Lerner talks religion on ‘Meet the Press’

Tim Russert put God in the hot seat Sunday, April 16 when "Meet the Press" devoted the one-hour morning news show to the topic of religion in America and the public sphere.

Panelists included Rabbi Michael Lerner of S.F.'s Beyt Tikkun, along with representatives from the Catholic, Protestant and Muslim faiths.

Well-known for his left-wing politics, Lerner came out swinging in the mostly sedate panel discussion. While he credited the so-called religious right for "recognizing the spiritual crisis" in America, he faulted the evangelical movement for turning a blind eye to serious problems facing the country and the world.

He excoriated what he called the "ethos of selfishness" in America. "The bottom line is to look out for No. 1," he said, "and to see others for what they can do for you. There needs to be a new bottom line in society."

Lerner, who has a new book out called "The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country From the Religious Right," later added that the religious right tends to focus on wedge issues like gay marriage, often citing biblical justifications for their positions. "The Bible also calls for redistribution of wealth every 50 years," he said. "Where is the religious right on that?"

The show's only fireworks (if measured rhetoric can be called fireworks) occurred when the Rev. John Newhaus said, "It does trouble me deeply that we've heard in this conversation, if I may politely and gently say, some terrible things said about people who presumably belong to the religious right, or fundamentalists, that they are hypocritical, that they are selective in their faith. I don't find that to be the case."

Lerner concluded with a wish that "we could recognize that our well-being depends on the well-being of every other person on the planet ... and our well-being also depends on the future of the planet itself."