Bush Library controversy: Who's really "disconnected"?
Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: Opinion
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A March 6 column ("The Bush presidency's disconnect with the UMC") by the Rev. Fred Kandeler targeted my organization, the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD). Ostensibly, IRD has attacked "the witness and integrity of UMC social justice teachings, initiatives and leaders" for 25 years.
Kandeler opposes the proposed Bush Library at SMU, and he is upset that IRD has been supportive of SMU against the United Methodist critics of the library. Kandler argues that the IRD is a tool or political arm of the Bush Administration. Father Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative Catholic thinker and writer, was one of IRD's founders. President Bush has cited Neuhaus, who publishes a journal on religion an society, as a positive Christian influence. Hence the sinister connection, as Kandler perceives it.
This is nothing new. United Methodist Church elites, who are overwhelmingly liberal, have long resented the IRD for pointing out that most of their constituency do not support their political and theological perspective. Polls almost always show that most United Methodists are more conservative.
The IRD was founded as an ecumenical think tank in 1981, primarily by an AFL-CIO official and United Methodist layman, David Jessup and a United Methodist evangelist from Texas, Edmund Robb. Both were distressed that America's mainline denominations were largely silent about human rights abuses in the Soviet bloc. Although one was politically liberal and the other politically conservative, both agreed that democracy is the best form of government for protecting human rights. Both believed that churches, with their message of transcendent moral order, have important roles to play in sustaining a democratic culture.
Father Neuhaus wrote IRD's founding document, called "Christianity and Democracy," which is available on our website at www.ird-renew.org.
IRD's first decade was devoted almost exclusively to international issues relating to democracy and human rights. We challenged religious supporters, especially in the mainline denominations, who supported totalitarian regimes and movements like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the Marxist rebels in El Salvador. We also gave an award to the Chilean Roman Catholic primate who helped push the Pinochet dictatorship toward democracy.
Kandeler opposes the proposed Bush Library at SMU, and he is upset that IRD has been supportive of SMU against the United Methodist critics of the library. Kandler argues that the IRD is a tool or political arm of the Bush Administration. Father Richard John Neuhaus, a conservative Catholic thinker and writer, was one of IRD's founders. President Bush has cited Neuhaus, who publishes a journal on religion an society, as a positive Christian influence. Hence the sinister connection, as Kandler perceives it.
This is nothing new. United Methodist Church elites, who are overwhelmingly liberal, have long resented the IRD for pointing out that most of their constituency do not support their political and theological perspective. Polls almost always show that most United Methodists are more conservative.
The IRD was founded as an ecumenical think tank in 1981, primarily by an AFL-CIO official and United Methodist layman, David Jessup and a United Methodist evangelist from Texas, Edmund Robb. Both were distressed that America's mainline denominations were largely silent about human rights abuses in the Soviet bloc. Although one was politically liberal and the other politically conservative, both agreed that democracy is the best form of government for protecting human rights. Both believed that churches, with their message of transcendent moral order, have important roles to play in sustaining a democratic culture.
Father Neuhaus wrote IRD's founding document, called "Christianity and Democracy," which is available on our website at www.ird-renew.org.
IRD's first decade was devoted almost exclusively to international issues relating to democracy and human rights. We challenged religious supporters, especially in the mainline denominations, who supported totalitarian regimes and movements like the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the Marxist rebels in El Salvador. We also gave an award to the Chilean Roman Catholic primate who helped push the Pinochet dictatorship toward democracy.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 5
Ben
posted 3/21/07 @ 2:48 AM CST
If what you say is true (that 'mainline elites' are disconnected with the body of the UMC general membership) then I can understand the growing disdain for evangelical Christianity amongst many Americans. (Continued…)
Matt
posted 3/22/07 @ 11:25 AM CST
Ben, it's never a good idea to bring only a knife to a gun fight. If you don't think Jesus would approve of "political posturing" then it's not a far leap to think he wouldn't approve of the United Methodist Church as a whole. (Continued…)
Scott Rewak
posted 3/22/07 @ 4:01 PM CST
Mr. Tooley,
Thank you for writing. I have a few comments. First off, you did not address the disconnect that Rev. Kandeler pointed out between the Administration and the UMC. (Continued…)
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