THE OTHER CHRISTIANS

The media mostly uses Falwell, Robertson, Perkins, Dobson, Land, Parshall and William A. Donohue to represent the Christian position on issues but these people only represent a minority of Christians, only those aligned with the GOP.

We rarely hear of the majority of Christians, especially when they oppose Pres. Fredo.

Some US church leaders step up anti-war moves
Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:33 AM ET
By Michael Conlon

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some U.S. religious leaders are stepping up pressure on Washington to end the nearly 3-year-old Iraq war.

A statement of conscience calling the war "an unjust and immoral invasion and occupation of Iraq" has been signed by 99 bishops and more than 5,000 members of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the land. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are both Methodists, but leaders of the 11-million-member church say they have had no response from the White House.

Meanwhile the largest single U.S. Protestant body, the 18-million-strong Southern Baptist Convention, says Bush has "shown courage and leadership in his valiant opposition to terrorism" and deserves the "deepest gratitude and respect." Richard Land, president of the group's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says that's hardly surprising since large numbers of the 62 million-plus people who voted for Bush in the last election identified themselves as Southern Baptists.

It is a religious divide that has persisted since before the war began in March 2003. Polls then showed conservative evangelical U.S. Christians favored moving against Iraq and removing Saddam Hussein. But leaders of the Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics and many other denominations were vocal and unsuccessful in their opposition to the conflict.

Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches*, said those opposed to the war "have been frustrated by a lack of access to anyone in the White House who will listen." But with Iraq, he said, a variety of religious leaders came out early with their opposition before the war started and have become the "chaplains of public opinion" through networks that are far more extensive than in the past.

One of those networks is FaithfulAmerica.org, an online advocacy venture formed by the Council of Churches, whose director Vince Isner says religious opposition to the war has carried weight in ways that may go unrecognized.


The U.S. Catholic bishops have also turned up the pressure, recently calling for "serious and civil discussions of alternatives that emphasize planning for a responsible transition in Iraq." The country cannot afford a "shrill and shallow debate" that reduces the options to "cut and run" or "stay the course," they said. The 66 million Catholics they lead comprise the largest single U.S. denomination.


*The NCC represents 45 million people from various sects and denominations but not the Southern Baptists.