Producer's Desk — evangelicals

Richard Land fleshes out why he has not signed An Evangelical Manifesto (aside from that fact that he hadn’t been asked):

Brief excerpts:

“I saw the Manifesto for the first time that same Wednesday [May 7] afternoon when I stepped off a plane in Washington, D.C. I have done my best to read it carefully in the days that have followed…”

“…Let me say at the outset that I am in full agreement with at least 90 percent of what An Evangelical Manifesto has to say. I certainly agree that Evangelicals “should be defined theologically, and not politically, socially, or culturally.”

So why am I not going to sign An Evangelical Manifesto? As usual, the devil is in the details. As I grow more mature in years I am more and more aware of just how wise Billy Graham’s policy is of never signing statements you haven’t written yourself…

Read the complete column…

Related content:

• An Evangelical Manifesto
• Albert Mohler expresses his concern over the Manifesto and…
• …follows up those concerns by interviewing Manifesto framer Os Guinness.

The founder of the Weather Channel calls global warming a fraud, suggests suing Al Gore.

• Global Warming Skeptics Insist Humans Not at Fault.

More links on that subject after the break.

Also after the break:

• Obama: Sermon on the Mount supports gay civil unions
• Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me - William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Web surpasses TV, papers as top news source
• What, Exactly, Is An Evangelical?

Dr. Richard Land was featured on NPR’s Morning Edition Thursday February 28, 2008.

Excerpt:

“It seems to me that when you say to someone, ‘Well, you’re too narrowly focused on abortion and same-sex marriage.’ That’s like telling [the Rev. Martin Luther] King he was too narrowly focused on racial reconciliation and racial justice,” Land says.

“If you have a pro-life candidate running for the Republicans … and he’s running against someone who is pro-choice and who is running on a party platform that has never met an abortion they couldn’t at least live with — if they didn’t like — you’re not going to see a lot of movement among evangelicals when it comes to presidential elections,” Land says.

NOTE: Producer’s Desk finds the heading of NPR’s Web entry amusing: “Conversations with Conservatives.” Does NPR also have entries under the heading “Conversations with Liberals?” Just curious. At least they are “conversing with” conservatives.

Richard Land publishes the Feb 26th edition the ERLC’s weekly “Faith and Family Values” newsletter (FFV).

This week’s FFV Includes the following:

• Harry Reid made it clear he’s waiting for a “new president, hopefully of a different party than the one now occupying the White House…”
• The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock finds connection between Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood.

The Pew Forum releases the results from its massive survey on religion in America. A few tidbits:

• Americans = 78.4 percent Christian, 4.7 percent other faiths and 16.1 percent unaffiliated.
• The nation’s Protestants make up just 51 percent of the U.S. population and is close to becoming a religious minority.
• While 62 percent of Americans 70 and older are Protestant, compared to only 43 percent of Americans 18-29.
• Jews outnumber Muslims, with Jews comprising. Muslims are the most racially diverse faith group.

Also, former Bush speech writer Michael Gerson looks into the future of evangelicalism. Gerson writes:

“…there is something essentially countercultural about Christianity that should make evangelicals restless in any political coalition… It is often hard where liberalism is soft, and soft where conservatism is hard.

…If evangelical Christianity were identical to any political movement, something would be badly wrong. It is supposed to look toward a kingdom not of this world, one without borders, flags or end. And by this standard, homelessness is a natural state.”

I joined a panel discussion with Jim Wallis of Sojourners, Joel Hunter of Northland Church, Laura Olson of Clemson U. and host Warren Olney on this To the Point radio broadcast on NPR.