Here we go
Y'know, I remember there word going around a couple of years ago about Bush claiming that God told him to go to war in Iraq. Last year 'round election time, Bush denied that he had ever said anything like that. I never was able to find out for sure if and when he actually did say that, or what he might have said that could have been construed thus (which, by the way, can anyone tell me when/where/if that happened?). However, now it seems that we have some somewhat substantial backing for such a claim. This article and this one here both report on Nabil Shaath's account of a Palestinian delegation a couple of years ago that Bush attended. I'm going to assume that he actually did say this. Why? Because the White House denies that he did. Now, technically, I understand that this is not conclusive evidence: the White House would make such a statement whether or not Bush did make that claim. However, what with the White House's history of denying every claim of that nature, and with their habitual painting of anyone who makes these claims as a lying leftist, I think it's safe to say that Bush said it.
At any rate, let's assume he said it. Add to it Bush saying at a press conference that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Okay, might I point out he said the same thing in an exclusive ABC interview? Anyway, anybody remember a couple months ago when evangelist Pat Roberts said we should go ahead and assassinate Hugo Chavez? Okay, the topic I'm leading to here is highly visible Christian representatives. It sickens me that there are people like these representing Christendom. Now, I'm in no position to say that anybody is or is not a Christian; I'd just as soon claim I could see someone's IQ. But the thing is, Bush claims to be a Christian, and many (I hate to say the word) non-thinking people (especially many Christians I've met) assume that 1) his views are representative and 2) that Christians should support him because of this. The last election grossly inflated the importance of matters such as gay marriage and abortion. I think it safe to say that any Christian knows on some level that homosexuality and abortion are topics that they need to be concerned with. So, I have to assume that the mental path many people went down during this past election was something like this:
I am a Christian.
As a Christian, I believe that homosexual marriage and abortion are morally reprehensible.
America was founded as a Christian nation, and thus should uphold this viewpoint.
I want a president who is Christian and will uphold God's word.
Bush is a Christian, and as such will oppose gay marriage and abortion.
Therefore, I will--nay--I am morally obligated as a Christian to vote for Bush.
I'd like to quote my buddy Golo from his blog, in reference to the Hurricane Katrina response, that "for all of the people who thought that gay marriage was a 'hot' issue in the last election, look where we are now: over 500 dead because Bush gave a friend of his a job." You know, even though I did not vote for Bush, I feel ashamed that I concentrated so much on topics like abortion or gay marriage. For one, Kerry and Bush have, functionally, the same viewpoint on both issues.
You know, for a long while, I was very internally troubled that my viewpoints often did not at all match up with those of people who I, perhaps wrongly, considered Christian "leaders". These views didn't match up especially when it came to politics and schools of thought. F'rinstance, last year I started reading this book by David Noebel and Tim LaHaye. Go read the excerpt provided there. In the second paragraph (the second paragraph!) of the book you find logic that is spurious at best regarding the human brain. I had multiple points of contention with the book just in the first few pages. I had to ask myself: if I can't read more than 15 pages in a book by respected Christian authors without finding their reasoning faulty at nearly every point, where does that put me? If my Christian beliefs don't result in the same mindset as other Christians, what does that make me? Was I an anti-Christian? I was asking questions and seeking deeper understanding in the same places where these guys were making assertive and seemingly authoritative statements. If my faith wasn't as strong as theirs, what was wrong with me? Eventually, I began to see that maybe there's not that much wrong with me. Maybe it's that some of these people have bigger agendas rather than bigger faiths. I've come more to think that Christianity may not be primarily concerned with staunchly telling people how it is and using politics as an MO to getting other people to lead moral lifestyles. Christianity is about love and helping people in need--and let's face it, everybody's in need somehow. Hungry need food, homeless need shelter, disenfranchised groups need voices, children need love, the socially awkward guy at school needs a friend. Now, I'm not saying to be soft on the truth--I had a guy tell me the other day that religion is about acceptance, and I think, to some extent, I agree. Christianity is not exempt from saying that it has insider information on what the truth is. Sadly, many people assume that Christianity calls for blind acceptance. God gave us brains--why would he ask us to shut them off?
Anyway, I believe I'm rambling by this point. In the past year, I have begun to find other Christian leaders. Kyle Lake and Ravi Zecharias both showed me that not only is it normal for Christians to ask seeminly taboo and subversive questions, it's often a necessity to think things through for oneself. And others, like Albert Schweizer, have inspired me to do start seeking out ways to help others, to step out of myself to love other people. I'm thinking Peace Corps is a viable option for me for the future. And after watching the movie Smile last night, I'm tempted to look further into Operation Smile.
