It looks like the Republicans and their buddies, the religious right, have a dilemma. The two candidates currently in the forefront of Republican presidential politics, Rudy Giuliani & Mitt Romney, have some big negatives for religious conservatives. Giuliani is supportive of abortion and gay rights. Romney is a Mormon who at one time was also aggressively pro-abortion rights (although, since he decided to run for president, he claims he’s changed his mind about that). What an ideological conundrum for the morality crowd.
Being pro-life has been a “non-negotiable” litmus test for anyone the religious right has endorsed. And, almost every evangelical who has attended an adult Sunday school class for more than a couple of years has received indoctrination showing Mormonism to be a false cult, dangerous and threatening to anyone holding forth the Bible as the authoritative Word of God. Evangelicals, who make up the largest segment of the religious right, also espouse Biblical authority as a non-negotiable.
The old saying is that “politics makes strange bedfellows.” It will be fascinating to watch which of these two candidates (assuming they continue to be the frontrunners) the religious right will go to bed with. If anyone who has claimed to be pro-life and believes in the authority of the Bible ends up supporting either of these two candidates, they may be rightly criticized as a hypocrite. Their supposed non-negotiables will have been put aside for the sake of winning an election and occupying the seats of power. Never mind what the Bible cautions about those who clamor for earthly power.
I’m all for participating in the political process. But, as soon as one claims to have views that are godlier, more biblical, traditional, or whatever other morally superior label you want to give them, only to later put them on the back burner in order to secure power; they can be sure they are on the road to getting caught in embarrassing hypocrisy. That’s a mistake I hope to avoid making this time around.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
POKER AND PACIFISM
I admit it. I like to watch tournament poker on TV. I'm not sure why since I don't play poker. I gave it up when I lost $20 in a game my freshman year at college. Haven't played since. I guess I fall into the category of gullible couch potatos who are entertained by the colorful personalities, the bluffing and betting strategies, and the huge pots on the line.
One of the things I've noticed is they never show us what losers do after they lose. Do they go to a bar and drown their sorrow? Do they go home and yell at their kids? Do they go find another game where they hope to recover their losses? Do they just shrug and wait for another day? Last night I saw a guy who had come all the way from Japan trying to convince an interviewer how happy he was to have had the privilege of coming to America and losing the $10,000 it cost him to buy into the tournament. Give me a break!
Right now there is a "high stakes poker game" of global proportions happening in the Middle East. In the form of troop build ups, warships moving into the zone, diplomatic intimidation and "everything on the table" (all in) maneuvering, the United States and her allies are hoping to get Iran to "fold" its uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons program. The "table chattter" is confrontational and threatening. The suspense of the moment is intense compounded by the fact that those of us in the viewing audience don't have the benefit of those little table cameras that show us what hands the players have. And as we learned in Iraq, even when we think we know we don't. Either the "cameras malfunction" or the "production editors" lie.
I think we'd all be better off if we gave up poker. If we've got billions of dollars to gamble on high stakes adventures that someone is guaranteed to lose and suffer the consequences, wouldn't it be money better spent if we devoted it to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick and imprisoned as Jesus said nations were to be doing in Matthew 25? What if our only presence in the Middle East was to do good to our enemies? What if we were serious about blessing those who mistreat us in order to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:14-21)? I think it would be worth a try because we have so much to lose and, as I see it, politically, emotionally and spiritually, we're playing with a "short stack."
One of the things I've noticed is they never show us what losers do after they lose. Do they go to a bar and drown their sorrow? Do they go home and yell at their kids? Do they go find another game where they hope to recover their losses? Do they just shrug and wait for another day? Last night I saw a guy who had come all the way from Japan trying to convince an interviewer how happy he was to have had the privilege of coming to America and losing the $10,000 it cost him to buy into the tournament. Give me a break!
Right now there is a "high stakes poker game" of global proportions happening in the Middle East. In the form of troop build ups, warships moving into the zone, diplomatic intimidation and "everything on the table" (all in) maneuvering, the United States and her allies are hoping to get Iran to "fold" its uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons program. The "table chattter" is confrontational and threatening. The suspense of the moment is intense compounded by the fact that those of us in the viewing audience don't have the benefit of those little table cameras that show us what hands the players have. And as we learned in Iraq, even when we think we know we don't. Either the "cameras malfunction" or the "production editors" lie.
I think we'd all be better off if we gave up poker. If we've got billions of dollars to gamble on high stakes adventures that someone is guaranteed to lose and suffer the consequences, wouldn't it be money better spent if we devoted it to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick and imprisoned as Jesus said nations were to be doing in Matthew 25? What if our only presence in the Middle East was to do good to our enemies? What if we were serious about blessing those who mistreat us in order to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:14-21)? I think it would be worth a try because we have so much to lose and, as I see it, politically, emotionally and spiritually, we're playing with a "short stack."
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