On his radio show on March 29, Hugh Hewitt spent some time reading and discussing the Boston Globe article on an Evangelical Christian family in Ohio. The liberal elites in the form of mainstream media, good old MSM, seem intent on finding a comfortable box in which to fit these strange creatures called Christians. If they could only define us within one simple common denominator—like, stupidity--life would be so much easier for them.
The difficulty lies within Christian diversity. Oh, that D word, usually so cherished by liberals, presents a frightening dilemma when applied to Christians. For we come in numerous varieties and shades of intensity that make us very difficult to pigeonhole.
Let’s start with the evangelicals, since MSM seems spellbound by them--especially since the 2004 election. This group is being held responsible for everything from America’s terrible international relations to imposing a “theocracy” upon the nation. Evangelicals are strict in their rules for living, fundamental in their interpretation of the Bible. The family in the Globe’s article, for example, doesn’t believe that someone like Ghandi could go to Heaven, since he didn’t accept Jesus. Jesus is the only way to Heaven in the fundamentalist creed.
It doesn’t seem to carry much weight with the liberals that Evangelicals don’t force their beliefs on anyone else. Their staunch Christian faith, in and of itself, seems to present the most outrageous affront to liberal sensibilities.
But there are so many Christian denominations, and not all are so stringent in their biblical interpretations. For example, I know a devout Episcopalian who’s unsure whether or not homosexual acts are truly a sin. St. Paul wrote his epistles “for his time,” this man tells me. “Our times are different.” The Episcopalian example is just as accepting of Jesus Christ as our Savior as any fundamentalist Evangelical Christian, but the two applications of the faith differ dramatically.
The more lenient Christians among us tend to believe that the Church must relax in order to grow and thrive, and that a merciful God will never lock Heaven's gate against a soul that had lived a good life on earth. The more stringent Christians believe that Hell exists, and it exists for the purpose of eternally punishing the unbelievers and persistent sinners.
One may find strict or lenient practicing Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and any number of other Christian denominations, all with their own reading of the story of Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church offers yet another wide facet of Christianity.
Roman Catholics present a whole host of headaches for the liberal label-makers. There are charismatic Catholics, who speak in tongues and mirror many of the fundamentalist themes. There are Catholics who believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, and those who don’t—either position is acceptable to the Catholic Church. Although both homosexual acts and abortion are considered grave sins within the Catholic Church, there are support groups within the Church for gay Catholics and Catholic women who have had abortions. There is a splinter group of ultra-conservative Catholics who adhere to the Latin liturgy of pre-Vatican II days; Mel Gibson belongs to this group.
There are highly intellectual Christians, also uncomplicated ones. Some Christians are very tolerant, others are less so. Some are well educated, with advanced degrees; some are high school dropouts. Some have written books; some can’t read. Christians are all over the map, which is exactly what Christ intended when he instructed the Apostles to “go forth and teach all nations” (Matt 28:18-20). This is what is called Christ’s “Great Commission” to his followers.
There are so many of us, with such varied points of view and differences of doctrine. Some Christian voters can overlook the abortion issue at the ballot box, others can’t even consider a pro-choice candidate. Some Christians support the Iraq war, some don’t. Some are Republican, some are Democrat, others are Independents. Christians simply do not fit into any one-size-fits all category, regardless of strident efforts by MSM to generalize and stereotype us into irrelevance. What’s a liberal elite media to do as they try to snag-and-tag such a fast-moving target?
If it will help, allow me to offer that one common denominator in Christianity—and no, it’s not stupidity. It’s our faith in Jesus Christ and, because of that faith, our hope for the future.
