Few of us are are unaware of roughly what a big evangelical service or rally is like even if we haven’t been to one personally. Television easily brings it into our homes.
The model is now well-developed and used widely beyond calls to faith.
It is used in marketing products especially in multi-level marketing. It is used in sport.
And it is used in politics.
We are talking meticulously organised large-scale events lots of mood-generating music to rouse and bring the crowd into one spirit then speechifying that is preaching conversion and commitment of your whole self. Is there an element of mass hypnosis?
This can be used for good or ill. Personally I’m quite a fan of Billy Graham but not of Hitler and I don’t want to be converted to commit my life to selling products.
Have you participated in any of these large evangelical events? I have and I found them inspirational life-changing massively energising. Fortunately I don’t regret the direction I was moved towards by attending the events I did. But it might have turned out differently and they are strong medicine to take with care. Was it wisdom or luck on my part that I didn’t end up enlisted in a very wrong-headed cause?
Because cool thinking and judgement gets left at the door and driven out very quickly in these emotion-filled events.
Political rallies are part of the political life of our nation part of the process. At the end of the day though are we choosing ‘an earthly god’ to believe in and commit our lives to? Or are we making a cool wise judgement about the management skills and good governance and wisdom and intelligence and sound ethics of our potential leaders?