"conservative" is not a four letter word

Growing up in the church in the 80's and 90's, I experienced firsthand the rise of conservative evangelicalism. I was steeped in the tradition that took control of the right wing of the Republican party. If you couldn't win the vote of the "religious right" then you couldn't win the election as a Republican candidate.

But my generation of Christians has seen the backlash against that kind of marriage between the Church and the Republican party. And in reaction to that, many of my Christian peers are defecting to the Democrats. But what has been interesting is to watch my generation do the same thing that the last generation did.

The more I hang out with Christian twenty-somethings, the more I am realizing that many have gone to the extreme. Just like the generation before us was told, "You can't be a Democrat and a Christian at the same time," my generation is getting a similar message. Only this time around, many of my friends believe that, "You can't be a real Christian and a Republican at the same time." It's interesting to watch.

Christians who are young, especially those who have an "activist" mentality, have moved strongly to the "left" politically. In many instances they have lost all perspective. They talk about the "religious right" as if they are the anti-christ and hate the connection between the word "Christian" and the word "conservative."

Yet, at the same time, they are all too comfortable wedding the political views of the "left" with their identity as a Christian. To them the word "conservative" is a four letter word. They cringe when they hear it and wish that most conservatives would jump off a cliff.

I believe this sort of over-reaction is probably typical of young people who still have some growing up to do. But to me, it is also dangerous and hypocritical.

One of the most frustrating people in this crowd is Jim Wallis. If you don't know who Jim Wallis is, here is an analogy: Jim Wallis is to the Christian left as James Dobson is to the Christian right. He is their political voice and their spiritual advisor.

And I used to really like and admire Jim. He used to really live out the truth that Jesus is neither "right" nor "left." He used to write about unifying the parties under the principles of the Kingdom of God. But that has changed.

These days most of what I hear from Jim Wallis is his disdain for Bush. He sounds more like a liberal radio talk show host than he does a "Christian leader." Far from unifying the right and left, Jim has firmly staked his territory far to the left of the political center. And it is really disappointing to watch.

And what is more disappointing is that many in my generation are following his slide to the political left. Rather than being a centrist, he has turned more and more "blue" in his criticism and activism. And so those in my generation who follow him blindly, have also turned more and more "blue."

In the 90's, many of us who grew up in the church were taught that "liberal" was a four letter word. Now, the tables have turned. Many young Christians are being taught by "Christian leaders" on the left that "conservative" is a four letter word. It's sad to watch my generation blindly follow leaders who are neither "fair" nor "balanced" in their political perspective. But what is bound to happen yet again is another reaction in the other direction. And then we will be right back where we started from.

When will we learn that supporting one political view doesn't mean that we have to tear apart those who disagree with us across the aisle?