Selling the Birthright

The Christian Right sold its moral birthright for the pottage of political power, returning for a new bowl each election. The bill is due.

For me the breaking point came when I realized compassion for the poor had been sacrificed for party orthodoxy, empathy mocked, suspect. A new generation of Christians watch the kings of evangelicalism set up idols in the temple, promising rain as the priests are slaughtered. It’s ugly, and blatant, and craven, and sad. I am no longer a Christian, but at its best the faith is a beacon and a haven for the wounded. At its worst it is a cudgel in the hands of the power-hungry, just like any other totalizing belief. “March this way! God says you must.”

Faith, truth, love aside: pragmatic leaders must understand that all followers have their breaking points. Don’t push your flock too far. Every sincere fundamentalist is just one shock, one sobering moment of late-night soul-searching, from deciding it is all a lie. Reeds can bend in the wind, but oaks fall. Remember this when you decide how you will police the borders of your orthodoxy.