As a liberal Christian from Texas, I am a fish out of water in American politics. The Democratic Party is dominated by secular liberals who deeply distrust religion, and insist that religious value have no place in political discussion. As a result, liberal Christians like myself are largely silent.
This is a grave mistake on the Democrats’ part. Silencing Christian liberals risks giving the impression that all Christians are political conservatives, which could not be further from the truth. In a nation where 95% of the people profess to believe in God, this is very stupid politics. It comes as a great surprise to a lot of people that liberal Christians even exist. But there are millions of us.
Worse yet, silencing liberal Christians prevents Democrats from showing how the policies of the Democratic Party line up with the teachings of Christ. And it opens the door to someone like Ted Cruz to promote his brand of Christianity, leaving his pronouncements unanswered.
The truth is that God is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. Neither side has a monopoly on morality. The Republicans have a better argument on the subjects of abortion and personal responsibility, but the Democrats have a more Christian position on a wide range of topics, such as global warming, capital punishment, workers’ rights, voting rights, and economic equity. In fact, when I ask myself why I am a liberal, it is first and foremost because of the teachings of Christ.
Let’s take one example. Let’s start with global warming. Nobody who is an enemy of the truth is a friend of God’s. God is truth. But that doesn’t make matters easy.
The truth can be very hard to swallow sometimes. This is particularly true when the truth threatens your livelihood or your ego. It is very tempting to suppress or deny the truth, if the truth takes money out of your pocket, robs you of prestige or political power, or forces you to change careers. This is precisely why Jesus was arrested, falsely charged, wrongfully convicted, and executed in the most agonizing way available to the authorities of his day. His truth threatened the power structure.
There is nothing the powers that be love more than their power, and nothing they won’t do to keep it. Wealth and power are addictive. The case of Jesus of Nazareth shows what the powers that be, in order to maintain themselves in their privileged position, would do to God himself, if He were to show up on Earth. There are numerous other examples down through history. This is what the Bible means, when it says that Satan is the ruler of this world.
In our day and age, the fossil fuel industry refuses to accept the truth of global warming – namely that it is happening, that it is largely man-made, and that it is a clear and present danger to ourselves, our children, and our grandchildren. The fossil fuel industry, through its representatives in the Republican Party, has steadfastly blocked meaningful action on global warming, putting the entire human race – including their own children – in grave jeopardy.
The reason for this denial and obstruction is obvious. It would cost the fossil fuel industry – and all the powers and principalities that are fed by the fossil fuel industry – wealth and power. So, for the past 30 years or so, since Al Gore and others began raising world consciousness about the problem, the fossil fuel industry has been engaged in a high-stakes cover-up, using the same tactics of misinformation that the tobacco companies used for all those years. Remember that? This is no longer a matter of speculation. Internal oil company memos from 30- 40 years ago have been uncovered, making this explicit. The smoking gun has been found.
So secular Democrats are squeamish about speaking of religious values, but the Democrats’ position on global warming is, and always has been, much more compatible with the teachings of Christ than the Republicans’. The Democrats need to take the muzzle off the liberal Christians. Until they do, I will speak for my God and my country as best I can.
