Friday, October 10, 2008

Was Jesus a Republican?

My parents came to town for a few days last weekend. I hadn't seen them since last spring/early summer. They got a hotel room for the weekend, but my mom decided to sleep over at my house. I felt like a little kid again, sharing a bed with my mom.

I went with my parents to dinner with some of their friends one night, and the conversation disturbed me. We were talking about politics and whether or not Obama could trade Biden for Hillary Clinton as his running mate this late in the campaign. One of the men remarked, "I don't think he will. God won't let it happen."

"Flabbergasted" is the only word I can think of to describe my response. Well, maybe a few other words come to mind: offended, outraged, disgusted. Remarks like that make Christians sound stupid.

It was a little like the time I heard Richard Land, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, say that if Clinton were nominated to the Supreme Court (an extremely long shot that will probably never happen) she would be "parking her broom outside the Supreme Court building for years to come."

Am I missing something, or has God declared publicly that he hates Hillary Clinton? Has God suddenly decided to get involved in politics? Last I checked, there was nothing ethical about implying that somebody is a witch. In fact, I sincerely doubt that God is interested in a particular political candidate or party.

And don't Christians believe that God can use whoever he wants to accomplish His goals? If he used Pontius Pilot, He can certainly use Hillary Clinton.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm unclear -- god wouldn't let it happen because he hates Hillary Clinton so much, or because he loves Biden so much?

It's sort of a weird line. I think I need a little bit more context to understand it.

Sharon said...

The guy who said that God wouldn't let Hillary be VP was saying that God wouldn't let her be VP both because she's a democrat and because she's a woman. Both of those sentiments are offensive.

Anonymous said...

You should either consistently capitalize "He" to refer to God or not capitalize it at all (see last sentence where you use one of each).

Anonymous said...

Pontius "Pilot"? Do you mean to say, "Pilate," or am I missing a reference?

Anonymous said...

You're right jennifer, that's hilarious

Anonymous said...

You really need to fix that reference, it's pretty bad.

Unknown said...

Can God use anyone to accomplish His goals? Of course. Does God always have His druthers? I think not - free will, and all. Would God prefer Biden over Hillary? Who am I to say?

Are you sure the person who said God wouldn't let that happen believed so because Hillary Clinton is a woman? Or did you interpret it that way, being defensive at the possible implication?

Personally, I would have been troubled most by the speaker's presumptuousness to know God's will. It may very well be true that God would either prefer Clinton not be in office or "prevent" it from happening, but, "His ways are not our ways."

To answer the question in the title of the post: I don't think Jesus/God would be a Republican or a Democrat. He would likely endorse a benevolent theocratic Christian dictator. In fact, He already did.

But, if you narrowed it to a binary choice between the two parties, Republicans would probably have an edge. But you should expect as much, since the religious right largely identifies that way. Not that Republicans have cornered the market on Christianity, but the conception is grounded in truth.

Anonymous said...

In addition to the Pilot / Pilate mistake, which is just glaringly obvious, this should also be fixed:

"an extremely long shot that will probably never happen"

I believe you meant "an extreme long shot", I know it's a blog, but still some editing before posting is always a good idea.

Unknown said...

You're out of control, man. I know I don't know you very well, but you need help. I'm going to get some of your closest friends together (assuming you have some) for an intervention so we can get you a life.

All joking aside, STFU and quit trolling blogs for editing mistakes. If you haven't figured out by now that "I judge you when you use poor grammar" is tongue-in-cheek, then you're a bigger dumbass than I initially gave you credit for (PSBTW, it's still ok to end a sentence with a preposition).

Either grow a pair and attach your name to meaningful discussion or be a troll somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Bill Clinton, didn't he get disbarred by the US Supreme Court or something like that before he left office? From what I recall, that had no real effect on him except that it effectively terminated his ability to ever be appointed to the US Supreme Court as a justice.

Petty and partisan GOP politics by Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, O'Connor, and Kennedy.

Even pettier and more partisan GOP politics by that party of five was the Gore-Bush fiasco that resulting in the toilet flush of America for the next 4 years and arguably the next 8. Thank goodness it's almost over.

Daidalos said...

Yeah, Jesus would definitely be a Republican, because He was all about tax breaks for the rich and screwing the poor at every available opportunity.

Sheesh.