Some may read the title of this diary and think, "Unsubstantiated speculation."  Others may think, "Duh."

Either way, it is clear that the GOP's largest constituency, evangelical and fundamentalist Christians, are dissatisfied with this cycle's crop of presidential candidates, particularly the frontrunners.  In spite of a year filled with scandal and death for many of the Christian right's prominent leaders, James Dobson is still perhaps the most influential (partly because it's true, and mostly because the media says it's true).

Most Christian right activists are hostile to McCain (who they don't like), Guiliani (who they don't agree with), and Romney (who they don't trust).  Huckabee and Brownback speak their language, but can't break into even the second tier.  They staked their hopes on Fred Thompson, who is bombing out day by day.

What's a Christian right kingpin to do?  Dobson flirted with Newt Gingrich, then snubbed Fred Thompson as other conservatives touted him as their savior, and is apparently on fire for Gingrich again.

Dan Wakefield
The Hijacking of Jesus: How the Religious Right Distorts Christianity and Promotes Prejudice and Hate
New York: Nation Books, 2006
This review refers to the paperback edition .

If you have read any of the several dozen major books on the Christian right, this book will tell a story with which you are already familiar.  Wakefield, a Protestant layman and a journalist by training, investigates some of the social, cultural and political forces that led to the ascendancy of the Christian right and the decline of the influence of mainline Protestantism.  Wakefield is not afraid to say why this trend dishonors the life and ministry of Jesus and mocks his message.  But Wakefield undertakes his investigation a bit too late, portraying as novel mainstays such as megachurches and failing to express the meaningful distinctions between various Christian right leaders and personalities.

Greetings, fellow prophets!  I'm in the midst of packing for a move to Atlanta, and things have been crazy here lately.  But I thought the United Methodists out there might be interested in the recent meeting of the Florida Annual Conference .  Given the import of issues discussed, I thought perhaps others of you might want to see a snapshot of what is going on in mainline Protestantism.

I'll deal with two issues:
First, how the annual conference dealt with resolutions related to homosexuality.
Second, looking ahead to the 2008 General Conference , the top legislative body of the UMC which meets every four years.

Stick around, add your two cents, and take the poll.

I have experienced the rightward shift in mainline churches as a parishioner, a seminarian, and a minister.  I know the bold prophetic voice of mainline Protestantism more as a fact of history than a present reality.  I have seen our voice squelched, de-funded, and otherwise ignored.

So, I decided to do something about it.

We have been treated to an onslaught of books condemning the religious right this past year.  This, against the backdrop of Delay, Foley, Haggard, et al.  If ever there was a time for introspection within evangelicalism, surely it is now.  Even if they remain on their ruinous, theocratic course, they will have to come up with new leaders and a new strategy.

As progressives, all of us have experienced the frustration and futility of dissuading religious right enthusiasts.  So who will convince them?  Who will compel them?  Who can speak to them authentically, without bias, and in a way that honors their traditions?

I am more and more convinced that voice will have to come from within.  Enter Randall Balmer, author of the (relatively) new book, Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical's Lament.

For a summary of his argument, read on.  Take the jump.  And take the poll.

Long time no see...  It's been pretty busy in sunny Central Florida these past few weeks.  I've got a little dilemma that I'm curious to get some commentary on from this community.

My text for this Sunday's sermon is Luke 2:22-40, where Mary and Joseph take the infant Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem and there, Simeon, a revered elder kept alive by the Holy Spirit until the messiah would come, gives a beautiful hymn of praise to God, saying, "Now let thy servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen the salvation of God."

Anti-death penalty preaching ahead!!  Take the jump and let me know if I've gone too far, or haven't said enough.

In my sermon New Year's Day, I talked about the need to make specific, measurable resolutions, and open-ended ones.  One of my vague New Year's resolutions was to read more fiction this year.  So far, I read Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence and I just started Alice McDermott's After This.

Last week, however, I read a book that's been on my list for some time: Milan Kundera's The Unberable Lightness of Being.

This is going to sound judgmental, but I don't waste my time with crappy fiction.  It doesn't move me.  I don't feel the need to "escape" in literature.  I like fiction that doubles as biting social commentary or philosophical meanderings.

Many of us have observed with interest the Episcopal Church's and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s denominational meetings and their aftermath.  Aside from routine issues of finance, administration, faith, and order, both denominations are struggling to clarify the place of homosexuals in the life and ministry of the church.

While many had assumed that those who favor the full participation of homosexuals in the Episcopal Church had "won," it appears that the wider Anglican Communion has found a way to force schism.  Who is responsible for turning the tide?  The IRD?  Conservative clerics in the Africa or Asia?

It would appear that Rowan Williams has weighed in on the issue.  Read on...

I couldn't convince Mrs. Lucky Ducky to come with me, but I registered for Yearly Kos last night.  The plane tickets from the East Coast were expensive, but I'll just eat granola bars and tuna fish out of a can while I'm there.

Bumped by Deb.

[cross-posted at Daily Kos]

It's a tough environment where I live. I can't even go to the ministerial associaion meetings any more because the chairman, in spite of his good efforts in some areas, uses it as a platform to promote his pro-life agenda.  Once he even handed out petitions to put a constitutional ban on gay marriage on the ballot.  At one of our ministerial association meetings this winter, the chair recognized a guest to talk to us about the NDP, who said America is a Christian nation and we are holding this event to help America turn back to God.  He even handed out brochures with a dozen or so quotations from our "founding fathers" which, divorced completely from their context, seem to make our civic heroes sound like fundamentalists and religious nationalists.