Chuck Baldwin knocks one into the cheap seats with this commentary on Duped Christians.
By simply claiming to be "Christians," today's politicians are making dupes out of multitudes of believers. They are trusted and revered in much the same way a faithful and beloved pastor would be trusted and revered. No! They are trusted and revered MORE than are their pastors.In this case I see Chuck as absolutely correct. Somehow, right wing politicians, using God-speak and hymn snippets have deceitfully won the hearts of many conservatives but are simply broadening their power bases. (HT: Dave Black)
Pastors would not be able to get by with the lying, deceit, and dishonesty that politicians routinely get by with. Many believers give politicians much more honor than they give to their pastors. How foolish!
By nature, most politicians are self-serving opportunists who cannot see past the next election. In fact, many (if not most) of them are downright dishonest. After all, only a dishonest man could raise his hand and take an oath to support and defend the Constitution and then proceed to ignore and violate it without so much as an afterthought.
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Once again, Dan Edelen jars us from our materialistic slumber to bring to our attention 21st century indentured servants via, of all things, kids' meal toys and how they come into being. How ought the church to respond to this horrid social injustice?
At one time, middle-class Americans made those toys. Now they’re made by very young adults (and in most cases, children, as some estimates say up to 250 million children between five and fourteen-years-old slave away) in factories in countries many Americans can’t find on a map. The factory owners house them in barracks where they sleep head to toe. They work twelve to sixteen hour days, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and even on their limited breaks are typically not allowed to venture off the factory property without supervision. In truth, they have nowhere else to go. Worst of all, if we found the kind of coinage lying on the street that those workers make as their hourly rate, we’d think it not worth the risk to bend over.Dan reminds us that our excess costs something. It may not be something we can see or even touch, but it costs--and it may be costing a little life that has no hope of a future. Ever. All for a happy meal toy that will bunker our landfills within minutes after purchase.
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And this from SBC 2nd VP Wiley Drake is just plain troubling. He has written a letter to Don Imus, after the uproar over his racist remarks, ready to offer absolution to the shock jock.
I certainly do not approve of what you said, and in retrospect it appears that neither do you.
Even though I am not your pastor I would be glad to meet with you and pray with you and witness your confession to God, and help you claim forgiveness, that indeed will be forgotten by God.
2nd VP Drake then cordially invites Mr. Imus to be on his radio show. Somehow this smacks of Jerry Falwell gushing over Newt Gingrich's "confession." Mr. Gingrich admitted to the affair in a two-part interview with Dr. James Dobson, during a “Focus on the Family” broadcast. Falwell said:
It is just as Mr. Baldwin stated above...I was pleased to hear Mr. Gingrich state: “I’ve gotten on my knees and sought God’s forgiveness.”
He has admitted his moral shortcomings to me, as well, in private conversations. And he has also told me that he has, in recent years, come to grips with his personal failures and sought God’s forgiveness.
I have been very impressed with the spiritual maturity of this man and am convinced that he has been honest and forthright in clarifying his past failings and his quest, as a Christian, for God’s forgiveness.
2 comments:
Interesting stuff, Tony. I find Chuck Baldwin problematic in many ways, but he has had several columns that were dead on correct. And on this, he is preaching to the choir. With each Bush scandal, the conservative evangelical support for him further undermines their credibility on any issue.
I also like the Edelen point and this speaks to much of what you and I have talked about. I remember thinking about this when the SBC tried to boycott Disney. It struck me then, as it does now, odd that the Baptists hated the possibility of Disney welcoming gay people or extending same-sex benefits, but had no problem at all with Disney outsourcing their toys to sweatshop labor.
Dan,
Thanks for stopping by. One question I wanted to ask after reading your post was how the church should respond. I felt you would cover it in future posts. Looking forward to it.
Streak,
Yeah, I may be preaching to the choir, but I am beginning to wonder if they are listening anymore.
The big issue with Dan's point is what he has already made clear (above). Most Baptist churches are middle class folks, whom this kind of corruption most directly affects, but strangely we turn a deaf ear and a blind eye.
We just are not willing to spend a few extra bucks on a pair of pants made in America but rather would have the Wal-Mart $19.97 pair that nearly ground a Dhakan kid into oblivion. I don't know that I am comfortable with the trade-off anymore.
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