Drewcifer
Agent of Karma
This is an article I read in the paper today that I thought was pretty interesting. It is mostly about one evangelical university and a couple of writers so it is hard to say how wide this phenomenon is.
New generation of evangelicals embraces a more moderate focus
An increasingly diverse ideological spectrum takes hold, especially on college campuses, between the extremes marked by two leaders coming soon to Minnesota.
Pamela Miller, Star Tribune
At Bethel University in Arden Hills, long a popular destination for evangelical Christians, a new debate about faith and politics is flourishing.
Students are eager to talk about AIDS in Africa, poverty and pollution and far less likely to focus on gay marriage and abortion. They're hungry for dialogue and eager to find common political ground.
David Miller, 21, who headed Bethel's College Republicans last year and is a columnist for the student newspaper, said he would rather write about global issues than gay marriage. "I try to focus on issues that aren't as polarizing," he said.
His attitude reflects new winds at evangelical Christian colleges and churches that are exposing a vibrant diversity.
Emily Holmes, 20, president of Bethel's two-year-old College Democrats club, said she's signed up 21 freshmen this fall.
Her group is still smaller than the College Republicans, presided over by Erik Sward, 20, who said he is "as interested in what's happening in Rwanda as in moral issues."
The two are open to considering each other's views, as well as the opposite ideologies of evangelical firebrands Jim Wallis and James Dobson, who'll visit Minnesota in the next few days.
Through his group Focus on the Family, Dobson, who will headline a rally Oct. 3 in St. Paul, pushes his brand of family values and urges voters to vote in accordance with those values. Wallis, who will appear at several state venues this week, heads Sojourners/Call to Renewal, a network that emphasizes social justice.
Minnesota is one of three states targeted by Dobson's family-values campaign. Wallis has countered by introducing Red-Letter Christians (the name refers to the red ink in which some Bibles print Jesus' words), which aims to redirect evangelical activism from abortion and gay marriage to poverty and justice issues.
Between them lies a vast range of views. Minnesota has been fertile ground for innovation. Emergent churches such as Minneapolis' Solomon's Porch, which seeks to "be" rather than "do" church, are thriving. A book by St. Paul theologian Greg Boyd arguing that faith and politics make poor bedfellows has created a sensation nationwide.
Evangelical opposites
Wallis, who has pressed a social-justice agenda since the 1970s, said everywhere he goes, he is "mobbed" by evangelicals of like mind.
"The agenda of the religious right is far too narrow and partisan, and people are tired of the monologue," he said.
A new generation of evangelicals has decided that "the focus on abortion and same-sex marriage is out of step," he said. "I've visited 40 campuses in the past year, and I find Christians leading the way on issues like the environment and HIV and Darfur."
Tom Minnery, senior vice president for public policy at Focus on the Family, said thousands are expected at Dobson's St. Paul rally. Dobson has targeted Minnesota because of its legislative debate over the definition of marriage and a key U.S. Senate race, he said.
"We're simply asking people to vote their values," Minnery said. "That's entirely appropriate to do."
Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest (N.C.) University Divinity School, said the discourse and discord are just part of "good old-fashioned American pluralism."These differences have always been there, but now are more visible after years of the media believing evangelicals were all the same," he said.
Leonard and other church historians say several factors have updated the conversations, among them the Internet, emergent churches and heightened global awareness linked to the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.
Paul Helseth, professor of Christian thought at Northwestern College in Roseville, said the shift may be the result of evangelicals "becoming more skittish about making truth claims with respect to scripture."I personally think that is unfortunate, but I understand why many are moving in those directions," he said. It would help if "we were to place our methodological assumptions on the table at the start."
Welcome and wariness
To some, the broader discourse is long overdue.
"I've been rediscovering what's in the gospels, and it's a message of caring for the poor and turning the other cheek," said Jonathan Bishop, 21, of Plymouth, the son of an evangelical preacher. "More people are waking up to the brokenness of the religious right."
To others, the shift is a move away from the scriptures.
The Rev. Julian Suarez of Faith Baptist Church in St. Paul said he's wary of Wallis and other liberal evangelicals.
"Our beliefs are theologically based," he said. "A true evangelical will stick with the biblical perspective."
Helseth warns that liberal evangelicals "appropriately critical of a tendency to accommodate religious convictions to cultural trends" could be setting themselves up for the same kind of criticism.
Open to debate
Despite fears of polarization, there's a growing middle ground willing to draw ideas from both sides.
At Bethel, Bryce Bohne, 20, joined the Democratic and Republican clubs because, he says, "they both needed me -- a moderate voice."
Miller said he differs from many traditional conservatives in being "pluralistic rather than individualistic."Guys like Dobson and Wallis aren't willing to bend, but as college students, we're here to promote free inquiry," he said. "I'm all for dialogue and compromise."
Attitudes at Bethel began to shift in 2004, said political science Prof. Bill Carlson, when a woman passing a Bush campaign table said, "Wrong party," and a man at the table retorted, "Wrong school."After that, we organized a God Is Not a Republican or Democrat movement to keep politics civil," said Carlson, a former St. Paul school board member who describes himself as "a pro-life Democrat."
Said Sward: "It's important to my generation to listen to both sides. Christians need to be educated about what's happening around the world, and then they can bring their faith to bear as diplomats and peacemakers, and be a new generation of leaders."
Who would he be more likely to go see: Dobson or Wallis?
