God's Politics
Evangelicals and environmentalism

I am currently reading Wallis' book, God's Politics, which states what I have long believed: Treating evangelicals like a plague of locust is surrendering their fervor to the Right and Republicans. Certainly there are a number of issues skillfully exploited by the GOP on which I disagree with the religious right. However, the left also needs to realize that rather than debunking religion, we need to be recasting the terms of the values debate. There is evidence that such an approach can bear great fruits--maybe not in electoral politics (not beyond imagination) but in getting support for policies we care about. The recent coming together on the issue of poverty of the religious right and left is now mirrored on the enviromental front. See the NYT article When Cleaner Air Is a Biblical Obligation; excerpts below:

"Genesis 2:15," said Richard Cizik, the association's vice president for governmental affairs, citing a passage that serves as the justification for the effort: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."

"We believe that we have a rightful responsibility for what the Bible itself challenges," Mr. Cizik said. "Working the land and caring for it go hand in hand. That's why I think, and say unapologetically, that we ought to be able to bring to the debate a new voice."

Do we want to win points or win programs?