In article <pan.2004.07.08.04.08.16.362799@localhost.localdomain>,
"stoney" <stoney@localhost.localdomain> wrote:

On Mon, 05 Jul 2004 00:46:32 -0700, johac wrote:

It seems that thanks to Dubya, many evangelicals now are apparently
for separation of church and state, or at least church and politics,
which isn't such a bad thing either.




http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-evan02.htm

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Evangelical leaders warn against faith, party link

July 2, 2004

BY RACHEL ZOLL

Memorializing Ronald Reagan, the National Association of Evangelicals
called him ''a great, if not the greatest, president of the 20th
century.''

President Bush has addressed the annual Southern Baptist Convention
for three consecutive years. His campaign this year held a pastors'
reception near the meeting co-hosted by the denomination's outgoing
president.

The bond between the Republican Party and white, conservative
Christians is so strong that other Americans often think of them as
synonymous. But a new document circulating among evangelicals warns
that being too enmeshed in partisan politics could undermine
Christians' moral agenda as they seek to become even more engaged in
civic affairs.

I'm sorry, but (in the main) Christians and morality are diametric
opposites.

But they would say that their god blesses their bad behavior which
makes it 'moral', at least in their eyes.

''What they're trying to say is 'Don't link the Christian message with
a party, so that people link your religion with a political ideology,'
'' said Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public
Policy Center, a Washington think-tank. ''They're warning 'Don't
confuse the Gospel with a political movement.' ''

Why not? The 'Gospel' is politics.

Propaganda is a form of politics.

The National Association of Evangelicals last week released the draft
statement, entitled ''For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical
Call to Civic Responsibility.''

Cool. So when is the superstition industry disbanding?

Never too soon for me.

Written by a team of evangelical leaders, and under review by top
Christian thinkers, the document is part of a multiyear project
mapping out a strategy for future political involvement.

OUCH! A full bank of 240 irony meters vapourized with the
connection of 'christian' and 'thinkers.'

I think that they confuse 'thinking' with memorizing the bible.

It will be presented to the board of directors of the National
Association of Evangelicals in October, and a book on the subject is
due out next year.

Single paragraph on a single page. "Got Jesus" is a very short
erm...'message.'

I got a rash once, but I got over that too.

The authors of the draft statement encourage evangelicals to join
political parties but caution that ''they must be careful not to
equate Christian faith with partisan politics.''

The drafters also advise against unquestioning patriotism, saying
Christians ''must keep their eyes open to the potentially
self-destructive tendencies of our society and our government.''

Superstition is the most destructive construct on earth.

Amen!