CRACKUP ON THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT?….In our April issue, Amy Sullivan wrote about Randy Brinson, a conservative evangelical who became disenchanted with the zealotry of his fellow evangelicals and now finds himself fighting against them more often than not. Today, via Steve Benen, the Guardian follows up:
“They’ve been calling my house, threatening my wife,” said Dr Brinson. “The first time was on a day when I was going up to Washington to speak to Republicans in Congress. Only they knew I’d be away from home. The Republicans were advised not to turn up to listen to me, so only three did so.”
….In his office in Washington DC, Rich Cizik, vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the largest such umbrella group in the US, is also feeling battered. His mistake has been to become interested in the environment, and he has been told that is not on the religious right’s agenda.
….”It is supposed to be counterproductive even to consider this. I guess they do not want to part company with the president. This is nothing more than political assassination. I may lose my job. Twenty-five church leaders asked me not to take a political position on this issue but I am a fighter,” he said.
Another Washington lobbyist on the religious right told the Guardian: “Rich is just being stupid on this issue. There may be a debate to be had but … people can only sustain so many moral movements in their lifetime. Is God really going to let the Earth burn up?”
There you have it! God won’t let anything bad happen to the Earth, so there’s no point in worrying about it. I doubt that anyone will ever be able to talk sense into people who think like that, but kudos to guys like Brinson and Cizik for trying.
