Author Archive
Tony Campolo
Evangelicals Support Newt Gingrich
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
The need for Red Letter Christians to no longer be labeled “Evangelicals” became abundantly clear this past Saturday following the South Carolina Republican Primary. Most Evangelicals claim to be politically non-partisan, and say they only identify with the Republican Party because the Republicans are committed to “family values.” The truthfulness of that claim became questionable this past Saturday when South Carolina Evangelicals voted in surprisingly large numbers for Newt Gingrich, in spite of the fact that he’s hardly a model husband in their eyes. Not only is he on his third wife, having had divorce papers served to one of them while she was lying in a hospital bed recovering from a mastectomy for breast cancer, but, if his second wife is to believed, wanted an “open marriage” so that he could have a sexual affair on the side.
The Worship Wars
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
One reason churches are splitting these days is over forms of worship. There are those who contend that we are not going to bring in a new generation of young people unless we introduce into the worship service a guitar-led band and employing all the new worship songs that become omnipresent in youth gatherings. On the other hand, there are those who contend that a great deal of this new music contains lousy theology and is in no way melodious. Older people want to sing the old hymns of the Church and there are those who think that moving them out of worship is close to blasphemy.
Reflections on the Arab Spring and the Persecution of Christians
Friday, January 20th, 2012
As dictator after dictator was deposed in North Africa, people around the world began to talk about the “Arab Spring.” Many claim that what was happening in countries like Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt represented the emergence of participatory democracy. Those of us who were political activists during the 60s believed that the call “All power to the people!” was being heeded. The problem was that we never asked who the people were and what the people wanted.
We are inclined to believe that democracy is when the majority rules and free elections take place wherein every citizen has the right to vote. That, indeed, is a very superficial definition of democracy. At least we should add to that statement that democracy requires a political system wherein it is safe to be in the minority.
The Ecstasy of Spirituality on Christmas
Sunday, December 25th, 2011
The ecstasy of spirituality might be compared to an experience I had when I was seven years old. It was Christmas, and I wanted more than anything to have a set of Lionel electric trains. I had asked my parents, but they told me I had to ask Santa Claus. I was already skeptical about the reality of that red-flanneled saint, but I knew how the system worked. So, on a carefully picked Saturday, I went with my mother to Gimbel’s department store–where the real one was. (I was always confused about the many Santa Clauses that appeared on the streets at Christmas time, so my mother explained to me that the others were Santa’s helpers, but the real one was at Gimbel Brothers.)
Are Evangelical Republicans Really Pro-Life?
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Over the past decade, my Evangelical friends regularly ask me how I can be a Democrat and a Christian at the same time. I understood why that asked the question. The Democratic Party has been overtly pro-choice, and since most Evangelicals are pro-life, they thought it incongruous that I could identify with what they considered to be a party that sanctioned the death of the unborn.
Now the time has come to raise some serious questions about the inconsistencies between the faith and political practice that are increasingly evident among a growing number of Evangelicals. My concerns arise from what I witnessed as the behavior of Tea Party members (who are 50% Evangelical Christians) at the debate between candidates for the Republican presidential nomination sponsored by the Tea Party.
Hope for Despairing Christians In A World That is Getting Worse and Worse
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
For many Evangelical Christians, the normative attitude is to view world history with despair. Most have been led to believe that forces of darkness are increasingly raising havoc in the world as we move toward the end of history. Many have grown up believing that evil will become more and more pronounced in the last days, and the demonic forces of darkness more and more evident in the affairs of our lives. Furthermore, it isn’t too difficult to give biblical support to this despairing perspective on the future. It is hard to disagree with those who say that we are living in an era which some prophecy preachers call “Laodicea.”
In Revelation 3, the Lord speaks and refers to those in the church at Laodicea as being neither cold nor hot, but instead so lukewarm that He says, “I will spew thee out of my mouth.” The prophecy preachers not only see the verses about Laodicea in Revelation 3 as referring to a church in the first century, but also see Laodicea as representing the last stage of history prior to the Second Coming. Continue Reading »
