There he goes again

Politicalwire.com reports that Ralph Reed, late of the Christian Coalition, and various failed efforts to gain elective office, is planning to launch a new "hipper" version of the Christian Coalition, called "Faith and Freedom Coalition."

Sigh.

Poor Ralph.

I recently came to the realization that the evangelicalism I came to Christ via in the 1970s really doesn't exist any more. Evangelical Christianity has changed. The things that mattered to my generation aren't major concerns among the up-and-coming evanglical generation, and that includes both strict fidelity to the authority and reliability of scripture, and creating a conservative "counterculture." My generation of American evangelicals wasted its moment in history pursuing a vision of "seeker-friendly" mega-churchianity, and exerting influence upon the surrounding society through political means. The upcoming generation of evangelicals is not so dogmatic, not nearly as conservative, and increasingly views politics as a bogus pursuit. All-in-all, not entirely negative things.

But the point is this: Ralph Read appeals to a generation of evangelicals that is quietly passing from the scene. His style of "conservatism" is, as with most of conservatism at the present time, firmly rooted in the 1980s. He may have a modicum of success, mainly in isolated islands throughout the midwest and south, but time has passed him by.