My dissertation research is focused on the Christian Right in the mid- to late 20th century... and a major figure in that movement - the one who in many ways put the abortion issue on the map for Christian conservatives - is Francis Schaeffer. He and his son, filmmaker Frank Schaeffer, made a series of film/books outlining what they saw as a grave threat to civilization - secular humanism. (This theme was later picked up by hacks and charlatans like the LaHayes; while I disagree strongly with Schaeffer pere, I have to respect that he had a first-class mind and I would have loved sparring with him.)

However, sometime during the early '90s, young Frank started to see the fruits of his and his father's work: a Christianity whose touchstones were fear, distrust, and resentment rather than faith, hope, and love. He converted to the Greek Orthodox church and, while remaining pro-life, has become a strong Obama supporter in this election.

Given his credibility as a major figure in the Christian Right, then, his most recent column about the Republican Convention is all the more worth reading:1

Dear Republicans: This election all Republicans who love America must vote for Obama. A vote for business-as-usual and a continuation of the Neoconservative/Religious Right/ party of corporate American alienation is a vote against America. As a former Republican activist, I appeal to your patriotism and honor.

This paragraph is particularly scathing - and, when you think about it, particularly true:

Take a hard look at yourselves. Play back this year's Republican convention and you'll see an all-white crowd of people screaming for offshore oil drilling -- fat lot of good that will do! more carbon! more polution! -- and essentially reacting like starved hyenas when presented with a piece of juicy carrion. At the convention Sarah Palin and others produced nothing more than a snide list of smart ass put downs aimed at the really dumb, with so little substance that former conservatives such the late William F. Buckley, for instance (let alone my late father) would simply have been ashamed to be in your company. You have become a hate-filled rabble proud of your ignorance and resentful of the rest of your own country, resentment that's exceeded only by your maudlin (and false) sense of victimhood.

There's more - including an excellent rundown of the current power base of the Republican Party - but I'll leave you to read it on your own. Enjoy.

1I must disagree with him on the origins of the Christian Right; from my research, I think it was based not in the nascent pro-life movement (which was originally mostly Roman Catholic) but in opposition to women's rights across the board, racial integration, and religiously-neutral public education in general. But that's a minor quibble of opinion in an otherwise all-too-truthful column.

Labels: Christian Right, Frank Schaeffer, Politics, Religion, Republicans