Words matter. No one understands this more than the evangelical Christian right with their abuse of such critical phrases as "Pro-Life," "family values," "love the sinner, hate the sin," etc., etc., etc. But most of all, their obscene abuse of the word “Jesus” and all he stood for – their abuse of The Great Commandment and the Great Commission. For this reason, it is particularly ironic that they have been dubbed the "evangelical Christian right." Nothing could be wronger than to call them "right." And so it is that henceforth I officially declare that they shall be known within our website family as the "evangelical Christian wrong."
Let us look deeper, wrong by wrong.
First, “Pro-Life:” Hanging their holier-than-thou hat on the sanctity of human life, the evangelical Christian wrong proceeds to demonstrate over and over again an Anti-Life perspective. Their absolute stance against abortion under any circumstances (including rape, danger to the mother, etc.) totally disregards the “life” of the mother as well as the “life” of the developing fetus. Defining “life” as beginning at conception, they place far more emphasis on the sanctity of potential human life (rights of the pre-birth fetus) than they do on the sanctity of actual human life. Witness their position on stem cell research; their pro-Death penalty position; their failure to get involved in such fundamental pro-Life issues as universal health care, a fair and equitable system of education for all, economic justice, social justice, etc., etc., etc. While they seem to excel at individual acts of charity, they excel even more at preserving the structural integrity of a social, economic, and political system that favors the few at the expense of the many.
Next, “Family Values” and “Love the sinner; hate the sin.” In co-opting the phrase “family values,” the evangelical Christian wrong has re-defined the term. Rather than its traditional meaning relating to commitment, trust, respect, loyalty, devotion, and love, it has come to mean one thing and one thing only. A man and woman, husband a wife, father and mother. If two people want to get married, there is only one test. Check their plumbing. End of discussion. “Don’t worry,” the evangelicals hasten to assure the rest of humankind, “we hate the sin, but we love the sinner.” But in returning to the pre-Jesus notions of “inclusion” and “exclusion,” “pure” and “impure,” “clean” and “unclean,” where is the “love” part? In the words of Parents, Families, Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), “Hate is not a family value.”
In the bully pulpit of public opinion, Jerry Falwell held gays responsible for 9 – 11. According to one of the strongest and wrongest of the evangelical Christian wrong, it was God’s wrath punishing America. In 1998, Pat Robertson warned that God would send a hurricane to strike Disneyworld if Disney went ahead with a planned “gay and lesbian day.” More recently, Franklin Graham “explained” hurricane Katrina’s devastating impact on New Orleans as God’s punishment for the gays. But they continue to insist they “love the sinner.”
Which brings us to Jesus and The Great Commandment/Great Commission. Jesus stood for nothing if not for inclusion. Jesus stood for nothing if not for overcoming all the “- igotries” and “-isms” and “-olatries” that separate one from another. To put an end to Judgmentalism, in whatever form it may raise its ugly head. And yet the evangelical Christian wrong preaches the Doctrine of Judgmentalism in the name of Jesus, and the rest of Christianity sits back and watches it happen. In the name of Jesus, the evangelical Christian wrong preaches a doctrine of exclusion, indifference, and hatred, seemingly bursting at the seams in the public eye, and the rest of Christianity remains silent.
To those who may be inclined to accuse me of hypocrisy myself for preaching The Great Commandment and The Great Commission and then speaking out against my own so-called brethren, I simply ask: Who is the real hypocrite? He who speaks out or she who remains silent? In the bully pulpit of public opinion, when a message of exclusion, indifference, and hatred is being preached in the name of Jesus, who is the real hypocrite in remaining silent?
Silence = Acquiescence = Acceptance = Approval
Which is why this website exists. Moderate and liberal Christians, unite! Reclaim Jesus from the evangelical Christian wrong.
If that be hypocrisy, then so be it.