A Sad Day

During the 2004 election campaign, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson intimated that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush. Then the Republican National Committee circulated lists of "duties" to local churches, which included turning over their congregational membership lists to the RNC.

Now the Religious Right is saying that the support of the president's judicial nominations is a test of orthodox faith. This is a serious violation of the relationship between faith and politics.

James Dobson (Focus on the Family), Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), Chuck Colson (Prison Fellowship), and Southern Baptist leader Albert Mohler are hosting "Justice Sunday," a broadcast this Sunday from one of those Super-churches in Louisville, Kentucky. Their message falls far short of being Christian, as they insist that those who don't support President Bush's judicial nominees are being hostile to "people of faith."

How dare they!

(I find it hard to believe that Chuck Colson would stoop to this…From the material of his that I have read in the past, I thought he was a person I could have trusted. I guess his prison experiences are fading from his memory.)

Senator Bill Frist intends to join them, in a purely political move to get support for his effort to end the Senate practice of filibustering. His appearance at this event gives an endorsement to the Religious Right's claim that the Democratic filibuster of a small number of very conservative judges is "a filibuster against people of faith."

Again, how dare they!

Despite the fact that many Democrats who oppose some of President Bush's nominees are themselves people of faith, Republicans and their religious supporters are questioning the faith and religious integrity of their opponents. As Christians, how can they do that?

This only escalates the religious/political wars. There is an assumption by Republicans and their conservative religious allies that, somehow, they own religion in America and they are demanding that religious people vote only their way and they show disrespect for the faith of those who disagree with their political agenda.

These are not mere political offenses; they offend me on a personal level. Can’t we call these people what they are? Such as, morally irresponsible?

I am a person of faith and for me (or anyone else) to be attacked because we don’t agree with the president, is wrong, just plain wrong!

What happened to the real issues that Christians should be focusing on? Such as the uplifting of the poor and hungry, the ethics of war, the tragic number of abortions in America, the protection of the environment, or – the list goes on and on.