Why aren't there Liberal Tele-evangelists?

[FormerDittoHead]

There are PLENTY of Christian Democrats. We are NOT the party of atheism!

I would go so far as to say that Democrats are far and away more "Christian" than the right wing!!

So, why does the right wing have a monopoly on "television religion"?

Aren't there enough Christian DEMOCRATS out there to support a television ministry which supports OUR side?????

I'm so frustrated:

Whenever CNN et al want to have a "religious authority" voice an opinion, they get one of these mouth-frothing-puffy-chested-football coach-turned-minister from the South (who call themselves "men of God") and, to "balance" things out some soft spoken, understated, non-confrontational, long winded, can't-get-to-the-point, minister from (usually) the Episcopal (read: GAY) Church (BTW: I'm Episcopal, but I'm referring to public perception).

Where are all the ministers who helped in the marches in the 60's against racism and the war?

Give me that old time religion!

[TlalocW]

1. Because the actual goal of television religion

Is to make money and be profitable - not preach anything about salvation, forgiveness, loving your neighbor, etc. Having a studio, crew, and other expenses takes money - plus there's the handsome salary paid to the tele-evangelist him/herself.

TlalocW

[salin]

2. The distaste for the liberal arm of the religion

to constantly beg for money for selves rather than for causes related to easing the suffering of others as we were taught to do by Christ.

[burythehatchet]

3. because those who carry a true faith in their hearts

could never indulge in that greedy activity. People who would be prone to falling under the televangelists spell are not likely going to liberal (thinking) people. May sound elitist but that's the fact.

[checks-n-balances]

4. 'Cause liberal people are doing all they can to keep their heads above H20

I wish it were a possibility, but...

They're not "showmen" who are adept at sloganeering & manipulation

They sometimes say things people don't want to hear - i.e., they don't baptize popular culture nor are they as complicit with it

They don't aim their message to the lowest common denominator (intellectually speaking) - it presupposes that the listeners can think logically

They don't have wealthy benefactors bankrolling them - those benefactors are too busy trying to salvage the country (and world) from the Republican juggernaut

There are numerous other reasons, but

The bottom line is that it's the bottom line, stupid (no personal offense to you, of course)!

[ArkDem]

5. The liberal religion's such as the Anglicans and Methodists

are mostly poverty stricken because they won't ask for money.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. Methodists ask for money;

for the chili kitchen
for the back to school clothes
for the Thanksgiving baskets
for the day care for homeless kids
for the clothing bank
for the food bank
for Samaritan House
for a week at camp for underprivileged children
for the Day Resource Center for the homeless

to run the church's day to day activities
some goes to national Methodist stuff
some goes to local and regional Methodist stuff
some goes to Methodist Board of Missions (International stuff)
fundraisers for the youth and adult mission trips
fundraisers for the youth choir's annual tour

just my local congregation, you understand. Every church is different
We are operating on far less money than in past years, mostly due to investments earning less money.

My church is well funded, it is also LARGE.
some churches have to aske for special donations just to make budget

[housewolf]

6. Liberal TV Evangelists

Because humility is a liberal characteristic.

[noonwitch]

8. Liberal christians give their money to their churches

My church did have a local tv show for a while. Live internet streaming has proven more cost effective than purchasing tv time.

Liberal christians are smart enough to know that sending money to televangelists supports the televangelists, not the poor. Jim and Tammy Faye, with their mansions and air-conditioned dog house taught us better.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. The televangelists see TV as either a moneymaking scheme or an

opportunity for political propaganda. They are mostly unaffiliated with any denomination, so there is nobody overseeing them to make sure that they don't pocket all the donations.

Mainstream churches are structured so that congregations pay their clergy set salaries (often on a scale suggested by the denomination), and the clergy do not profit if the church has a good year in donations. Most of the money they take in goes for local programs, both inside the congregation and in the community, but a certain percentage is set aside to go to the regional office and on up to the national denomination for things like international famine relief. They're always happy to get new members in the community, but they don't feel the need to coax money out of old people on the other side of the country.

[proudbluestater]

10. God is not a Republican. Or a Democrat Sojourner's.net

http://www.sojo.net/

He's not a televangelist, but Jim Wallis is the person you are looking for. Progressive preacher, hosts his own website and is seen often on talk shows with views from the liberal side of religion.

"OUR VISION - a progressive and prophetic vision of faith and politics - was not running in this election. Neither candidate championed the poor as a "moral value" or made the war in Iraq a clearly religious matter. And neither advocated a "consistent ethic of human life" beyond single issue voting. The ways in which the visions of both parties are morally and politically incomplete must now be taken up by people of faith. That can best be done by reaching into both the conservative Christian communities that voted for George Bush and more liberal Christian communities that voted for John Kerry.

It’s time to spark a real debate in this country over what the most important "religious issues" and "moral values" in politics are - and how broadly and deeply they are understood. Religion doesn’t fall neatly into right and left categories. If there were ever candidates running with a strong set of personal moral values and a commitment to be pro-poor and pro-peace, it could build many bridges to the other side. Personal and social responsibility are both at the heart of religion, and the two together could make a very powerful and compelling political vision for the future of our bitterly divided nation.

In our deeply polarized country, either political outcome would have crushed the hopes of almost half the population. So perhaps the most important post-election role for the religious community is to contribute to political healing and reconciliation. In the spirit of America’s greatest religious leader, Martin Luther King Jr., the religious community could help a divided nation find common ground by moving to higher ground. And we should hold ourselves and both political parties accountable to the challenge of the biblical prophet Micah to "do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God."

