Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people. Before you tell me how much you love your God, show me in how much you love all His children.
- Cory Booker
This is a little prayer dedicated to the separation of church and state. I guess if they are going to force those kids to pray in schools they might as well have a nice prayer like this: Our Father who art in heaven, and to the republic for which it stands, thy kingdom come, one nation indivisible as in heaven, give us this day as we forgive those who so proudly we hail. Crown thy good into temptation but deliver us from the twilight’s last gleaming. Amen and Awomen.
- George Carlin
Call me naive, but being raised by Lutherans should give me at least a basic idea of what Christianity is about, amiright? I’m no theologian, but I remember enough of my Sunday School lessons to understands the teachings of Jesus Christ. If memory serves, he was about love, charity, tolerance…and a few other things intended to make this world a better place to be. To be fair, the majority of Christians I’ve known do what they can to try and live those values. They may not always succeed, but it’s not for lack of trying. It’s not easy being a fallible human being.
And then there are those who don’t even bother trying. It’d all around us these days. Screaming, angry, hateful zealots who spitefully condemn and deride those not “enlightened” enough to hew to their narrow, “Christian” in name only doctrine. The Tea Party is an example- perhaps too obviously- of this trend, but it’s easy to pass most teabaggers off as ignorant, barely lucid zealots with a minimal grasp of the truth and an absence of devotion to facts. As big a target as the Tea Party presents, though, they aren’t nearly as dangerous- both to the future of Christianity and our country- as Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Mitt Romney.
I believe, and history confirms, that the Founding Fathers intended for the separation of Church and State to protect us from “Christians” like Bachmann and Romney. Based on the words and actions of each, the Founders knew what they were doing, because both would dismantle the separation of Church and State and set us onto the path of becoming a Dominionist Theocracy.
What I find most fascinating about Michele Bachmann — and there are many, many more where she came from — is that she presents herself as a godly woman, humbly devoted to her Christian faith. I’d like to meet that god, and I’d like to understand that Christianity.
Does it call for smearing people on the basis of flimsy conspiracy theories? That’s what Bachmann just did to Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by essentially suggesting she might be a mole for the Muslim Brotherhood….
Does it encourage gratuitously divisive condemnations of Barack Obama as “anti-American,” one of many incendiary phrases in her attacks against him in 2008? And does it compel a war against homosexuality waged with the language and illogic she uses?
No one would accuse Bachmann of being a statesman or an intellectual giant. Her legislative contribution to Congress during her time representing Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District has been something close to zero. She seems to view her Congressional seat as a bully pulpit from which to preach her uber-Conservative, born again, kill-‘em-all-let-God-sort-‘em out Christianity. Anyone who doesn’t fit into her narrow box (homosexuals, Democrats, Liberals, non-Christians, ad infinitum, ad nauseum- it’s a long list) is anti-American, anti-Christian, unpatriotic, and worthy only of being crushed under the boot heels of “real” Americans.
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t begrudge her the Evangelical beliefs she hews to. It’s a free country, and she is of course free to believe as she wishes. It’s her unwillingness to extends those rights and protections to groups that…well, aren’t her…that concerns me. Bachmann see herself and her faith as the ultimate authority, the ultimate measure of right and wrong, worthy and unworthy.
Bachmann’s concept of Christian love brims with hate, and she has a deep satchel of stones to throw. From what kind of messiah did she learn that?…
It’s to wonder why we accept her descriptions of herself, and in turn describe her, as a deeply religious woman. That grants too much credence to her particular, peculiar and highly selective definition of piety. And it offends the many admirable people of faith whose understanding and practice of religion aren’t, like hers, confrontational and small-minded.
Bachmann is an evangelical, and has spoken rhapsodically about the experience of being born again. After that moment, she said, “I absolutely understood sin, and I wanted no part of it.” She plunged into politics nonetheless.
Instead of preceding from a place of love and charity (both of which, by the way, are Christian values), Bachmann’s view boil of from a dark place, where ignorance, hatred, and intolerance inform her worldview. Bachmann’s world is a place where critical thinking and informed thought are anathema. In her world, all that’s permissible is blind, unquestioning obedience to her flavor of God, who seems to be a sour and mean-spirited S.O.B. with a short fuse.
Where most honorable and honest Christians seek to build, Bachmann is all about destroying and tearing down anything that doesn’t fit her narrow worldview.
Most reasonable people, and certainly many reasonable Christians, recognize Bachmann for what she is- a mean-spirited, hateful harpy who uses her faith as a bludgeon to destroy anything in her path. What concerns me is the fact that so many reasonable Christians- in particular denominational leaders- have remained silent despite Bachmann’s evil, ill-informed twisting of their religion. Perhaps they think hateful witnessing is better than no witnessing at all??
I’ve heard it said that Evil triumphs when good people are silent…which makes me wonder about the motives of Christians. I can’t begin to understand their silence in the face of the Evil being perpetrated in the name of their Lord and Savior.
Somewhere Martin Niemöller is spinning in his grave: “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist….”
