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<DIV><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-evangelicals10mar10,0,5336382.story?track=ntothtml">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-evangelicals10mar10,0,5336382.story?track=ntothtml</A><BR>
<H1>Evangelicals battle over agenda, environment</H1>
<DIV class=storysubhead>Global warming and other causes stray too far from
battles on abortion, gay rights and similar 'great moral issues,' some leaders
say.</DIV>By Stephanie Simon<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>March 10,
2007<BR><BR>A struggle for control of the evangelical agenda intensified this
week, with some leaders declaring that the focus has strayed too far from their
signature battles against abortion and gay rights.<BR><BR>Those issues defined
the evangelical movement for more than two decades and cemented ties with the
Republican Party. But in a caustic letter, leaders of the religious right warned
that these "great moral issues of our time" were being displaced by a "divisive
and dangerous" alignment with the left on global warming.<BR><BR>A new
generation of pastors has expanded the definition of moral issues to include not
only global warming, but an array of causes. Quoting Scripture and invoking
Jesus, they're calling for citizenship for illegal immigrants, universal
healthcare and caps on carbon emissions.<BR><BR>The best-known champion of such
causes, the Rev. Jim Wallis, this week challenged conservative crusader James C.
Dobson, the chairman of Focus on the Family, to a debate on evangelical
priorities.<BR><BR>"Are the only really 'great moral issues' those concerning
abortion, gay marriage and the teaching of sexual abstinence?" Wallis asked in
his challenge. "How about the reality of 3 billion of God's children living on
less than $2 per day?
What about pandemics like HIV/AIDS
[and] disastrous
wars like Iraq?"<BR><BR>A Focus on the Family vice president, Tom Minnery, said
he would be happy to take up that debate. Dobson himself, Minnery said, is busy
writing a book on child rearing. <BR><BR>"Without question," Minnery said,
"issues like the right to life for an unborn child concern evangelicals far more
broadly."<BR><BR>The public dispute began with the release of a letter signed by
several men who helped transform the religious right into a political force,
including Dobson, Don Wildmon of the American Family Assn. and Paul Weyrich of
American Values.<BR><BR>The signatories most of them activists, not
theologians expressed dismay that an evangelical emphasis on global warming
was "contributing to growing confusion about the very term 'evangelical.'
"<BR><BR>In religious terms, an evangelical is a Christian who has been born
again, seeks a personal relationship with Christ, and considers the Bible the
word of God, to be faithfully obeyed.<BR><BR>But Dobson and his fellow
letter-writers suggested that evangelical should also signify "conservative
views on politics, economics and biblical morality."<BR><BR>The letter took
particular aim at the Rev. Richard Cizik, a prominent evangelical lobbyist who
has promoted environmental protection as a moral imperative. Citing the creation
story in the Book of Genesis, he has called the fight against global warming a
directive "straight from the word of God
no doubt about it."<BR><BR>The letter
accused Cizik of "dividing and demoralizing" Christians by pushing this agenda
and called on his employer, the National Assn. of Evangelicals, to silence him
or to demand his resignation.<BR><BR>"This is, in some ways, a defining moment,"
said Randall Balmer, a professor of religion at Columbia University in New York.
"It's the old guard trying to hold on."<BR><BR>The renewed debate on moral
priorities came as the National Assn. of Evangelicals which represents 45,000
churches and 30 million Christians gathered for a board meeting Friday in Eden
Prairie, Minn.<BR><BR>The board declined to censure or silence Cizik. Moreover,
it appeared to embrace a broad view of the evangelical agenda, endorsing a
sweeping human rights declaration. <BR><BR>The board also reaffirmed its support
for a 2004 Call to Civic Responsibility that urged evangelical engagement on
seven key issues, including religious freedom, the sanctity of life, justice for
the poor, and environmental protection.<BR><BR>Those advocating a broader agenda
insist that they're not trying to downplay much less back away from
traditional evangelical positions on abortion and sexual morality.<BR><BR>White
evangelicals are more united against abortion than any other religious group,
including Catholics, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. A
2005 poll found 15% in support of a total ban on abortion and 53% in favor of
only narrow exceptions. By contrast, global warming is deemed a "very serious"
problem by less than 30% of white evangelicals, according to a 2006 Pew Forum
poll. Less than 40% accept the scientific consensus that human activity, such as
burning coal for energy, is responsible for the Earth's rising
temperatures.<BR><BR>"It's a mistake to think that we're all becoming liberal
Democrats. That's not true," Wallis said.<BR><BR>But he asserted that his
followers especially young people no longer want the old guard of
evangelicals to define their priorities. <BR><BR>When he preached recently at a
conservative evangelical college, Wallis said, he was besieged by students
furious at the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who recently described global warming as a
satanic plot to divert Christians from more pressing moral issues, such as
spreading the Gospel. <BR><BR>"James Dobson and the religious right are outside
the evangelical mainstream. That's just a fact," Wallis said. "That doesn't mean
they have no power
. But their monologue is over. Their control of the agenda is
over."<BR><BR>He and others have sought to re-brand traditional slogans of the
religious right, such as "pro-life," to encompass a range of programs, from
working with AIDS victims in Africa to helping illegal immigrants achieve legal
status so they can continue to live with their U.S.-born children. <BR><BR>The
Rev. Jim Ball, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network, has worked
global warming into his definition of pro-life; he argues reducing carbon
emissions will cut back on air and water pollution and that in turn will improve
the health of pregnant women and unborn generations.<BR><BR>"We're saying we can
be pro-life <I>and</I> take care of global warming," Bal said. "There's a strong
connection there."<BR><BR>Friday's board meeting advanced that view, but the
debate is not over.<BR><BR>"The NAE is at a crossroads," board member Jerald
Walz said.<BR><BR>"You won't find an evangelical who will say 'I'm for poverty.'
Of course not," Walz said.<BR><BR>But when it comes to helping the poor, ideas
vary; some prefer to work through private charity, while others want government
intervention. <BR><BR>Since there's no consensus, Walz argued, "we ought to be
reticent about speaking with force and clarity" on such issues.<BR><BR>Instead,
he will keep pressing to focus the agenda on issues he considers "home runs"
namely, restrictions on abortion and bans on same-sex marriage.<BR><BR>Some on
the board who share those views are already working on a second letter
criticizing Cizik for his environmental activism.<BR><BR>Balmer, the religion
professor, says he senses an unstoppable momentum for the new generation of
social-justice evangelicals. But though he criticizes the traditionalists for
"moral myopia," he's not willing to write them off yet.<BR><BR>Dobson and his
allies still wield considerable clout; their radio shows, newsletters and e-mail
alerts reach millions of conservative Christians.<BR><BR>"They're still very
powerful," Balmer said. "And they're not giving up."</DIV></BODY></HTML>