In George W. Bush’s second term, he could return to the promise of his early and forgotten "compassionate conservatism," offering something more than "faith-based initiatives": a serious plan for dramatic poverty reduction and the resources to back it up.

Now having won the election, Bush could safely take some of John Kerry’s advice for significantly involving the international community in helping to achieve both security and elections in Iraq and begin to withdraw the American occupation whose continuation will only bring disaster. And with the death of Yasser Arafat, the American president could join his English cousin Tony Blair in pushing both Israeli and Palestinian leaders toward a fair two-state peace solution. But if he doesn’t move in those directions, George Bush may find that a significant part of his opposition will come from other Christians who are acting out of their deepest "moral values."

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners.

[Boswells_Johnson]

11. I think the right like to see things in black and white

which is how many televangelists "interpret" the bible. It makes for an easier show to watch than an in-depth discussion.

It's human nature to not want to think, and a black and white outlook on the world makes it far easier to make decisions. The political right plays into that by trying to present only 2 options for everything.

[Cheswick2.0]

12. because to really minister to people

You should see them face to face, and know who they are.

It is all very well to touch someone with a recording or a piece of art, but when it comes to really communing with people you have to be in the pressense.
I also wonder sometimes about the huge 4000 person congregations. They may be sitting in church with their neighbors but does anyone know them, much less the pastor of the church?

[skypilot]

13. Because we "liberal elitists"...

...don't watch TV.:)

[LiberalFighter]

14. They can't be honest and a tele-evangelist at the same time

[banana republican]

15. Because Tele-evangelists are WRONG WRONG WRONG

When you belong to a church you are a part of a COMMUNITY. You have PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS with other members of that community. It is from those personal relationships that you GROW SPIRITUALLY. It is from that Spiritual Growth that you become that you seek to SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF THE GREATER COMMUNITY in which you live (e.g. problems related to teaching children; poverty; homelessness; Iraq; Somalia; and the myriad of other problems). 

Most People who are active in a Church are very busy; when I was treasurer of our church it amounted to about 10 Hours each week; this made for a 50 hour work week; not including overtime on my day job.

Some of the activities these individuals have been involved with have included:

Regional Directors for Lutheran Social Services.
Psychological Counselor for the Red Cross Disaster Teams(e.g. MAJOR Disasters)
County Board Member of the League of Women's Voters
Sunday School Teachers (Can you say TEACHING ETHICS)
Spending one night a week at the church so Homeless teenagers can have a dry and warm place to sleep.

Doing all of this and much more while raising a family; providing for that family; and insuring their safety.

I am not complaining I have found this to be a great opportunity for personal growth in both my spirituality and my professional skills.

I just want people to understand that there is more to being a Christian than going to church.

[rexcat]

16. They are in it for the money...

religion doesn't even come close to the top ten reasons they become tele-eevangelists. Every one of them is a charlatan.

[deadparrot]

17. Because we're not that low?

Televangelists always seem like they're out to take money from some gullible soul.

[LittleClarkie]

18. I would want a liberal television evangelism

because televangelists tend to be smarmy. Or nuts. Or both.

[blitzen]

19. There is (or was) the great Dr. Gene Scott!!!

I used to get stoned and watch him late at night in the mid-80s. What a hoot! He used to drink beer and smoke cigars while preaching and/or teaching his esoteric lore on the pyramids, Stonehenge, etc. He hated Swaggert--called him Jimbo Swig-a-Lot. I would watch him after Letterman, and, although I would crack up watching Dave, watching Dr. Gene Scott was definitely more amusing.

[Cogito ergo doleo]

20. Because Democrats know that when plastic burns it hisses

In the 1980's Pat Robertson was on a kick about how He-Man-of-the-Universe action figures were evil. He told people if their kids had those toys to put them in a trash can, set them on fire and listen to demons in them squeal and hiss in pain as they burned. It was great television, but how do Democrats follow that one? Possessed Lawn and leaf bags?

[Warren DeMontague]

21. Holy Toxic Fumes, Batman!

Wow. I hope no one was stupid enough to take him up on that, but I'm certain they were.

[Warren DeMontague]

22. Because The Liberals Who Believe in "God"

Understand that they're probably not likely to find him on television.

Want to feel spiritual? Go outside on a clear night and look up, if you can still see the stars for the light pollution.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. Anyway, wasn't Jesus soft spoken and non-confrontational?

Hmmm. Maybe he was, as you put it, "GAY", too.

[Vidar]

25. Well, except for that "money changers in the temple" thing.

Quite violent in that case, which would cover both televangelists & corporate, Christmas-time America nicely.

[Skittles]

24. because being f***ing assholes doesn't come naturally to us

nt

[SmokingJacket]

26. Televangelists EXPLOIT Christianity for profit

That seems monumentally unChristlike, to me.

They take advantage of lonely and desperate people who are stuck at home with a TV, ie, the elderly and homebound.

Any person, Christian or not, who cares about the lonely, the desperate, the elderly, would NOT come on television begging the audience to send in its last buck.

The rightwing has no qualms about exploiting people. Liberals do.

Pretty obvious answer, actually.

[leftofthedial]

27. because televangelism is a congame

that preys on the poor, the elderly and the mentally unstable

and liberals have a conscience

[GOPBasher]

28. We're the party of Christians AND Atheists, AND Jews, Buddhists,

or whatever else you want to be. Every person has a right to practice her or his religion, without any interference from government. To protect this right, we need a separation of church and state. Without that, the government might tax churches, or people will be coerced into practicing a religion other than theirs.