"I'd go see both to hear what they have to say," he said. "I don't have all the answers. Being challenged is the best way to learn."
www.startribune.com/587/story/701414-p2.html
New generation of evangelicals embraces a more moderate focus
An increasingly diverse ideological spectrum takes hold, especially on college campuses, between the extremes marked by two leaders coming soon to Minnesota.
Pamela Miller, Star Tribune
At Bethel University in Arden Hills, long a popular destination for evangelical Christians, a new debate about faith and politics is flourishing.
Students are eager to talk about AIDS in Africa, poverty and pollution and far less likely to focus on gay marriage and abortion. They're hungry for dialogue and eager to find common political ground.
David Miller, 21, who headed Bethel's College Republicans last year and is a columnist for the student newspaper, said he would rather write about global issues than gay marriage. "I try to focus on issues that aren't as polarizing," he said.
His attitude reflects new winds at evangelical Christian colleges and churches that are exposing a vibrant diversity.
Emily Holmes, 20, president of Bethel's two-year-old College Democrats club, said she's signed up 21 freshmen this fall.
Her group is still smaller than the College Republicans, presided over by Erik Sward, 20, who said he is "as interested in what's happening in Rwanda as in moral issues."
The two are open to considering each other's views, as well as the opposite ideologies of evangelical firebrands Jim Wallis and James Dobson, who'll visit Minnesota in the next few days.
Through his group Focus on the Family, Dobson, who will headline a rally Oct. 3 in St. Paul, pushes his brand of family values and urges voters to vote in accordance with those values. Wallis, who will appear at several state venues this week, heads Sojourners/Call to Renewal, a network that emphasizes social justice.
Minnesota is one of three states targeted by Dobson's family-values campaign. Wallis has countered by introducing Red-Letter Christians (the name refers to the red ink in which some Bibles print Jesus' words), which aims to redirect evangelical activism from abortion and gay marriage to poverty and justice issues.
Between them lies a vast range of views. Minnesota has been fertile ground for innovation. Emergent churches such as Minneapolis' Solomon's Porch, which seeks to "be" rather than "do" church, are thriving. A book by St. Paul theologian Greg Boyd arguing that faith and politics make poor bedfellows has created a sensation nationwide.
Evangelical opposites
Wallis, who has pressed a social-justice agenda since the 1970s, said everywhere he goes, he is "mobbed" by evangelicals of like mind.
"The agenda of the religious right is far too narrow and partisan, and people are tired of the monologue," he said.
A new generation of evangelicals has decided that "the focus on abortion and same-sex marriage is out of step," he said. "I've visited 40 campuses in the past year, and I find Christians leading the way on issues like the environment and HIV and Darfur."
Tom Minnery, senior vice president for public policy at Focus on the Family, said thousands are expected at Dobson's St. Paul rally. Dobson has targeted Minnesota because of its legislative debate over the definition of marriage and a key U.S. Senate race, he said.
"We're simply asking people to vote their values," Minnery said. "That's entirely appropriate to do."
Bill Leonard, dean of Wake Forest (N.C.) University Divinity School, said the discourse and discord are just part of "good old-fashioned American pluralism."These differences have always been there, but now are more visible after years of the media believing evangelicals were all the same," he said.
Leonard and other church historians say several factors have updated the conversations, among them the Internet, emergent churches and heightened global awareness linked to the Sept. 11 attacks and the Iraq war.
Paul Helseth, professor of Christian thought at Northwestern College in Roseville, said the shift may be the result of evangelicals "becoming more skittish about making truth claims with respect to scripture."I personally think that is unfortunate, but I understand why many are moving in those directions," he said. It would help if "we were to place our methodological assumptions on the table at the start."
Welcome and wariness
To some, the broader discourse is long overdue.
"I've been rediscovering what's in the gospels, and it's a message of caring for the poor and turning the other cheek," said Jonathan Bishop, 21, of Plymouth, the son of an evangelical preacher. "More people are waking up to the brokenness of the religious right."
To others, the shift is a move away from the scriptures.
The Rev. Julian Suarez of Faith Baptist Church in St. Paul said he's wary of Wallis and other liberal evangelicals.
"Our beliefs are theologically based," he said. "A true evangelical will stick with the biblical perspective."
Helseth warns that liberal evangelicals "appropriately critical of a tendency to accommodate religious convictions to cultural trends" could be setting themselves up for the same kind of criticism.
Open to debate
Despite fears of polarization, there's a growing middle ground willing to draw ideas from both sides.
At Bethel, Bryce Bohne, 20, joined the Democratic and Republican clubs because, he says, "they both needed me -- a moderate voice."
Miller said he differs from many traditional conservatives in being "pluralistic rather than individualistic."Guys like Dobson and Wallis aren't willing to bend, but as college students, we're here to promote free inquiry," he said. "I'm all for dialogue and compromise."
Attitudes at Bethel began to shift in 2004, said political science Prof. Bill Carlson, when a woman passing a Bush campaign table said, "Wrong party," and a man at the table retorted, "Wrong school."After that, we organized a God Is Not a Republican or Democrat movement to keep politics civil," said Carlson, a former St. Paul school board member who describes himself as "a pro-life Democrat."
Said Sward: "It's important to my generation to listen to both sides. Christians need to be educated about what's happening around the world, and then they can bring their faith to bear as diplomats and peacemakers, and be a new generation of leaders."
Who would he be more likely to go see: Dobson or Wallis?
"I'd go see both to hear what they have to say," he said. "I don't have all the answers. Being challenged is the best way to learn."
www.startribune.com/587/story/701414-p2.html
