My Christian brother and friend Ben (no really, he's a friend In Real Life!), has blogged this stuff on Daily Kos. Here's how he begins, but there's more:
Look, I'm an Evangelical Christian. And I've taken a lot of heat in the past for saying that on Daily Kos. But today, I'm speaking to my fellow Evangelicals about Sarah Palin. I'm speaking to people like Robin Smith (TN GOP chair) and Richard Land (Southern Baptist ethics and religious liberty director) and James Dobson (Focus on the Family) and Matthew Staver (Liberty Counsel) and Pat Robertson (Christian Broadcasting Network).
As your brother in Christ, I ask you - Are you really interested in using your power to enflame a religious war?
Because that's what you're doing by supporting Sarah Palin and John McCain.
3 comments:
Dear TDad.
I read Ben's plea as published on KOS and now have a little better feel for Ben's thoughts. If he simply means to say that leaders in the Christian church should be careful that they not confuse earthy politics with the kingdom of God, and that we should be circumspect in our political engagement, I'm all with him. For example, I note that years ago James Dobson was far less "political" and, I feel, more effective in his ministry to families. I was much impressed of recent by Rick Warren's political stance when presenting Senators Obama and McCain.
That said, I fail to see how supporting the McCain/Palin ticket itself pours gas on the culture wars. (Unless of course, you simply don't like their politics to begin with.)
This is just a simple observation. I've noted that when a person agrees with the point of a satire, he calls it "bold or brilliant" but when he disagrees, he finds it "sophomoric, stale, or dishonest."
Would Ben have said that a person of the cloth who endorsed the Obama/Biden ticket was adding gas to the culture wars?
I personally found Biden's comments -- in which he suggested that if Palin had only supported (embryonic) stem cell research we might be closer to a solution for those with Downs Syndrome -- to be morally repugnant. Indeed flat out disgusting, and a violation of the best sensibilities of the Roman Catholic and the CATHOLIC (Universal) Church.
Is it not flaming the culture war to suggest we use the byproducts of abortion to treat still other persons?
I haven't seen Biden's comments, so I won't weigh in on that. As far as culture wars, I think this particularly campaign was beginning to transcend some of the liberal/conservative, pro-life/pro-choice, us-against-them rhetoric until the selection of Sarah Palin. I do believe that (for good or ill), her selection and her subsequent rhetoric have had a polarizing effect on the electorate.
Doc Op... you make some good points.
Tony... I agree with your view that the choice of Sarah Palin has further polarized the electorate.
But that is precisely what the Far Right/Evangelical (for lack of a better label) wanted. Things were getting a bit too "muddled" without her. I mean... voters having to actually research, evaluate, and make up their own minds on political issues? That's just too much work! :)
Many of my friends (in aforementioned "group") are salivating at the mouth for S.P. and McCain (though before they were opposed). But she's the golden nugget. Just because she's an outspoken Evangelical pro-life Christian. Well, OK, I'm one, too, but I know many, many Evangelical pro-life Christians who I do not believe are qualified to be VP (or Pres.) of the U.S. PLUS--all the other 3 candidates profess faith in and following of Christ.
As I said, I am pro-life, but... and I would be tarred and feathered by my fellow Evangelicals for saying such... I was kind of hoping McCain would choose a pro-choice running mate. In my mind, that would have taken the abortion issue off the table.
(Sigh.)
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