| << Front page | News | November 19, 2004 |
Alumn endorses respect for Christians
To the Editors:
I would like to write in support of the excellent letter of Meagan Huelsenbeck regarding evangelicals (Oberlin Review, Nov. 12, 2004). Not only do I feel that “Evangelicals deserve respect,” but that “Evangelical Christians” is a very poor label to slap on a broad political spectrum of sincere Christian believers. I think inappropriateness of this label should have been evident from the beginning of the panel discussion (Nov. 11, 2004) when President Dye noted 19th century Oberlin was dominated by impassioned “Evangelical Christians” bent on removing slavery and other societal ills from our nation. They probably voted Republican, but Lincoln’s party was a different party then.
The first definition of “evangelical” in Merriam Webster’s online dictionary is “of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel especially as it is presented in the four Gospels.” Further definitions allude to present day fundamentalist Protestants. Many contemporary Christians do not fit into a socially conservative, fundamentalist mold, but do fit the first definition of evangelical given above. President Jimmy Carter, for example, considers himself to be a “born- again Christian,” but his conservative, gospel-based faith has lead him to pursue peace, democracy and humanitarian efforts throughout the world. Jim Wallace declares himself to be an evangelist and speaks clearly for peace and justice from his Sojourner’s community in the inner city of Washington, D.C. The sense of God’s presence after his Montgomery house was firebombed allowed Martin Luther King, Jr. to continue with his struggle for civil rights despite the obvious dangers to himself and his family.
So I believe the label for people who claim to be Christian but are intolerant, war loving and self-satisfied should not be “Evangelical.” Their label should reflect their undemocratic, authoritarian and generally un-Christ-like views. One possibility is the term “Religious Right,” which seems to indicate their political stance more clearly. Since this is clearly an important issue in American politics, finding labels which more satisfactorily and effectively delineate Christian believers as to their societal and political positions would be a good exercise for the politics department.
–Al Carroll OC ’58
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