PROLOGUE:
This rant came about a few weeks ago when I sent Jason this picture and he and I engaged in an e-mail argument about whether or not GWBush is a good leader or a good Christian, and whether or not Jesus has a sense of humor concerning GWBush and tragedies like Katrina.
The whole "GWBush is a good Christian" thing has been bugging me for a long time, so I am glad that something got me to purge it from my system.
"IS GWBUSH A GOOD CHRISTIAN?"
I believe in a forgiving God and no, I do not profess to be a perfect Christian and yes - I meant to say "allowing" capital punishment. George W. Bush, as governor of Texas, allowed 152 executions. A true Christian would not have allowed ANY executions. I am not saying that any of the people were innocent, and I am not saying that they should have been freed and I am not saying that they shouldn't have been put in prison for the rest of their lives, but I am saying that a true Christian, like Gandhi or St. Francis or Padre Pio, would have forgiven these people. Jesus Christ refused to hate and refused to hurt anyone, no matter how bad they hurt him. George Bush doles out vengeance like it his birthright. And many will say that as the governor, he does, in fact, have the right to sign execution papers. As a governor, yes he does, but as a true Christian, he does not.
Christian politicians need to make a choice: Either be a Christian or be a politician, you can't do both. (Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.) Because if you want to be a true Christian and use His name to get votes you must be prepared to accept the consequences of being a hypocrite. I just read Rick Santorum's book, "It Takes a Family." I liked a lot of his ideas and he is super-catholic. What I can't get, though, is the fact that he is such a freaking bigot against gays. [(Believe this or not) his book swayed me away from anything resembling a support of gay marriage... I am on the right side (pun intended) of the gay-marriage debate and I feel as though I have a moral high ground, and I kind of like it.] I don't mind that he doesn't endorse or even remotely support gays marriage, but his condemnation of gays themselves is what sends me over the edge... a Christian can not sit in judgment of anyone. (Yeah, that's easy for me to say as I write a diatribe about what a crummy Christian someone else is.) Jesus himself was friends with whores, adulterers, all the sinners you can name.
Also, a real tenant with true Christianity is the whole idea of helping those who have so much less than yourself - that is where the minimum wage argument comes in. [Minimum wage is a joke no matter how you look at it - even if Pennsylvania increases the minimum wage to something like 7.20 by 2007 that is a freaking joke - what the U.S. needs is a living wage. Besides most of the people working minimum-wage jobs are teenagers, summer workers, etc... I don't know anyone who works a real job job supporting their family on minimum wage. But all this is beside my real point here -] GWBush and his family are freaking rich rich. Like really really rich. AS Christians it is their duty and obligation to help the poor. I am not talking about a hand-out, more of a hand-up to use a tired cliché. St. Francis was just about as close as anyone will ever come to a second Jesus Christ... he gave away everything he owned and lived a life of poverty serving Jesus Christ. Padre Pio, who lived in Italy until 1968, was also a real Christian. He ate only a small meal every day, he felt that any more than he himself needed should be given to the less fortunate. One time, he had an appetite for Spaghetti, since it had been a long time since he had had it. He asked his friend to bring him some... he ate one bite and was overcome with guilt at being so gluttonous... he asked his friend to take the rest of the food to someone who needed it more than himself. I am not saying that GWBush should live the life of a cloistered monk or give away everything he owns or anything like that, I am saying this guy has piles of money sitting around and he could do a lot of good things with it. All of the people who worked in the ticket windows of Texas Ranger stadium - I bet they would have loved a small pay raise. Use some money to start after-school programs - inner-city rebuilding programs - habitat for humanity - peace corps - americorps - there are a billion things he could do to make the world a better place - not necessarily globally, but locally. Rick Santorum talks a lot about building "social capital," the idea that strong communities lead to better kids and that leads to a better future. Social Capital comes from people doing things together for the common good. I am not suggesting that GWBush (the private citizen) has the power to make social capital happen, but he does have the power $$$ to help start some programs to make it happen.
I would never profess to speak for God, of course, but I am pretty sure that he does not want GWBush or me or you or anyone to be unhappy. I don't think giving away everything I own is the answer. I like stuff. I think maybe God wants me to like my stuff. (I am not being sarcastic here: if He doesn't want us to like having stuff, why would so many things be available - like music and toys and the hunting camp and the Bruce Springsteen concert I am going to on November 8, 2005 (oooohhhh, yeaaaaah.)) But, the fire-and-brimstonites will say that that is the devil tempting you. Well, I will risk it. I am pretty sure that my luxuries (buying a moderate amount of cd's & dvd's, drinking too much coffee, going to 2 concerts a year, eating ben & jerry's every once in a while, and being a member of the camp) won't put me on the path to hell.
I also am not saying that I am a true Christian or that I know any true Christians. The number of TRUE TRUE Christians who ever lived is very small. I am thinking of Jesus himself, a very few saints, and as I mentioned before, Ghandi, who was not, in fact, Christian. (Some saints even, like Augustine and Joan of arc, while they loved God and Jesus very much, acted in anger and violence. Joan of Arc is a saint for acting for God... a suicide bomber is a murder for acting for his god. Joan of Arc was also condemned as a heretic later in her life because she refused to recant her stories of speaking with God. I never understood that - she is revered in battle because she is being led by the Holy Spirit and everyone loves her because she is kicking ass for France, but then when the war is over, she is put on trial for heresy because she allegedly spoke with God. And they would have let her go, too, if she would have said 'I didn't talk to God, I made it all up.' But because she stuck to her guns, they burned her at the stake. I never understood that "if you say you did it, we will lighten your sentence, but if you steadfastly deny you did it, then we will throw you in jail." If I didn't commit the crime and I am going to jail anyway, I might as well say I did it and get out early????? Don't Make No Sense.)
Anyway, my real beef here is with GWBush professing to be a super-Christian when I see so many things he does not being in line with the Christian faith.
Honestly, I do not think that all the things he does that bother me would bother me half as much if I didn't keep hearing about what a great Christian he is.
And don't get me wrong - I am not picking on GWBush - Washington is full of them - Clinton went to Church every Sunday and even prayed with Rev. Jesse Jackson who had a young woman knocked up in an adulterous affair WHILE he was praying for the soul of a man who was having an affair?????? Blind leading the blind. Strom Thurmond - Christian. And last but certainly not least - 1988 Presidential hopeful and leader of many thousands of blind sheep looking for the truth in the dark, 700 Club President and founder of the Christian Coalition - assination-promoter, Pat Robertson.
EPILOGUE
As I said a few times, there have been like 5 true Christians since the dawn of time. I am not one of them. I don't think you are either. And I don't think GWBush is either. Maybe we should all just try to be better people.
