WP: Religious Right, Left Meet in Middle

[Pirate Smile]

Religious Right, Left Meet in Middle
Clergy Aim to Show That Faith Unifies

By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 15, 2005; Page A01

The Rev. Rob Schenck is an evangelical Christian and a leader of the religious right. Rabbi David Saperstein is a Reform Jew and a leader of the religious left. Both head political advocacy groups in Washington, and they have battled for years over abortion, gay rights, stem cell research and school prayer.

This summer, each intends to preach a bit of the other's usual message.

Schenck said he plans to tell young evangelicals at a Christian music festival on July 1 that homosexuality is not a choice but a "predisposition," something "deeply rooted" in many people. "That may not sound shocking to you, but it will be shocking to my audience," he said.

Saperstein said he is circulating a paper urging political moderates and liberals to "demonstrate their commitment to reduce abortions" by starting a campaign to reduce the number by half within two years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/14/AR2005061401531.html

[Mythsaje]

1. Interesting

I can't say it's a bad idea, actually. Reducing abortions by social means is a service to humanity. Of course, giving women strong, viable alternatives (real sex ed, for example, to PREVENT unwanted pregnancies) would be a good goddam start, though.

[99Pancakes]

2. A new gathering

[confludemocrat]

3. Namby-pamby bullshit which is DOA

The premises on both sides are false to begin with, that there is a big need to reduce abortions, already in decline before people like this religious right dude created conditions that have increased it--abstinance only teachings or no sex ed, and that skirting the issue of homosexuality by calling it in a half-baked way a "predisposition" like a tendancy that some are more likely to act on and not a hard-wired desire for the same sex. This is DOA, not as easy as this feel-good piece tries to convey. The righties here need to get real and accept other peoples rights and differences.

[AuntiBush]

4. Well, it sounds like their trying to "Calm" their fundies idiotic ideals.

It's a start and appears like common grounds might be met. It's about time in my opinion.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Not bad, but not sufficient

The Evangelical Christian world must still be evangelized to the good news contained in Matthew 5 (IIRC): "Whatever you do to the least of these, you also do to me."

I think that after 30 years of spiritual high arrogance on the part of the leaders of their religious movement, the rank-and-file Fundamentalists'/Evangelicals' hunger and thirst for the truth is beginning to be satisfied. When they finally realize that being gay and eating lobster are each "abominations", the hatred against gays will decrease rapidly, with no loss of business for the Red Lobster restaurant franchise.

--p!