wind blows deeply

Last night, I watched the third part of a documentary on CNN: "God's Warriors." Perhaps you have caught a glimpse of my social-minded conscience breaking forth in recent months. The documentary seemed to highlight some of my own internal arguements. What resonated with me during the interviews were a few points that were made by Greg Boyd, pastor at Woodland Hills Church and Richard Cizik, vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals. (Please don't start a discussion on "Open Theism or Cizik's specific environmental policies. While it would be interesting, I'm trying to focus on a larger picture.)

Boyd interview: 'I never quite understand what sin gradation scale some people go by when there decide some sins are worse than other sins and those are the ones we need to go against... To be pro-life is not just to be concerned about the womb. It is to be concerned about life. For example, what is the relationship between poverty and abortion? And studies show there is a direct correlation there. So, maybe the best way to lessen abortion in society is to go for the candidate that you can can do the best poverty. So we need to take great care not to naively think that we can translate a particular value into a particular vote. Don't label your way of voting "Christian.'

Cizik interview: "'It's Biblical environmentalism. It's Biblical. It's being a steward of the earth. It's caring about issues that impact millions of people like climate change... Historically evangelicals have reasoned like this: "Scientists believe in evolution. Scientists are telling us climate change is real. Therefore, I won't believe what scientists are saying." It's illogical. It's an erroneous kind of syllogism. But is that what's been occurring? Absolutely...' [Several] prominant evangelical leaders have called for Cizik's resignation. They accuse him of using global warming to "shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time; notably, the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage and the teaching of sexual abstinence and morality to our children." Cizik calls protecting the environment a great moral issue today. 'They say, 'Oh, Rich Cizik is singularly responsible, they say, for redefining evangelicalism away from being a social and political conservative movement.' And I'm saying, 'Now wait just a minute. Since when has evangelical been defined by a political term or an economic term? It is primarily a theological term.''

The Gospel is not just about a “personal relationship with Jesus.” The Gospel is not the true Gospel unless it has revolutionary social implications.
- Greg Boyd

Catch the full God's Warriors series on YouTube:
God's Warriors - Christian (Boyd and Cizik's interviews in parts 8-9)
God's Warriors - Jewish
God's Warriors - Muslim