This, to me, is White Conservative Christianity in 2012 America:
claiming, with one side of their mouth, to love and adore Christ, while lying about Obama in His Name, claiming to love Christ, while embracing an officer of an antichrist religion in His Name. And all of it for no reason: I promise you, Romney will abandon them just as soon as he can. To Mormons, the Christian Right are unbelievers; ignorant and lost.  I’ve never seen a prominent or even local white conservative Christian stand up for Jesus Christ by outing these lying, racist, greedy pastors to whom, one supposes, the end justifies the means. I can only assume their alleged investment in the lives of the unborn trumps their ethical obligation as moral leaders and that, somehow, they’ve reconciled the hateful sins of racism and lying with their efforts to make the world more like Jesus.

We Don't Hate Him

Of course, Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is not Barabbas, the violent insurgent attempting to overthrow the Roman government during Jesus’ time. Romney is not the devil. Not the antichrist. Not a member of some secret religion. He is not, to my knowledge, evil. Not an illegal alien, not part of some complex, 40-year conspiracy to defraud the American public. Mitt Romney is none of those things, every one of which President Barack Obama has been openly accused of being.  We don't hate him. There is no irrational, personal loathing of Mr. Romney within the black community that I am aware of. There is no hateful anti-Romney fanaticism. Attacks against his religion, as well as those against that of the president, have come exclusively from white people—who then voted for him, anyway. Nobody has painted Mitt Romney's face to look like The Joker. These hateful acts, all directed at the sitting president of the United States, are acts of terrorism. They are evil, hateful acts which are undeniably grounded in racism. The conservatives make excuses, the liberals wring their hands while cautiously examining the various whys of the anti-Obama phenomena. But any logical, reasonable, thinking primate can easily see the difference in opposition to Obama as opposed to opposition to Romney and conclude there is  a racist component to Obama opposition which is fueling Mitt Romney's ascendancy to the nation's highest office. Were it not for that racism, Mitt Romney's campaign would be a miserable failure. Put a different way: if Barack Obama were a white man, he'd be beating Mitt Romney like a drum. Obama is, in every conceivable sense, a better human being than Mitt Romney and infinitely more qualified to lead. Mitt Romney, therefore, owes his amazing good electoral fortune to one of the worst aspects of American culture.

What Mitt Romney is, however, is a liar. White America--I don't mean to be racist, but these are the statistics: Romney's support is overwhelming white--know this. They know this man is a blatant and unapologetic liar. But they're content to vote for him anyway, abandoning the very founding principles of a great nation in so doing. Romney's campaign slogan may as well be, "I'm A Liar," because he does not apologize for his lying, and, in fact, practices a haughty indignation when confronted about it. This is like Richard Nixon sloganeering I Am A Crook before the 1968 election, and America rallying to him anyway. Romney lies. Every single breathing American voter knows this. But his ranks keep swelling. Why? Because America is looking to punish somebody for the mess we are in.

Jesus’ crucifixion came about as a result of His having been charged with sedition—with trying to overthrow the Roman government. Of course, Jesus did no such thing. Political matters played no role n Jesus’ ministry. He formed no committees, organized no protests, ran no petition or voter registration drives. Unlike the Christian church here in America, where black churches all but openly endorse Obama and white churches fairly flagrantly back the Mormon Mitt Romney, Jesus Himself never participated in the political process in any way. We are, thus, left without a biblical model for this behavior. Jesus never established His Church to be exploited for political purposes or to be involved, even indirectly, in the political process. As individuals, as citizens of a great nation, we have an ethical obligation to educate ourselves and to participate in democracy. However, churches forming political action groups and caucusing to back political campaigns and ballot initiates is wrong and completely at odds with what the church was created to do.

