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 Many evangelicals want to ban abortion, but does that mean they want theocracy?
October 15th, 2011
10:00 PM ET
My Take: Are evangelicals dangerous?
By R. Albert Mohler, Jr., Special to CNN Here we go again. Every four years, with every new presidential election cycle, public voices sound the alarm that the evangelicals are back. What is so scary about America’s evangelical Christians? Just a few years ago, author Kevin Phillips told intellectual elites to run for cover, claiming that well-organized evangelicals were attempting to turn America into a theocratic state. In “American Theocracy,” Phillips warned of the growing influence of Bible-believing, born-again, theologically conservative voters who were determined to create a theocracy. Writer Michelle Goldberg, meanwhile, has warned of a new Christian nationalism, based in “dominion theology.” Chris Hedges topped that by calling conservative Christians “American fascists.” And so-called New Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris claim that conservative Christians are nothing less than a threat to democracy. They prescribe atheism and secularism as the antidotes. This presidential cycle, the alarms have started earlier than usual. Ryan Lizza, profiling Rep. Michele Bachmann for The New Yorker, informed his readers that “Bachmann belongs to a generation of Christian conservatives whose views have been shaped by institutions, tracts, and leaders not commonly known to secular Americans, or even to most Christians.” Change just a few strategic words and the same would be true of Barack Obama or any other presidential candidate. Every candidate is shaped by influences not known to all and by institutions that other Americans might find strange. What stories like this really show is that the secular elites assume that their own institutions and leaders are normative. The New Yorker accused Bachmann of being concerned with developing a Christian worldview, ignoring the fact that every thinking person operates out of some kind of worldview. The article treated statements about wifely submission to husbands and Christian influence in art as bizarre and bellicose. When Rick Perry questioned the theory of evolution, Dawkins launched into full-on apoplexy, wondering aloud how anyone who questions evolution could be considered intelligent, even as polls indicate that a majority of Americans question evolution. Bill Keller, then executive editor of The New York Times, topped all the rest by seeming to suggest that conservative Christians should be compared to those who believe in space aliens. He complained that “when it comes to the religious beliefs of our would-be presidents, we are a little squeamish about probing too aggressively.” Really? Earlier this month, comedian Penn Jillette - a well–known atheist - wrote a very serious op-ed complaining of the political influence of “bugnut Christians,” in the pages of The Los Angeles Times, no less. Detect a pattern here? By now, this is probably being read as a complaint against the secular elites and prominent voices in the mainstream media. It’s not. If evangelicals intend to engage public issues and cultural concerns, we have to be ready for the scrutiny and discomfort that comes with disagreement over matters of importance. We have to risk being misunderstood - and even misrepresented - if we intend to say anything worth hearing. Are evangelicals dangerous? Well, certainly not in the sense that more secular voices warn. The vast majority of evangelicals are not attempting to create a theocracy, or to oppose democracy. To the contrary, evangelicals are dangerous to the secularist vision of this nation and its future precisely because we are committed to participatory democracy. As Christians committed to the Bible, evangelicals have learned to advocate on behalf of the unborn, believing that every single human being, at every stage of development, is made in God’s image. Evangelicals worry about the fate of marriage and the family, believing that the pattern for human relatedness set out in Scripture will lead to the greatest human flourishing. We are deeply concerned about a host of moral and cultural issues, from how to address poverty to how to be good stewards of the earth, and on some of these there is a fairly high degree of disagreement even among us. Above all, evangelicals are those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and are most concerned about telling others about Jesus. Most of America’s evangelical Christians are busy raising their children, working to support their families and investing energy in their local churches. But over recent decades, evangelical Christians have learned that the gospel has implications for every dimension of life, including our political responsibility. We’re dangerous only to those who want more secular voices to have a virtual monopoly in public life. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of R. Albert Mohler, Jr. soundoff (5,318 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: R. Albert Mohler, Jr., is president of 
If abortion is ever banned based on the notion that a fetus is a life, we will be only a few court cases from banning Birth Control Pills, Norplants, IUD's, Contraceptive Shots and Contraceptive Patches. Google "Birth Control Abortion" and check out how it will happen.
After the Com-stock Laws and Blue Laws, non-evangelicals have much to fear.
