The emergence of the Foley scandal has uncovered the hypocrisy and self-loathing homophobia of many of our elected officials on both sides of the aisle. Throughout this conflict lies an unlikely group of victims who must be completely confused at their buddies in Washington.
Our American houses of worship have to really look at the way politicians have manipulated their concept of spirituality and the inherent fear of gays and Muslims into voting slam dunks.
Being a registered and practicing Independent, I have often laughed at the childlike allegiances adults form for the sake of some arbitrary religious team building. “Jesus would vote this way” is the intimation coming from my pastor one Sunday in 2004; I witnessed at my church how aversion to gays and Muslim domination was the end-all-be-all of political issues and we should vote accordingly.
All the while, my church sat in an impoverished community where prescription drug prices and the ability for young people to read or matriculate out of the school system are more important issues. We didn’t talk about the economy or the fact that politicians can’t seem to understand that a majority of Americans are working members of the middle class and therefore college education, transportation costs and unemployment rates are as important as fighting an ill-conceived war or trying to stop two dudes from kissing. None of this was seemingly an issue for Jesus, but keeping gays from walking down the aisle is the definition of the faith-based initiatives we were fed in 2000.
Inherent in this problem is the conservative Protestantism that has sprung up in our country, which turned God and religion into a game of tag on the playground. All one party has to do is co-opt the righteousness of Jesus and they have a voting block sold.
There is a reason for the separation of church and state, and it’s not because of any anti-Christian sentiment by the ACLU or the Leftists among us. It is chiefly because, in our thirst for power and influence, we can’t help but make blasphemy law. We seek to judge good and evil in the name of God when as a Christian, I understand I am no more qualified to judge another lest I judge myself.
The furor and noise created in 2000 and 2004 is all but a whisper now; where are the religious pundits telling me to vote with my Bible? Are they using that Bible to hide their homosexuality or their extramarital affairs? You see the boomerang of judgment is swift; the GOP has long taken advantage of Christianity and the judgment has turned on them. The blatant corruption of the GOP controlled Congress, the numerous accounts of sexual impropriety and the inability to enact even a small amount of substance during their tenure has not fallen on deaf ears. What can our preachers and evangelists and GOP members say now? Worshippers of all races voted under their direction to bring some answers to the seeming moral decline of our world. Yet today, six years after they solicited and America heeded, we sit mired in an abyss of corruption, destruction and moral hogwash. Children are killing children, the middle class still can’t afford college, and to their obvious chagrin, gay people are still around.
Decker Ngongang, a native of Charlotte, is a financial professional and committed citizen.
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2006.
people always love to tell others what to do.and they always think that they have more writes to it then last parson. it always surprises me,when aspesialy angry people try to teach something they do not anderstened. just try to read Bible,maybe you’ll learn something and then you’ll call yourself christian. maby then you’ll look both ways.peace be with you.
Cute Edit there Decker!
(You folks will note that it appears that ther eis only one post above this and that none have been removed. In fact there Decker has removed a post that ws in no way objectionable except for the fact tht it pointed out rather clearly that he is ignboring the existence and in fact the strength of the religious left. As his fellow CL writer Tara has pointed out, the Clt Black Caucus works largely through chruches, endorses only leftists, and virtually controls at large races in Char-Meck. And that is but one example. There are other, but the one of which I am most fond is that of the United Methodist church which is politically active and almost indistinguishable from the Democrat party. Bottom line: his article is a thinly veiled attempt at asserting that conserative, religious people allow themselves to be manuipulated and that the practice is unique to conservatives and to a small segment of Christianity. He’s quite wrong and knows or at least if he were diligent in his research should know that.
On the good side: The article had good style and made some valid points.
On the bad side: The article was not objective. Another article supporting moral relativism. Christians Punked? No I think, “Ignorance Punked” and it always will be no matter what the editorial in the press has to say. Just look at the treatment Bill Cosby has gotten for bringing the FACTS to our attention. Was religion involved in that? An ax to grind is an easy place to start writing an article from… Ed Sanders