NY Times: "Christians Urged to Boycott Glenn Beck"

[ashling]

Source: New York Times via Media Matters

***

This week, the Rev. Jim Wallis, a liberal evangelical leader in Washington. D.C., called on Christians to leave Glenn Beck.

"What he has said attacks the very heart of our Christian faith, and Christians should no longer watch his show," wrote Mr. Wallis, who heads the anti-poverty group Sojourners, on his "God's Politics" blog.

+++

Mr. Beck, in vilifying churches that promote "social justice," managed to insult just about every mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, African American, Hispanic and Asian congregation in the country - not to mention plenty of evangelical ones.

Even Mormon scholars in Mr. Beck's own church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in interviews that Mr. Beck seems ignorant of just how central social justice teaching is to Mormonism

Read more: http://mediamatters.org/blog/201003110046

[Demeter]

1. how central social justice teaching is to Mormonism

the question arises, social justice for whom? women? minorities?

and GOP doesn't count as a minority. Social justice for Mormons? Not aware that they face any great social hurdles, unless it's contempt and shunning from the women and minorities.

[BolivarianHero]

20. Social Justice...

Is for Whitebread Mor(m)ons wanting to play in the NCAA and needing their Church to renounce its racialist views to let Bring-Em-Young stay eligible.

[boppers]

42. Social Justice is actually a big part of the LDS church.

Canneries for food distribution, thrift stores for the poor, tithing to support those in need, weekly visits to struggling families, Bishop's storehouses, Fast Sundays, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#Church_programs_and_auxiliary_organizations

[webDude]

43. If you Google "Mormon" and "Mark of Cain",...I think you will see...

...where they give a non-civil justice impression, however you rationalize it.

[boppers]

44. LOL, my father was PR agent for the church when they made the 1978 change.

I know mountains more about the topic than any google search can tell you or me... wikipedia has a good team working on lots of LDS topics, including this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks_and_the_Latter_Day_Saint_movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacks_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Revelation_on_Priesthood

They currently have roughly 500,000 black members, every single one of them with full priesthood status. That old smear is just that: Old.

[Richard Steele]

2. So, that shit-spewer has finally "jumped the shark" with his 'target audience' ?

He's finally said something so dirt-fuckingly STUPID
that even his FANS have started to realize that
he's not on their side?

Perhaps there is hope yet for this world.

[malaise]

27. Ding ding we have a winner

:fistbump:

[stlsaxman]

3. Sounds good. Too bad it won't work.

"liberal evangelist leader"???? much like a "socialist board of directors" i'd imagine. what are they gonna do- sit around the campfire singing Kumbaya?

[fasttense]

6. Yes, liberal and if you ever read the bible you would know Jesus

was the original liberal. He preached to the poor, fed the hungry healed the sick (with no health insurance) and never asked for any payment in return.

Remember Martin Luther King was a liberal evangelist pastor. He changed society, for the better, more than Pat Robertson could ever with his mines in South Africa and his TV stations.

DU is filled with us liberal Christians and we post daily. True there are non-Christians here too but we all seem to have the same core beliefs that include helping others and fighting for social justice.

[eShirl]

7. I did not know MLK was an evangelist.

[No Elephants]

11. You did not realize that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most effective

preachers in American history, was an evangelist? Are you trying to playing some kind of game, or are you unaware of what "evangelist" means? If the latter, maybe this will help.


·van·gel·ist (-vnj-lst)
n.
1. often Evangelist Any one of the authors of the four New Testament gospel books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
2. One who practices evangelism, especially a Protestant preacher or missionary.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
evangelist <ɪˈvændʒɪlɪst>
n
1. (Christianity / Protestantism) an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air
2. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) a preacher of the Christian gospel
3. any zealous advocate of a cause
4. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) another word for revivalist <1>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evangelist <ɪˈvændʒɪlɪst>
n
1. (Christian Religious Writings / Bible) any of the writers of the New Testament Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John
2. (Christianity / Protestantism) a senior official or dignitary of the Mormon Church
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 6th Edition 2003. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun 1. evangelist - a preacher of the Christian gospel
gospeler, gospeller, revivalist
preacher, preacher man, sermoniser, sermonizer - someone whose occupation is preaching the gospel
televangelist - an evangelist who conducts services on television
2. Evangelist - (when capitalized) any of the spiritual leaders who are assumed to be authors of the Gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
spiritual leader - a leader in religious or sacred affairs

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
evangelist
noun preacher, minister, missionary, clergyman, revivalist, clergywoman A noted evangelist was preaching to a rather hostile congregation.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002



http://www.thefreedictionary.com/evangelist

[eShirl]

14. No, I didn't realize he was an evangelist. Who is the one playing a game?

sheesh.

[tsuki]

18. In my youth, oh, so long ago, the difference was

Evangelical - It's all good, the news is all good

Fundamentalist - Bad, the news is all bad, very bad

The problem started when the clueless media started using the terms interchangeably. The Snake Man of the Carolinas was never an Evangelical.

