God Is Not a Republican (…Nor Is He a Democrat)

I’ll admit that it has been a while since I so much as held a copy of the Bible in my hands, but from what I remember about the divine instructions that Moses brought down Mount Sinai, there was precious little in them about it being “a-OK” to assassinate the President of the United States.

One Baptist pastor begs to differ. Moreover, if you happen to be homosexual, he hopes you will “die of brain cancer like Ted Kennedy.” Classy guy.

In a world in which people like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, or “Cong.“ Joe Wilson are given abundant amounts of air time and attention, it is hardly surprising to me to see a self-proclaimed clergyman make such idiotic, hateful statements.

It does sadden me though.

My belief system leans more towards Taoism now, but I was raised Christian – Evangelist-Lutheran, to be precise. The teachings I was taught gave me a very different view of Christianity as a whole than what I see in the news these days. The sin aspect of the religion was not the focal point; the message was about acceptance, understanding, and love of mankind. Yes, homosexuality was considered a sin, but so were many other things. Every person was a sinner. No one was perfect. But being gay did not mean you were destined for eternal damnation. One sin was not worse than another.

Essentially, Christ was not a politician.

It seems that we have come to a place where politics and religion have formed a kind of an intermix, whereupon some sins are perceived as greater than others. Governor Mark Sanford’s affair with his Argentinian twinkie, and his subsequent refusal to resign – despite his demands that Bill Clinton step down after Monicagate – was a matter of moral flip-flop which has become an acceptable form of politicking. Commit, hide, admit, apologize. Rinse, repeat.

Somehow, not only have these moral sidesteps become matters of public record, but they have become that to the point where one has to wonder just how much personal reproach there is, if any, going on behind the scenes after each incident. The Christian morals which vilify these actions in the first place have become parts of a political engine.

While it’s true that I am not from South Carolina, I did not care about Gov. Sanford’s apology. He did not do anything to fail me; his double standard did not come as a surprise. He is a politician, not an apostle. He is a human being, therefore fallible; hence his affair did not disappoint me. I do not expect politicians to live up to moral ideals, I just expect them to do their best to do the job they were elected to do.

Although speaking of job description, leaving the state and going for some secret hanky panky in Argentina was probably not what his constituents had in mind.

But for some reason, those Christian morals are now the building blocks of a measuring pole used to determine a politician’s worth and capability. If you fall short of being perfect, your voters and colleagues are quick to cast the first stone. Apparently they did not elect you to represent them, but the perfected image of what they want to aspire to be.

But I digress.

Not only have politics absorbed some pretty fundamentalist Christian values, but now the clergy are beginning to practice political maneuvers as well. Okay, looking at the likes of Jesse Jackson it is fair to say this has been going on for a while now… But at least Jackson has never openly encouraged the assassination of the President. Neither has he suggested that to kill the President is not murder.

The Christianity of my childhood was apolitical. It was not Democratic or Republican. It did not pass judgment and demand resignations. Sins of men were between them and God. Jesus Christ was your best friend and confidante, not your campaign advisor.

It is a sad day in my book when I look at a clergyman, a supposed man of God, and see a political agitator instead of a spiritual leader.

Tagged as: obama, politics, religion, Society