The question here is not an either or,  but a “which first”?  And usually,  I get an answer of “it’s not either or” ,, it’s both.  But I differ.  Christian should be so far up front that “Conservative”, “Republican”,  even “American” should be a distant runner up;  way in the background.  No “both and”,  but "simply background and sociological “variance”.  This post by Brian McLaren touches on this.

I have been growing more and more deeply troubled by the way so many from my heritage in conservative Christianity – in its Evangelical, Charismatic, and Roman Catholic streams – have allowed themselves to be spiritually formed by various conservative political and economic ideologies. It’s been disturbing to see how many Christians have begun to follow and trust leaders who live more by political/media/ideological codes than by moral/spiritual/biblical ones.

As a result, I sometimes think that Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, and Fox News may now influence many conservative Evangelicals, Charismatics, and Catholics even more than Billy Graham, Rick Warren, T.D. Jakes, Pope Benedict, or even the four gospels.

An Open Letter to Conservative C – Brian McLaren