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10.13.05 Michael Cromartie Erskine Lecturer helps journalists comprehend Christian worldview Vice President Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., spoke about "Christianity and Public Service" to Erskine College and Seminary students, faculty and staff Thursday as part of the Erskine Lecture Series. Cromartie is chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Freedom and directs both the Evangelicals in Civic Life and Religion and the Media programs at the center. He titled his convocation talk, "Red God, Blue God," in reference to the cultural split between the "red states," where President George W. Bush received a majority of the votes, and "blue states," where Democrat John Kerry received a majority of the votes in the 2004 election. "Much has been made of the big map of red states and blue states," Cromartie said. "There's a polarity between the two. We have a society divided and split — we’re involved in a cultural war." The difference between the two has to do primarily with the difference in worldview, religious beliefs and morality issues. Cromartie said many in the blue states in the heartland of America have little idea about the identity of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, even though they've sold millions of books in their "Left Behind" series. They don’t know James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, have no idea the difference between a fundamentalist Christian and an evangelical and are ignorant of the activities at mega churches all over America on Wednesday nights. Christians are not accepting the message conveyed by the "gatekeepers" — the so-called Fourth Estate. The reason that religion, and therefore Christianity, is misunderstood among mainstream media types is that no one has sat down with reporters, editors and other media professionals and explained how religion fits into American life. Cromartie said he was doing an interview with a reporter about the controversy several years back in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning the male's leadership of the household. He said when he referred to the New Testament book of Ephesians the reporter had no idea what he was talking about and asked for the name of the book's publisher. There are very few issues being debated in the world today that do not have religion at their core, Cromartie said."Yet we have reporters who know nothing about religion." Cromartie said he and others began to wonder if anything could be done about the problem. "It occurred to us that we should have discussions with journalists about religion and American life," he said. Since 1999, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, through the generosity of the Pew Charitable Trusts, has hosted six conferences for national journalists to help increase their understanding of religion, religious communities and the religious convictions that inform the political activity of devout believers. The results have been surprising, Cromartie said, as reporters attending the conferences have begun to see that "many people in red states take their faith seriously" and aren't swayed by the self-proclaimed "experts" on politics and religion, such as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Stories and columns about religion are appearing more and more in mainstream media outlets, such as newspapers and magazines. The media is beginning to notice the likes of Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose Driven Life," a book that has sold nearly 25 million copies. Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California, is leading an effort to reach poverty-stricken Rwanda. The role of religion in public policy making is a groundswell that is gaining attention and Democrats are trying to draw those who take their faith seriously, as Republicans have done. But they have to be careful, Cromartie said. "They're trying to speak the religious language," he said. "If it's not authentic, it won't fly." |
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