In the contemporary United States, a host of factors--from the salience of issues like abortion to the anti-Christian biases of our largely left-wing intelligentsia--ensure that many orthodox Christians feel more comfortable affiliating with the Republican Party than with the Democrats. But this comfort should not blind Christians to the GOP's flaws. Instead, they should be the Republican Party's most vocal internal critics, constantly looking for places where the right-wing party line deserves correction, and constantly aware that Rush Limbaugh's take on tax policy and Donald Rumsfeld's view on water boarding are not inscribed in the New Testament. Similarly, those Christian for whom the Democratic Party still seems to provide a more natural home should make it their business to speak out loudly against the way that liberalism can provide a warrant for libertinism. And Christian activists who work outside the party system--from pro-life groups to antipoverty crusaders--should wear their outsider status as a badge of honor, rather than thinking of themselves as team players for one faction or another.
--Ross Douthat, Bad Religion, How we Became a Nation of Heretics
1 comment:
I really want to read this book. I know atheists who are better Christians than some of the Christians I know -- e.g. Bill Maher who played Colorado Springs right after the tragedy in Colorado and donated all the money from his performances to the charities that were helping the victims of said tragedy. And he did so quietly (read: humbly) without fanfare. It's part of why I like and respect him so much.
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