(2 of 7)
Is such a metamorphosis as dangerous as critics claim, a movement toward Christian-male domination? In a society locked in debate over the widespread belief that--in polite terms--"men are pigs," the commitments called for in the official guidebook, Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, augur a refreshing, selfless transformation. Promise No. 7 commits members to obey the great commandment in the Gospel of Mark: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...and Love your neighbor as yourself." It is a sentiment both innocuous and bracing.
But there is another piece of Scripture, also embedded in Promise No. 7, that provides fuel to feminists and other critics of the Promise Keepers. It is from the Gospel of Matthew: "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." On that evening in Oklahoma, amid the lilting melody of a seven-piece band, that commandment at first brims with a kind of inclusiveness as whites, African Americans, Asians, Hispanics as well as one Croatian immigrant clap their hands, rocking with the zealotry of the converted as they all sing Lord, Purify My Heart. On the small scale of Lawton's First Assembly of God church, the inspiration is palpable, touching, poignant. But in the grander scheme, the Bible verse raises other questions: Who on earth will command? And who must obey?
In Promise Keepers: The Third Wave of the American Religious Right, co-authors Alfred Ross and Lee Cokorinos of the Center for Democracy Studies write: "In its conception and execution, Promise Keepers is one of the most sophisticated political movements the right wing has yet conjured up." For the past year, the center and its new PK Watch newsletter have been accusing Promise Keepers of using seemingly benign teachings on prayer and social responsibility to create a grass-roots network designed to buttress the religious right. In May, 59 religious liberals, including Joseph Hough, the dean of Vanderbilt University, and William Howard, the president of New York Theological Seminary, warned the nation's churches of the potential dangers of Promise Keepers. The National Organization for Women has passed a resolution declaring Promise Keepers "the greatest danger to women's rights." NOW plans a counter-demonstration this week.