Author Archive
Tony Campolo
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 »
The Growing Impossibility of Interfaith Dialogue
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
I just returned from the 2011 meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative. It is an amazing gathering that brings together heads of state, some of the richest people in the world, people in the field of entertainment and the arts, along with the movers and shakers in the world of the media. It was with great anticipation that I attended the session that dealt with interfaith dialogues. I was hopeful that I could gain some direction as to how I, as a Red Letter Christian, could facilitate constructive discussions across religious lines.
At this seminar, I found that there were bright and gracious people from most of the major religions of our time. There was a strong representation of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. While other religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism had limited representation, there were enough present that their voices could be heard.
My Disappointment in Obama and the Unbalanced Reporting of Fox News
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
The other day, I took the time to listen to Fox News. I couldn’t believe it when it was announced that Fox News was fair and balanced. All I heard was how terribly Barack Obama has served this country and how wonderful the Republicans are. They held up Obama’s low ratings with the public, pointing out that only 42 percent of the American people believe that he is exercising good leadership. Of course, what they did not bring to anyone’s attention as they scoured Obama was that the same survey indicated that only 13 percent of the American people believed that the Republicans in the Congress and in the Senate were exercising good leadership. In short, Obama may not be the greatest president that has come down the pike, but when it comes to leadership he is at least three-and-a-half times better than the leadership we presently have serving in the Congress.
