The truth is the great casualty. And what do you think the target is when people begin to say, “We’ve gotta dial back this heated rhetoric?” Truth is the great enemy to the Democrat Party. Truth is the great enemy to the American left. They have to wipe out truth whenever they can and wherever they see it, because truth is not them. Rush Limbaugh (transcript from 1/12/11 broadcast, here)
Truer words have never been spoken. Well, on second thought, maybe they have. Not that Mr. Limbaugh’s words were untrue — they were true and spot on — but, there was One who not only spoke the truth, but is Truth personified. I’m pretty sure that trumps Rush Limbaugh. And, since Rush likes to remind his listeners that he possesses “a talent on loan from God,” I don’t think he would quibble much with those facts.
In the aftermath of the horrific act of evil that took place in Tucson last Saturday, we are witnessing the graphic collision of the worlds of politics and religion in a post-modern, post-Christian American culture. At the epicenter of that collision, as Rush Limbaugh observed, is truth. Objective truth. Facts. Reality. Absolutes.
But, when you make politics your god, truth often becomes the first casualty in the war for the souls of men and women. Truth becomes subjective. Facts become fluid. Reality is redefined. Absolutes are antiquated. Anything goes, because people begin to believe the lies. It almost reminds me of the advice that George Costanza gave to Jerry so that he could beat a lie detector test on an episode of Seinfeld:
“Remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
If the last four days are any indication, there are many on the left (both within and without the Democrat party) who have not only bought into George’s advice on a one-time basis, but who seem to be living their lives based on a lie (the suspects are too numerous to mention by name). They wouldn’t know the truth if it was staring them in the face. The fact of the matter is that the truth is staring them in the face and they either do not care or are too far gone to know the truth when they see or hear it.
Some, like Rush Limbaugh, have tried to explain why the lunatic left does what it does — lies and all. Others, like Charles Krauthammer, are at a loss to explain the delusional rantings of the likes of Paul Krugman.
In the end, the answer to why otherwise rational and sane people become completely unhinged and delusional — not only believing lies, but spewing lies –is not hard to understand. At least for those who believe in the Truth.
We should not be surprised by the unfounded hatred that has been aimed directly at Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Fox News, etc. and indirectly at Conservatives, Evangelical Christians, Tea Partiers, and Republicans, etc. by the delusional left, aided and abetted by the mainstream media. I hope that President Obama continues to have the power to stay above the fray, but I will not at all be shocked if he does not. The power of the god of politics — especially the left-wing kind on display in recent days — may just prove too powerful for Obama to help himself. However, maybe he can hold out a little longer than Bill Clinton did after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
Whether in the 1st Century or the 21st Century, people are people. Times may have changed, but the times have not changed people — who they are at the core. Jesus, Who is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life, spoke truth to power (I generally dislike that phrase, but in this context, it works) when He told the religious leaders of His day:
“If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Incensed at Jesus’ words, the people began to argue with Him. In perhaps one of the harshest rebukes that He ever gave, Jesus said to the crowd:
“Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me.” (John 8:43-45)
The character of many on the left has been on full display since Saturday. They have nothing to do with truth because they do not know the Truth. They speak lies because that is their very nature. They will never believe the truth unless and until they are set free by the TRUTH.
Rush is right when he speaks about the truth. He just isn’t the first or best who has spoken on the subject. I don’t think he would argue with that. After all, facts are stubborn things.
Great post, although I would say truth (and indeed Truth!) in much of these political discussions is often missing from both sides–not just the Left.
Thanks for your commitment to the Gospel.
Milton,
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I agree that this is not exclusively a problem of the left, although in this particular case, it has been manisfested on the left. There are certainly those on the right who make “politics” their god and likewise ignore the truth (and Truth) in front of them. Appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Have a great day and God bless,
Howell
Pastor Scott,
I am surprised that as th worldly man of the cloth that you are, that you have fallen into the trap of labeling people. With very few exceptions (Rush Limbaugh happens to be one on the right,) people are neither all on the right, nor all on the left of the political spectrum.
Take, for example, the fine ex-Governor of Alaska, MS Palin, who in an attempt to reduce political friction use words that will live infamy, the words “blood-libel” that she used, are a digrace to her, and to the whole part of the political right that she represents. Her terrible choice of words notwithstanding, one must forgive her and realize that the words were likely chosen due to the lady’s ignorance, her lack of understanding of what these words mean…
People on both the left and right seem to take liberties with the truth, Limbaugh more than most! Such posturing, Pastor Scott, is wrong, but it not the sole domain of either party, or political idiology.
Neither the truth, nor lies, are used only by one party; they are by both ends of the political spectrum; it is time to change that element of US politics and agree that truth should be the foundation of all political discourse.
Dan,
Thanks for taking the time to read and to comment. After reading some of your blog posts at http://www.zyonism.org, I believe that we might agree on several issues, particularly in regards to the Obama administration’s policies where Israel is concerned. I do believe that labels can be helpful, although labels can obviously be misused or misapplied. I am not for doing away with labels in all political (or theological) discourse because that, I believe, would not bring clarity, but instead muddy the waters even more.
I am neither a fan of Sarah Palin nor do I hate or dislike her. Indeed, there is much to like about her, but she would not be my first choice for President (were she to run). That being said, I believe she was attempting to defend herself against vicious attacks by people who linked her — directly or indirectly — to the Tucson shooting. That she used the phrase “blood-libel” is not necessarily a disgrace to her (as the word has been used by the left and the right in recent years, not simply referring to its original Jewish context), but I believe that, in hindsight, she could have chosen other words that would have been more appropriate and not distracted from her intended message.
