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Before traveling to our nation’s capital two weeks ago, I
was fortunate enough to secure an interview with Christine O’Donnell,
the head of the SALT, or Savior’s Alliance for Lifting the
Truth.
The SALT http://www.thesalt.org/
is in its own words "a Generation X, interdenominational
non-profit organization dedicated to mobilizing and training
young people to be salt and light in their generation and
culture." Their Christian faith serves as both the impetus
and ultimate purpose of their work. Their name symbolizes the
essence of the organization as well. Their website explains,
"Just as the mineral salt is used to enhance flavor, to
preserve, and to prevent decay, the Savior's Alliance for
Lifting the Truth aims to enhance God's kingdom, preserve moral
standards, and prevent the moral decay of our communities. The
mineral salt is most potent in its pure form. Likewise, The SALT
recognizes that we, too can only be effective if we are seeking
purity."
Yet the SALT differs from much of the religious right in two
significant ways. First, its primary focus is reaching younger
people, a constituency many pro-family groups fail to reach.
Second, the group is eager to express their views and values in
places that could be described as secular and indeed hostile to
an uncompromising stance based upon Biblical teaching. Most
religious groups are unlikely to appear on MTV or go to
Lollapalooza concert to spread their message, but the SALT does.
Christine O’Donnell http://www.thesalt.org/christinebio.html
founded the SALT in 1996 in order to influence young people as
well as the individuals who run our cultural institutions about
"the values that make a self-functioning society
possible." I was not surprised that Christine was savvy and
articulate as numerous media appearances demand such qualities.
Nor was I shocked to find that both of us had some similarities
in our cultural outlook and observations, as both of us are
products of the suburbs of New Jersey in the last quarter of the
20th century. Christine is a sucker for 1980s music
and was interested in my claim that U2’s was always a
Christian band, but especially in their earlier
albums.
Christine’s own faith came to her in 1991, but she
acknowledges that she got caught up in legalisms and rules that
sapped her faith’s emotional power. However, it was in 1993
that her spiritual faith blossomed, and her life reflected that
transformation. Since that time, Christine became involved in
several groups affiliated with the religious right, but decided
that a new approach was needed to reach out to a different
generation. She added, "We are trying to put a young face
on our organization. Young people are the ones most likely to
deal with the issues that we address, but they are the least
likely to be reached by traditional pro-family groups."
The most unexpected part of the interview and what surprised
me the most was the utter lack of sentimentality in her views.
Many practicing Christians, while fundamentally decent on all
counts, have a complacent countenance that derives from their
belief that everything in the world has been accounted for.
Christine could not have been further from this stereotype. Her
faith came through in her words, but it was never preached. She
invoked the glory of God, but with an urgency that stressed that
God was not in many places, instead of an axiom that could be
taken for granted.
I began the interview by telling her that I am not a
Christian, nor do I belong to any other major religion. I am a
monotheist, in that I believe strongly in the existence of one
single, universal God. Beyond that, I lean towards deism, which
holds that God created the world but left the world alone
afterwards and left humanity to its own devices. However, I am
not dedicated to this position, simply because I do not know God
well enough to know for sure.
Christine asked me what I thought was the Bible was all
about, and I replied that the story of Jesus was a metaphor for
our own lives. Christine was both interested and amused by my
assertion, and said that was the first time she heard it put
that way. She added that there was historical evidence for much
of what occurred in the Bible. I acknowledged that the Bible
refers to real places and there is some historical consistency,
but that I was unconvinced. She will send material buttressing
her contention soon.
I did acknowledge my belief that the three major monotheistic
religions provide the most profound, coherent and accurate
descriptions of the human condition, which explains why they all
have served mankind for millennia. Christine nodded in
agreement, but summed up her faith in emotional, spiritual terms
as opposed to my clinical view: "You please Christ by
loving him. God created us to worship him, with a humble, broken
spirit and contrite heart."