[eShirl]

22. I was always told that evangelical = evangelizing = prostheletizing

At least, that was how the difference between regular Quakers and Evangelical Quakers was explained to me, by a kid from an Evangelical Quaker family. (we were both at a Quaker summer camp)

[JDPriestly]

35. How do you define evangelist, eShirl?

There are different definitions.

one of the Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels in the New Testament
a Christian who explains his or her beliefs to a non-Christian and thereby participates in Evangelism
Evangelist (Latter Day Saints), an office in the ministry of certain denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement
Presiding Patriarch, a leadership office in certain Latter Day Saint denominations that may also be referred to as the Presiding Evangelist
Quorum of Seventy Evangelists, a leadership body in The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)
Evangelicalism, Christian theological view emphasizing personal conversion and the authority of the Bible

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelist

Martin Luther King was a well educated pastor who preached the Christian gospel to huge crowds. He was what Christians call a "Fisher of Men." He had a wonderfully sonorous voice and preached in language and rhythms that everyone understood. IMO, he was a great, effective evanglist.

He emphasized personal conversion and the authority of the Bible as well as social responsibility. Personal conversion, authority of the Bible and social responsibility go together -- for pastors who have actually read and seriously studied the Bible.

[Political Heretic]

45. Um.... you didn't know that?

[No Elephants]

9. Not to nitpick, but IMO, Jesus was a radical. He was well to the left of liberals.

[salguine]

17. Which is why he had to die.

[Bette Noir]

38. And Beck would be happy to pound in the first nail.

[JDPriestly]

36. He was a radical of peace. He advocated non-violence.

He was a radical of social change through personal, individual change.

[Fumesucker]

10. Indeed most of us do know that..

But Beck's audience by and large does not, which I think is the point of the poster you are replying to.

I'm convinced that people pretty much take away from scripture whatever they bring to it, if you are a kind and giving person you will find support for that in scripture, if you are vengeful and judgmental person you will find verses to support those feelings.

Scripture is but a mirror for our inner selves.

[No Elephants]

13. I did not read stlsaxman's post the same way you did.

Seems to me all he did was inply strongly that there is no such thing as a liberal minister--that "liberal minister" is an oxymoron.

Yes, you can find almost anything in Scripture, much as you can in poetry. But you cannot reasonably take away from anything Jesus said that social justice was not among his concerns.

FWIW, Mormons do not believe in the divinity of Christ--at least not a divinity that is different from their own. For them, God is the father, and Jesus, like everyone else born of woman, is a brother. (Well, maybe except that he grew up in the Middle East, raised as a Jew.)

[Fumesucker]

15. I was replying to fasttense not stlsaxman..

Conservatives don't read the Gospels, or if they do they certainly don't read for comprehension.

Listen to conservatives when they quote scripture, it is exceedingly rare for them to quote from Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

[stlsaxman]

29. No- i meant to "inply" that "liberal EVANGELIST" either do not exist or are so powerless

in todays society that they're a non-starter. The only evangelists today are right-wing ultra-conservative wackos. Evangelists, by their very nature are "think like us or burn in hell!" where Liberals say "think for yourself or continue living in hell"...

Don't misunderstand me, i know of plenty of liberal christians- my mom and dad were marxist Catholics in the '40s and '50s and worked closely with Dorothy Day of "The Catholic Worker" fame.

C'mon, man... Jesus was a Jew. American Jews as a group were one of the first to support blacks during the civil rights era... aside from the black churches (which were being firebombed), Christians sat on their hands. Name ONE well known modern day christian group speaking out for the poor and downtrodden.

If you want true "liberation theology" look to The Torah (old testament). Jesus tried to spread liberal ideas but his followers seem to have missed that part.

[Bette Noir]

40. No, they just don"t get any press.

I knew plenty of liberal ministers, back in the day. The church I went to, Lutheran and very, very white, publicly supported Dr. King's work.

[No Elephants]

8. What are you doing---besides putting down this pastor, who is taking a stand?

Bigotry and stereotyping is bigotry and stereotyping, even if the target is a minister.

[stlsaxman]

31. You Sir/Ma'am, are correct. I replied way too quickly without enough investigation.

Good for this pastor! May he speak long and loud!

regardless- "liberal evangelist leaders" are a RARE breed. I didn't know they existed past the '60's until now.

[sweetloukillbot]

41. They don't get the publicity, but there are many more than you think...

Most tend to be more thinkers than bloviators, which I think causes the disparity in coverage. But the Episcopal Church has produced some amazing theologians who fly in the face of the general view of Christian leaders, eg. Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass, Bishop Spong, Bishop Robinson (who gave the amazing prayer that wasn't televised before the pre-inauguration concert), and the current emerging church movement seems to be wrestling with the question of social justice and how that fits with a fundamentalist upbringing - Jay Bakker, son of Jim and Tammy Faye, is a strong proponent of gay rights from his pulpit, and while I have not seen any strong statements from Rob Bell concerning gay rights, he seems to be very much pro social justice and challenging to evangelical fundamentalism. Heck, as much of a lightning rod as he is here, Rick Warren has done a lot of good work in Africa and reportedly gives 90% of his income to charity, his stand on Prop 8 notwithstanding.
I was raised Lutheran and am now Episcopalian, and I've never seen any disparity with social action and the church's teachings in either tradition - in fact I would say I'm a liberal because I'm a Christian.