There is no question that people of all political persuasions take liberties with the “truth.” When people (left, right, or center) make politics their “god,” then truth usually loses. What I tried to do with my post, albeit perhaps not as clearly as I could have, was to put the current debate within a theological parameter. In the end, “Truth” should be the foundation of all discourse, not simply political discourse. Thanks again for taking the time to dialogue. God bless,
Howell
Howell, thanks for your response! Please visit my blog: http://www.dangoor.wordpress.com, and let’s have further discussion, I do think that we may be able to make a “hybrid,” contribution to the total political discourse.
Dan
Howell: I posted a comment earlier but maybe it didn’t get on the board cause it had three links.
Take a look at Christopher Evans piece on Captain America at Religion Dispatches.
Jesus said what you say he said, but I cannot fathom how Jesus would be swayed by Sarah Palin. There is much more truth in Barack Obama than there is in Sarah Palin; and with Marilynne Robinson as the modern day Isaiah/Jeremiah, the faultline, the plumbline; it may be you who are a little more off plumb on this one than the Left.
That said I don’t claim to have all the Truth myself. It is hard for me to take too many folks serious when George Wallace had 80% approval rating by Baptists Deacons in Alabama in the 60’s.
See Colin Harris at ethicsdaily.com today on folks of that era who knew the Gospel when they heard it.
Forgive me for speaking obliquely here, but that is the only to get at it.
You may find this interesting. I think as a lawyer, you affirm the right of Jared Hoffner to an attorney, no matter what a heinous thing he did. His lawyer, Judy Clark finished Furman a year ahead of me. We were not well acquainted but I knew her, president of the student body in 73 or 74.
She also represented Susan Smith, the Unabomber and Timothy McVeigh.
One other extraneous note. Take a look at marty duren’s review of Ginny Brant’s new memoir about her father, Harry Dent’s, spiritual pilgrimage.
Dent was Nixon’s Southern Strategist and chaired the 1980 Columbia, SC Crusade. Ed Young was close to the Dent family in Columbia
Howell:
Christopher Evans piece on Captain America at http://www.religiondispatches.org should be good counterpoint to the musings of Rush Limbaugh on this matter. And the panel discussion on Dianne Rehm on NPR under discussion at baplife.com is worthwhile.
Rush Limbaugh is bigger part of the problem than the solution and there are many ways to point blame but I think Lee Atwater and Rove are more to blame than you may be willing to concede.
To digress a little, something that just crossed my radar and I hope to explore with you in the coming months is an interesting book key to understanding Ed Young, Nixon and Billy Graham with all kind of nuances for SBC.
Adrian Rogers son David, and Mike Huckabee have endorsed this book.
Just came to my attention couple hours ago. here is Marty Duren’s Take:
http://www.martyduren.com/2010/10/29/finding-true-freedom-book-review/
Would love to see your review within the month if possilbe.
Howell, I have read some of your comments and I disagree with some of it (not all), but you are able to see that there are problems on both the right and the left. But I had a question about how the right can take marching orders from people like Glenn Beck, who as a Mormon, subscribes to a different gospel than the true gospel of Jesus Christ or Rush who subscribes to no gospel at all? Beck tells the right to get back to God. Is that the God of the Bible or the god of Joseph Smith? Why does the right endorse candidates who campaign on the sanctity of marriage but have either: been married two or three times, caught having extra marital affairs (Vitters, Newt, Sanford, McCain) babies from their mistresses, or come to find out have a homosexual lifestyle? Why is it that pastors will allow these politician to preach (or speak) in their church, but won’t let the young associate pastor even pray over the offering? This is not exclusive to the right, but when the right claims to be the party of life and family values and does the same that the world is doing, something is wrong on the right. Notice, I did not say the church because it is wrong to say that only people on the right are believers. If that was the case, then what Jesus did on the cross meant nothing. All you have to do is go register to vote (Republican). I believe that the church has been infiltrated by crooked politians who want nothing but their endorsement so they can get votes (McCain-John Hagee, McCain-Rod Parsley) from”evangelicals.” I cringe to hear people on the right when they justify the US being a Christian nation by words in the constitution and not the Bible. I guarantee that more people on the right read the constitution more than they read the bible. I cringe when I hear the right talking about the US being a Christian nation and they brings up the names of the founding fathers, but not the name of the Founding Father. Off the soap box now.
James,
Thanks for taking the time to read and to share your thoughts. Even though we may not agree on all the issues, I do appreciate your willingness to dialogue. You may be surprised that I agree with much of what you have written. I am very concerned about the cozy relationships that some within the evangelical Christian community have with Glenn Beck. And, while I still listen to Rush, he does not preach the Gospel. As to the moral failures of some of those you have listed, I do think that a person’s character must be taken into account when voting for someone for political office. I won’t say that one divorce and remarriage is a dealbreaker, but multiple marriages and divorces, especially for leaders, is problematic.
While I consider myself conservative — theologically, politically and socially — I do believe that too many Christians have traded the power of the Gospel for the power of politics. The church has been given the Gospel as God’s means to transform lives. That transformation will never come through politics. That doesn’t mean that we should not be involved in the political arena, but when we confuse the two, that will lead us down roads we should not go. I do not have much heartburn about the Ten Commandments being posted in a Courthouse, but I often wonder why Christians are so adament about posting the “Law” when it is the Gospel that sets people free? Just more food for thought. You are welcome to get on your soapbox anytime. Thanks again for stopping by. God bless,
Howell