Richard Land’s most important assertion in his post is correct. The language I used in my post on Mike Huckabee and evangelical leaders was, “unchristian, harsh and hostile.”
While I stand by the substance of what I wrote – that things are changing in the evangelical political world – the way I wrote it was personal and hurtful and there was no excuse for it.
To him, Tony Perkins, James Dobson, and Gary Bauer I apologize and ask for their forgiveness.
Unrelated to the apology, I want to add this – when I suggested some Christians fast from politics for a spell, I did so as one who had done exactly that.
In 2004 and for much of 2005 I didn’t even dabble in politics. It was that time away that allowed me to see just how much of an idol politics had become not only in my life but in the lives of so many evangelicals.
As I wrote, the idea for a fast wasn’t (and isn’t) a call for permanent withdrawal or retreat – merely a strategic one, a spiritual one… much as people fast from food. It isn’t that food is evil, it is just that there are times when food becomes an idol or one needs to put even the most basic things of life before God. So too with politics. My suggestion was for a temporary retreat and then for a return to the political arena – perhaps with a different perspective. That is what I have done.
Many may disagree with my perspective these days but it isn’t accurate to make me out to be a hypocrite by suggesting I have not followed my own advice to fast from politics.