Conservative Christians

Somewhat belatedly Cal Thomas and Edward Dobson now repent of their efforts to organize religious conservatives into a political force (Commentary, March 24). These two now claim that “Christian” political lobbying groups are counterproductive, muffling the legitimate prophetic voice of the church in an increasingly pagan and materialistic world. Their sudden conversion might be cause for mild amusement if they hadn’t also found it necessary to take a swipe at the National Council of Churches, now celebrating its 50th anniversary year. To hear them tell it, the NCC is some kind of appendage of the Democratic Party.

Recognizing that the Moral Majority didn’t last quite as long, we might well ask if in its life span it resettled even one refugee fleeing persecution. Did it ever send disaster response teams to aid casualties of hurricanes, floods or earthquakes? Or did it instead spend its time fighting for the agenda of the “Contract With America”? I’d say the NCC stacks up pretty well by comparison.

THE REV. DONALD L. SMITH

President, Southern California

Ecumenical Council, Los Angeles

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For once, I agree with a conservative Christian column. It is interesting, however, to note the Christian concept of “life” espoused by these gentlemen. “Laws protecting all human life will come when . . . [Americans] value life more than the Dow Jones.” Does that mean that the Christian right will be against the death penalty too? We could really use the help of a “moral majority” on that one.

PHILLIP MORELOCK

Los Angeles

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I was pleased to read that Thomas and Dobson are proposing to abandon their campaign to make a political party out of the church, or alternatively, to turn one of our parties into an ecclesiastical adjunct. It is high time that the bizarre marriage of some of our churches with the politics of intolerance is dissolved.

We Christians have been singularly successful, over the years, at distorting the message of Jesus to fit our personal biases. We waste so much time and effort nit-picking the Scriptures to support this or that political or social thesis that we often find ourselves blinded to the bedrock message of the Bible, which is to love God and likewise to love our neighbors as ourselves.

ROBERT GOYETTE

Rolling Hills Estates