Who will be left to speak when Bachmann and those who think like her have turned America into a Dominionist Theocracy where the only true faith is power and Americas are forced to bow down and pledge fealty to a “God” that bears no resemble to the God portrayed in Scripture?
Even mainstream journalists have written about Mitt taking political lying and disdain for the facts to a new art form on campaign issues ranging from his tenure at Bain to blatantly dishonest ads about his opponents, first in the Republican primaries, and now about President Obama. Michael Cohen of the Guardian typified many of these observations with the statement, “Romney is doing something very different and far more pernicious. Quite simply, the United States has never been witness to a presidential candidate, in modern American history, who lies as frequently, as flagrantly and as brazenly as Mitt Romney.” Jonathan Chait, columnist for New York Magazine says Romney is, “Just making stuff up now.”….
Mitt’s now legendary and record breaking flip flopping is routinely written off as political pandering and insincerity. Those terms are too soft. It is another form of lying. It is simply not believable that a politician could so thoroughly change every one of his core beliefs over the short time that Mitt professes to have done so. That is unless he had no core beliefs, other than that he should be President. In that case, pretending that he has core beliefs is another manifestation of dishonesty.
Even more dangerous that Bachmann is Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for President. It’s not exactly breaking news to say that Romney is as dishonest as he is difficult to pin down. Not only does Romney and his campaign have no devotion, or allegiance, to the truth, they complain about any perceived slights dealt them by the Obama campaign. What’s sauce for the goose evidently isn’t sauce for the gander.
Move along, people…no hyporcrisy here….
Quick to portray himself as a deeply religious and spiritual man, Romney has led anything but a Christ-like life. One can’t lead a company that destroys livelihoods and lives as Bain Capital did and credibly claim to be a devotee of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
The root of Romney’s epic, shameless dishonesty is his willingness to pander to the rabid Religious Right. He skillfully plays the dog whistle that gets the attention of Fundamentalist Christians, though there’s no evidence he believes what he tells them. There’s even less reason to believe that Romney has any interest in the teachings of Jesus Christ, unless they can be used to line his pockets or advance his political prospects.
One has to ask: if Mitt was a genuine “Christ-like” spiritual icon, just how many “million dollar dressage” show horses would Jesus own? How many multi-million dollar estates with car elevators would Jesus need for his vacations? Which of the Cayman Islands would Jesus shield his wealth in? There is little evidence that beyond paying his Mormon tithe of 10%, he spent any significant percentage of his hundreds of millions of dollars feeding the hungry, helping the poor, ministering to the sick or visiting those in prison. Mitt certainly seems to be at odds with Luke 12:48: “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.”
Granted, the Romneys tithe 10% of their income to the Mormon Church (a cynic would have to ask if that comes out of pre- or post-tax income), but that’s a requirement of anyone enjoying the rank in the Church that Mitt Romney holds. Any American is free to spend their money as they see fit, of course, but Romney’s life and spending habits certainly don’t bear the marks of a person committed to living a Christ-like life.
It’s also difficult to be certain about which version of Mormonism/Christianity he believes in his heart of hearts. It seems his spirituality is fungible and adaptable to the requirements of current circumstances. Romney must decisively win the Conservative Christian vote in order to have any hope of defeating Barack Obama. Yet Romney’s the same person who, while Governor of Massachusetts and running for a Senate seat from the Bay State clung to the center on social issues. “Romneycare,” which this version of Romney has since disavowed, provides universal health care for the people of Massachusetts…and it works (it was the model for “Obamacare”). He also came out in favor of equal rights for the LGBT community, something that’s anathema to today’s Romney.
Mitt, many people’s lives were ruined in building your pot of gold. Not everyone is willing to do that. My criticism of your wealth has nothing to do with envy, but everything to do with the dysfunctional moral compass you use to guide your life’s work. Despite your high profile position in the Mormon Church, it is a compass that seems grossly at odds with the teachings of Jesus Christ. And your ambition has allowed you to rationalize that dishonesty as well.
Romney certainly didn’t achieve the status and wealth he enjoys today on his own. He certainly didn’t build it himself. To get to where he is today, he had to destroy a lot of lives and livelihoods. He enriched himself at the expense of others whom he viewed as units of production, not people. The term “vulture capitalist,” while not coined with Romney specifically in mind, certainly describes him to a “T.” Never one to obsess over the consequences of his actions and decisions, Romney has always taken care of #1 first and foremost.
Combine difficult to comprehend greed and avarice with the willingness to pander to, and assume the mantle of, the rabid Religious Right, and what you have is without a doubt the most dishonest and dangerous Presidential candidate in American history. Despite this, he’s engaged in what appears to be a close race for the Presidency. The mystery, of course, is how and why almost 50% of the electorate would vote for a man so dishonest and who cares so little for them except insofar as he needs their votes to achieve his ultimate goal.
Calling Romney evil would be to engage in rhetoric that’s dangerous in its own right. Still, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…the odds are pretty good that what we have on our hands is a duck. One could argue that Romney’s manipulation of religion, truth, and decency borders on the Satanic. It certainly doesn’t seem indicative of a man devoted to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the challenge of living a Christ-like life.
It’s your call, America.