The Gospels tell us the religious leaders of the day sought to condemn Jesus through the Roman legal system. They involved their religious doctrine in a political process in an effort to not defile themselves by simply killing Jesus on their own. They wanted the government to kill Jesus so they could claim to have clean hands. Rome was under a unique and strictly enforced rule of law. No Roman citizen could be sentenced to death without meeting some standard of guilt as adjudicated by the roman legal system. That system did not recognize the Jews’ grievance against Jesus, and Jesus was twice acquitted of any charges. “I find no fault in Him,” Pontius Pilate said, and attempted to have Jesus beaten to satisfy the Jews and sent on His way. But the mob refused to accept that verdict, and Pilate, unnerved by the thought of a Jewish rebellion, placed politics over the rule of law and sentences Jesus to die.

In a halfhearted attempt to set Jesus free, Pilate rigged the ceremonial clemency granted the Jews at Passover, by limiting their choices of which condemned man to set free to only two: Jesus the so-called “King of the Jews,” and a loathsome, godless character names Barabbas. It was a sucker bet, I’m sure Pilate figured there’d be no way the Jews would want a monster like Barabbas walking around free. Jesus had been charged with insurrection and fund innocent. Barabbas, however, openly and willfully defied the Romans, whom he despised. However, to what I’m sure was Pilate’s absolute shock, the mob cried out, “Give us Barabbas!” and cheered the rogue’s name. This essentially tied the governor’s hands, his likely plan having backfired, he was left with no choice but to send Jesus to the cross.

Mob Rules: The impatient and underinformed American public know nothing of history and understand
nothing abuot how close to disaster this country came. The last time the nation was in such desperate shape,
it took twelve years and a world war to recover from it. It's impossible to explain that in a ten-word debate answer. We want instant solutions and a free ride.

Brood of Vipers

I find it both impressive and frightening how the ongoing political battle in Washington mirrors events recorded in the four Gospels. Not to make President Barack Obama a Christ-figure, but, in terms of the actors on this stage, like Christ, Obama represents a significant threat to the political status quo. There has, to my recollection, never been a presidential political campaign quite like this one. This campaign, begun in 2006, has never ended. Typically, a campaign ends on election day and we all, winners and losers, grudgingly gather ‘round for the inauguration and set about the difficult task of moving the country forward in spite of our differences. The 2008 presidential election is unique in the sense that, not only has half the country refused to accept the legitimacy of Obama’s election—based solely and obviously upon the color of the president’s skin—but this minority group has never stopped campaigning. The 2008 election campaign never ended. Instead of grudgingly going back to work, the losers of 2008 have been in Campaign Mode for over four years, now. They initially worked to have the president impeached (for no apparent reason). Failing that, they’ve kept up an active and effective propaganda campaign to discredit him, and to create an environment for the president’s political and—whether they admit it or not—literal assassination.

All of which neatly parallels the story of Jesus. Jesus was absolutely no threat to the Roman Government. He was, however, a major threat to the political power of the religious leaders of the day, men Jesus referred to as “a nest of vipers” [Matt 23:33]. As with 2008 Candidate Obama, vast crowds followed Jesus, exhorting and pledging their devotion and love for Him. But crowds are easily manipulated. The religious leaders repeatedly attempted to lure Jesus into a trap—into saying something against the government or doing something they could enter into criminal evidence—but Jesus effortlessly avoided every attempt, and usually made fools of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes. Which, of course, angered them all the more, so they redoubled their efforts to discredit Jesus, ultimately lying and betraying their own Levitcal code in an effort to retain their political power.

This is exactly and precisely what conservative Christian leaders are doing today, spreading unfounded assertions—often presented as plain fact with absolutely no substantiation—that the president is a Secret Muslim. Like our Congressional representatives, many conservative Christian leaders have spent the entirety of the president’s first term involved in efforts to discredit him and lay the groundwork for a 2012 conservative victory. “Take Our Country Back,” these bigots and religious prostitutes say, and the angry, ginned-up mob of so-called “Christians” parrot their lunatic assertions of Obama As Secret Muslim—an effective tactic which equates Islam with Evil. Most of these people, these vast multitudes from these MegaChurches, have no idea what a Muslim actually is or how the faith works or the common denominators between Christianity and Islam, connections that do not factually exist between Christianity and Mormonism (though Mormons claim Jesus visited the United States and established The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).