As a recovered fundamentalist, I feel religion is much ado about nothing and I regret all the time and energy I wasted on it. I attribute my being taken in by religion to then youthful naivete, ignorance and emotional needs. What we need to focus on is evidenced-based thinking in all aspects of life. Yes, we need to focus on truth that we can prove and not trust ghost stories and the unbelievable, unlimited, unproven claims of religion. We don't need to call it atheism, we need to call it common sense.
Thank you for a straight forward post.
The problem with evangelicals isn't with what they believe is right or wrong. It isn't the fact they believe other people are going to burn forever. What I have an issue with is the fact their response to the presence of anything they determine to be a sin is to attempt to use the legal code to prevent anyone from committing the act they think is a sin. It's as if they feel they personally need a penalty in this life to prevent themselves from sinning. They don't seem to think that they would be able to resist participation in act they view as sinful if others are doing it and there is no immediate punishment for it. If they did they would go their their life acting on their beliefs and (silently) rejoice in the idea that the rest of us are going to burn.
Perhaps they are correct in their assessment. Often people who most loudly advocate for evangelical changes to the legal code are later found to be violating their own code of behavior. However, you should be punishing us for your lack of self control.
YOU'RE GONNA BURN IN HELL!! JESUS DONE TOLD ME HIMSELF!!!
I'll remember how non dangerous you are next time there's an abortion doctor shooting or a Federal building gets carbombed.
Lookit, nobody is saying that as a whole your religion is violent, all we are saying is that some radicals use your faith as an excuse to commit acts of terrorism.
If this sounds familiar it should, I see no differnce between people who kill for 'god' or allah'.
Wow Tyler, that has to be one of the most intelligent comments I have ever seen on here. Well done for using your brain unlike many on here.
That's one of the great-but-challenging things about being an American – everyone gets their say, whether you agree with them or not. Everyone agrees with this principle when it's time for them to have their say, but not when it comes to letting others have theirs. You don't have to agree with opposing viewpoints, but you do have to respect their right to be heard.
well said, to bad some people have to use name calling and scoffing to make themselfs try to look good...intellegence is readable, and vice versa.
tready says:
"well said, to bad some people have to use name calling and scoffing to make themselfs try to look good...intellegence is readable, and vice versa."
I don't have to do much of anything to make you look like an idiot-you do it quite well all by yourself.
It's TOO bad some people are so dim they don't know enough to educate THEMSELVES. If they had any INTELLIGENCE to begin with, their posts would be readable.
Idiots like you don't have any business attempting to dictate to anyone else what he or she should believe or how he or she should behave. You aren't smart enough to run your own life, much less try to tell me what I should do with my body and its contents or what science education should take place in my kids' schools.
Yeah, that Christian religion that preaches on helping the poor, widows and orphans is really dangerous.... God forbid they want to be part of the Gubbament to help people.... ua hahha uauau hahah
Yes religion is ¬¬¬dangerous.
History proves that religion is dangerous.
Why?
Because religion is faith, belief, not fact.
In religion you can say and do anything and justify it by belief.
Prohibition of alcohol was a bad idea.
So is prohibition of abortion.
Can we learn from our mistakes?
Not in a religion, it is written down and must be followed.
@ Uglytruth.... without a moral code humanity would sink into complete darkness... Abortion is murder of an innocent child. Of course you don't want a moral code, you don't want someone telling you what is right and wrong. If you make up your own rules and everyone does the same, there would be utter chaos. So go ahead and vote Obama and the tooth fairy.
Religion is not moral.
Religion is not the source of good behavior.
Again history proves religion is not good.
Bonehead, religion isn't necessary for moral behavior. Never has been. If the only thing that keeps you from murdering your neighbor is the fear of going to hell, you're lost already.
This is a nation of laws, and those laws protect our individual rights. Religion isn't even remotely connected to that. The laws in this country are based on ideals that have existed in many times and places and originated long before Christianity did. Furthermore, they aren't limited to Christianity or any other form of religion.
I love the uneducated atheist who quote the bible out of context, well done. Speaking of tooth fairy's and santa claus; that fits in well with the "theory" of evolution. When are you atheist going to realize that you are the ignorant ones for believing such a foolish theory of the formation of life. By the way it still a "theory" unproven! If Darwin was alive today, he would revert his theory, given all the evidence against it! Intellectual suicide... duh.
