Evangelicals Reject Dobson's Fake Morality

Kids, you may not remember, but there was a time when torture was something Americans accused other people of. It wasn't something we did, it was something we fought against, and we considered it a matter of right and wrong: a moral issue.

From the Washington Post this morning:

The National Association of Evangelicals has endorsed an anti-torture statement saying the United States has crossed "boundaries of what is legally and morally permissible" in its treatment of detainees and war prisoners in the fight against terror.

Human rights violations committed in the name of preventing terrorist attacks have made the country look hypocritical to the Muslim world, the document states. Christians have an obligation rooted in Scripture to help Americans "regain our moral clarity."

"Our military and intelligence forces have worked diligently to prevent further attacks. But such efforts must not include measures that violate our own core values," the document says. "The United States historically has been a leader in supporting international human rights efforts, but our moral vision has blurred since 9-11." Evangelicals Condemn Torture

It is unbelievable that we live in a time in America when this is a step in the right direction -- a vote against torture?

And what about the idea that we would take care of the earth, so that it can continue to support us? --From Sunday's Post:

Rebuffing Christian radio commentator James C. Dobson, the board of directors of the National Association of Evangelicals reaffirmed its position that environmental protection, which it calls "creation care," is an important moral issue.

Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, and two dozen other conservative Christian leaders, including Gary L. Bauer, Tony Perkins and Paul M. Weyrich, sent the board a letter this month denouncing the association's vice president, the Rev. Richard Cizik, for urging attention to global warming.

The letter argued that evangelicals are divided on whether climate change is a real problem, and it said that "Cizik and others are using the global warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time," such as abortion and same-sex marriage. Evangelical Body Stays Course on Warming

Abortion and same-sex marriage -- what a weird thing. I find it hard to imagine a sincere person who's sense of right and wrong is focused so intently on two things that are ... none of his business. The morality of abortion is not a clear case and certainly not a biblical one; and on the subject of marriage equality, Dobson and Co. take the position that seems, from any other point of view, to be the immoral one, opposing monogamous commitment and the formation of loving families for gay Americans.

It is definitely interesting that the evangelical organization has rejected Dobson's narrow moralistic focus. Today's Post article made a point of noting that:

The NAE says it represents 45,000 evangelical churches. However, it does not include some of the best-known conservative Christian bodies, including the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family.

Well, the SBC is pretty big, and FoF, you know, has long tentacles of influence.

It appears we are seeing an erosion, if not collapse, of the monolith of the religious right. Enough Christians seem to have opened their eyes to the fact that Jesus said nothing about abortion or homosexuality, and that morality involves a lot more than just interfering in other people's personal lives. There are some serious moral problems in our world today, and the NAE has just voted to contend with them. Good for them.

Pretty soon Dobson and little clusters of nuts like the CRC will be entirely isolated, babbling their incoherent goo-goo stuff about gays and abortions all alone, without even TV reporter-zombies pointing their cameras at them, as America wakes up to the realization that there are real problems that need our attention. This week's decisions by the NAE have been a lovely step in the right direction.