When The Bottom Is Not Low Enough To Sink…
…one then becomes a contributor to the Huffington Post. Is there a more mean-spirited, intellectually offensive tactic than to disparage one’s opponents on the basis of their professed religion? How about going one step further and saying ‘such and such is not even a good (Buddhist, Muslim, Jew, etc.)’?
Comes one Bob Burnett to show how the thing’s done in high style (I shall perform a limited fisking for the sheer joy of it):
Whether the President actually is a Christian is controversial.
A completely unfounded allegation, and something that cannot be decided by anyone other than Mr. Bush and the Almighty. What Burnett means to say is he doesn’t think President Bush is a Christian, but he’s not bold enough to say so without making it seem as if the item is a generally perplexing proposition.
Where I live, we judge people by what they do, rather than what they say.
If that’s the case, then, where you live, there seems to be no understanding of Christianity. Time and again, Christ made it clear that faith, and not works, was the path to salvation. (I’m not trying to convert my atheist readers – I’m merely stating the tenets of the faith). No man comes to the Father but by Me, said Christ. This is the single defining characteristic of the faith called Christianity – and this alone puts the entire premise of this pathetic smear job away for keeps.
Judged by this conduct, Bush certainly isn’t like the Christians I know. Whether they are “big C,” bible-thumping, go to church several times a week Christians, or “little C,” go to church on Easter, and think “Jesus was a good guy” Christians, they all believe in ethics like telling the truth and, at least once in a while, admitting a mistake.
Again, anyone who thinks “Jesus was a good guy” is not a Christian. Most Jews and all Muslims think “Jesus was a good guy”. The only basis for calling oneself a Christian is the profession of belief that Christ is the Son of God, and your personal Savior.
One suspects that Mr. Burnett’s ignorance of people of faith bothers him not one bit, however, as we have a pretty good idea by now that we are witnessing the building of the proverbial man of straw – ah, here he comes now:
But there are a bunch of American Christians that believe the end of the world is coming soon, right after Bill O’Reilly goes off the air. Apparently, they are the same Christians who have absolute confidence in Dubya; that chant, “He’s doin’ a heckuva job.”
Now, I don’t claim to have written any enduring masterpieces of literature on this blog, and I’ve doubtless said a stupid thing or two.
Can we agree, however, that before one commits oneself to a position regarding a religion, particularly if one is going to accuse the President of the United States of being a false adherent of that religion, that a slight acquaintance with that religion might be in order? Seems like the very, very least we should expect…
This is very difficult ground to walk on, especially for non-Christians like me. While it seems the very height of arrogance to say to someone “You aren’t a good Christian” (and doubly so when the one saying it isn’t even a Christian himself), there is some sense in which those people who proclaim their Christianity from on high need to be told to shut up and sit down. When people like Jerry Falwell thunder on about how gays caused 9/11 or John Paul Stevens is going to hell (see http://www.redstate.com), they really are missing the boat. I’m pretty sure Jesus said “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” (or something like that) and I’m pretty sure the Old Testament is clear about the fact that precisely no human is without sin, so something’s gotta give, right?
So, bottom line: there are a–holes like Burnett who pontificate about bad Christians and there are a–holes like Falwell (and a LOT of other major Christian figures, not just the fringe ones) who really are bad Christians. The real problem is figuring out when we should be allowed to call out the bad ones.
I wouldn’t worry too much about that problem, Ryan. Idiots like Robertson and Falwell have been chewed up and spit out by the leaders of the GOP many times over, after which they invariably blubber over themselves while apologizing profusely. For an alternative take, Billy Graham was an example of someone who was on the other side of the coin in this realm.
In other words, you don’t have to be a Christian when you call out someone behaving in a despicable manner – it’s just common sense.
Now, if we can just get more of the leading Muslim clerics to do likewise…eh, never mind.
Christianity is about a balance of grace and truth, speaking the truth in love, and dying to self to receive the life that Jesus offers. Speaking the truth according to the Bible on issues like homosexuality, abortion, etc. does not make someone an “a-hole”, Ryan (I’m not speaking about the whole “homosexuals caused 9/11″ stuff, by the way. I think it’s pretty clear that a bunch of terrorists caused 9/11). Tolerance and acceptance are NOT the same thing. I tolerate homosexuals. I think they are entitled to the same rights every citizen of the United States enjoys, and the Bible never says that homosexuality is some kind of unforgivable sin. God doesn’t judge homosexuals because they are homosexual, but because they are sinners just like me and everyone else. The difference lies in how someone responds to Jesus Christ.
That said, I neither accept nor agree with their assertions that they deserve special protection simply because they are homosexual – especially in regards to marriage – and feel no qualms about saying as much. As an evangelical Christian, I disagree with much of what the Falwell and Robertson-types say, but reject the notion that saying homosexuality as a lifestyle is wrong makes them “a-holes”. And, like Mark in this post, I am also disinclined to trust the ramblings of someone who believes there are actual “Jesus was a good guy” Christians. It’s actually an oxymoron since the word Christian means “little Christ” or “Christ-like”. How can someone be like that if they don’t even believe what Jesus said about himself?
You all make excellent points – I would just add that I have no problem with people critiquing someone who makes public their Christianity and saying that the actions, words, etc. of that person don’t seem very Christ-like – but I do have a problem with people who say someone’s a bad Christian who don’t even know what it means to be a Christian.
That would be, in a somewhat ridiculous example, like someone who had never watched football saying Bill Parcells is a bad coach – he may or may not be a bad coach, but there ought to be a basis for what you’re saying…
“Time and again, Christ made it clear that faith, and not works, was the path to salvation.”
Just to point out the difficulty of labeling someone a good or bad Christian, the Catholic Church would disagree with you there. One of the theological underpinnings of the Catholic/Protestant divide is the faith alone/faith and good works debate.
But your overall point still stands. And Burnett doesn’t exactly improve his case by arguing that anyone who agrees with the president must be some blinkered, Bible-thumping bufoon.
As an atheist Republican I can honestly say I’ve never been met with hostility of any sort in that regard. Robertson and the PTL folkses, okay, good on yer. Falwell is a more complex character. In any event, those who would cast a pox on all Righties for the transgressions of these figures need to remember that Clinton famously prayed and consulted with Falwell and ostentatiously posed with a Bible on many occassions. Is Mr. Clinton the model Christian? Shall we discuss the sincerity of his beliefs? Howzabout the Reverend Jackson? Hmmm? Okay, let’s go ahead and go nucular…. Da Right Rev Al Sharpton. Is this cat the spiritual figurehead of the Democrats? He sure as H-E double you know what gets a more prominent role in Dem policy and politics than any comparable (and who would that be?) figure on the Right. By a long country mile.