Christian Theologian speaks truth to power...

[lala_rawraw]

Chuck Gutenson at Huffington Post
<snip>
Many have argued that morality begins with truth telling, and it is this virtue that seems in such short supply. This is, of course, a non-partisan issue. The verbal hair-splitting, the attempts to mislead while “technically” telling the truth are rhetorical methods deployed by progressive and conservative alike and both sides deserve the derision their moral failures bring. However, from my perspective as a Christian theologian, those who openly claim to be followers of Christ are particularly worthy of critique when they claim the moral high ground and yet fall so easily into the obfuscation game. In Matthew 5:33ff, Jesus instructed his followers not to take oaths but simply to let their “yes be yes and their no by no.” He knew that once we begin to think of truthfulness at two levels (you must swear to tell the truth for us to be sure you are really telling the truth), ruin is not far off. The trust necessary to sustain our lives together must be built on trustworthiness, not finger-crossing, clever rhetoric that hides reality.

<snip>

The Christians who opposed Bill Clinton rightly objected when he used clever rhetoric to obfuscate; those who supported him were too quick to argue that what he said was “technically true.” We now have an administration that has a high level of support from self-identified Christians. Yet, now that the shoe is on the other foot, the tongue is in the other cheek, so to speak. Examples are plentiful, but let’s just stay with the headlines. There is little doubt that Karl Rove revealed classified information in an attempt to discredit the Wilson report on Iraq’s alleged efforts to secure nuclear materials. Scott McLellan, who was quite vocal in denials of wrong-doing earlier, is now stuck in a permanent tap dance around the truth. The biggest knee slapper of all the RNC talking points had to be the claim that Karl was simply trying to prevent the spread of false information (For more, go here). And, does anyone really think the “I didn’t reveal her name” defense gets Karl off the hook? The President has said he will fire anyone involved in this leak, but seems to have changed his mind. All this is problem enough, but in my mind it is seriously amplified by the fact that this administration and its supporters have claimed a virtual corner on the “God market.” We are an embarrassment to the Christian faith when we remain quiet in the face of such contradiction.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/chuck-gutenson/truth-telling-the-moral-_4180.html

[seabeyond]

1. We are an embarrassment to the Christian faith ...... exactly

this has been my point all along with fellow christians that are bothred when their relgion, (my religion) is attacked. it is ours to understand why people are angry with christianity. it is mine ot take responsibility for my fellow christians. i had a catholic friend say, why would anyone trash mother theresa. i told her, people are angry, ANGRY at catholics. they fear them. they see policy and law being made from your faith, dictating what their behavior should be from your faith. no she says, no that isnt true. well it is her relgion, and it is her job to see what her religion is doing and creating

[Beaver Tail]

2. Amen and Halleluiah

Christianity has been hijacked by the religious right. This guy deserves a medal for speaking the truth.

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. nominated