Richard Cizik represents some of the more thoughtful and less knee-jerk elements of the evangelical movement. Many younger evangelicals are turning away from automatic political conservatism and close identification with the right wing of the Republican Party. Cizik, who is willing to express doubts and nuances in politics, has provided a voice for that trend. He is best known for his statements on global warming, which he and others have linked to the need for stewardship -- which implies gentle care -- rather than dominion -- implying force and submission -- over the earth.
Interesting and, unfortunately, predictable news from the Christianity Today website:
"Richard Cizik resigned Wednesday night as vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) during a week of growing uproar over his comments that he is shifting his views on same-sex unions....
Last year, more than two dozen evangelical leaders sought to oust Cizik, who has been vice president for 28 years, because of his "relentless campaign" on global warming.
"For better or for worse, Rich became a great, polarizing figure," said Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship. "He was gradually, over a period of time, separating himself from the mainstream of evangelical belief and conviction. So I'm not surprised. I'm sorry for him, but I'm not disappointed for the evangelical movement."
Cizik spoke mostly on the environment in a December 2 interview with Terry Gross on National Public Radio's Fresh Air, but he made brief remarks about same-sex civil unions, gay marriage, and his early support of President-elect Barack Obama....
The NAE is now associated with more than 50 denominations with about 45,000 churches. However, Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals, said that the rise of the Religious Right since the 1980s has made it harder for the NAE to speak for a whole subculture.
"The NAE's role for this diverse, Jell-O-like constituency was a lot easier 30 years ago when they could speak in Washington on bland 'religious' issues," Eskridge said. "But with the onset of the 'culture wars' as Falwell, Dobson, and the rest emerged, the whole ballgame changed, and the ambiguous role of the NAE as being some overarching evangelical spokes-organization began to unravel."
We can't have Christians thinking for themselves, now can we?
1 comments:
How sad that Richard Cizik felt he needed to resign from a post that he had cherished. Nevertheless, I understand because it gets so very tiresome to constantly be the one who speaks out in a mileu of rigid thinking. He is a hero, and should be seen as such.
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