activism has become a lucrative business. According to its 990 form, the AFA took in millions. Arguably, such revenue was made possible by sending out "Action Alerts" warning homosexuals will throw Christians in jail under the hate crimes bill. Such rhetoric is misleading at best, dishonest at worse.
How does one protect Christianity? Send money. Call it cash-back Christianity, and the VVD was no different.
The VVD had an opportunity to restore sanity to Christian public activism, but it quickly became a political sideshow to see which candidate was the political Christian of choice.
The result? A conservative carnival.
This strong indictment of modern Christian activism touched on all the major points that have disgusted me about the “family values” crowd. For a complete look at what Murray calls their “crimes against Christianity,” read the entire piece. It’s powerful stuff.
(h/t, AmericaBlog.)
