Rhodes, who considers himself part of the emerging church, said he and his peers
are rejecting an individualistic "Marlboro Man spirituality" in favor of a more
inclusive faith. "Whereas maybe the fundamentalist in 1980 said, 'We can't do
social programs for the poor&that sounds like communism,' this generation is
like, 'So what?' If it's the right thing to do, we have to do it," he said.
"It's politically ambidextrous." This newfound communal faith doesn't just include people, but the environment as well. "The first time I broke ranks with the right it
was about the environment," Rhodes said. "What good was it to the unborn if my
Republican votes saved them from the abortion clinics, only to deliver them into
a resource-scraped world of want, devoid of wild places?"
I think this is a good development because it breaks the hold that the right has had on Christians in this country. The hold of the right has been based on a few key ideas, being abortion, gay rights and religion in public life. There are a broad range of issues that Christians care about though, just like the rest of us. It is good to see that some at least are coming forward and saying that siding with the Republican party because of their stand on some issues is not worth it because of the stand the party has on other issues.
The exodus does not mean a boon for the Democratic party though. There are many of these Christians that still don't want to vote for pro-gay rights, pro-choice candidates from the Democratic party that they see as being secular driven. The worst case is that many of them will drop out of the political sphere all together, taking their votes home with them where they do no one any good. In 2000 the left was saying that they didn't feel there was a difference between the parties - this cycle it is the right that is making the same noises.
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