Does ‘Conservative’ = ‘Methobapticostal’?
I just received a catalog in the mail, trying to sell me on joining the American Compass (”The Conservative Alternative”) book club.
As background, I’m probably more libertarian in my political outlook, in that I believe that we’d be better off with less government & more personal responsibility, more local & less federal (which would include the primacy of States’ rights), and more or less the return to the form of republican (note the small ‘r’) form of democracy & constitutional rule under which this country was formed (in other words, I’d like to roll back the federal monstrosity that has grown as a result of what Lincoln did to “save” the union…).
I really don’t like identifying with any political party, as the mainline Republicans are not really all that conservative anymore (heck, in a great many ways, for example, JFK was more of a “rock-ribbed” conservative than the current President Bush — I like W, but a fiscal conservative he ain’t…). Ideally, a 3rd party alternative would be viable; however, that just isn’t the case in our current system. But I digress, as this isn’t meant to be a political diatribe, per se…
No, what I want to rail about is the page in the catalog that was dedicated to “Living Faith” — in other words, dedicated to pandering to the American Evangelical (aka “Methobapticostal”) element amongst the “conservative” movement. I can’t say that I truly understand that linkage, much less agree with it. I guess it makes sense, in a weird, “we only have 2 parties, so we have to make a choice, no matter how distasteful” kind of way. But I can’t believe that there’s a direct, 1-to-1 correlation between contemporary conservatism and methobapticostalism. American Compass, however, seems to think there is, as evidenced by the listing of books by Wilkinson, Warren, Dobson, Osteen, Meyer, Lucado, etc… right alongside of those by Barnes, Lott, Malkin, Coulter, North, Noonan, Gingrich, etc…
To be quite honest, I’m not sure how a Christian can in clear conscience identify wholeheartedly with either American political party. I don’t want to turn this into a pietistic and/or legalistic screed against the evils of mingling with the world. After all, we do have a shared vocation - that of citizen. And there is a difference between the Two Kingdoms (I tell ya, that Luther was a sharp guy, ya know? :wink:). And we do live in an imperfect world, so I guess we can’t expect for wholly satisfying choices.
That all said, I still worry and/or cast a jaundiced eye when churches, and their individual members, get too involved in the secular political fray. There are just too many contradictions inherent in closely/fully/totally identifying with a single political party. Especially when both take for granted (or at least accept as debatable questions) things like abortion, same-sex ______ (fill in the blank), etc…
I don’t have the answers, but I sure do seem to have most of the questions when it comes to stuff like this… 
-ghp
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