?Judge not that ye be not judged?; so said Jesus. But don?t try telling that to Southern Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress.
Jeffress, a prominent Texas preacher and Rick Perry supporter, created a firestorm at last weekend?s Values Voters Summit by omnipotently declaring that cult member Mitt Romney was headed straight for hell.
Continue ReadingIsn?t that special?
I have always been fascinated by mere mortals who arrogantly ignore Jesus?s teachings to make declarations about the salvation of other men?s souls.
By assuming the Almighty?s role, Jeffress has embraced the proud tradition of Christian stalwarts like Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard and the PTL Club?s Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
Judge not that ye be not judged?
Not on your life.
Modern American politics as practiced by Jeffress and his ilk require that Jesus Christ be thrown under the bus with great regularity by the very same people who claim His name.
For these modern day Pharisees, a president who declares Jesus Christ as his personal lord and savior is to be doubted if he is from the wrong political party.
?I came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace him as my lord and savior,? Barack Obama declared at this year?s National Prayer Breakfast.
And when the president explained how he got through his most difficult years, Obama bluntly proclaimed, ?My Christian faith has been my sustaining force.?
And yet the same pastor who declared Mitt Romney unfit for office called the defeat of this president ?a spiritual imperative.?
Really, pastor?
That?s a fascinating conclusion to draw out of the spiritual teachings of Jesus Christ, because in all the years I spent going to Southern Baptist churches, attending Sunday school, Sunday morning services, Training Union, Sunday night services, Tuesday Bible studies, Wednesday night church supper, Vacation Bible School, Bible drills from the age of 5, and just about every other fellowship meeting that the Baptist church offers, I can recall nothing in Jesus?s teachings or the New Testament that should fill you with the kind of self-righteous arrogance to declare to Americans which candidate is spiritually fit for the Oval Office.
That?s not just bad politics. It is bad theology.
Anyone who knows me well can attest to the fact that a lot of what I was taught growing up didn?t sink in deep enough. But one of the great truths that even I absorbed was Jesus Christ?s repeated warnings to his followers to shun the self-righteousness of religious leaders and instead to lead with love.
faith hill non hodgkin lymphoma lymphoma ciara world trade center memorial world trade center memorial spartacus
No comments:
Post a Comment