Wednesday July 12, 2006
National Council of Churches Pres.: Jesus Never said Anything About Homosexuality or Abortion
By Gudrun Schultz
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Forget about
traditional morality—Christianity should focus on eradicating poverty,
protecting the environment and ending the war in Iraq, according to the
general secretary of the National Council of Churches, Dr. Bob Edgar.
“Jesus never said one word about homosexuality, never said one word
about civil marriage or abortion,” said Dr. Edgar to CBS News at a
recent gathering of liberal Christian leaders in Washington.
The gathering was the latest effort by the “religious left” to gain
back some of the political power the group enjoyed during the 60’s and
early 70’s. 30 years ago liberal religious leaders used their political
influence to lead demonstrations against social injustices such as
civil rights abuses and the Vietnam War. Once those
issues left the spotlight, liberal Christianity lost focus and faded to
the background.
Now, liberal Christian leaders are attempting to stage a return to
power, targeting young voters and concentrating on increasing childcare
funding and raising the minimum wage. The group wants to build a strong
voter base to counter what it calls the “ground game” of the Christian
right—the powerful voting block of traditional Christians that has
significant influence on the country’s politics.
Finding a unifying message that will allow the group to achieve
political clout has been a struggle, observers have said. The New York
Times reported in May on an earlier meeting by liberal Christian
activists in Washington, a brainstorming session concentrating on
identifying the group’s goals.
During a session on ethical sexual behavior, the meeting bypassed
discussion of concrete issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Instead, Rev. Ama Zenya of First Congregational Church in Oakland,
California, directed the gathering to discuss their spiritual values
and “to practice fully our authentic being,” reported the Times.
The results of the gathering were disappointing, said liberal Baptist
minister Rev. Tony Campolo, who once acted as spiritual adviser to
President Bill Clinton, and attended the conference.
“We didn’t get on the same page with everyone, and it is about getting
on the same page. The thing about the left is that they want everybody
to feel good.”
Dr. Edgar, who has been general secretary of the NCC since 2000, was
applauded by homosexual activist organizations shortly after his
election for withdrawing his signature from an ecumenical statement in
defence of traditional marriage, “A Christian Declaration on Marriage.”
Dr. Edgar also apologized to members of the homosexual community for
originally endorsing the document, which was co-signed by the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, and
the National Association of Evangelicals.
Read CBS coverage:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/09/eveningnews/main1786860.shtml
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.