Right Jon, like all scientists he would accept dogma without challenge. When will humans grow up?
Gravity is only a "theory" too, by the same definition. Jump off a tall building, theist – I'm sure your God will catch you.
*shrug* As a farmer I'm going to have to disagree with you about evolution as I see it every year whe nthe new flock is born.
EVOLUTIONISM: The belief that humans are born of Slime Soup and Monkeys. Whose every attempt at posing an evolutionary Transitional fossil has been exposed as intentional Falsehoods and Fakery.
It's pretty ignorant to think that the scientific evidence for evolution is trumped by a literal reading of the first book of Genesis. Evolution doesn't say that men descended from apes and there is no "missing link" between us. Genesis doesn't tell us "how" God accomplished creation and there's no reason to believe that a "day" has to be taken on faith as literally meaning 24 hours. That idiots like Perry brag that we don't teach science in schools because it's contrary to our way of reading the Bible and that people just flat make up things like creation "Science" and expect me to take them seriously is really scary.
Mike P, as a physics major, I'll kindly ask you not to compare the 'theory' of evolution with any 'theory' of gravity without the caveat that evolution is vastly better supported. The problem is... we don't understand gravity. Evolution is a coherent theory with rather few fundamental flaws. But gravity we have NO concept of at a quantum level right now, which is kinda a problem for physicists.
Now, it's true, the word 'theory' is still a large explanatory body supported by large amounts of evidence. That's why Einstein's "Theory" of General Relativity replaced Newton's "Law" of universal gravitation. But It's still a hell of a lot more speculative than evolution, which is pretty damn easy in concept. Until we can describe gravity on a quantum level, we understand it a lot less than evolution.
(PS. SMBC 2376 really hits the nail on the head. )
It's hilarious to watch a fundie call others uneducated and then proceed to make errors of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax that would be obvious to anyone who got further than 8th grade. Well done, Jon! Keep on posting! I want everyone to see just how stupid you fools are.
Yeah, because grammar is the prove-all of everything. chuckle at the moton.
OH MY GOD !! I just fat fingered !! I must be wrong !!
Why are so many fundies "fat-fingered", and why is it they have to lie about their ignorance and pretend they made a typo?
You don't get it, because you've got nothing between the ears. Morons who can't even write a coherent sentence don't value education enough to get one of their own, and they have no business deciding what schools should be teaching.
"Wondering aloud how anyone who questions evolution could be considered intelligent, even as polls indicate that a majority of Americans question evolution."
Your comment points to the exact problem with America as a whole. The fact that MOST Americans "question" evolution (as if it is theirs to question! I wonder if they question gravity and magnetism!) is exactly what is wrong with this country and it is DIRECTLY the result of the Religious Right!
Science and math suffer, while a belief if the fact that the earth is 10,000 years old and all of us are descendants of Adam and Eve abound. It isn't religion, per se, that is the problem. It is the dogmatic nature with of it. The unquestioning, and unverified or tested, "truth" that the Religious Rights shouts from the mountain tops that is a threat to this country.
We elect presidents who think the world is coming to an end and preach it to the religious right (Reagan) and those who know nothing of science who think "creation science' should be taught to children in schools (W Bush). How do these beliefs position our country to take the forefront as a technological leader in the future? I think that answer is obvious.
By the way...nice judgmental "so-called new atheist" comment. Perhaps you should read the "judge not lest ye be judged" portion of that novel you love to quote so much!
Wow, the author of this blog couldn't be more sold on himself, than if Jesus Christ came down and tried to explain why evangelical Christianity isn't the way of the Lord. People arn't simply worried about our country turning into a theocracy, although, as a Christian, I am very concerned about that. It is more that the people who represent the Christian faith are so far from Christians, you might as well call them the devil in sheep's clothing. Our country was founded because those who arrived here were being pursecuted for their religious beliefs. The so-called Christians, particularly the Southern Baptists, have show extremism, intolerance and unGodliness in their treatment of other religions and sinners in general, meanwhile being sinners themselves. Would Jesus want it that way? Definitely not!
and its future precisely because we are committed to participatory democracy.
