Subject: Christian leaders denounce attacks on poor
From: [email-masked] (Jim Davis)
Date: 12 Jun 1995 18:46:55 GMT

CHRISTIAN LEADERS DENOUNCE ATTACKS ON POOR, CALL FOR NEW
POLITICS

By Chris Mahin

[Editor's note: Below we print the second in a series of columns
about spirituality and revolution. We encourage readers to submit
articles to this column. We would appreciate any comments readers
have on the articles which appear here.]

More than 100 prominent Christian clerics and lay leaders issued a
statement May 23, warning that "the gospel message is turned
upside down" when religion is used to "bring more comfort to those
on the top of society than to those at the bottom."

The group expressed its concern with  the "harsh rhetoric toward
the  powerless coming from the nation's capitol" and warned
against any effort "[t]o abandon or blame the poor for their
oppression."

The coalition of religious leaders includes mainline Protestant,
evangelical, Orthodox and Roman Catholic leaders, including six
Catholic bishops.

The religious leaders released their statement -- "The Cry for
Renewal: Let Other Voices Be Heard" -- at a midday news conference
at the National Press Club in Washington on May 23. Later that
day, representatives of the group went to the U.S. Capitol and met
with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), House Majority Leader
Richard K. Armey (Texas) and other Republicans and then met
separately with Democratic legislators.

"The crisis we face is a spiritual crisis," the religious leaders
declared in "The Cry for Renewal." This crisis "must be responded
to by solutions that address the 'spirit' of the times that often
lies beneath our political and economic problems," they said.

In their statement, the religious leaders described themselves
this way:

"We are Evangelical voices who seek a biblical approach to
politics, not an ideological agenda. We are Catholic voices who
assert our own church's social teachings as a vital alternative to
both the Left and the Right. We are Orthodox voices who have long
stressed the role of spirituality in nurturing culture. We are
African American, Latino, white, Asian, and Native American church
voices whose commitment to personal faith and social justice leads
us to visions of transformation beyond both political parties. We
are voices from all the Protestant churches who feel represented
neither by old religious liberalism nor new right fundamentalism.
...

"[W]e are deeply concerned about the subversion of prophetic
religion when wealth and power are extolled rather than held
accountable. ...

"We refuse the false choices between personal responsibility or
social justice, between good values or good jobs, between strong
families or strong neighborhoods, between sexual morality or civil
rights for homosexuals, between the sacredness of life or the
rights of women, between fighting cultural corrosion or battling
racism. We call ourselves and our churches back to a biblical
focus that transcends the Left and the Right. We call the
Christian community to carefully consider each social and
political issue, diligently apply the values of faith, and be
willing to break out of traditional political categories. ...

"We believe the American people are disgusted with politics as
usual and hungry for political vision with spiritual values," the
signers of "The Cry for Renewal" declared. "The religious
community should help lead that discussion and action toward new
political and economic alternatives. We commit ourselves to that
task and to dialogue with all sectors of the religious community
toward that end," the signers of the statement pledged.

The statement offered several criteria by which to morally judge
the nation's political policies:

"We serve a God who upholds the dignity and hope of the poor and a
Savior who loved the little children. We must save all of our
children and not punish those who are disadvantaged.

"We follow the One who called us to be peacemakers and gave his
life to reconcile a broken humanity. We must stop the violence
that has overtaken the nation, and address its root causes in the
distorted spiritual values and unjust social structures in which
we are all complicit.

"We have a faith that invites us to conversion. We must revive the
lapsed virtues of personal responsibility and character, and
repent for our social sins of racism, sexism, and poverty.

"We love a Creator who calls for justice and stewardship. We must
begin to judge our economic and environmental habits and policies
by their impact on the next generation, rather than just our own.

"We are compelled to a lifestyle of service and compassion. We
must seek healing from the materialism which has made us less
caring and more selfish creatures, isolated us from one another,
enshrined the power of money over our political processes, wounded
our natural world, and poisoned the hearts of our children -- rich
and poor alike.

"We are led by our faith into community. We must rejuvenate the
moral values and political will to rebuild our disintegrating
family systems, our shattered neighborhoods, and our divided
nation."

The signers of "The Cry for Renewal" also warned against the
"almost total identification of the Religious Right with the new
Republican majority in Washington," calling it "a dangerous
liaison of religion with political power."

"Our definitions of politics must be widened to include new
solutions and leadership," the religious leaders suggested in
their statement.

At the May 23 press conference, the group gave three examples of
the kind of response needed to address the nation's crises. The
first was a commitment to use the church as a base to create new
partnerships in combating inner-city problems such as
homelessness, poverty and violence. Second, the group announced an
effort to expand religious youth volunteer corps. Third, the
coalition announced plans to form a "progressive Evangelical
caucus" to express the social and spiritual concerns of
Evangelicals.

"Let politicized religion be replaced with prophetic faith to
forge new coalitions of Christian conscience across the land," the
statement from the religious leaders concluded.

[For more information about The Cry for Renewal, contact
Sojourners magazine at 2401 15th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
20009. Phone: 202-328-8842. Fax: 202-328-8757.]

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This article originated in the PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE (Online Edition),
Vol. 22 No. 22 / June 12, 1995; P.O. Box 3524, Chicago, IL
60654, [email-masked]

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