[Political Heretic]

46. Unfortunately they can't order equal airtime from M$M

[SoxFan]

32. You don't get out much, do you?

If you did, you would know that almost every homeless shelter on the east coast has clergy and/or religious (nuns and brothers) working with the less fortunate on a daily basis, as nurses, teachers, advocates, and counselors.

If you did, you would know that Catholic, UCC, Unitarian, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Baptist clergy were on the front lines of the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements from the start.

[elocs]

4. Nice try, but this is DU. Nothing a Christian does will ever be good enough for so many here.

And any applause will so often be followed by a "but".

[Fumesucker]

12. Pretty much the way the non-religious get treated by the rest of American society..

Now you know how it feels.

Not particularly pleasant, is it?

[SoxFan]

34. Bullhockey

Unless you live in a small town in the rural South, this canard simply isn't true. The vast majority of people take a live and let live attitude. The only hint I have as to many of my friends religious background is their last name (Irish and French are Catholics, Greeks are Orthodox, Bosnians are Muslims).

Internet atheists, on the other hand, make a big production out of attacking Christianity at every opportunity. The cracks about the "magical man in the sky" or "dudes in dresses" get trotted out over and over again. Worse, their is a smug air of superiority that is strangely reminiscent of people like Jerry Falwell.

[Political Heretic]

47. even if that is true, it doesn't make it right either way, now does it?

[randr]

19. While I do not claim to be Christian

I do know a Christian when I meet one.
Much of the criticism I see here is due to the hypocrisy many perceive coming from "Christians".
During the 60's war protests religious organizations led the marches. People of faith were not afraid to take on the "Pharisees" in their flocks.
This is not so true today and much of the criticism is deserved.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

25. No. That smackdown of Beck was perfect.

It's chip-on-shoulder whining and grumbling like yours that annoys us.

[SoxFan]

33. Sad, but accurate

The irony is that many members of the clergy and religious orders have done a lot more to effect social change than the Exalted Knights of the Keyboard.

[No Elephants]

5. Weird that the article mentions Protestant, Roman Catholic and evangelical

congregations in the same breath with "African American, Hispanic and Asian congregations. One group is religious, the other ethic or racial. Also, what about Jews and Muslims, both of which teach social responsiblity?

It would make more sense to say to that his remarks applied to almost every congregration of every mainline religion, whose members would include people of all ethnic, racial and religious minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Jews and Muslims, as well as the majority.

[salguine]

16. Are these the same social-justice-loving Mormons who financed Prop 8 in California?

[Dappleganger]

21. Jim Wallis was just on Stephanie Miller this morning...

he said that Beck is anti-gospel and anti-Matthew 25. Beck would call Mother Theresa, Dr. King, Ghandi, etc. communists to their faces. Would he call Jesus a communist too? After all they advocated strongly for social justice, jubilee, taking care of the poor, etc.

[ccinamon]

23. About time someone in the clergy spoke up against him and his evilness..

now, we need several more and they need to speak up often and with great fanfare.

[Umbral]

24. Communism was inspired by Satan to besmirch the godly construct known as the United Order

Or so Mormons maintain. The Mormons lived according to the United Order early in its history in Utah. It's most easily described as theocratic communism. It's instantly recognizable though - what cult doesn't ask it's members to turn over all their property to the church? Eventually, it devolved into a number of coops and then businesses - owned principally by the LDS Church. Also, should Jesus ever make another appearance, the United Order will be reestablished during his reign here on Earth; so I've been told anyway.

In any event, for Beck to council his 'followers' to abandon churches that preach social justice is to demonstrate his utter ignorance of not just his own religion, but of the core precepts of Christianity.

[Tutankhamun]

26. I haven't studied Beck's life, but I'm betting he's not really religious.

I'm betting he just claims to love Jeebus because of his reich wing leanings as a TV host.

[avgjoe55]

28. The deplorable Glenn Beck, et al

Friends, what is sad about the existence of demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck is that they would be insignificant if not for one fact: they have an audience; there is a market for the poison they spew. They are the political commentary equivalent of the National Enquirer, which would not be published if not for the fact that people buy that garbage. Hate-mongers like Limbaugh and Beck are the price we pay for freedom of speech. I guess if you look at it like that, it isn't such a bad trade-off. Still, I can't help but feel a little celebratory at Beck chopping off a sizable portion of his fan base at the knees...it appears that some animals really do eat their own...

[upi402]

30. The corporate media makes a market for these heretics

by giving them air time and marketing these propagandists. It really is a betrayal of democracy, even more than heresy.

[Bette Noir]

37. Unfortunately, Beck's audience won't listen to mainstream churches.

They're cultists who only believe what their own pastors tell them to. They read the Bible, but interpret it exactly as they're told.

[troubledamerican]

39. Matthew 25: 37-46