August 2, 2004

A professor of evangelism and church growth at Asbury Theological Seminary says evangelical leaders should be involved with both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Dr. George Hunter considers himself a "bipartisan Evangelical" -- theologically right of center and economically and politically left of center. He says several years ago, a couple of the most prominent and outspoken Evangelicals, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, persuaded evangelical Christianity to become, in effect, "the Republican Party at prayer."

At that point, Hunter says, Evangelicals began abdicating the Democratic Party, deserting their fellow Democrats, until "now we wake up 25 years later and see that a smaller percentage of those people are now believing Christians, and I suggest that's our fault. We abandoned them and that population, and crawled into the Evangelical ghetto, as we have in a number other ways."

But the Asbury evangelism scholar says the "Right Wing" in American politics cannot rightfully claim all Evangelical Christians to be in their camp, any more than conservatives can assume that all those who vote Democrat agree with the Party platform on all points. A recent Zogby poll would seem to bear out the inaccuracy of such an assumption.

While the Democrats' platform and their presidential nominee both favor unrestricted abortion rights, a total of 47 % of Democrats said they do not support abortion at all, or support it only in cases of rape and incest, or to save the life of the mother. Reacting to the poll, Carol Tobias, political director of National Right to Life, noted that the Democratic Party's platform "clearly conveys contempt" for pro-life Democrats and their values."  

The perceived values gap between the two major political parties is one of the reasons why Hunter, who classifies himself both theologically conservative and politically progressive, believes evangelical leaders need to be involved in both. He feels Evangelicals must make their presence felt in both the Democratic and Republican political camps, where they can influence the moral direction of each.

Hunter says he intends to vote for John Kerry this fall, even though the Democratic Party supports abortion and special rights for homosexuals. According to the seminary professor, there are many issues that a considered biblical Christian ethics should inform, and not just those two.

"We ought to be contending in Democratic forums that abortion is wrong," Hunter says. "It's the taking of a life, and our policy proposals need to take that with radical seriousness." But at the same time, he says, Evangelicals should also be advocating in Republican councils "that the environment is God's good creation, and we have been entrusted with stewardship of it. The exploitation of nature is evil, and we need to deal with that reality."

In addition to being a noted evangelical teacher and speaker, George Hunter is the author of several Christian books, including How To Reach Secular People (1992), Church for the Unchurched (1996), and Radical Outreach (2003) -- all with Abingdon Press.

© 2004 Agape Press.