"As Christians committed to the Bible, evangelicals have learned to advocate on behalf of the unborn, believing that every single human being, at every stage of development, is made in God’s image." If this is true why do Christians support the death penalty? Sounds like hypocrisy to me.
"Evangelicals worry about the fate of marriage and the family, believing that the pattern for human relatedness set out in Scripture will lead to the greatest human flourishing." Relying on a fairytale book for their compass. Not a good idea.
If you want an example of what Evangelicals want with theocratic state take a look at Iran. No thanks I will stay with a secular state. Freedom of religion freedom from religion.
Mohler lumps together people and viewpoints differing from his own as though they were all part of a suspect, sinister cabal. Amazingly, he sneaks in the conceit that he speaks for all Christians committed to the Bible. Whatever happened to the Catholics, who believe in God, Jesus and evolution too? There are lots of people who have lots of different beliefs. This country was FOUNDED on diversity and tolerance and I will not forsake that fundamental value of America.
when your read Mr mohler's statements you can tell people didnt evolve much since the middle age....
athiest, you dont believe in god? you dont believe in anything you cant see or have proof of? hmm. but you do know we all die someday...so what do you think happens when we die? nothing? hmm, so thats it, you were alive, then death and nothing follows..hmm.so you believe death is forever? hmm. you believe in everlasting death without any proof, but wont believe in everlasting life? hmm. when you see a wooden chair, do you believe a carpenter made it?..how about when you see a building, do you believe an archetect designed it?..hmmm..but you see life everywhere,and every living thing all over the earth, but you dont believe in a designer?..hmm..but you believe in logic...hmm..
It's "atheist", you moron.
You don't have the brains to dictate how others should live. That's why we are a nation of laws and not religious dogma.
Is that "hmm" sound your brain having a brown-out?
Off to a good start, Tready. Yes, atheists do not believe in any gods, that's the DEFINITION of an atheist, after all.
Sadly, after that all you have are questions to which EVERY RELIGION ON EARTH has made a feeble attempt at an answer, and ALL OF THEM DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER. Just because you can INVENT an answer doesn't mean that (a) it's right or (b) anybody else should believe you.
Lets see, my brain functions as a large connection of neurological signals sent by synapses. It is how I think. That is supported by a decent amount of evidence within the field of neurobiology. So, when I die, those connections cease to function, and there is no thought. Ergo, when I die, evidence would seem to suggest that yes, I simply die, forever, gone, my atoms and molecules go back out into the universe and I have no more of a conscious part of it.
The alternative, everlasting life after death, has no basis in support. There is no evidence, at all, to indicate how that would function. So, between the two, even if I cannot conclusively prove either, "I just die" is a lot better supported, and requires far less of a leap of faith. That is the answer that fits with our current understanding of the world. "Everlasting life after death" does not. As comforting a delusion as that may be.
When you die you rot. End of story.
Produce one conclusive scientifically tested piece of evidence that god exists and you will have a case. Otherwise you may as well believe in the Easter Bunny if we use your logic, or lack there of.
Say 'hmm' again. Say 'hmm' again, I dare you, I double dare you, say 'hmm' one more time.
When Gods chosen people invaded Canaan, they committed heinous war crimes by the standards of their day. There is much room in the Christian heart for genocide.
This man's eyes scare me I think he's a zombie! Run! He wants to eat your brain lol!
So, I don't think that you've accomplished what you set out to do here. In fact, I'm even more afraid of the evangelicals now. Know why? Because what you 'calmly' says what the evangelicals are doing and says 'no worry' unless you're part of the secular community you're FREAKING ME OUT! I don't want your voice heard in my government. I don't want to hear politicians espousing policy that is 'christian' because it's not appropriate for everyone. I want rational thought, care for the poor, sound policy, and not your particular brand of 'wooooooo'. You sir, are EXACTLY the problem. And don't think the secular world doesn't see your veiled threats and hatred.
-Signed,
An intellectual elite!
And we fear people who think they born of slime soup and monkeys. Whose every attempt at posing a Transitional fossil has been met with intentional Falsehoods and Fakery.
Signed: The Most Intellectual Elite.
What an idiot you are. If all you understand about the theory of evolution is "slime" and "monkeys", you're too ignorant to make decisions for anyone but yourself.
