We're All Nuts!

     In hindsight, I can see how the Left-leaning folks in America were turned off (and even nauseated) by the Religious Right political-religious movement of the 1980s and '90s. Fundamentalist leaders like Jerry Falwell (of the Moral Majority) and Pat Robertson (Christian Coalition) came across as smug and self-righteous. They served up a mix of political and religious rhetoric and then shoved it down our throats.
    Before becoming a Christian (in the early 1990s), these guys infuriated me. And to be honest, I still find myself shaking my head in disbelief every time they open their mouths.
     But a paradigm shift has occurred of late. The political Left today is every bit as obnoxious as the the Religious Right ever was, and they display many of the same tendencies. If you believe abortion is morally wrong and that legislation should tightly restrict (if not eliminate) the practice, don't bother sharing that viewpoint with others. If you so much as question Obamacare, they wonder how you can call yourself a Christian. If you affirm that God does not (nor ever will) affirm homosexual practice (or heterosexual promiscuity) as acceptable lifestyles, you are labeled a bigot.
     I still remember the words of my AP European History teacher in high school. Chuck Lucas taught us, with a coffee mug in his hand, that there is little difference between the extreme Right and the extreme Left. Zealots will always be zealots, whether they are on the Right or Left side of the aisle (or pew).
     So how do we live passionately as Christians today, and work for justice and the truth of God's Word, without becoming Right-wing or Left-wing nuts? Is it even possible?
     I have not read much of Friedrich Nietzsche, but perhaps his writings on "A Will to Power" aren't that far off the mark. Maybe it comes down to the Left and Right lining up on both sides of the ball, and going at it relentlessly when the whistle blows, until one side emerges victorious. Maybe today there is no compromising or "third way" in the ideological and theological disagreements that confront us.
     I am certain there is a way (something about "speaking the truth in love"), but I have not yet seen it modeled effectively. And I have not yet discovered a way to be transparent and honest about the grave concerns I have for the morality of this nation. As a pastor, my fear is that if I lean in too prophetic of a direction, I will alienate people and become a poor witness to the love of Jesus Christ.
     This is always the danger. In speaking the truth, we can easily compromise love and compassion (or create the perception that we are not loving or compassionate).
     Jesus managed to balance the offices well, but can we?
     What are your thoughts? How do you live passionately and champion what you believe in the marketplace of ideas (the Public Square)? How do we fight the good fight? Can we, in good conscience, remain silent, if what we see around us is contrary to the love and truth of God's Word? I welcome all responses, whether you are Left- or Right-leaning, or even a Left- or Right-wing nut.