The Gospel Coalition is one of the largest online ministries, founded by Tim Keller and Don Carson. Within Evangelicalism, The Gospel Coalition has been a force advancing theological liberalism to a traditionally orthodox audience. One such strategy of The Gospel Coalition and others in broader Big Eva is called “Third-Wayism.” In Third-Wayism a moral equivalency is drawn between two opposing ideas and the solution is a “third way” which draws inspiration from the prior two ideas while claiming to be the biblical approach. This is often done in politicos with Republicans and Democrats, drawing false moral equivalency to justify liberal policies and voting habits.
In a recent article, Joe Carter of The Gospel Coalition did a breakdown of what major parties believe and their decision to include certain third parties is rather telling. The four parties mentioned are the Democrat, Republican, Constitution, and the American Solidarity parties. The neglect of the Libertarian Party and the Green Party is an interesting framing of this article. The inclusion of the Constitution Party and the American Solidarity Party frames the four parties as the legitimate options for Christian voters. Robert F Kennedy Jr is also excluded, although rumor has it he’s dropping out of the race and endorsing Trump.
The inclusion of the American Solidarity Party is noteworthy. While the Constitution Party is on the ballot in 14 states, primarily running to articulate issues on the right rather than to win, the American Solidarity Party in on the ballot in Arkansas and Hawaii, and that’s it. The party brands itself as a Christian party, marrying pro-life with open borders and Social Justice.
What such tradition of pluralistic democracy exists in Christianity? Who knows, but the American Solidarity Party has counterparts abroad.
Including this woke church party is a purposeful decision by The Gospel Coalition, even if ultimately inconsequential in 2024. The American Solidarity Party is the embodiment of what Big Eva believes and that’s the point of including it. This is the Third Wayism they want the laity to embrace. It will ultimately fail because there is no market for a woke liberal pro-life party.
One Response
Christian Democracy is a political tradition and alliance between Protestants and Catholics with a long pedigree outside the U.S. It is not “woke”. The ASP platform is strongly pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-God, and is much better on social issues than Trump’s pro-choice platform. Social justice was and is a Christian concept, though the phrase has been misused by woke folks in recent years.