I read this article today (sorry if you can’t read it – National Post subscribers only). It discusses the religious right and politics in the U.S.. The religious right believe they are largely responsible for the re-election of President Bush and they plan on pushing their agenda via the government. I found this disturbing. It made me think of the disciples and Jesus. The disciples believed Jesus was going to establish a physical kingdom and they wanted to rule alongside Him. They didn’t get it. The kingdom Jesus brought was a kingdom established in the hearts of people, not something physically enforced. The ‘agenda’ of the religious right smells too much of a physical ‘kingdom’, enforcing morality on people through government policy. But this will not change the human heart. And isn’t that what’s most important?
I have to admit, though, that I really do not understand the religious right in the United States. It is so different from anything we see in Canada. I would be interested in learning more about its origin and history.
In the 1970s the Democrats and the Republicans had their fair share of Christians. However a couple of key politically mind Christians started the Moral Majority and thus began the conservative Christian lobby in the States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Majority