Morality and the Law III

The last couple posts have present some other folks' view on morality and the law. I've been thinking about the following from "Christianity and the (Modest) Rule of Law:"

"If we weren’t so closely linked with the campaign to prohibit gambling, evangelicals might speak with more authority — moral, not legal — when criticizing, say, state governments’ all-out efforts to promote their own lotteries."

Is this distinction between moral and legal authority valid? If so, I wonder if American evangelicals bolster their legal authority in the political arena at the expense of the moral authority they believe (or should believe) they already possess. The general assumption is that "legal moralism" comes from the strong moral views of Christians, but I am afraid it really comes from the Church's fear that its moral authority has become irrelevant.

I am uneasy about covering up a position of fear and weakness with a facade of dogmatism and power--particularly where the Church is concerned. It conjures images of the insecure playground bully who is really just in need of a friend.

Even if the Church's moral position (rightly) leaks over into the legal realm, I would assume that the Church's moral authority is much stronger than its legal authority. It appears that many evangelicals mistakenly see politics and the law as a way to make Christianity culturally relevant in a post-modern society through brute force. If one truly believes that only Jesus can meet our spiritual needs, the Christian faith is already relevant in society--post modern or not--assuming that society always carries a Jesus-sized spiritual void. Regular Joes off the street are likely to think we are more sure about our policy solutions than our religious conviction; when the term "evangelical Christian" has become more associated with a particular political party than a man called Jesus, I have the feeling something is wrong.