Is Character Assassination a Christian Virtue?
by Will Hinton ()It appears that Pastor Roger Byrd of Jonesville, SC thinks so. I read this article today about a sign that Byrd placed in front of his church.
It reads: "Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?"
Byrd then goes on to explain....actually, he goes on to lie about why he put the sign up.
Byrd said that the message wasn't meant to be racial or political."It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ," he said.
When asked if he believes that Barack Obama is Muslim, Byrd said, "I don't know. See it asks a question: Are they brothers? In other words, is he Muslim ? I don't know. He says he's not. I hope he's not. But I don't know. And it's just something to try to stir people's minds. It was never intended to hurt feelings or to offend anybody."
Wasn't meant to be political? That is obviously a lie.
Never intended to offend anyone? Yet another lie.
Why do Christians feel that the Ten Commandments don't apply when they engage in politics? Unfortunately, the congregation at Byrd's church has lost their ethical moorings and feels that the ends justify the means if they are willing to continue having Byrd as their pastor.
I'm not sure when I have been so disgusted by a so-called Christian who has elevated political power over truth and love.
Technorati Tags: Politics Religion obama osama roger byrd jonesville church of god politics christianity
"I'm not sure when I have been so disgusted by a so-called Christian who has elevated political power over truth and love."
Almost daily, for me personally. These folks do not live in the same world as the rest of us. Their reality is almost exactly opposite ours in many important respects.
I wonder how this type of expression impacts the church's tax-exempt status? IANAL, but I'd love to hear from one about this!
This is sadly not uncommon. Too many churches have blurred the line between Christianity and being a Republican. Jesus didn't speak @ all about having one's rulers be believers. It doesn't sound like the pastor talked about having reviewed Obama's faith statements. To be charitable, he may have discussed these and failed to quoted about these.
From what I've heard, he's made as many faith statements indicating a personal faith in Christ as had Sen. Clinton. Coverage of their faiths has been more widespread than that of McCain.
Folks should remember that the current president's been most vocal about his personal faith, but I don't know how good he's been for the country.
You really need to read Andrew Sullivan's recent post called "McTruthyism". It is right in line with what you are saying here. It's like McCarthyism with the difference being that McCarthy actually believed at least some of the people he was going after actually were communists. It's also a nod to Steven Colbert's concept of "truthiness". Notice Byrd says, "See, it asks a question." So as long as you phrase it in the form of a question, it becomes legitimate. Sad.
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