A group affiliated with the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is asking the United Church of Christ (UCC) to pull their television commerical welcoming all people to their church. The IRD and its affiliate, the Association for Church Renewal, are irked by the lack of doctrinal definition in the ads. They conclude, "While the UCC commercial emphasizes the denomination’s inclusiveness, there is no attempt to define what the denomination believes or promotes, other than inclusiveness itself."
Fred Clarkson's blog provides valuable insights about the IRD's well-funded and organized attempts to foment Fundamentalist takeovers of mainline denominations -- takeovers modeled after the takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Those interested in additional information about the IRD's efforts to disrupt America's mainstream Protestant churches should read Lewis C. Daly's, A Moment to Decide: The Crisis of Mainstream Presbyterianism and Leon Howell's, United Methodism at Risk: A Wake-Up Call.
The last time American churches were so thoroughly divided was in the 1840's and 1850's. This time the Mason-Dixon line is running through the middle of churches in both the north and the south.
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