Get an education. You're an embarrassment to this country. No one can be a good citizen and remain uneducated when opportunities to learn are free and abundant.
As an Evangelical I'm embarrassed and frustrated by the identification of us with Republicans, which Mohler seems content with. I implore him and right-wing Christians to consider the whole teaching of Scripture – life is sacred from conception to natural death. Therefore this has massive implications for public policy on global and domestic poverty, healthcare, war, capital punishment, stewardship of creation, immigration and gun control. Yet my fellow Evangelicals only seem concerned with abortion (a political non-issue, as Rowe v Wade will never be overturned even if the President, Congress and Supreme Court wanted to, as the attempt would be rejected by the people and be unenforceable – like prohibition). Show me that you are TRULY pro-life by taking 'liberal' positions on all these other matters. Wake up Evangelicals and read your Bibles.
If more evangelicals were like you, we wouldn't consider you all so dangerous.
Thank you for your rationality and sincerity, Duke. I wish more people like you were writing in. For the record, I'm not a churchgoer but know many who are, and get along with them and respect and admire them.
Evangelicals publicly proclaim their beliefs. Militant atheists hide on the internet.
The Internet is public.
Well, when religious individuals band together to say "we don't want billboards that say 'there probably is no god. Have a nice day'", you tend to find that free speech is a lot more possible on the internet. Contrary to your apparent belief, evangelicals are not typically very tolerant of open messages contrary to your own beliefs. Atheists try to prevent christianity from being placed on public property, like in front of government buildings.... you know, separation of church and state. They don't have a problem with the christian billboards that litter the country, but as soon as an atheist puts one up, suddenly there's a 'controversy'? Gimmy a break.
That's right, we keep it to ourselves until there's a specific religion-based discussion. We don't need to stand on street corners and convert people, because we don't operate under a belief that perspective must be correct if enough people buy into it. Atheism is the logical state for any rational minded, scientific thinker. Personally, I prefer people to keep their belief systems to themselves rather than trying to shove it down everyone's throat.
Christian evangelicals didn't publicly proclaim their beliefs back when they were being persecuted by the Romans — or even today in places like Iran. If you identify with oppressed religious minorities, you should be sticking up for atheists, who have been shown by public-opinion polls to be less electable in this country than gays or Muslims.
I'm not against atheism. Just cowardice. I've never met a militant atheist in real life. I doubt very much you would display your hostility to my beliefs to my face.
My take: Are liberal idiots dangerous?
You betcha.
Not as dangerous as morons like you.
Idiots IN GENERAL are dangerous, whatever their political persuasions, because you can never be sure what's going to motivate them or what they might take it into their heads to do to you for reasons they feel no need to explain (even assuming they understood them themselves).
Yes, you should FEAR the only people on this planet that habitually practice "turn the other cheek" and want to save unborn/unwanted babies. Yes, FEAR them if you must....
As they shout "gays can't marry" and "evolution is a lie".
How many unwanted children have you adopted, sops?
Are you kidding? You think these prissy, uneducated, self-congratulatory bigots "turn the other cheek"? Wow. You have quite an imagination.
Hey dumb-dumb: this is not "turn the other cheek" Christianity, it's "throw the other fist" Christianity.
I have NEVER met a "turn the other cheek" Christian. Nor have I ever met a "sold all my goods and gave it to the poor" Christian.
I do fear anyone who's so detached from reality that he or she can't tell the difference between a fetus and an actual person. This is a direct consequence of the doctrine of the soul, which is a complete fairy tale and one of the many stupidities that can be laid at the feet of religion and its relentless battle against intellectual progress.
There is a beating heart after 3 weeks of pregnancy. At that point it ceases to be a "fetus" and is henceforth a lifeform. period.
So? It has no rights under the law. Women do. Get over it.
Fear all who cling to fairy tales as their moral base and insist that all others need to as well by force of law.
You should spend your finite lifetime (yes you're born, you die, that's it) making the world sustainable for the growing number of people that you seem to love for their greater and greater numbers. The solution: science and engineering. What you should really be afraid of is that instead of getting a solution, there will be resource wars carried out by partisans waving the banners of their favorite religion. The kind of religious outlook you advocate (angry, threatening, exclusionary) is part of the problem ... not the solution.