I Am the Religious Right

Whenever a pundit speaks of the Religious Right, I've noticed that the moniker often hits me sideways (bends me outta round!) due to the fact that it usually seems to be an underhanded slight. I've wondered aloud, with squinty eyes and all, whom these people are talking to. I've noticed the way their opinions never seem to ring quite true. I've also questioned why I have a tendency to feel that I'm overhearing gossip about myself that is inaccurate and insulting. And I've realized my peculiarly self-conscious reaction to their tone has made me finally acknowledge that they are talking about me.

It seems to me to be generally true that a person who might be considered to be center-left is one who has never had a run-in with faith. She is probably one who is quite well-intentioned, often over-educated and under-experienced, and is convinced that nuance, relativism, humanism, and self-righteousness--the sense that a person gets to choose what is righteous for oneself--trump the quaint black and white clarity of someone who is "religious." The problem with this approach is an arrogant self-importance that too easily dismisses a Christian's faith in an all-powerful, benevolent and, most importantly, flawless God (capital g emphasized). It's stronger than "religion." It's faith in Christ the Messiah that these folks have the real problem with. God has put forth things in this world that will confound the so-called wise among us. A man who is crucified, buried, and risen can make no sense to the "intellect" of these well-read, over-schooled masses. So when they are given a soap box on TV or radio, they put forth their "witness." Their disregard for Christians and the simplicity of our views cannot be concealed.

I've recently come to the conclusion, though, that people who lean further left than I do are actually just as well-intentioned in most of their views as I am. The problem is a lack of logical follow through to logical ends. They are unaware of any type of principle of unintended consequences, and often like to disregard personal responsibility. So I apply this new realization to the center-left pundit's approach to the "Religious Right" the same way. I believe these talking heads are just hoping that we will see the foolishness of talking out loud to an invisible Charlton Hesston in the sky. I believe they think we are wasting our time, and ought to start enjoying a worldly life, rather than spending so much time denying ourselves the simple pleasures of that worldly life.

The writers and politicians think they are talking only to their subscribers and constituents. They come from localized enclaves of like-minded yes men and women who, like themselves, have not had a run-in with faith either. This creates a reality of the non-faithful, preaching to the non-faithful, about the faithful, as though the faithful are not listening. Have you ever seen two men speak about a woman in a different language and say things to one another about her they would never say to her? And have you ever seen their reactions when they unexpectedly learn, due to her unsolicited response, that it turns out she understood every vile thing they said about her? As the anti-Christian rhetoric heats up, and as the left continues to depend so strongly on a misapplication of the principle of separation of church and state, and as character assassination and name-calling become the normal spew from Democratic leadership, watch the punditry take up their secular versions of the Cross (Probably a footed fish symbol that reads, "DARWIN"). Then watch their reactions when they realize we Christians were paying attention all along, and understood what they were really saying!

The "Religious Right" is a too-quiet majority of Americans who have the all too vocal "Secular Left" on the run. Like any scared and cornered animal, the left is only going to continue to yell louder, fight harder, and get nastier. The "RR" is a group whose hearts bleed as much as the left's. The difference is the object and objective of these hearts has a higher source and deeper meaning than those of the wide-eyed Maureen Dowds or the red-eyed Christopher Hitchenses of the world. Christians understand the ramifications of turning away from their beliefs for the purposes of government. The Bible is littered with the ruins of nations which did just that. The "Religious Right" is populated by people who are absolutely as smart, witty, wise, and talented as any member of the left. The difference is a willingness to realize that they aren't the smartest, wittiest, wisest, and most talented people who have ever populated the planet. And finally the "Religious Right" is a group of people who, although they love their country, and although they are concerned about its future, they have slightly higher, longer-termed aspirations. The difference is how the left is so convinced that this is the only world they will know, that they will spend every ounce of energy making a world in which they can be endlessly happy -- in and of.