Okay, to end on a funny note: go all the way over to the website of Willie P. Richardson, King of the Phone Pranksters. Ugh. I think I've outdone myself on links in this post.
At any rate, let's assume he said it. Add to it Bush saying at a press conference that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Okay, might I point out he said the same thing in an exclusive ABC interview? Anyway, anybody remember a couple months ago when evangelist Pat Roberts said we should go ahead and assassinate Hugo Chavez? Okay, the topic I'm leading to here is highly visible Christian representatives. It sickens me that there are people like these representing Christendom. Now, I'm in no position to say that anybody is or is not a Christian; I'd just as soon claim I could see someone's IQ. But the thing is, Bush claims to be a Christian, and many (I hate to say the word) non-thinking people (especially many Christians I've met) assume that 1) his views are representative and 2) that Christians should support him because of this. The last election grossly inflated the importance of matters such as gay marriage and abortion. I think it safe to say that any Christian knows on some level that homosexuality and abortion are topics that they need to be concerned with. So, I have to assume that the mental path many people went down during this past election was something like this:
I am a Christian.
As a Christian, I believe that homosexual marriage and abortion are morally reprehensible.
America was founded as a Christian nation, and thus should uphold this viewpoint.
I want a president who is Christian and will uphold God's word.
Bush is a Christian, and as such will oppose gay marriage and abortion.
Therefore, I will--nay--I am morally obligated as a Christian to vote for Bush.
I'd like to quote my buddy Golo from his blog, in reference to the Hurricane Katrina response, that "for all of the people who thought that gay marriage was a 'hot' issue in the last election, look where we are now: over 500 dead because Bush gave a friend of his a job." You know, even though I did not vote for Bush, I feel ashamed that I concentrated so much on topics like abortion or gay marriage. For one, Kerry and Bush have, functionally, the same viewpoint on both issues.
You know, for a long while, I was very internally troubled that my viewpoints often did not at all match up with those of people who I, perhaps wrongly, considered Christian "leaders". These views didn't match up especially when it came to politics and schools of thought. F'rinstance, last year I started reading this book by David Noebel and Tim LaHaye. Go read the excerpt provided there. In the second paragraph (the second paragraph!) of the book you find logic that is spurious at best regarding the human brain. I had multiple points of contention with the book just in the first few pages. I had to ask myself: if I can't read more than 15 pages in a book by respected Christian authors without finding their reasoning faulty at nearly every point, where does that put me? If my Christian beliefs don't result in the same mindset as other Christians, what does that make me? Was I an anti-Christian? I was asking questions and seeking deeper understanding in the same places where these guys were making assertive and seemingly authoritative statements. If my faith wasn't as strong as theirs, what was wrong with me? Eventually, I began to see that maybe there's not that much wrong with me. Maybe it's that some of these people have bigger agendas rather than bigger faiths. I've come more to think that Christianity may not be primarily concerned with staunchly telling people how it is and using politics as an MO to getting other people to lead moral lifestyles. Christianity is about love and helping people in need--and let's face it, everybody's in need somehow. Hungry need food, homeless need shelter, disenfranchised groups need voices, children need love, the socially awkward guy at school needs a friend. Now, I'm not saying to be soft on the truth--I had a guy tell me the other day that religion is about acceptance, and I think, to some extent, I agree. Christianity is not exempt from saying that it has insider information on what the truth is. Sadly, many people assume that Christianity calls for blind acceptance. God gave us brains--why would he ask us to shut them off?
Anyway, I believe I'm rambling by this point. In the past year, I have begun to find other Christian leaders. Kyle Lake and Ravi Zecharias both showed me that not only is it normal for Christians to ask seeminly taboo and subversive questions, it's often a necessity to think things through for oneself. And others, like Albert Schweizer, have inspired me to do start seeking out ways to help others, to step out of myself to love other people. I'm thinking Peace Corps is a viable option for me for the future. And after watching the movie Smile last night, I'm tempted to look further into Operation Smile.
Okay, to end on a funny note: go all the way over to the website of Willie P. Richardson, King of the Phone Pranksters. Ugh. I think I've outdone myself on links in this post.
posted by Casey at 9:11 PM
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