Their Moral Values Aren't So Moral

[Dr Ron]

From Light up The Darkness:
http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/

Their Moral Values Aren't So Moral
12 January 2005

With all the talk about moral values after the 2004 election, observers from other planets might thing that the Bush voters were somehow morally superior to the rest of us. We knew all along, even before the latest evidence which I'll get to soon, that this is not true. We knew that there is nothing moral about lying the country into a war, or winning an election by pandering to xenophobia and homophobia. Nor is there anything moral about imposing religious views upon those suffering from diseases which might be helped by stem cell research. As Bill Clinton pointed out, on stem cells we have the pro-life stand. We've also watched repeatedly as leaders on the right, such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, and Bill O'Reilly, have been caught in failing to live up to a very high moral standard.

The latest evidence comes not from the liberal media, but from Christianity Today which looked at The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience--Why don't Christians live what they preach? They note that the percentage of born-again Christians who have been divorced was slightly higher than that of non-Christians. The number of unmarried couples living together jumped up more in the bible belt than in the nation as a whole. They were disturbed that, despite living in the richest country in the world, and despite biblical teachings to help the poor, evangelical Christians turned out to be quite stingy. So much for Compassionate Conservativism.

Christianity Today did see these findings as a problem:

In spite of the renewal movement's proud claims to miraculous transformation, the polls showed that members of the movement divorced their spouses just as often as their secular neighbors. They beat their wives as often as their neighbors. They were almost as materialistic and even more racist than their pagan friends. The hard-core skeptics smiled in cynical amusement at this blatant hypocrisy. The general population was puzzled and disgusted. Many of the renewal movement's leaders simply stepped up the tempo of their now enormously successful, highly sophisticated promotional programs. Others wept.

This, alas, is roughly the situation of Western or at least American evangelicalism today.

Scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most "Christians" regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment.

[kerrygoddess]

1. Well....

Interesting, nothing we did not already know but nice of them to admit to it.

[MsConduct]

2. They only worry about everyone else's 'morality', or lack thereof.

The louder someone proclaims their Christianity, the more I know that they are full of it. True Christians don't talk about it, they just quietly walk the walk.

[kerrygoddess]

3. Very true...

The Fundies have a very warped set of values.

[MsConduct]

6. I think it goes beyond warped, more like no values. n/t

[donheld]

4. I'm glad to know this was from Christianity Today

That tells me at least some christians know what's going on. It's too bad it's in my opinion it's probably the wrong ones.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. BIGOTRY is not a moral value

[RafterMan]

7. The thing is

both people and societies in turmoil are attracted to strict moral codes. I agree it causes problems for the rest of us, but I don't think labelling it hypocrisy helps to solve it.

[Dr Ron]

8. But it is hypocrisy

Labeling it hypocrisy is accurate when people claim to follow a moral code and argue that others should adhere to it, then do not adhere to it personally.

This doesn't solve the problem, but just applying an accurate label is not intended to solve a problem.

[RafterMan]

10. No it isn't

It's just self-satisfied finger pointing.

Yeah, yeah, it's the dictionary definition. That's the essence of sophistry.

[Triana]

9. In regards to the Religious bu$h Reich and Morality...

I posted this yesterday and thought it an extremely apropos overview of the matter:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2939912&mesg_id=2939912

[Prisonerohio]

11. Jesus was a liberal.

I was watching MSNBC today and caught a part of there series about the inauguration and yet again they brought up the specter of moral values being the reason why Bush was elected. I don't think fundies and the right have any idea what morality is outside Bible scripture, but they are constantly throwing it our face like we are godless heathens who brought about all the sorrows of the world. My idea of morality is a respect for all life, promoting nonviolence, helping the poor and less fortunate, and freedom for all. I don't know the exact scripture for this but I know Jesus supports all these moral values. In fact Jesus was a pacifist who definitely fits the modern concept of a liberal.