Pastor Chosen to Lead Christian Coalition Steps Down in Dispute Over Agenda

[Sapphire Blue]

Pastor Chosen to Lead Christian Coalition Steps Down in Dispute Over Agenda
By NEELA BANERJEE
Published: November 28, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 — The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America, which has long served as a model for activism for the religious right, has stepped down, saying the group resisted his efforts to broaden its agenda to include reducing poverty and fighting global warming.

The Rev. Joel C. Hunter, pastor of a Florida megachurch, was named the group’s president-elect in July. He was to have taken over the presidency in January from Roberta Combs, who is also the chairwoman of the Christian Coalition’s board. Mrs. Combs will continue in both positions now.

Over the last few years, Dr. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland Church in Longwood, Fla., has gained a reputation as an evangelical leader seeking to expand the agenda of conservative Christian activists from issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

(snip)

Dr. Hunter said his departure from the Christian Coalition indicated his belief in the rise of an evangelical Christian constituency that is less interested in the passage of certain laws and focused instead on “living what Jesus would do.”

Dr. Hunter’s departure is the latest difficulty to confront the Christian Coalition, which was founded 17 years ago by Pat Robertson and quickly became the chief lobbying group and voter organizer for the religious right. Since Mr. Robertson’s resignation five years ago, the coalition has struggled with creditors, defections by state affiliates and a dwindling presence in the capital.

Continued @ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/us/28pastor.html

[AspenRose]

1. How telling.

How very telling.

[Skidmore]

2. If enough people can respond in this manner, Robertson, Falwell , and Dobson

may be put out of business eventually.

[Sapphire Blue]

4. It seems that people are finally waking up & recognizing them as the...

... "false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves".

- Matthew 7:15-23

[Initech]

11. I cant wait to read this headline:

"CBN, owned by Pat Robertson, former spiritual adviser to Ronald Reagan, files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection."

[Uncle Joe]

3. Thanks for posting Sapphire Blue

Kicked and recommended

[Sapphire Blue]

5. You're welcome, Uncle Joe

:hi: Thanks for the k&r!

[Hamlette]

6. the saddest part of the article:

He said that many evangelical leaders hewed to narrow moral issues because they were “deathly afraid of being labeled a liberal by other Christians, the media, talk radio.”

This is the exact reason church and state don't mix. Here you have religious leaders "deathly afraid of being labeled a liberal by . . . talk radio."

How can religion pretend to be the moral leaders in a society when they are afraid of Rush Limbaugh?

How screwed up is that?

[Sapphire Blue]

8. The fear doesn't seem to be working so well anymore, though.

[Hamlette]

10. I'd like to think it isn't working so well now

but it does seem to work for many.

I have often thought Rush Limbaugh has done more damage to the US than Bush and all his wars could possibly do because he has debased public discourse.

To realize how afraid we all are of him (there are several others but all are monolithic: drudge, limbaugh, O'Rielly, Hannity, Prager, Coulter, one says it and they all echo it).

I know there is an uneasy alliance between theocons, neocons and con men like Rush but its odd to see this dynamic at work. Rush is a winey loser without the theocons to put his boys in office.

Strange that these men of god are more concerned that an immoral blow hard like Rush will call them "liberal" than they are about living up to the teachings of Christ.

[Sapphire Blue]

13. Whether a 'man of God' or Joe Q. Citizen, people were afraid to stand up & speak out...

... afraid of being labeled "liberal", "unpatriotic", "terrorist appeasers"etc.

What's important right now is that the fear doesn't work anymore... and people are standing up & speaking out... and turning away from "theocons, neocons and con men like Rush".

[LonelyLRLiberal]

16. They should be more concerned about being labeled hypocrites. eom

[Hamlette]

20. you'd think they would care about being a hypocrite BUT

Dean talks about it in his book, hypocracy does not bother them. At all.

Then in the book Conservatize Me, the author talks to Jonah Goldberg. When he meets him Jonah is reading the NYTimes while sipping coffee in a starbucks. The author says "you make fun of both these things, don't you think is hypocritical to make criticize the NYTimes and make fun of people who drink starbuck while you do the say? Jonah says: "You liberals are too hung up on hypocracy. You've got to give up caring about things like being a hypocrite if you want to be a conservative."

Telling. Those people don't care about being a hypocrite. No wonder they seem to be living on a different planet. They don't think like we do!

[LonelyLRLiberal]

24. Would that attitude qualify as arrogance?

I'm finding it difficult not to get downright angry reading what that ass said.

[LittleClarkie]

7. He wanted the group to be more Christ-like and that didn't fly

Hrrm. I thought that was the whole point.

Oh, I get it now. Jesus was a liberal. EEEK!

[Sapphire Blue]

9. The Christian Coalition has proven that they are not about being Christ-like.

[buzzard]

12. Exactly they don't want to deal with poverty or environmental concerns or anything

that a true Christian would want to address.

[Philosoraptor]

14. it's that famous 'come to jesus' moment

[Rex]

15. The CC doesn't believe in the teachings of Christ.

Yet they spout God's name around like a brook. Just another systematic problem with modern Christianity in America.

[4_TN_TITANS]

17. lions turn over devouring Christians to other Christians

:rofl:

[intheflow]

18. I saw this on Yahoo this afternoon, but

didn't have the time to post it. Thanks for posting it for me! Happily giving this GP vote #6.
:kick:

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. Are they tax exempt?

Because they freely admit they're a political organization:

“We’re a political organization, and there’s a way to do things, like taking a survey of your members and seeing what they need,” she said. “Joel had a different way of doing things, so he just went out there.”

[Sapphire Blue]

21. According to Wikipedia, first yes, then no, then yes...

After its founding in 1988, it was granted a grace period to operate as a tax-exempt status before the IRS made its final determination. In 1992, they began producing non-partisan voter guides which they distributed to conservative Christian churches. In 1998, Americans United urged the IRS to review the Coalition’s partisan political activities over the decade its tax-exempt status was pending. The following year, the IRS revoked The Coalition’s provisional tax-exemption. Churches that once embraced the Christian Coalition have disassociated themselves for fear of losing their own tax-exempt status. After its tax-exempt status was denied, CCA was able to turn all of its attention to politics. In 2005, the Coalition concluded a settlement agreement with the Internal Revenue Service, ending its long-running battle with that agency regarding its tax exempt status. As a result, the IRS has now recognized the Coalition's tax exempt status, the first time in the Agency's history that it has granted a letter of exemption to a group that stated in its application that it would distribute voter guides directly in churches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Coalition

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. I smell a Denmark.

[DarkTirade]

23. I used to go to that church

and as much as I may not agree with the various christian views anymore, I did respect pastor Hunter at the time. He always struck me as the kind of guy who, while he liked to share his ideas with people, wouldn't try to force them on people.