Blogtown, PDX

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Politics If the Left Got Together Every Sunday…

Posted by Amy J. Ruiz on Thu, Aug 23 at 2:03 PM

I had to cut this section from Grant Cogswell’s writeup of his visit to City Bible Church this past weekend, but it’s been running through my mind for the past few days. I stopped by two churches that day, and was a bit amazed by the number of people loyally attending, listening, and following their leader. (My parents dragged me to a waning Catholic church when I was little… it never struck me that there was much political power or loyalty in the room).

“[I] thought darkly of Zach Grenier’s speech in Ang Lee’s Ride With The Devil: “That is why they will win. Because they think everyone should live and think just like them. And we will lose because we just care about ourselves.” If the left got together every Sunday to organize, fundraise, and reaffirm their beliefs…well, that would probably be pretty insufferable, too.”

Insufferable, for sure. But effective? Or is it just not in a lefty’s nature to be part of a huge crowd that tends toward groupthink?

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Comments

"Or is it just not in a lefty’s nature to be part of a huge crowd that tends toward groupthink?"

Oh, please. Have you ever been to a protest?

Posted by tODD | August 23, 2007 5:57 PM

Um, hi, have you noticed we live in Portland? There are probably 30 churches for every one of the City Bible ilk that are preaching a progressive, environmentally aware, inclusive message.

I know, I go to one of them.

Posted by Mary Sue | August 24, 2007 11:30 AM

Yeah - I'm with Mary Sue. I'd say I lean pretty darn left politically and socially, but I also go to church nearly every Sunday, with a group of folks who are actually pretty diverse politically.

We do have some very conservative people - but we also have some very liberal folks. And many of the people who were raised in very conservative homes, are learning to be more open, more inclusive, and more progressive because of their interaction with people like me being involved in that community. They've seen what damage the extreme right wing folks have done to society as a whole and want to embrace the change.

As adults they're now seeing their own (grown) kids and other newbies to the church (as I am) living in a totally different world than they are - and really appreciate the individuality and freedom and acceptance that we have.

They still embrace their spiritual beliefs 100% - but are coming to realize that thinking on their own about those beliefs is an absolute must. And I'm proud to be part of this very unique group of individuals.

Posted by divebarwife | August 24, 2007 12:17 PM

But as a group, are these congregations translating that into progressive political action on the same scale as conservative evangelicals?

Posted by Amy J. Ruiz | August 24, 2007 2:18 PM

No - at least not where I am. They stay far away from that actually.
I think they're afraid to because of how they've seen it go so so wrong.

Posted by divebarwife | August 24, 2007 2:59 PM

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