Jonathan Merritt has responded to David French’s “An Open Letter to Young, ‘Post-Partisan’ Evangelicals.” If you still haven’t read French’s letter, do so now. It’s provocative, good, and right. It’s no surprise, however, that Merritt disagrees with that assessment. Instead, he says that French has put forth a false choice. Merritt writes:

Since Justin Taylor linked David French’s “An Open Letter to Young, ‘Post-Partisan’ Evangelicals“, chances are that you have already seen this. But this open letter is so well done and so worth the read, I want to link it here too. I also want to add a hearty “amen” and “hear, hear” to what French is saying in this letter. The bottom-line is this. It’s hard to be cool in the world’s eyes when you’re a pro-life and pro-family Christian. Those beliefs have public policy implications that will not win you friends among the cultural elites. Here’s an excerpt:

Matthew Anderson writes about the culture wars and the future of evangelical witness. The whole thing is a good read, but there are some nuggets in here worth highlighting. On marriage amendments, he writes, The overwhelming passage of traditional marriage amendments are not signs of our society’s health, but its disease–and we are all implicated in it. Anderson goes on to show that calls to get beyond the culture wars really miss the point. I think Anderson nails it in this paragraph.

Michael Gerson takes on President Obama’s proclivity for invoking Jesus in support of liberal public policies. Pay special attention to the last line. Gerson writes: Agree or disagree with the policies Obama recommends, his arguments can’t be called sophisticated. They are the liberal political application of a “What Would Jesus Do?” wristband. In a mirror reflection of the religious right, Obama has a tendency to engage in partisan proof texting — which is divisive in service to any ideology. Saying “I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount” is a claim of divine authority that short-circuits democratic debate. Even when Obama changes his political views, Jesus somehow…

Tony Dungy tweeted a short word about his take on President Obama’s gay marriage announcement (HT). Dungy writes: I was disappointed he veered from biblical view. In 2007, Dungy spoke out publicly in favor of an amendment to the Indiana state constitution that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. He took some criticism for this, but he explained that his feelings on the matter grew directly out of his Christian convictions. In his own words: We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else. But we’re trying to promote the family — family values the Lord’s way. Elsewhere, Dungy says this: Family is important, and that’s what we’re…