The Candidates
John McCain said he’s rather lose an election than see America lose a war. I’m not posting as a Republican, or a conservative, but as a Christian who, despite my interest in politics, has been suspicious of much that is represented as “Christian political activism.” So it’s as a Christian that I post this, and make these remarks.
There’s a new group out there (new to me), called the Matthew 25 Network. They felt obliged to put up a response to Sarah Palin’s speech to the Republican Convention this week:
Matthew 25 Network Responds to Palin’s Speech
If you watched Governor Sarah Palin’s address to the Republican National Convention last night, we’re sure you were as disappointed as we were in the tenor and content of the speech.
As Christians, we are called to be respectful and loving toward our neighbors, honoring their intentions even if we disagree. We are also called to be truthful in all things, to “put away falsehood” (Eph 4:25) and refrain from slandering, belittling, or speaking out of contempt for anyone.
If these are the standards God has set for us in our personal lives, our church communities, and our neighborhoods, how much more so should they be for those who choose to be in the public eye? Shouldn’t we expect our brothers and sisters in politics to also speak the truth in love and to extend respect and goodwill even to those who disagree with them?It’s because of these standards, and because Governor Palin is so public about her Christian faith, that the Matthew 25 Network found her address last night at the Republican National Convention so disappointing.
We call on her not only as a political figure, but as a prominent Christian, to commit herself to campaigning in good faith, with love and respect for her political opponents and a strong commitment to truth-telling.
Please join religious leaders Brian McLaren, Douglas W. Kmiec, Rev. Dr. Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Vince Miller, Peter Vander Meulen, Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Bart Campolo, Sharon Daly, Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, and Delores Leckey by signing on to the statement.
As always, please consider a donation to help us keep spreading our message.
I’m sure they consider that last line the most important one in their statement.
In looking at the site, it’s immediately apparent that it is linked to, or at least supportive of, the Obama campaign. That much is clear in that in their statement, they parrot the main talking point of the Democrats in response to Gov. Palin’s speech: its “tenor was divisive.”
I’m sure this Matt. 25 Network is scandalized by how conservative evangelicals have allowed themselves to be used by the Republican Party for what this Network must believe are narrow, partisan purposes. It can be argued that the Matt. 25 Network is guilty of the same “sin,” but allowing themselves to be cynically used as a tool of the Democratic Party.
One of my pet peeves with such groups is that they make it nearly impossible to contact them. I did find an “information” email address on their homepage, to which I sent the following missive:
I saw your organization’s statement about Gov. Palin’s speech at the Republican Convention….”The Matthew 25 Network is extremely disappointed in Sarah Palin’s address last night at the Republican National Conve ntion. We call on her not as a political figure but as a prominent Christian, and representative of Christ to the world, to commit herself to campaigning in good faith, with love and respect for her political opponents and a strong commitment to truth-telling.”
Did you actually listen to the speeches given last week at the Democratic Convention?
How can you be so upset with a political speech made to a partisan crowd of one party, but not be similarly upset at the political speeches made to a partisan crowd of the other party?
Are you so undiscerning?
Are you going to hold Sen. Obama to the same standard you set for Sarah Palin, since he also claims to be a Christian?
It’s very apparent you’re simply the leftwing version of the “hypocritical Christians” you disagree with in the right.
I suppose this email will be dismissed because of its “tenor.”
Here’s the point: Can the supposed sins of a “narrow rightwing Christian political activism” truly be balanced by a narrow leftwing Christian political activism? Am I the only one who sees the absurdity of this, that the only “logical” response to a tunnel-visioned religious right is a tunnel-visioned religious left?
