[The following material is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 11, 1995. David W. Cloud, Editor. All rights are reserved. O Timothy is a monthly magazine. Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, Michigan 48061, fbns@wayoflife.org. FOR CANADA the subscription is $20 Canadian. Send to Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0. Way of Life web site is http://www.wayoflife.org/]
Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition, which is a political action organization, has announced the formation of a new Roman Catholic arm.
Executive Director Ralph Reed said: "We are calling it a project or auxiliary of the Christian Coalition. We're doing it to bridge-build, we're doing it to reach out to Catholics" (New York Times, October 7, 1995).
The Catholic Alliance, as it is to be called, will have its own newsletter, and its staff will hold regional meetings. But it will not have a separate national structure. Its headquarters will be within the coalition's Capitol Hill offices. Furthermore, those who join will be "automatically members of the Christian Coalition," Mr. Reed said (New York Times).
A month ago, the 1.7 million-member Christian Coalition released the results of an internal poll showing that 16 percent of its members, more than 250,000 people, are Catholics. Mr. Reed said his goal is to raise that to 25 percent by next year's Presidential election.
We believe this type of political ecumenism is very dangerous for Bible-believing churches. God's people can vote and be politically active citizens without joining forces with the enemies of the Gospel. It is confusion.