Last night on “The Daily Show” former President Jimmy Carter had a little fun picking on The Tea Party's Christine O'Donnell about dabbling in witchcraft...oh, and on her stand on masturbation (can I say that on a Christian blog? I guess I just did). It seems that everyone is jumping on the Witchy-Poo (shout out to my H.R. Pufnstuff peeps!) bandwagon in yet another modern day witch hunt.
I have to say, as a Christian minister, I just don't care. No more than I would care if Obama were actually a “secret Muslim,” or the fact that Glenn Beck probably believes in three heavens and the ability to become a god in the afterlife. Besides, that was then and this is now. We have to stop holding political candidates hostage over something they once thought or believed. It is as if we don't want our leaders (and perspective leaders) to gain experience and knowledge and then learn from it.
What I do care about is the crazy stuff she believes in now that would directly impact how she would serve if elected. Things like: “America is now a socialist economy,” creationism, she hears “the audible voice of God,” being gay is an “identity disorder,” and a number of other questionable beliefs and statements.
What does all of this have to do with God, you ask? (After all this is “The God Article”). Simply this, too many politicians are playing The God Card and in doing so they seem to believe they can just co-opt the Christian church and it's beliefs as if we are one homogenous group. When they do, they always pick a fairly conservative bent on Christianity and project to the world that that particular take on Christianity is the only Christianity (or at least 'true' Christianity). Ultimately, this serves to minimize, in the minds of the world, the more progressive Christian movement. They are able to do this partially because those of us who fit into that category have had a tendency to sit by silently, presumably out of some false belief that Jesus was passive to the point of irrelevance.
The Progressive Christian movement must begin to stand up, even in the face of conservative Christians who will undoubtedly point fingers and try to shout us back down (sometimes literally), and overcome our reluctance to say what we believe with the same passion and vigor that our more traditional brothers and sisters do.
O'Donnell has said a lot of things that ring the crazy bell for many progressive Christians; we must stand up in one united voice when this happens and say, not all Christians believe that, not all Christians want that, not all Christians carry that particular brand of God Card.
Watch Jon Stewart's interview with former President
Carter here:
I have to say, as a Christian minister, I just don't care. No more than I would care if Obama were actually a “secret Muslim,” or the fact that Glenn Beck probably believes in three heavens and the ability to become a god in the afterlife. Besides, that was then and this is now. We have to stop holding political candidates hostage over something they once thought or believed. It is as if we don't want our leaders (and perspective leaders) to gain experience and knowledge and then learn from it.
What I do care about is the crazy stuff she believes in now that would directly impact how she would serve if elected. Things like: “America is now a socialist economy,” creationism, she hears “the audible voice of God,” being gay is an “identity disorder,” and a number of other questionable beliefs and statements.
What does all of this have to do with God, you ask? (After all this is “The God Article”). Simply this, too many politicians are playing The God Card and in doing so they seem to believe they can just co-opt the Christian church and it's beliefs as if we are one homogenous group. When they do, they always pick a fairly conservative bent on Christianity and project to the world that that particular take on Christianity is the only Christianity (or at least 'true' Christianity). Ultimately, this serves to minimize, in the minds of the world, the more progressive Christian movement. They are able to do this partially because those of us who fit into that category have had a tendency to sit by silently, presumably out of some false belief that Jesus was passive to the point of irrelevance.
The Progressive Christian movement must begin to stand up, even in the face of conservative Christians who will undoubtedly point fingers and try to shout us back down (sometimes literally), and overcome our reluctance to say what we believe with the same passion and vigor that our more traditional brothers and sisters do.
O'Donnell has said a lot of things that ring the crazy bell for many progressive Christians; we must stand up in one united voice when this happens and say, not all Christians believe that, not all Christians want that, not all Christians carry that particular brand of God Card.
Watch Jon Stewart's interview with former President
Carter here:
RSS Feed