They'll know we are Christians ...

There's a great gospel refrain , "Yes they'll know we are Christians by our love." The Duke hummed a few bars while reading the raging debate over at TPMcafe among some centrists and liberals who are trying to decide whether they are embarassed to call themselves Christians.

Even Ed Kilgore said

I can barely comprehend the views of "Bible-based" evangelical Protestants who somehow think the primary message of Scripture in our time is to ban abortion, proscribe homosexuality, put women back "in their place," support state-sponsored religious displays, and identify with the foreign policy of the United States as carried out by George W. Bush.

This is a rare oversimplification by the Duke's friend Mr. Kilgore. As one whose large extended family includes several evangelical ministers, seminary professors, and even a church motto that reads "The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible", the Duke has a pretty good understanding of the evangelical community. The stereotypical "evangelical" worldview above is vastly oversimplified, and -- frankly -- a bit insulting.

There are certain evangelical "leaders" who espouse this simple platform, but more often than not those "leaders" are more like political pundits than faith community leaders. The real leaders and rank-and-file members of the evangelical community are more tolerant and care about a much wider variety of issues than the pundits would have you believe. But because most national Democrats have failed to speak in a language that resonates with evangelicals, the carefully crafted national Republican political message is the only political message that gets through.

Big national issues are a lot less important to a congregation struggling to help its members deal with job losses, crushing health care bills, struggling schools, substance abuse, and the other challenges of raw humanity. But since no one has bothered to explain in evangelical terms how national policy changes can help families with these "kitchen table" issues, the conservative political pundits have filled the vacuum.

How progressives should do this is a post for another day. But the only reason progressive Christians should be embarrassed is if they take the pundits' bait and allow conservative political hacks to speak for all Christians. In fact, if progressives seek common ground with evangelicals and reach out with compassion, tolerance, and yes-- love -- they'll know we are Christians, and it won't matter what the pundits say.