Paradoxical Politics
Andy Crouch
January 1, 1999
Those of us who have never identified with the religious right—whether because we disagreed with its politics, disliked its style, or simply were ashamed at the beating "Christians" have gotten in the prestige media on its account—may be quietly elated by the movement's recent troubles, ranging from confusion at the executive levels of the Christian Coalition to the publication of a best-selling book, Blinded by Might, that questions the entire premise of conservative Christian activism.
But before we come to judgment on a movement that many times has seemed to subordinate faith to politics, we should take careful note of what is happening among some of the religious right's former leaders and, significantly, its younger generation.
They are repenting.
Not so much by changing their politics—for better or worse, no one is predicting the rise of a "neo-liberalism" led by enthusiastic converts from conservatism. Rather, in true conservative—and Christian—fashion, they are looking into their hearts, naming sin, and amending their lives. As they do so, they are embracing something that few players in the United States' fractious public square are willing to embrace: the complexity and ambiguity of moral choices—others' and their own.
In this issue, we present several representatives of this new voice from the right. Not all of our readers, of course, share Jim Hampson's nostalgia for his Rush Limbaugh days (and not all of us were privileged to have a grandmother as saintly as David French). But though these voices are not the only ones that need to be heard, they do challenge others who would speak on Christianity and politics with their willingness to change course. If nothing else, it is refreshing to hear from inside the Beltway ...
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