“ Serious
The problem, as I said, is that I’m skeptical that serious political discourse can occur in a place of worship — Evangelical Christian, Judaism, Muslim, Jainism, or whatever you like. Frankly, I’m surprised that this would be a controversial thought. Churches and other places of worship weren’t created for such a purpose, were they? A Pastor’s training doesn’t require knowledge of the wide array of topics that a serious political discussion should touch on, does it? It’s more complex than that, though. Evangelical Christians and many other religious persons have beliefs which are completely incompatible with political realities: Abortion is safe and legal, gay marriage is gaining legitimacy, and it’s legal for a man to shave his face (sorry, I couldn’t resist). This influential Evangelical leader, as intelligent and thoughtful as he may be, shouldn’t be expected to disavow his own core beliefs for the sake of a fair and open conversation about these kinds of issues. Fortunately for him, he won’t be expected to do that. Obviously, a serious discussion isn’t the goal here. I’d feel better if it were, because Americans are already ignorant enough about politics to be mucking it up any further. But we do our best. What would be more appropriate, of course, is for an event of this nature to be conducted by journalists. Good ones. Real ones.
The problem, as I said, is that I’m skeptical that serious political discourse can occur in a place of worship — Evangelical Christian, Judaism, Muslim, Jainism, or whatever you like. Frankly, I’m surprised that this would be a controversial thought. Churches and other places of worship weren’t created for such a purpose, were they? A Pastor’s training doesn’t require knowledge of the wide array of topics that a serious political discussion should touch on, does it? It’s more complex than that, though. Evangelical Christians and many other religious persons have beliefs which are completely incompatible with political realities: Abortion is safe and legal, gay marriage is gaining legitimacy, and it’s legal for a man to shave his face (sorry, I couldn’t resist). This influential Evangelical leader, as intelligent and thoughtful as he may be, shouldn’t be expected to disavow his own core beliefs for the sake of a fair and open conversation about these kinds of issues. Fortunately for him, he won’t be expected to do that. Obviously, a serious discussion isn’t the goal here. I’d feel better if it were, because Americans are already ignorant enough about politics to be mucking it up any further. But we do our best. What would be more appropriate, of course, is for an event of this nature to be conducted by journalists. Good ones. Real ones.
