Rumours About Their Death...
People who think the Religious Right is dead had better wake up. These people who see themselves on a mission from God are even smarter than they were in the past and now even more skilled in political strategy. They are not about to give up. To have progressive people celebrating the victory of the Religious Right's demise is to put our constituency right where the Religious Right wants us to be--confident without cause and vulnerable to a surprise that will cause us to say again with regret, "We just didn't see it coming. We weren't ready for them!"So says another braying Leftist that recently added his dissent to the rumour floating through the media that the Religious Right is dead. Yea, I know, I'm puzzled too. Heck, it was just two years ago when they had a few hundred people scared too death at the Open Center in NYC as "expert" after "expert" predicted the absolute religious takeover of America. I guess these guys figure that if the Republicans lost the House and Senate, then it must be time for the Religious Right to call it quits. That won't happen.
Now, I'm no fan of an overemphasis upon politics as a means to an end, but if anyone thinks that conservative Christians are going to lay down for homosexuals, antichrists, and false Christians, they're in for a rude awakening. You cannot stop an advancing people driven by their faith. The resources of media, personnel, motivation, finances, and resolve is too much for the small faction of liberals to contend with. Conservative Christians have dedicated over 30 years to their enterprise, and you can bet your last dollar that won't vanish quietly into the fog. My goodness man, they number in the millions.
Conservative Christians are not progressive, i.e. they don't stand on a worldview that changes. They are established in their faith, and they will press those convictions with an energy unequaled by any group from the opposition. Recent history should bear witness to that. If you are afraid of the Christian religion being promoted in the public square, then you might want to take something for anxiety -- you'll need it! If you think quoting Thomas Jefferson in regards to the separation of church and state is your ticket to paradise, then your plane is about to crash.
These people answer to Jesus Christ, not the letters of a dead president. They want righteousness in their nation, not the ever-changing ethic of a culture gone awry. They won't allow anyone to deprive them of their voice in the marketplace of ideas. They are not intimidated by the Gestapo of the ACLU or the Southern Poverty Lie Center. They will not allow their Christian history to be simply erased from the textbooks and the courts. They will fight you. You can bet your life on it.
Call them nutcases, and they'll come at you that much harder. Call them zealots, and they'll show you a passion you'll never match. You see, you're fighting for temporal causes, but their fighting for the eternal; and history has shown that dedicated Christians always win.
