Thomas: Why Evangelicals Must Return to the Core

In the matter of the “culture wars,” evangelical Christians are asking, “What do we do now?” The question is being raised in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down state laws reserving marriage for heterosexual couples.

The “culture wars,” while well-intentioned, were a mistake from the beginning. Evangelical Christians, whose Leader said, “My Kingdom is not of this world,” thought they could organize people of like mind and like faith and create a voting bloc to elect people who would impose something resembling that other kingdom on people who do not see themselves as members of that kingdom. Given the number of politicians who seem to have difficulty imposing a moral code of any sort on themselves, such a strategy was doomed from the start. Why didn’t they learn from previous “moral improvement” movements that if one wants to change culture, one must first change individuals? For evangelical Christians that can only be done by the transformation of the heart, soul and mind, something that is beyond the power of secular — or even religious — politicians.

Conservative Christians wanted to be liked and respected by the world. Republican politicians saw them as a reliable voting bloc and were happy to have them in the party, but party leaders and elected officials did little to advance their agenda. Leaders gave them lip service, saying what Christians wanted to hear and in some cases even quoted a Bible verse, but in reality, most party leaders were embarrassed, even offended, by people many regarded as throwbacks, if not to the Dark Ages, then to the rural South.

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