To say that there is a Christian agenda on political or legal issues has always been inaccurate. God isn't a Republican or a Democrat, a conservative or a liberal.
But now comes this story on one of the most unrepentant politicizers of the Gospel and everyone should find it disturbing. Of course, there's no way of knowing yet whether the allegations it contains are true, but it is something that needs to be delved into...before anybody writes another check. (Thanks to Glenn Reynolds for leading me to the story.)
5 comments:
Mark,
Wow. I sure hadn't heard this about Sekulow. Thanks for posting.
This reminds me of a week-long series the paper here in St. Louis did on Joyce Meyer. I have real theological problems with her prosperity gospel, but she practices what she preaches. Her ministry board is stuffed with family members. The ministry has bought them all huge homes on a large compound. The county has been trying for years to get them to pay taxes on the homes, but they claim they're exempt. She flies first class, stays in 4-star hotels, wears $2,000 suits, and makes no apologies. And yet her ministry is doing some very good work in the community.
I was curious about your comment on Sekulow being a shameless politicizer of the gospel. My admittedly limited perception is that ACLJ performs some valuable work in defending people's constitutional rights in hostile environments. I really don't know much about Sekulow. What is it that bothers you?
Jeff:
Perhaps unfairly on my part, I'm disgusted with the role Sekulow plays as a political insider, clearly portraying his brand of Republican politcs as though it were a pure expression of Christian faith. (I'm equally upset with Christians who are liberal Dems who act as though their agenda came straight from Jesus.)
I firmly believe that Christians should be and, to love their neighbors as themselves, are called to be involved in politics in some way.
But when the Gospel becomes too identified with one political agenda or another, it has the effect of subordinating Christ to partisan philosophies. I feel that we see this happening in some Christian political activism and in the popular perceptions of what exactly constitutes "Christian belief" that it spawns. Too many people, both inside and outside the Church, there is an erroneous and destructive belief that the Lord's Name should be printed, "Jesus Christ (R-Nazareth)" in the newspaper.
If I'm being unfair to Sekulow specifically here, I certainly apologize.
To the more general issues you discuss and which are addressed in the Law Times article on Sekulow, these should disturb and arouse a desire to get to the bottoms of things in every Christian.
I confess that until I read your comments, Joyce Meyer had never been anything other than a face on the fronts of books. I had no notion of what she was about or what she was doing. What a mess!
Thanks for your comments, Jeff.
Blessings in Christ,
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for the explanation. That helps me understand better. I agree exactly with the concerns you shared. I don't know enough about Sekulow one way or the other.
I've tried to encourage people to be involved in the political process, to respect their leaders, to make their concerns known to elected officials, and not to conflate the GOP with God. I think a couple of the reasons for the confusion you mention is that the Democratic party has moved very far left over the last 30+ years and the Republicans are the only game in town for pro-life people. Still, we can never place our allegiance with any party or allow Jesus to be co-opted.
The way you feel about Sekulow is how I feel about James Dobson and Focus on the Family. They have a lot of good resources, but I can't listen to Dobson anymore with his constant politicization of everything. The most outrageous spectacle, though, was his wink and a nod over Harriet Miers with the mention of "private assurances" he'd received. What in the world was that?!? A Christian leader allows himself to be used to sell the President's nominee to evangelicals? I am still so mad at that I don't know what to say.
Anyway, thanks for raising the issue and giving me a chacnce to vent :)
Jeff:
Your sentiments about Dr. Dobson are the same as mine. I blogged about his political activities a few weeks ago, asking him to stop playing what I regard as a dangerous game. Here's the URL: http://markdaniels.blogspot.com/2005/10/dr-dobson-please-quit-playing-this.html.
Blessings in Christ,
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for the link to the old post. It and the comments were very interesting. I'm sorry I missed the lively discussion. All I can say at this point is, "Amen."
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