2-9-2004 Rise Of The Righteous Army
(CBS) Evangelical Christians form one of the most potent forces in American politics and society. They are people who place their faith, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, above everything else in their lives and hope to spread that Gospel to the world.
An estimated 70 million Americans call themselves evangelicals, and their beliefs have already reshaped American politics. In the last election, 40 percent of the votes for George W. Bush came from their ranks...
?I think if you cut us, Jerry and I would bleed red, white and blue,? says LaHaye. ?We believe that God has raised up America to be a tool in these last days, to get the Gospel to the innermost parts of the earth.?
?And so, with the White House, and Tom DeLay, and in the House of Representatives, the attorney general ? talk radio, the conservative Fox News, all that sort of thing, these are parts of the righteous army that has finally come into its own.?
President Bush said: ?Christ, because he changed my heart. When you accept Christ as a savior, it changes your heart. It changes your life.?
?I'm not accusing my Democratic friends of being ungodly. But I'm just saying statistically, people that attend church frequently, at least once a week or more -- two thirds of them vote Republican,? says Bauer. ?Those voters that say they seldom if ever attend religious services, two thirds of them vote Democratic.?
For evangelicals, the war in Iraq is seen not merely as a war against terror.
Last year, Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a deputy undersecretary of defense, and an evangelical, made headlines when he publicly described the war on terror as a religious mission. Of one Muslim warlord, he said, "My God is bigger than his. My God is a real God."
A lot of people are uncomfortable with the Bush administration, and its cozy relationship with church and state.
These are heady times for evangelicals: an election year, with one of their own in the White House
(CBS) Evangelical Christians form one of the most potent forces in American politics and society. They are people who place their faith, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, above everything else in their lives and hope to spread that Gospel to the world.
An estimated 70 million Americans call themselves evangelicals, and their beliefs have already reshaped American politics. In the last election, 40 percent of the votes for George W. Bush came from their ranks...
?I think if you cut us, Jerry and I would bleed red, white and blue,? says LaHaye. ?We believe that God has raised up America to be a tool in these last days, to get the Gospel to the innermost parts of the earth.?
?And so, with the White House, and Tom DeLay, and in the House of Representatives, the attorney general ? talk radio, the conservative Fox News, all that sort of thing, these are parts of the righteous army that has finally come into its own.?
President Bush said: ?Christ, because he changed my heart. When you accept Christ as a savior, it changes your heart. It changes your life.?
?I'm not accusing my Democratic friends of being ungodly. But I'm just saying statistically, people that attend church frequently, at least once a week or more -- two thirds of them vote Republican,? says Bauer. ?Those voters that say they seldom if ever attend religious services, two thirds of them vote Democratic.?
For evangelicals, the war in Iraq is seen not merely as a war against terror.
Last year, Lt. Gen. William Boykin, a deputy undersecretary of defense, and an evangelical, made headlines when he publicly described the war on terror as a religious mission. Of one Muslim warlord, he said, "My God is bigger than his. My God is a real God."
A lot of people are uncomfortable with the Bush administration, and its cozy relationship with church and state.
These are heady times for evangelicals: an election year, with one of their own in the White House
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