I love Hertzberg. He is smart as hell, and a great writer, and sees things others do not. He is concerned about how poorly Obama did in his Warren interview. I personally don't give a shit, because pandering to the religious makes me sick. Hertzberg wrote about his reactions to the Saddleback thing
here. Here is the good part:
Today’s evangelical Christianity may be thriving on TV and at the megachurch collection plate, but it has yet to find a cause worthy of its fervor. Its crusade on behalf of the unborn and unquickened—which, if successful, would make criminals out of actually existing women and doctors while doing less than nothing to relieve actual human suffering—is a sad waste. A century and a half ago, the great evangelical blockbuster was “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” by Beecher’s sister Harriet. Now it’s Warren’s self-help manuals and the “Left Behind” series. This is a progression that offers meager evidence either for evolution or for intelligent design.
Saddle Sore
I had hoped for a more fluid, energetic performance from Barack Obama at Saturday night’s Saddleback Church forum—something along these lines:
Alas, it was not to be. Obama didn’t seem to know how to go with the flow and make a real emotional connection with his audience, both in the room and beyond. He seemed a little out of sorts—tentative and wan and much too careful, introducing too many of his comments with a choked “y’know” and keeping his eyes downcast instead of locked on Warren’s. He was wilted, not crisp. Or so he seemed to me.
I was especially disappointed by his answer on same-sex marriage. He said what he has often said before: that he sees marriage as a union of a man and a woman; that he supports civil unions that extend rights and obligations to same-sex couples; that under the Constitution marriage is a matter for the states and should remain so. It felt chilly and legalistic—not quite Dukakis on capital punishment for wife-murderers, but perilously close. He missed a chance to challenge his evangelical audience and connect with it by pointing out the human contradiction between sectarian doctrine and Christian compassion. Christian denominations take all manner of views of homosexuality, but it’s hard to find a Christian these days who insists that simply being homosexual—having a gay or lesbian orientation—is sinful in and of itself. If two people love each other and wish to commit themselves to each other and are eager to take on the responsibilities and joys of family life, including the raising of children (biological or adopted) in a loving home, isn’t that a good thing, not just for them and the children they give a home to, but for all of us? Obama said, “I think my faith is strong enough and my marriage is strong enough that I can afford those civil rights to others, even if I have a different perspective or a different view.” But how helpful is it to imply that other people—people whose faith and/or marriages aren’t so strong—are in danger of abandoning their faith or their marriage because gay people are permitted to get married?
There are observers I respect—Andrew Sullivan, for one*, and members of my family with whom I watched the program, for two more—who saw thoughtfulness and humility where I saw hesitation and eggshell-walking and, watching McCain, saw pandering and bloviating where I saw shrewdness and confidence. If they’re right, and I hope they are, I still wish that the thoughtfulness and humility had been accompanied by a bit more passion and force.
Everyone, me included, seems to agree that Rick Warren was the undisputed winner of the night. Granted, he isn’t a particularly probing questioner. But at least he was polite, and he didn’t commit any of the sins James Fallows enumerates in the current Atlantic. With his genial personality, his emphasis on happiness over hellfire, and his instinct for (relative) moderation, he reminds me a little of the young Henry Ward Beecher, a fascinating biography of whom I happen to be reading at the moment. Not that they’re in quite the same league, of course. Warren’s willingness to admit the reality of global warming and his admonitions to his fellow evangelical heavies to quit demonizing Democrats are most welcome, but he’s still got a ways to go before he can match the content or courage of Beecher’s stirring antislavery sermons.
Today’s evangelical Christianity may be thriving on TV and at the megachurch collection plate, but it has yet to find a cause worthy of its fervor. Its crusade on behalf of the unborn and unquickened—which, if successful, would make criminals out of actually existing women and doctors while doing less than nothing to relieve actual human suffering—is a sad waste. A century and a half ago, the great evangelical blockbuster was “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” by Beecher’s sister Harriet. Now it’s Warren’s self-help manuals and the “Left Behind” series. This is a progression that offers meager evidence either for evolution or for intelligent design.
*See also Andrew’s superb series of posts yesterday on the questionable provenance of McCain’s “cross in the dirt” anecdote.
(Photograph: Alex Brandon)
