Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505190055
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nothing wrong with that. After all, the coalition can certainly take some of the credit - or blame, depending on your point of view - for the membership of Congress.
And religious people ought to be active in politics, pushing their legislators to make ethical laws and to behave righteously in office.
News stories about the coalition's proposals reveal positions that aren't likely to generate a lot of additional controversy on the issues they address.
The difference is that this group advances its positions as "the" Christian ones - which, of course, is presumptuous considering there are any number of "Christian" positions on every social issue.
The topics the Christian Coaltion has chosen to work on include abortion, education, prisons, and public funding of art. While I and other Christians may disagree with the positions of the Christian Coalition on any of those, the organization has not only a right but an obligation to attempt to influence Congress on them.
But I have to wonder where the coalition's stand is on some other issues of the day:
I haven't heard of any proposal to guarantee that a person who works 40 hours a week will be paid enough to afford a decent place to live and three square meals a day. I don't expect the coalition to endorse a free lunch for able-bodied men who refuse to work, but it seems reasonable to take a stand on a living wage.
I haven't heard a proposal to guarantee a roof and a warm bed for people who don't have them. I'm not talking about shelters for drunks or drug addicts, but for people who are ill or old or otherwise unable to have a home.
I haven't heard of any proposal to help educate teens about sex - to advise them to avoid promiscuous behavior and avoid unwanted pregnancies. Obviously, a lot of parents are not doing a very good job at this. Shouldn't society take a stab at slowing down the abortion rate with education?
I haven't heard of any proposal to ensure adequate health care for everyone. That would be a true test of popularity, wouldn't it? The health care proposals of two years ago were widely vilified, but the problems of skyrocketing costs and the inadequacy of care for low-income and downright poor people remains. Will the Christian Coalition be bold enough to address that issue?
I haven't heard of any proposal reduce the level of violence in the country, in particular violence inflicted with firearms. Even without getting into arguments about the Constitution, you'd think the Christian Coaltion's contract with the family would somehow speak out against the tide of violence that affects so many of our cities' streets.
I haven't heard of any proposal to teach tolerance of every person's religious beliefs. Attempts to write a "school prayer amendment" have given way to a "religious equality act" that would guarantee the right of individuals and groups to pray in public. The backers of such a proposal give lip service to the idea that all religious groups should be free to pray, but when pressed many admit they aren't crazy about having to sit through any prayer but a Christian one. How about coming out with a strong endorsement of every family's right to choose and practice whatever religion it wants?
One of Jesus' most succinct social teachings was wrapped up in his discourse on the "Great Judgment" that he predicted for the end of time.
In Matthew 25, Christ tells his disciples to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and go to see the prisoner. Whenever they did that to the "least of these" around them, they were doing it for him, Jesus said.
A truly Christian contract with the family must include those kind of provisions, it seems to me. Anything less falls short of the command of the master whose name the coalition takes.
Cody Lowe covers religion and ethics for the Roanoke Times & World-News..
by CNB