Faithful Democrats
I am so sick of labels. Right, Left, progressive, evangelical, democrat, republican, conservative, liberal. The problem with all these labels is that they are polarizing and leave no room for anything in between which is where most people fall. However, it seems to serve the purposes of the Main Stream Media, the pundits and the politicians alike.
My sister once described me as someone who was too liberal to be conservative and too conservative to be liberal. That must mean I fall somewhere in between which is where I believe most people in this country fall.
I recently read some articles written by a coalition of progressive Christians and Evangelical Christians. Now, honestly, I'm not sure what the exact difference is suppose to be. I could assume that progressive Christians are Democrats while Evangelicals are Republicans. But every time I assume anything, I'm usually wrong. What if I am a bit of both?
Let's face it, today, religious groups today are just another powerful lobby group. A powerful Lobby group that our forefathers believed needed to be kept separate from the policies of politics.
Our forefather's primary motivation for coming to America was to escape religious persecution. The Catholic Church at that time was a powerful lobby that was deeply intertwined with the governments throughout Europe. The persecution of those who were not followers of the Catholic faith is the primary foundation of our history for without that persecution, there might not have been the motivation to endure such hardships for the freedom to live their lives according to their own religious and moral convictions (ie religious tolerance).
Today, the Catholic Church is still a powerful lobby with the money and the prestige to have a significant impact on not just the debate but the end result as well. And they do although they are not alone in their influence peddling. There are plenty of other religious groups and organizations in America today, Christian, Jewish, Muslum, with political agendas and the money to push these agendas. It is in their interest as well to push these polarizing labels.
I have tried to imagine what Jesus would say about such polarization.. I've searched my Bible for a clearer understanding. The best example I believe can be found in the story of the Roman Soldier who petitioned Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus didn't care who or what religion the soldier was. The soldier's servant was healed simply by faith. Jesus didn't care about labels. He went to his apostle, Matthew's house even though Matthew was labeled by the so-called righteous men of the times as a sinner, an undesirable. Jesus didn't care. He would go into any person's home he was invited to regardless of the label. In fact Jesus came at another very polarizing time in history where labels were perhaps as important to society then as they have become today.
As Christians, perhaps we should remember that we are all one body….the body of Christ, even thought we don't all have the same role or purpose. First Corinthians, Chapter 12, talks about these differences. But it also emphatically asserts that despite these differences it is the same spirit, same Lord and same God that binds us together. Perhaps if we remember this, then the labels of evangelicals, progressives seems insignificant. But then that wouldn't make for very good press, now wouldn it?
Quite frankly, the foundation of this country has been to blow off the labels. Perhaps that is why it has worked so well for 231 years and going . The only way we can work together is if we stop focusing on the paralizing labels that divide us and find a common starting point that we can all agree on. We have seen what the results of partisan politics have been. We would be insane to voluntarily choose to continue the failed partisan policies of this current administration.
Our faith requires us to work together united by common goals. Labels keeps us from achieving these goals and quite frankly, my friend, I'm quite sick of it. Perhaps the starting point we are looking for to bring us together is to denounce these labels that divide us so. Then we can start focusing on workable solutions for our country.
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