The SALT was formed in 1996 at an anti-abortion rally, and
that issue clearly motivates Christine the most. I made a vow
some time ago that I never would write about abortion under any
circumstances, and I intend to keep that vow. However, the next
paragraph includes Christine’s views on the subject.
Individuals who wish to respond should do so:
"Before doctors had ultrasound, doctors performed the
equivalent of back-alley abortions, as they were literally
winging it. Once ultrasound became available, abortion became
much safer, but the founder of NARAL began to see the facial
expressions of babies inside with womb of ultrasound, and he
converted to the pro-life position as well as Catholicism. Even
though abortions are safer now, 1/3rd of all
abortions involve complications…If a baby is 1 year old, it is
just as dependent on a mother as it is in the womb. Yet it’s
illegal to murder that 1 year old infant, right?"
The subject of homosexuality came up, and Christine and I
differed on its origins. I argued that being gay was partly a
personal choice, and affected by a complex interaction of
environmental issues, but certain people had a genetic
predisposition to homosexuality in their genes. Christine
believes that homosexuality "stems from a deeper wound.
Most people who are homosexual experienced abuse or trauma that
resulted in a brokenness in their sexual identity and
lives."
Our different views on whether gays are born or made have
enormous implications for not only that debate, but also the
nature of mankind as well. If gays are born gay it can’t be
considered a sin; if homosexuality is a consequence of negative
influences it can’t be considered healthy. I don’t view
homosexuality as sinful or immoral, but I’m not sure if it’s
a decision that can bring long-term happiness. Christians,
Muslims and Orthodox Jews consider homosexuality sinful. But is
it a choice at all? Too many questions to be resolved here.
Christine agrees homosexual people are as deserving of God’s
love and basic respect, as her own sister is in a long-term
lesbian relationship. Moreover, I see no inherent harm with the
SALT or any other group advocating alternatives to a gay
lifestyle. Gays can decide for themselves whether their
sexuality is right for them, or whether the Bible speaks truths
that prompt them to change course.
I have heard gay activists argue that any criticism or even
second thoughts on homosexuality as intolerance, and such views
made the killing of Matthew Shepard possible. Such a position is
both intellectually dishonest and morally repugnant, because it
seeks to intimidate dissenting views on the subject by
associating disagreement with the lifestyle as proof of ill
intent. Young people who think they may be gay would not suffer
to hear the message from groups like the SALT state that such
sexual proclivities may be harmful, but that God will love them
no matter what.
We turned to the issue of pornography, and again my response
to Christine’s arguments was ambivalent. She argued that
individuals who engaged in pornography developed an addiction to
it that grows worse over time. "One develop a tolerance
over time to it, and that leads to an effort to seek out more
physical, harder material." I personally question whether
magazines like Playboy could lead to, say, sadomasochistic
material, but I certainly concur that pornography does not
square with the chaste lifestyle that the SALT advocates.
Christine also had a fascinating statistic to share. "In
Cincinnati and Oklahoma City, county prosecutors enforced the
decency laws in those areas, and reported sex crimes in those
areas declined, while those same crimes were increasing in every
other part of the country. There appears to be a direct
correlation between rape and sex crimes and the dismantling of
the sex business."
Christine related Pamela Anderson Lee’s story to the
consequences of soft pornography as well. "When Pamela
Anderson first posed for Playboy, she cried for several hours
after disrobing herself. However, she learned to adapt to taking
off her clothes, and soon thought nothing of it. What I believe
had occurred is that an important part of herself, her natural
modesty and God-given dignity, had to be ignored. She had to
harden herself, and literally had to kill a part of her
spirit."
Although she is not a feminist as the term is currently
applied, she is a strong woman whose dedication and intelligence
was immediately apparent, and hopes to foster an environment
where other strong women can thrive. Yet there was a
vulnerability to the leader of the SALT as well. Because of her
message and access to innumerable media outlets, a lot of people
try to knock her down. People spread false rumors, send hate
e-mail, and patronize her because of her gender because of what
he says and how she says it. It takes courage to stay in the
ring after experiencing this.
