The Middle Church

If you've felt despondent about the radical right over the past 6 years (though it feels more like an eternity) you need to hear Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar speak, and possibly read the book he was pushing this morning on WNYC's Leonard Lopate show. The book is Middle Church: Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful Majority from the Religious Right. Seems like such an obviously necessary thing to come out and say and do, but really how often do the necessary right actions happen, how often do articulate, moderate, well intentioned, moral voices make it through the cacophony of pundits and radicals? Not often.

Edgar and his book, hopefully, will make it through as more than a footnote. He's the general secretary of the 45 million strong National Council of Churches USA, served six terms in the House of Representatives for the heavily Republican 7th District of Pennsylvania, and he's a liberal democrat. This morning on the show, he articulated in an extremely level headed, logical way how the Bush administration's use of religion to forward its agenda is a distortion of Christian -- and really all -- religious values (I'm making it sound more partisan than he did; he's far more diplomatic and well-spoken). Perhaps this has become the conventional wisdom among thinking, liberal democrats, but to hear it from someone who takes religious doctrine seriously, and doesn't just use it as a talking point for getting elected (Edgar imposed term limits on himself and is no longer in politics), is so shocking that it makes you realize how absent the point has truly been from the public arena.

The period of silence for moderate Christians, at least in the States, and moderate Muslims throughout the world (where are they, dammit??) perhaps isn't a coincidence. In times when radical voices are the only ones getting through, it takes more than courage to speak for moderation -- it takes complete depth of conviction. It's ironic, but not surprising, that that strength of conviction can come from the same religious roots as the ones being used to manipulate and polarize. But someone like Bob Edgar proves that it is possible. The voice of moderation for radical Islam will also come from within its corps, but so far a Muslim with his same courage and conviction has failed to make him or herself heard.