These very same conservative pastors, who have spent decades asserting that Mormonism is an antichrist cult, are now tripping over themselves with disgraceful Mormon apologetics in an effort to circumvent their own brainwashing of the faithful. Many if not most conservative Christian pastors reject Obama’s claims that he is a born-again Christian, in spite of Obama’s active, on-videotape, 20-year membership in a bible-believing church. They reject his testimony based on absolutely no evidence while insisting, based upon absolutely no evidence, that the president is a Secret Muslim. This is an obviously race-based assertion, but the crowds, bamboozled by these greedy, power-hungry liars, reject Obama the Christ-like figure and instead applaud Barabbas—the Mormon Mitt Romney whose constantly-changing positions justify labeling him as an unapologetic liar. Obama’s Christianity is a matter of public record. I mean, there’s actual videotape. There is absolutely not one frame of videotape available of Romney at a LDS worship service. Obama is open and engaging about his faith in Jesus Christ. Romney is secretive and discusses his faith only reluctantly. Yet, white conservative Christian pastors around this nation are shoulder-to-shoulder backing Romney while knowingly spreading insidious, hateful, racist lies about the president.

Trust Jesus: vote for The Mormon..

Both Sides Of Their Mouth

It’s an old story, as old as The Passion. The trial and conviction of Jesus Christ was mostly about politics. About the Roman governor appeasing a mob by sentencing a man twice found innocent to death. About giving in to the lunatic fringe. It’s what politicians do: run for cover, manipulate the masses. The very same people who claimed to love, adore, and follow Jesus wherever He led, were shrieking Barabbas’ name.

I cannot imagine why any rational, thinking person is voting for Mitt Romney. He just stands there and lies. Lies blatantly. Yet, mature, reasonable Americans just take him at his word, as if his word actually meant anything. Mitt Romney has, as I (and Newt Gingrich) promised, thrown his lunatic-fringe, ultra-right wing presidential primary constituents (an most of the Christian conservative right) under the wheels of the bus, blatantly denying he ever said any of the things he is clearly saying in all of those YouTube videos. Romney’s not saying he’s changed his mind (again); he’s saying I never said that. Yet America is swelling his ranks. Romney is not only a liar, but he is completely comfortable with betrayal, with exploiting people's hope, trust and values, only to abandon them  the minute he advances to the next plateau. This is his pattern. It is well-documented.

Here’s one example: Mitt Romney will not repeal Obamacare. Far from being "government takeover of health care," President Obama’s landmark achievement, The Affordable Care Act, functions through private insurers, which means it is good for business, and great for the American economy. Mitt Romney knows this. He said so himself when he implemented precisely the same legislation in Massachusetts. Romney is railing against “Obamacare” to get himself elected, but this law is an amazing gift to Romney and big business; repealing it is the last thing he’d want. He will, instead, make excuses about Congressional Democrats obstructing, make a few cosmetic changes, and send it to the Hill under another name. And Congress will pass it, because they know it’s good for business, too.

Mitt Romney will not repeal Obamacare. I cannot, for the life of me, imagine why the Obama campaign has not been screaming this from the rooftops. It amazes me that thinking, rational Americans are telling themselves, I suppose, “Well, Romney lied to get through the Primary, but he’s telling the truth now.”

This, to me, is White Conservative Christianity in 2012 America: claiming, with one side of their mouth, to love and adore Christ, while lying about Obama in His Name, claiming to love Christ, while embracing an officer of an antichrist religion in His Name. And all of it for no reason: I promise you, Romney will abandon them just as soon as he can. To Mormons, the Christian Right are unbelievers; ignorant and lost.

I’ve never seen a prominent or even local white conservative Christian stand up for Jesus Christ by outing these lying, racist, greedy pastors to whom, one supposes, the end justifies the means. I can only assume their alleged investment in the lives of the unborn trumps their ethical obligation as moral leaders and that, somehow, they’ve reconciled the hateful sins of racism and lying with their efforts to make the world more like Jesus.

These men are simply lost. And those who follow them are equally lost. If you’re running around spewing hate, at Obama or anybody else, please stop calling yourself a Christian.

Christopher J. Priest
25 October 2012
editor@praisenet.org
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