Speaker looks at how Religious Right 'distorts' Christian message

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By BOB REEVES/Lincoln Journal Star

 In the 1800s, it was Bible-believing Christians who led the movements to abolish slavery, establish free public schools, promote women’s suffrage and improve conditions for factory workers.

Today, two of the biggest moral issues for the Religious Right are abortion and same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, according to author and religion professor Randall Balmer, right-wing Christian leaders are lock-step with the Bush administration on issues ranging from tax breaks for the rich to incentives for big oil companies.

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Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Columbia University. (Courtesy Photo)

Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Columbia University. (Courtesy Photo)

“I write as a jilted lover,” Balmer says in the introduction to his book, “Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical’s Lament” (Basic Books, $24.95). “The evangelical faith that nurtured me as a child and sustains me as an adult has been hijacked by right-wing zealots who have distorted the gospel of Jesus Christ, defaulted on the noble legacy of nineteenth-century evangelical activism, and failed to appreciate the genius of the First Amendment.”

Balmer, a professor of religious history at Barnard College at Columbia University, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Nebraska Union, 14th and R streets, on the topic “Taking Our Country Back: The Religious Right in Historical and Contemporary Perspective.”

 His talk will follow the theme of his book, which Balmer said he wrote in frustration with the misleading picture of Christianity presented by people like James Dobson and Pat Robertson.

“Leaders of the Religious Right have managed to persuade many of my fellow evangelical Christians that it is something akin to sin to vote for anyone who is not a Republican, a perception that the Republican Party has done nothing to discourage,” he writes. Nevertheless, many Christians — himself included — remain political liberals or strong critics of U.S. policies. “The fact that we love Jesus doesn’t mean that we take our marching orders from James Dobson or Karl Rove,” he adds.

He said his goal is “to recall them (evangelicals) back to their better selves and restore that sense of mission.” It was a mission shared by William Jennings Bryan, the populist from Nebraska, who was a devoted Christian and fought against “the effects of predatory capitalism” on ordinary Americans, Balmer said in a telephone interview. “By any measure today, Bryan would be a liberal Democrat.”

In the 1900s, evangelicals turned away from social action and for much of the century avoided politics, he noted. But with the election of President Reagan in 1980, religious-based issues such as abortion and school prayer began playing a major role in American elections, at the expense of social justice and human rights, he said. “The Religious Right so vigorously sought political power, they compromised their faith in the process,” he said.

Balmer said he believes the most important moral issues facing the nation today are the legitimacy of the war in Iraq and the use of torture on enemy combatants. He contacted eight conservative Christian groups, asking their position on the use of torture, and only two responded — both defending the government’s position.

“I suspect that when Jesus told us to love our enemies, he probably didn’t mean for us to torture or kill them,” he says in the book.

Balmer sees hope in the 2006 elections, which showed more Christian leaders speaking out against Bush administration policies. Recently the National Association of Evangelicals has called for action to combat global warming and protect the earth’s environment, and other Christians are beginning to champion the cause of the poor.

It seems logical, he said, that Christians who believe in “intelligent design” should “take some interest in the handiwork of the intelligent designer” by caring for planet Earth.

Balmer grew up in an evangelical Christian home. His father was an Evangelical Free minister and Balmer lived in Lincoln as a child while his father was studying at the University of Nebraska. He never lost his evangelical roots. He currently serves as an editor-at-large for Christianity Today, and his commentaries on religion in America have appeared in Sojourners magazine, The Nation and the New York Times.

His earlier book, “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America” (Oxford University Press, $19.95), is now in its fourth printing and was made into a three-part documentary for public television. He’s currently working on a book about religion and the American presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.

Despite what he considers a political sellout by many conservative Christian leaders, he still has hopes that evangelical Christians (those who believe the Bible means what it says) will reclaim their proper position as a prophetic voice in society.

“Because I am a parent,” he said, “I have to be an optimist. I have to try to make the world a better place for my children.”

Reach Bob Reeves at 473-7212 or breeves@journalstar.com.