James Heflin is an angry, upset man. It seems to him that the far-right-extreme-ultra-hyper-conservative fundamentalists of the Christian right (wayward, diabolical, conservative Southern Baptists in particular) are the root of all evil in America. After reading this article [1] [link via CT Weblog [2]] that’s the feeling one gets. In it, Heflin delivers a tirade at the audacity of Christians wanting to participate in the electoral process:
The agenda of these Christians of the Far Right is brazen and clear. They have turned a zealous minority into a ruling class once, and they have learned from that success. This is not a wild-eyed conspiracy theory; their plans are preached in pulpits weekly, and have now taken shape as proposed legislation. Look no further than the recently introduced “Constitution Restoration Act.” If we do not pay attention to their manipulation of American democratic processes now that they have gained remarkable power among Republicans, the principles of our democracy will eventually be as distant a memory as the kinder, gentler Southern Baptist Convention of my childhood.
This “manipulation of American democratic processes” is called voting. Apparently Mr. Heflin, bitter about the conservative resurgence among Southern Baptists, thinks that it is unfair to liberal Christians such as himself that conservatives are voting. The nerve!
Heflin’s entire article is filled with so many ad hominem jabs that it’s difficult to tell exactly what his point is. Is he writing against the Constitution Restoration Act of 2004 [3]? If so, why devote so much animosity toward the Southern Baptists? I know it’s hard for Mr. Heflin to believe, but the Southern Baptist Convention did not introduce HR3799. Nope, we’re still letting congresspersons tend to those matters—for now…
I am by no means a theonomist [4], and I by no means think that a better political order will in the end save the world or even change hearts. I do, however, believe that is a Christian’s duty to live his or her life in the world with a Christian worldview. This means that everything in a Christian’s life must come beneath the purview of him who has the government upon his shoulders [5]. Much to Mr. Heflin’s chagrin, this means that a Christian’s political life is affected as well.
Mr. Heflin thinks that Christians are out to establish an earthly kingdom by voting for such a person as George W. Bush. I’ll let him in on a little secret: the kingdom that is Christ’s makes the USA look like a third-world country. The jurisdiction of that kingdom, if realized in an individual, will cause more tumult than any vast right-wing conspiracy ever hoped.