Saturday, June 25, 2005

I don't know what kind of title to give this.

In the past week, two different Republican politicians have accused Democrats of being anti-Christian.

In a radio interview on Monday, Alan Keyes said:

“The notion that the Republican party is a party that is responding--particularly I think of the moral perspective of Christian people--and that that is somehow an evidence of bigotry is I think evidence of the kind of bigoted mindset that now prevails among the Democrat leadership. They really have become a thoroughly anti-Christian party, committed to an agenda that seeks the destruction of all people of faith.”

and

“I think that the stances as we see and the kind of pejorative attacks and language of somebody like Howard Dean, we're dealing now with a party that has veered into the anti-Christian. And unless you are willing to reject all of the biblical values that Christianity is based upon, and just wear the label of Christian so that you can get votes or something, then the Democrats don't want you around.

If you are actually walking in Christ's footsteps, preaching His gospel, trying to follow His word and the law of His Father, then the Democrats are actually assaulting you and trying to curtail your freedom.”
(link)


On Monday in a heated discussion on the House floor, John Hostettler said:

"the long war on Christianity in America . . . continues unabated with aid and comfort to those who would eradicate any vestige of our Christian heritage being supplied by the usual suspects, the Democrats."

and

"Like a moth to a flame, Democrats can't help themselves when it comes to denigrating and demonizing Christians." (link)

These remarks are from men who profess to be Christians. The irony here is that while they say that Democrats are actively persecuting all things Christian, these Christian men are demonizing the entire Democratic party. Have these men not read their bibles?

Don’t speak evil against each other, my dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize each other and condemn each other, then you are criticizing and condemning God’s law. But you are not a judge who can decide whether the law is right or wrong. Your job is to obey it. God alone, who made the law, can rightly judge among us. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to condemn your neighbor? (James 4. 11-12 NLT)

Shouldn’t these men, as Christians, take a higher moral ground and respond humbly rather than stoop to the level that they accuse Democrats of being on? When they make the accusation that Democrats are anti-Christian, are they not in essence calling liars their Democratic colleagues who say they are Christian?

I noticed that both these incidents took place on Monday. Perhaps Mr. Keyes and Mr. Hostettler both had a bad weekend. Maybe I'll give them the benefit of that doubt for now.

5 comments:

Tony Arnold said...

The politics of God. What an oxymoron that is.

I highly recommend Lee Camp's Mere Discipleship for anyone seeking a better understanding of Chrisitianity and politics.

Tony

jettybetty said...

These are both pretty over the top. Were they originally on talk radio--or to a specific audience?

If they don't chill a bit, the whole you gotta be a Republican to please God line is going to turn really bad on them.

I do need to get that book Tony keeps mentioning. Perhaps it would calm me down.

JB

JMG said...

JB, The Alan Keyes interview was on the radio; I imagine it is nationally syndicated, but if not it's a San Francisco based interview.

The Hostettler speech was on the House floor, so it was likely on CSPAN. It made the cable news.

I need to read that book as well. I read parts of Wallis' God's Politics but wasn't able to finish it before I had to take it back to the library. He's got some pretty good stuff to say as well.

It just really bugs me that the same people who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus go around spreading dissention and not fostering the unity that Jesus called for.

Tony Arnold said...

Jettybetty,

I do highly recommend the book, but I wouldn't say it will calm you down. Be prepared to be severly challenged and uncomfortable.

Tony

JMG said...

Welcome, Hypocrite. Funny you should use the term "victimizing." I was thinking along those lines this morning, that some Christians are making the church into a bunch of victims that need protection by the government, when in reality, it is Christ who protects his church.

Here's an interesting quote I found today:(http://www.boundless.org/regulars/kaufman/a0000915.html)

Christians are supposed to be outsiders in some sense, never fitting in with the culture around us: We’re “aliens and strangers in this world” (1 Peter 2:11). And Christ did tell us we’d be persecuted if we follow Him. But what He meant to bolster believers facing trials by keeping their eyes on Him (John 15:18 ff.), we like to take to boost our own egos. So we dwell on the injustices we’ve endured and the evils of our enemies. It makes us feel righteous, and we like that feeling. (It sure beats the feeling of repentance.)

Hmmm. Interesting.