Sky Dancer
Rookie
- Jan 21, 2009
- 19,307
- 1,320
- 0
- Thread starter
- Banned
- #81
"A coalition of progressive and evangelical leaders are calling on Congress and President-elect Barack Obama to work toward ending the culture war and finding common ground on issues like gay rights, abortion, immigration and torture. Organized by the think tank Third Way, the coalition announced its road map to ending the culture war, called "Come Let Us Reason Together" (PDF), and has already held meetings with congressional leaders, progressive organizations and evangelical churches.
The central aim of the agenda is to find areas of mutual agreement among evangelicals and progressives. For gay rights, that means a focus on employment nondiscrimination laws for the LGBT community with an exemption for religious institutions. In reproductive health, it means finding ways to reduce the need for abortions by "preventing unintended pregnancies, supporting pregnant women and new families, and increasing support for adoption."
The agenda takes an encompassing approach to immigration: "We agree that we need secure, compassionate, and comprehensive immigration reform. We support policies that create an earned path to citizenship and protect families, while securing our borders and treating American taxpayers fairly."
Torture is one area where both sides seem to have found common ground. The coalition rejects torture as un-American and immoral.
As a committed Southern Baptist, I know all too well the 'culture war' mentality. It is a mentality that often speaks without listening, divides rather than unites and promotes destructive partisanship," he said. "At the same time, I am proud of the unwavering moral stances that conservative Christians, including Southern Baptists, have taken. We remain committed to important issues like the traditional marriage and protecting life conception."
He continued, "Yet conservative Christians must also live out the other tenets of our faith, including compassion, charity, human dignity and the pursuit of peace. Therefore, I support this agenda because I am a Southern Baptist, not in spite of that fact."
Seeking a Third Way: Progressives and evangelicals unite to end the culture war - Eleventh Avenue South
The central aim of the agenda is to find areas of mutual agreement among evangelicals and progressives. For gay rights, that means a focus on employment nondiscrimination laws for the LGBT community with an exemption for religious institutions. In reproductive health, it means finding ways to reduce the need for abortions by "preventing unintended pregnancies, supporting pregnant women and new families, and increasing support for adoption."
The agenda takes an encompassing approach to immigration: "We agree that we need secure, compassionate, and comprehensive immigration reform. We support policies that create an earned path to citizenship and protect families, while securing our borders and treating American taxpayers fairly."
Torture is one area where both sides seem to have found common ground. The coalition rejects torture as un-American and immoral.
As a committed Southern Baptist, I know all too well the 'culture war' mentality. It is a mentality that often speaks without listening, divides rather than unites and promotes destructive partisanship," he said. "At the same time, I am proud of the unwavering moral stances that conservative Christians, including Southern Baptists, have taken. We remain committed to important issues like the traditional marriage and protecting life conception."
He continued, "Yet conservative Christians must also live out the other tenets of our faith, including compassion, charity, human dignity and the pursuit of peace. Therefore, I support this agenda because I am a Southern Baptist, not in spite of that fact."
Seeking a Third Way: Progressives and evangelicals unite to end the culture war - Eleventh Avenue South