The Catchy Name is Catching On

[Micah68]

Why do you think 'Red Letter Christians' wish to seperate their selves from the Evangelical Right?

The Catchy Name is Catching On (by Tony Campolo)

The name "Red Letter Christians" is catching on! Increasingly within the Christian community (and even in the general public), people are becoming aware of the growing number of us who are basically evangelical in our theology but who shy away from designating ourselves as "evangelicals." They know us to be Christians with a high view of scripture, who affirm the doctrines of the Apostles' Creed, and who believe that salvation comes from surrendering our hearts, minds, and souls to the resurrected Christ — but are reluctant to call ourselves evangelicals. They realize that is because the label "evangelical" has come to be almost synonymous with the "Religious Right." While holding to the same theology as evangelicals, we do not want to be known as being anti-gay, anti-environment, pro-war, anti-feminist, and pro-gun — all of which have been pinned on all evangelicals (perhaps unjustly) by the secular media.

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=about_us.redletterchristians

 

[Carey]

Curious word...

EVil ANGELi CALlers

 

[Micah68]

Curious word...

EVil ANGELi CALlers

I like Red Letter Christians my self.

 

[Carey]

I like Red Letter Christians my self.

I like evrybody i just like to play on words....

Evilution

Demoncrat

Etc. etc.

 

[Micah68]

I like evrybody i just like to play on words....

Evilution

Demoncrat

Etc. etc.

Yep, I know

 

[Carey]

Yep, I know

I wondered if you knew I actually liked everyone, I am so glad you realize that.

I know it can be taken wrong when you type things.
Inflection is difficult and in my family it is the norm to be facetious and sarcastic.

 

[Micah68]

I wondered if you knew I actually liked everyone, I am so glad you realize that.

I know it can be taken wrong when you type things.
Inflection is difficult and in my family it is the norm to be facetious and sarcastic.

 

[Voegelin]

A result of the polling Stanley Greenberg did after the 2004 election. Democrats lost in a landslide among those who attend church on a regular basis. "Red Letter" Christians is a marketing tool to change perceptions is all. It is useful to the party because those running for office can speak of faith without mentioning abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. Christianity can be presented as a government social welfare program.

What Bill Clinton's pollster uncovered in the fall of 2004 is one startling fact: Kerry only received 12% of the traditional evangelical vote. But that vote accounted for 4% of his total votes--a huge number. If Clinton, Greenberg, Pelosi, Obama can position the party to bleed off another 5 to 8 percent of evangelicals by using "Red Letter Christians" and other marketing tools, the party costs to victory in 2008.

 

[Micah68]

A result of the polling Stanley Greenberg did after the 2004 election. Democrats lost in a landslide among those who attend church on a regular basis. "Red Letter" Christians is a marketing tool to change perceptions is all. It is useful to the party because those running for office can speak of faith without mentioning abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. Christianity can be presented as a government social welfare program.

What Bill Clinton's pollster uncovered in the fall of 2004 is one startling fact: Kerry only received 12% of the traditional evangelical vote. But that vote accounted for 4% of his total votes--a huge number. If Clinton, Greenberg, Pelosi, Obama can position the party to bleed off another 5 to 8 percent of evangelicals by using "Red Letter Christians" and other marketing tools, the party costs to victory in 2008.

Who benefits from this Red Letter 'Marketing Tool'?

 

[greenjeans]

well mark me as red then

 

[billwald]

If "red letter" refers to the quoted words of Jesus then the statements of Jesus should take precident over the commentary of Paul.

 

[staveoffzombies]

Well I certainly wouldn't want to align myself with the "Christian Right" group so...Red-Letter Christian sounds just fine.

 

[Voegelin]

The Catchy Name is Catching On (by Tony Campolo)

Note the attempt at a self-fulfilling prophecy. A political activist starts this campaign and declares it is...what do you know?...catching on!

There are a few problems with Mr. Campolo's political Christainity. It leaves out Catholics, Orthodox and by discounting Paul, the vast majority of Protestants.

But to his credit, this is an improvement upon his party's first attempt to reclaim the votes of those who attend church on a regular basis: Jim Wallis and Rabbi Michael Lerner's "Network of Spiritual Progressives". That didn't draw large audiences even where it began in the SF Bay Area and never moved into the hinterland (the group did however show up in D. C. for some photo ops and to give allies in the media something to write about)

 

[Voegelin]

Well I certainly wouldn't want to align myself with the "Christian Right" group so...Red-Letter Christian sounds just fine.

You're going to base your faith on Tony Campolo and Nancy Pelosi's political campaign?

Toss out 2,000 years of tradition and everything in the Bible but "red letter" passages and join them because you don't like conservative Christians?

Come on....the Democratic Party is better than that. Or has been. Look at the speeches of Democratic candidate for President William Jennings Bryan or Senator Huey Long. They were progressives and devout Christians. They quoted the Bible extensively. They didn't limit the faith to "red letters".

Oh...well..I don't know why I bother really. If this is what the faith means to some, so be it. If people want to be "red letter" Christians so be it.