Because God says so - Dobson, Claiborne & Obama Wrestle With A Plural World

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life  just released another fabulous research summary, in which they report that the politically relevant finding is the fact that, as the 294-page report says, "Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith" — that is, a large majority of nearly every religious group believes there are other paths to salvation. According to the study, "Seventy percent of Americans with a religious affiliation say that many religions — not just their own — can lead to eternal life. Most also think there is more than one correct way to interpret the teachings of their own faith."

                                                    

                                                                     

SOURCE: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life/Rich Clabaugh–STAFF                         Click to Enlarge

Barack Obama addressed the implication of many of these trends in the public or political arena in a speech he gave two years ago to Sojourners/Call To Renewal:

"Even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools?" Obama said. “Would we go with James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?" referring to the controversial civil rights advocate.

“Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus,” which Obama said suggests slavery is OK and eating shellfish is an abomination. “Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount?—a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application."

After having launched an effort to reach out to evangelicals & Catholics, Obama is being criticized for deliberately misinterpreting the Bible by Dr. James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, in a radio broadcast.    "I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.  "... He is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."

A conservative blogger chimes in with some analysis that connects the dots between the Pew Study, Obama's point & Dobson's counterpoint:

What he’s (Obama) trying to say is that it’d be unfair and unconstitutional to make policy based on the ipse dixits of some religion’s God. You’re fully entitled to fight for what you believe, but if you’re going to turn it into law, you need a better justification as a legal matter than “Because God says so.” Otherwise, the only people who will understand it — not agree with it, necessarily, but understand it (i.e. who’ll find it “accessible”) — are people of your own faith.

For the last 20-30 years, America has lived through the extraordinary growth of an evangelical movement, which has created a wave that businesses, politicians & media stars have been able to ride.  Far too often, people have portrayed this movment as monolithic - all of us are white folks, who live in suburbs, care only about success, eat at Chik-Fil-A, shop at Wal-Mart and vote Republican.

There is a fact that people need to catch up with - that portrayal is a myth, perpetuated to protect power & traffic in fear.

You can see that fact in the finding that 57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching.  Nearly two-thirds of respondents favored more government help for the poor, even if it meant going deeper into debt.  Most favor stricter laws to protect the environment, for example, an issue not typically associated with evangelical platforms or programs.

People invested in compliance to a certain scheme of beliefs & applications - people as diverse as Dobson or John Spong or Pope Benedict 16 - are struggling to hold on to their worldview, holding back the pluralism that threatens them so profoundly.  This is a tension that has been seemering for a while - I suspect we will constinue to see it play out in political, civic & church realsm.

For me, I take so much hope in what Pew suggests (and Obama speaks to) - it is what  Shane Claiborne talks about when he says:

"I see an entire generation of young people who want a Christianity they can wrap their hands around.  They don't want to just believe stuff. They're saying if you want to know what I believe, then watch how I live."

UPDATE:

The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, a Methodist pastor from Texas and longtime supporter of President Bush who has endorsed Obama, said Tuesday that he belongs to a group of religious leaders who are working independently of Obama’s campaign and launching a Web site to counter Dobson.

Caldwell said he has great respect for Dobson’s advocacy for families, but said the criticism of Obama was “a bit over the top” and “crossed the line.”

“There has been a call for a higher level of politics and politicking,” Caldwell said. “So to attack at this level is inappropriate and I think unacceptable and we at least want to hold everybody accountable.”

I've signed the petition - if you are interested, go make your voice heard !

Comments

[Tony]

Im so diappointed I think? Is it the veiw of the Emergent church relating to the article above and against Dr Dobson? I just watched Pastor Scott on TV and thought she was wonderful. But if this is the veiw of her church. oh so sad. Please somebody tell me Im wrong or misunderstood!

[Laura D.]

Dr Dobson is absolutely right. God's Word is the source of truth and no matter what we think, God wishes will prevail.

[Michele]

The reason Dobson doesn't "speak for you" is because sin is not real to many liberals. The entire Bible is to be read if you have been saved. Why would you want to negate your salvation which was purchased at such a high cost to Christ? Don't read/"live out" just the parts in the Bible about justice and the poor. That is only half of the story. Don't forget that Jesus said "Go and SIN no more." Liberals forget about the sin part. Most Democrats/liberals today are lining up to embrace "social justice" and "gay rights" and "climate change" and don't care about abortion (murder of babies). Liberals have chosen to ignore sin. If you are truly one of His, you CANNOT remain in sin without wanting to repent. The book of Romans speaks about this in the first few chapters. As far as the Pew report, Jesus is the only way; He said that. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me." It doesn't matter if the Pew people say that many peoople don't believe it. What matters is if YOU believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved. How can any of you want Obama? He is able to mock the Bible because he doesn't like all of it. The Bible talks about sin, repentance, murder, being fearfully and wonderfully made, homosexuality, and many other things that liberals/emergents love to FORGET ABOUT. If you are of Christ, you cannot love sin. It is impossible.

[Bill Kinnon]

Great post, Bob. And I'll be clicking through to the JD Doesn't Speak for Me, site. I do wish he'd STFU. (I'm not a very nice person.)

[Matt Dabbs]

I posted earlier on my blog on why these numbers may not mean what they seem to mean. You can look at these numbers a lot of different ways. You could say that they must be effectively reaching a lot of people as an influx of many new members would skew this number toward openness and inclusivity. You can say that the question was poorly worded and very ambiguous (which is was if you look at the original question). You could ask yourself the question of what is going on with mainline churches who were at 87% rather than 57%. I think there are a lot of reasons this number doesn't really pan out to mean a whole lot on a practical level. It might show a trend but I think there is more too it than that. I have posted more extensive thoughts over at my blog. I appreciate reading your thoughts here.

[Tyler]

good summary. good use of your thoughts and sources from various places.