As this essay makes clear, I do not agree with the SALT on
many issues, foremost among them the divinity of Jesus Christ.
But many detractors of the SALT use the argument that the SALT
have a judgmental, holier-than-thou view of the world, and they
want to everyone to act just like they do. They also infer that
if SALT’s members had their chance, they would create laws
that would force everyone to live by Christian dogma. Two
arguments:
First, the SALT is an organization that seeks to awaken
hearts and minds, and it does not advocate specific changes in
public policy. It may support obscenity and decency laws, and
certain courts may reject such laws if they are seen a violating
free speech, but that is within the constitutional process. The
ultimate purpose of the SALT is to persuade, not to create a
theocracy. If I thought the SALT sought to undermine anyone’s
basic individual rights, this column would be very different.
When I told Christine I was not a Christian, she did not
object to my position. Nor did she condemn it, or even show the
slightest sign of being perturbed by it. We simply exchanged our
views openly and in a relaxed manner. Moreover, that was the
nature of our entire conversation. This is not the behavior of
an individual who wants to control my life.
Second, it is true that the SALT makes judgments about
behavior that they may improve or degrades one’s life and
soul. They are guilty of this. But we all are! We are all
judgmental, because judgments are how we prioritize our values,
how we choose our friends and soulmates, how we live our lives.
Judgments make an arrival at subjective and objective truths
possible. To deny this is to be a hypocrite.
Now being judgmental can refer to someone who criticizes and
censures others unfairly, and clearly human beings sometimes
give themselves the benefit of the doubt and do not confer the
same benefit to others. But living the Bible’s teachings and
imploring others o do the same should not be viewed as something
suspicious, disdainful or dangerous.
Sometimes the people who make the accusation that the SALT is
being judgmental just don’t want to hear any of those
judgments. It is their right to reject them if they so choose,
but they should heed the following: To lose the right to judge
others means that only certain people are equipped to be
judgmental. Well, who will judge others then? Someone will need
to make judgments if society is to exist. The only people left,
of course, will be the ruling elite of the state. The loss of
the concept of fixed, minimal standards is replaced by the
threat of sheer power. When anything goes, might makes right. To
lose the right to judge is to abrogate all power to the
government. It’s amazing how excessive demands to foster
differing views in the name of openness can lead to tyranny.
I was compelled to write about the SALT in part because of my
interest in Generation X activists, who will become tomorrow’s
leaders. But I was also drawn to the unyielding positions that
the SALT takes on a myriad of issues, which I believe fits the
demanding, all-encompassing precepts that Christianity asks for
its believers. Jesus did say in the Bible that he was the
way, the truth and the light. Therefore, one’s devotion to
Jesus Christ as a Lord and Savior must be total, or it is
irrelevant. For this reason, I believe that the SALT’s
positions to be the accurate manifestation of the Bible’s
teachings.
Christine and I both agree that members of both Generation X
and the large generation of the Baby Boomers’ children will
seek out God for many different reasons. Christine opines,
"The norm of the 1950s and 1960s was to be a part of the
system. The norm now is anything goes. So kids now are raised in
a vacuum, as the nuclear family unit has been replaced by
autonomous units. Many kids have already or will soon see
that."
Only free people can seek out the God of the New Testament,
and build bountiful lives out of those teachings. I am confident
that many young people will seek out this life, and the SALT is
only scratching the surface of its enormous potential. My best
wishes for the SALT and Christine as they work with others to
fulfill their most noble aspirations.
My thanks to Andrew Wynn Rouse for these links
The Case for Chastity by Christine O’Donnell
http://good-guys.net/Voice/case%20for%20chastity.html
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, Ben Affleck, Christine
O'Donnell, Joshua Harris and Steven Wright
http://good-guys.net/Voice/PI%20transcript%20990129.pdf
The Salt survives exclusively on donations, and is open to
praying for anyone in need. More information is available at http://www.thesalt.org/prayer.html
See also: The
Bailout From Hell
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