War Causing Split Among Evangelicals

Daniel R. Lockwood, president of Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary in Portland, Ore., said he has seen a "sea change" among his students, who are looking beyond conservative issues such as abortion and homosexuality to the environment, children with HIV/AIDS and the poor.

"More and more, students are very interested in social justice and issues often associated with the middle and the left," Lockwood said, "and the war is a piece of that."

Suzanne and Dave Brownlow met at a church singles group in Houston 26 years ago. They were born-again Christians, and they vowed that their marriage, like their faith, would be politically active. He picketed Planned Parenthood clinics; she organized for the Concerned Women for America.

They had four children -- Jared, now 20; Desi, 19; Jace, 15; and Sierra, 12 -- and moved to Oregon in 1990 for Dave's job. They home-schooled their children, were foster parents to three medically fragile youths for Heal the Children and housed eight foreign-exchange students.

They campaigned on behalf of Republican candidates. But by 2002, troubled by the lack of progress on the abortion front and the legality of the president's conduct of the war, they joined the Constitution Party. Soon after the invasion, Dave Brownlow began writing articles opposing the war.

Meanwhile, Jared Brownlow -- long fascinated by military histories, war movies and photos of his grandfather as a World War II tail gunner -- joined the Army. The Brownlows said their eldest son has not objected to their antiwar efforts. He's serving in the Army near Baghdad.

Although many churchgoers are active against the war, the Brownlows said they still feel self-conscious sharing their views with their Christian friends. People have told them that freedom isn't free or that they must support the troops.

"We really don't fit anywhere," Suzanne Brownlow said. "All our friends are pro-war and think we are heretics for talking against the president."

Julie Sullivan writes for the Oregonian in Portland.