As your Blogger-in-Chief, Save Jerseyans, I only speak with absolute authority on political matters.
That said, I did earn a ‘Theology and Religious Studies’ minor at the Catholic University of America (Go Cardinals!). And I did spend a few years as an altar boy (no lewd jokes, please). So I’m probably as qualified to decide whether Mitt Romney is a “Christian” as any of the bloviating, self-righteous, instapreacher windbags passing themselves off as experts on nightly news programs.
Few non-Catholic educated people know that the early Christian church referred to itself as “The Way.” Forgive the oversimplification necessitated by the constraints of blogging space and time, folks, but the basic idea was that being a 1st Century “Christian” meant joining a tight-knit community and living a Christ-like life. Except for a few debates over whether conversion to Judaism had to precede baptism, the early Christians were a relatively inclusive lot. Burning heretics at the stake and placing scientists under house arrest were later developments.
Now here we are, approximately 2,000 years in the future, and more than a few Christians seem to have completely lost their own way. Worse still, there are those would try to knock others off the path… like “Pastor” Robert Jeffress. Men like Jeffress get so caught up in theological minutea that they forget this isn’t a theological contest. We’re not selecting a pope or a pastor; we’re choosing an American President who reflects our collective values. Along those lines, I think Jeffress and his ilk also forgot (or never discover to begin with) that which really goes into being a Christian! Loving thy neighbor, for one. Believing in Jesus as God for another! Taking care of your family, direct accountability to God, being charitable to those in need, and respecting the dignity of every human life… all things every Mormon that I’ve ever encountered would emphatically and unequivocally agree with.
What other element is there? If it exists, then I’m unaware of it.
And the saddest part about all of this ridiculousness, Save Jerseyans, is that we live in an age where a lot of people have no faith or guiding set of principles at all, let alone a belief in the divinity and teachings of Jesus Christ. The current President of the United States, whom we all agree needs to go, demonstrates belief in nothing more than government, himself and, until approximately three years ago, Jeremiah Wright’s brand of liberation theology. Therefore, given the state of things, it makes very little sense for Christian “leaders” to alienate other human beings who, like them, still honor and respect the role of a higher power in their lives and actions.
We’ve got to visualize a way to work together, Save Jerseyans, or the violent end of our Judeo-Christian culture is a foregone conclusion.
Here’s the ultimate visual to start things off: an Italian Catholic, the great Andrea Bocelli, singing The Lord’s Prayer with accompaniment from the equally awesome Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Have a listen and be ever mindful to “Judge not, that ye be not judged” in matters of the soul, my fellow Republicans. That’s from another guy named “Matthew,” Chapter 7, Verse 1. He has more readers than I do:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAFj2-u2cGQ&t=0m54s