September 5th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Excellent response to the Matthew 25 group. “Religious leaders” is the accurate term for this list. I recognized some of the names and you would really have to stretch the definition of Christian to include them. In fact they seem to be in the profession of stretching scriptures to mean whatever they choose it to mean.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:56 am
It’s par for the course for left wing groups. They support gender equality, then attack Palin for not staying home with Trig. They call themselves Pro-CHOICE, then attack Palin for choosing to carry her baby to term. They spent four days in Denver attacking Republicans, then criticize the GOP for being mean-spirited. They nominate a presidential candidate with zero foreign policy knowledge, zero economic knowledge, zero military background, and zero executive experience, then attack Palin for being inexperienced. They attack Evangelicals for being intolerant, then denegrate the millions of Americans between NYC and SF for clinging to religion and guns. They nominate a guy who equates Israel and the Palestinians and wants to talk to Iran unconditionally, then try to scare Jews by saying Palin is a Buchananite.
It’s just one more example of liberals shouting “do as I say, not as I do.”
September 5th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Well said Alaska Jake, this group is nuts.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Jake and Ohio I agree with you guys 100% this is ridiculas the left wants it both ways they can throw stones at us but we can’t at them they are trying to beat us over owr heads with owr christianity which is bull!!!
We should keep on hitting them HARDER and HARDER !!!
September 5th, 2008 at 6:46 am
That weird green background has been bothering me - why choose that when it was such an unqualified disaster the first time they used it for such and important speech (undoubtedly his most-watched speech). I understand for the people in the venue, they saw a lawn with some sort of large structure - a mansion? what, exactly? Turns out, it was Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA. Huh? It makes me wonder if the techie who was setting this up googled “walter reed” looking for the hospital and just took the first image that popped up. Sloppy, very sloppy, but I thought the whole convention was oddly organized.
September 5th, 2008 at 7:53 am
That group of people are INCREDIBLY self-righteous and absolutely LOVE Obama.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:09 am
I am so looking forward to seeing Gov Palin in a long interview (something like Meet The Press or 60 Minutes) where everyone will get a chance to really hear her and learn more about her! Does anyone know when this is scheduled? The McCain campaign should get her out there for this type of one-on-one setting as much as possible! GO SARAH!
September 5th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I swore I was reading something by Gamecock after reading that title.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Jason - lol, me too. Even after the first paragraph.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:21 am
“As Christians, we are called to be respectful and loving toward our neighbors, honoring their intentions even if we disagree. We are also called to be truthful in all things, to “put away falsehood” (Eph 4:25) and refrain from slandering, belittling, or speaking out of contempt for anyone”
Christ didn’t have a problem lambasting the pharisees, saducees, scribes, and lawyers. The Gospels are replete with instances of Christ calling a spade a spade. I am sure that this Matthew 25 would be offended to be called whited sepulchers just like the pharisees were. Oh well. They would probably call Christ a dirty smear campaigner tool.
It is extremely refreshing to have an honest, forthright, open faced Christian in our VP slot who isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade. Give it to ‘em Sarah with both barrels!
Dan
September 5th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Greg, I think you on target.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:23 am
I think you ARE on target
September 5th, 2008 at 10:07 am
#10 Dan, I was thinking the exact same thing after I first posted and went onto bed. This group is extremely selective in what they consider worth believing in the Bible. Well as Christ says in the sermon on the mount, if you take His Word lightly He will take you lightly. Too bad for them.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Oh my god, just look at the Matthew 25 “Press” page. ALL of it has to do with Obama’s faith, evangelical outreach, etc. These people are the reason Barack gets called “The Obamessiah”. They’re nucking futs.
September 5th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Well, duh.
Dude. This is not a real group. This is an example of what is called in the trade “astroturfing,” when a campaign or fellow travelers try to create a “grass roots.” Does anyone remember the Evangelicals for Dean or the Republicans for Kerry? This is a naive attempt at disinformation and impression management, and you fell for it.
September 5th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
The only name I recognize on that list is Bart Campolo, who I know mainly as Tony Campolo’s son. Tony Campolo is a longtime Christian minister with fairly outspoken liberal political views. He’s probably about the only member of the so-called “religious left” that has any respect among evangelicals, since he is pretty traditionalist on moral/ value issues, but his general support of liberal political figures is well known.
September 5th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I hear through the grapevine that TD Jakes has fallen for the false messiah as well..
God help us all.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
What they should be upset about is the blatant lack of substance in Palin’s speech. She is all piss and vinegar. No compassion. More of the same.