The author of the spiritual bestseller Blue Like Jazz asked God to help solve America’s problems in his prayer at the Democratic National Convention Monday night.
From social problems such as broken families to personal issues like apathy, Donald Miller invoked the name of Jesus Christ to right these wrongs.
“We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation,” Miller prayed before thousands of people attending the Denver convention. “Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.”
God was asked to help lawmakers work together to “finally” provide health care to the uninsured, a living wage for families, and equal educational opportunities for children.
“We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there,” Miller, a Republican turned registered Democrat, prayed. “We need your help.”
The popular young evangelical author was tapped to give the benediction at the DNC in place of another young evangelical who backed out last week.
Cameron Strang, the editor of the hip, young adult-oriented Relevant Magazine, pulled out of delivering the benediction citing fear that his bridge-building effort would be misinterpreted as an endorsement, according to The Associated Press.
Strang, the son of Charisma Magazine founder Steven Strang, is a registered Republican. And the elder Strang has endorsed presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
Instead of speaking on the main stage on opening night, the younger Strang said he prefers to participate in a lower profile event such as one of the convention’s faith forums.
The Democratic National Convention this year is like none other because of the prominent role of religion throughout the weeklong gathering. The convention holds its first-ever faith caucus meetings this week to discuss topics important to religious voters.
In addition to the faith forums, each night there is an opening invocation and closing benediction delivered by religious leaders.
The appearances of Miller and Strang are meant to appeal to young evangelical voters, which surveys show are more open to the Democratic Party than their predecessors.
While these young faith voters still consider the issues of abortion and gay “marriage” important, they also care about poverty, torture, genocide, and creation care.
As a result, young evangelicals are being heavily courted by both parties because of their refusal to align themselves with a political party.
Other speakers at the DNC’s opening day were Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Michelle Obama, who both garnered rave reviews from political experts.
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, the former bitter rival of presumptive Democrat nominee Barack Obama, will give the much-anticipated keynote address on Tuesday.
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I really liked Donald Miller's books, but one thing that kind of bugged me was that in his own way he's pretty intolerant of people who have any kind of argument with ways of secular society. It seems almost like he's saying we shouldn't be too pushy with our convictions against abortion, homosexuality, ect. We should just show the love of Jesus and be quiet about anything else. So how come he's trumping for the democratic party and arguing for universal healthcare (which hasn't been working out too well in the countries that have gone that route)? For a guy who is so anti-politics, he sure is jumping in with both feet.
I loved what sommathetes said:
"Why would a professing Christian ask God to help provide health care to the nation via the government?"
Is this the Donald Miller who tried to
reduce Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in
Annaheim down to nothing, in a LA Times
article? Chuck Smith JR. whines that he
didn't know who the Beatles were because
he was in church. These preachers kid
emergents had lives 3/4 of the world only
dreams of and they are big complainers.
The message is the same with all emergents. Be tolerant! Except when it comes to conservative evangelicals. Lie about them. Conveniently forget about the good done in Christ's name.
It's not the governments responsibility to take care of the nation. Why would a professing Christian ask God to help provide health care to the nation via the government?
they also care about poverty, torture, genocide, and creation care.
Does that mean that we as "old" evangelicals don't care about these things? Thats the false ideas that have been touted by the those on the left. The idea that we as evangelical christians only care about being against gay marriage and abortion. These young people are being fed lies and they are very gullible to the liars in the media that forward this line of thinking.
Creation care can also mean a common sense understanding of stewardship.
Would you say your child was exhibiting good stewardship of their room if they defecated on the floors, trashed the room, and made it unusable for anyone else and a nuisance to the rest of the family, even if you just had to smell it down the hall? That is what irresponsible and avoidable pollution looks like to me. Caring for the environment doesn't have to bring strange beliefs like Gahia (whatever that is) with it - it just means being grown up and responsible.
Donald Miller, still trying to make Christ's followers
look bad. What a calling.
"So with this story, fallibility, vulnerability, and authenticity break out, as it did when Donald Miller reported Chris Seay's fondness for colonics and when Chris spoke of his tendency to curse at Houston Astros games. It seems that such authenticity is the key to connecting with parishioners these days.
Well into the scrappy section on social issues, Donald Miller provides a helpful description of the “emerging,†“progressive,†or “missional†church perspective, as distinct from “the other way.â€Â
So there is clearly one wayâ€â€a missional mindsetâ€â€where we are about what lost people think about us and about Christ and about Christians. And then the other way is where we care about morality and if lost people don’t like us for it, that’s fineâ€â€we don’t care what they think. And so I think the real issue is motive.
He goes on to make application, saying of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, “I don’t think he cares about whether homosexuals go to heaven or hell. I think he cares about building a utopia. He cares about building a Salt Lake City, Utah, but for Christians.â€Â
"Creation Care" is the new term for Christian environmentalism. It is often used when trying to avoid the naturalistic theological implications that traditional environmentalism embraces (Gaia, all creatures are equal, etc.). The primary difference between a young environmentalist and a "Creation Care" enthusiast is that the latter would bring Biblical reasoning to support the same outcomes, as opposed to the former coming from a pantheistic/atheistic/agnostic/etc world view as a basis for protecting the environment, often at the expense of protecting humans (for example ELF, ALF, PETA, EarthFirst!) in the case of traditional environmentalism.
Can someone tell me what "creation care" is?