Chuck Colson Defends Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy
Monday, May 15, 2006
Convicted Watergate felon and Religious Right leader Chuck Colson wrote a spirited defense of the Republican Party-aligned Institute on Religion and Democracy last week as part of a new attack on the United Church of Christ:
If you watch TV or read the papers, you may have noticed a vocal new movement among some religious liberals. Perhaps you've seen the television commercials where single mothers, gay couples, and others are literally ejected from their church pews by the push of a button. At the end of the ad, viewers are invited to visit a site called "Rejection Hurts" to share their own stories of being rejected by churches.
The ads are sponsored by the United Church of Christ (UCC). And it was the president of the UCC, John Thomas, who made a recent speech at Gettsyburg College that was even more divisive than the ad. Thomas blasted "religious groups seeking to use . . . political [means] to press their reform agendas." He singled out the Institute on Religion and Democracy--the IRD--a Washington organization whose mission is "to reform . . . churches' social witness in accord with biblical and historic Christian teachings, thereby contributing to the renewal of democratic society at home and abroad." Thomas charged the IRD with deliberately causing turmoil in mainline churches and giving them misleading information.
And that's not all. In a prominent article in the New York Times, some members of mainline congregations attacked the IRD's new president, Jim Tonkowich, for belonging to a small conservative denomination instead of a liberal church.
That's not accurate.
IRD has been criticized by mainline Christian leaders for pursuing a partisan political agenda in concert with leading contributors and activists in the most conservative corners of the Republican Party. Their goal: to take over the mainline churches to bolster the political fortunes of their political allies. IRD's supporters hope to silence the prophetic voice of Christians working to protect the environment, to oppose war, and to voice opposition to economic policies that benefit the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the least of these.
As part of their campaign IRD leaders have launched ruthless campaigns attacking the leaders of World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches. This year IRD even attacked a group of conservative evangelical leaders who broke with the Bush Administration over environmental policies.
It has been appropriately pointed out that Tonkowich, appointed earlier this year to lead these efforts to attack mainline churches, is not even a member of a mainline church. Tonkowich is part of a small group of Presbyterians opposed to the ordination of women.
You can read what Thomas actually said in his speech here and some of the initial IRD response here.
Colson continues:
So what's going on? Why the effort to drive conservatives out of the mainline church?
The New York Times explains it this way: "After years of turning the other cheek, the United Church of Christ, among the most liberal of the mainline Protestant denominations, has recently staked out a more pugnacious stance toward the Christian right." The Times speaks of "a growing impatience among the mainline denominations with their far-right brethren and an increasing willingness to take some of them on..."
Let's be perfectly clear about what's at issue here. The debate is not a political one. Rather, it goes to the very heart of what the Church is. The real issue is simply, do we follow the Bible and the orthodox teachings of Christianity, or do we rewrite our beliefs to be culturally relevant?
The UCC's answer to that question is clear--and what's also clear is that it's turning Christians away. If they want to be taken seriously again, they could start by listening to their own new slogan--"God doesn't reject people. Neither do we"--and then start by not rejecting people who happen to be Bible-believing Christians.
I'm a Bible-believing Christian and so are the people who make up the UCC. What I'm not is someone who confuses political allegiance with the Gospel teachings.
Colson, who became a "born again" Christian after serving time in prison for crimes committed against the people of the United States as an assistant to Richard Nixon, cannot see the difference between the message preached by Jesus and the Republican Party platform. Prison didn't seem to shake his total allegiance to a ultra conservative political ideology. He claims that the "debate is not a political one" but aligns himself with political advocacy groups like IRD.
Jesus preached a message that transcends political labels and partisan campaigns. Colson bears false witness against the United Church of Christ for suggesting that the people of our church - not to mention all other mainline Christians - are anything less than faithful followers. He may have done the IRD proud (with a dishonest attack Nixon would have loved) but he once again has put his own political agenda ahead of his God.
Related Post: Convicted Watergate Criminal And Religious Right Spokesperson Chuck Colson Blasts Calvin College Protest Against President