Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Read Your Bible: RSR's Advice to Christian Fundamentalists
As a longtime skeptic, Red State Rabble finds it more than a little embarrassing to have to explain -- time and again -- the meaning of the Ten Commandments to our Christian fundamentalist brothers and sisters. I mean, if they're going to insist on a literal interpretation of the Bible, don't they have some personal responsibility to read the words and grapple with their meaning?
The reason RSR is venting like this, is the call Monday by the televangelist Pat Robertson for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. Are we the only ones who find it chillingly similar to the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie?
Now in our own fumbling, highly skeptical way, Red State Rabble has read the Ten Commandments. We see no mention there of gays. And yet, for men like Robertson, gays seem to have become special targets for hate. Here's but one example:
While we see nothing in the Ten Commandments about gays, we do note that one of them in particular seems to take an especially strong line against murder. Without mincing any words at all, one of the commandments comes right out and says, "Thou shalt not kill."
We don't pretend to be experts, but the assassination of a democratically elected leader of another country sounds an awful lot like an out and out violation of God's covenant with Moses. Am I missing something, here?
RSR doesn't often offer advice to right-wing Christians -- we don't see that as our particular function -- but we can't hold back this time. Okay folks, if you're going to insist on a literal reading of the good book, read it. Is that too much to ask?
The reason RSR is venting like this, is the call Monday by the televangelist Pat Robertson for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. Are we the only ones who find it chillingly similar to the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini against Salman Rushdie?
Now in our own fumbling, highly skeptical way, Red State Rabble has read the Ten Commandments. We see no mention there of gays. And yet, for men like Robertson, gays seem to have become special targets for hate. Here's but one example:
“If the world accepts homosexuality as its norm and if it moves the entire world in that regard, the whole world is then going to be sitting like Sodom and Gomorrah before a Holy God. And when the wrath of God comes on this earth, we will all be guilty and we will all suffer for it.” - 700 Club, 9-6-95 (source: People for the American Way Foundation)
While we see nothing in the Ten Commandments about gays, we do note that one of them in particular seems to take an especially strong line against murder. Without mincing any words at all, one of the commandments comes right out and says, "Thou shalt not kill."
We don't pretend to be experts, but the assassination of a democratically elected leader of another country sounds an awful lot like an out and out violation of God's covenant with Moses. Am I missing something, here?
RSR doesn't often offer advice to right-wing Christians -- we don't see that as our particular function -- but we can't hold back this time. Okay folks, if you're going to insist on a literal reading of the good book, read it. Is that too much to ask?
