The New Christian Left

The new Christian Alliance for Progress is aligned with the political left and its leaders make it clear the goal is to counteract the strong conservative and pro-life views of most Christian organizations. Rev. Timothy Simpson, the new group's director of religious affairs, said the religious right has been successful in using the language of faith to promote what he called a "divisive agenda."

"We understand the Gospel in very different ways," he said, "and believe even further that the demands of the Gospel in areas of public policy are quite different from the direction that's being taken by the religious right." Simpson said that different direction includes a stand in favor of abortion. "I'm not willing to extend rights to a fetus that would trump the rights of a desperate woman," he said. "I don't think our organization is either." (quoted in Pastor's Weekly Briefing, June 30, 2005)