VICKSBURG - The death of Dr. Jerry Falwell has given rise to discussion of increasing differences among so-called evangelical Christians as to what their faith requires.
On one side of the divide are those whose reading of the Bible led them, like Falwell, to take strict positions against abortion, homosexuality, pornography and banning school prayer and to voice those beliefs in the voting booth, demanding that government have a strong voice on these topics and others.
On the other side of the divide are those whose reading of the Bible has led them to define sin much the same as the Falwell evangelicals do, but believe that reaching out to sinners, individually, and to those in need is what they were commanded to do.
Both believe salvation is a personal, individual matter. Where they differ is how to entice people to act in their own best interests.
The former are more likely to write and call congressmen. The latter are more likely to volunteer in soup kitchens. Many Christians, of course, do both.
It's more than a little daring for a secular columnist to write on religion - but the fact is Falwell was a key person in changing from passive to active the involvement of the faithful in public policy. He's fair game and invited scrutiny of his ministry.
It was about 30 years ago when Falwell, as pastor of Virginia's Thomas Road Baptist Church (which he started with 35 members and built to 24,000), founded what became the Moral Majority. The idea was to get involved at the ground level of politics. The faithful were to meet with candidates and weigh them on values questions. Those who passed the test would get an endorsement and, at the national level, millions of votes.
This was not a new tactic. Interest groups, whether unions or corporations or retired plum pickers, routinely evaluate people seeking office and send out newsletters touting the ones most closely aligned with their agendas. It was just that Christians hadn't really done this before, at least on such a large and well-publicized scale.
As long as there has been a spectrum of Christian denominations, there has been a range of doctrinal distinctions. The growing discussion Falwell leaves in his wake is not about variations among Catholics, Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians or any other faith. It is, rather, among the evangelicals themselves - the fastest-growing segment of Christianity in the United States. It is about the fundamentals of fundamentalism, although there's a distinction between fundamentalists and evangelicals.
One of the more prominent spokesmen for the other side of the Christian coin is Dr. Tony Campolo of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, who often had debates with Falwell. Because Campolo is more in line with teachings about feeding the hungry, teaching the disadvantaged and opposing war and violence, he hasn't gotten nearly the media exposure the far more provocative Falwell did. But there's also no doubt that his take on what it means to be an active believer is gaining ground.
Because the American political system has only two major parties, it became almost axiomatic that Falwell's Moral Majority had to cast its lot with one of them. That, of course, has been the Republican Party. This has also meant that Democrats have come to be seen as the party without "values." Also, the terms "Christian" and "conservative" came to be regarded as synonyms. In evangelical churches large and small around Mississippi, however, there's been at least a whiff of change.
Again, we're not talking about country club, mainline denominations exchanging high-brow theological thoughts. We're talking about country churches with dusty pickups in their parking lots and holy rollers inside concluding that how you treat your neighbors is more important than who's in the White House. We're talking evangelicals who believe war is immoral and who, while they don't like the fact there's an abortion clinic in their state, would rather work to create communities in which abortion wasn't chosen as opposed to making the choice illegal.
Falwell's real legacy, people say, will be through Liberty University, which he founded. Its graduates are being guided into careers to set public policy.
But the Campolo camp has a school, too. Those attending Eastern University in Pennsylvania are guided into Christian missions of service as much as elective office.
Falwell rose to prominence because he saw America was losing its heritage and he thought we needed leaders in high places to set things right. It's not exactly an either-or proposition, but the competing idea is that leadership in low places is just as important, if not more so.
