Tony Campolo
Tony Campolo
Anthony "Tony" Campolois an American sociologist, pastor, author, public speaker and former spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo is known as one of the most influential leaders in the Evangelical left and has been a major proponent of progressive thought and reform within the evangelical community. He has also become a leader of the Red-Letter Christian movement, which aims to put emphasis on the teachings of Jesus. Campolo is a popular commentator on religious, political, and social issues,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionClergyman
CountryUnited States of America
In the past, the Republican Party has depended on unified support at election time from Evangelical Christians. But times are changing!
I don't think that John Kerry is the Messiah or the Democratic Party is the answer, but I don't like the evangelical community blessing the Republican Party as some kind of God-ordained instrument for solving the world's problems.
The reason why I buy into the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party is because there are over 2,000 verses of Scripture that deal with responding to the needs of the poor.
The kingdom of God is a glorious and gigantic party!
One of the problems with evangelicalism is that it has allowed itself to be married to the Republican party... Jesus is not a Republican. Nor is he a Democrat.
So I really would like to see both parties respond to the poor with greater commitment. But I've got to tell you, the Democrats, I feel, are doing a better job in that respect than Republicans are.
I think the real place where most evangelicals have trouble with the Democratic Party is on the issue of abortion.
Most Evangelicals claim to be politically non-partisan, and say they only identify with the Republican Party because the Republicans are committed to 'family values.
What we need to affirm is that Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Whenever we marry Jesus to a political party, we are committing the sin of idolatry. We are making Jesus into the image of our political party.
We all want to buy sneakers at bargain prices at WalMart. Children have to be exploited in factories in Thailand to produce them. If we want to stop that over in Thailand, we've got to be able to pay a price here in the United States.
My task as a citizen is to get the government to do more good and less inefficient and wasteful work.
Insofar as the church fails to do the will of God, I am called upon to help it discover and to do the will of God; and I am called upon to help the government to do the same.
Most Evangelicals have the church to thank for the Sunday-school classes that taught us what the Bible says and paved the way for our eventual decisions to commit our lives to Christ.
Through the ages, God has used the church to keep alive and pass down the story of what Christ has done for us.