Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

The Cup of Hypocrisy Runneth Over


Al Gore may be out preaching the gospel of global warming, but Democratic Presidential candidates are out trying to convince evangelical voters they believe in the actual Gospel.

It was reported yesterday by the Associated Press that
Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards says Jesus would be appalled at how the United States has ignored the plight of the suffering, and that he believes children should have private time to pray at school.

Edwards, in an interview with the Web site Beliefnet.com, said Jesus would be most upset with the selfishness of Americans and the country's willingness to go to war “when it's not necessary.”

“I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs,” Edwards told the site. “I think he would be appalled, actually.”

Edwards also said he was against teacher-led prayers in public schools, but he added that “allowing time for children to pray for themselves, to themselves, I think is not only OK, I think it's a good thing.”

In the interview, the former North Carolina senator discussed how he lost touch with his day-to-day faith during college, but that it “came roaring back” after the death of his 16-year-old son, Wade, in 1996.

Edwards has often cited religion as a part of his politics, frequently linking his efforts to fight poverty as a matter of morality.
Edwards, if you will remember recently purchased a 102 acre, $6 million estate in North Carolina.

I don't have to guess what Jesus would say about that:
When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." - Luke 18:22

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.

"So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. - Matthew 23:27-28
By the way John, vanity if one of those Seven Deadlys.

6 comments:

Paul E. Zimmerman said...

Here's another one that Edwards seems to have overlooked:

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye, with never a thought for the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own? You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's." -- Matthew 7:3-5

In other words, Mr. Edwards, once you stop talking about how you are going to spend everyone else's money and throw yours into the pot (first in, as a matter of fact), then you may understand how ridiculous you sound.

And didn't Jesus tell us not to steal, too? I'm pretty sure that's in there somewhere.

Unknown said...

Someone in Edwards' home state of North Carlina agrees with you Paul:

"He constantly reminds us of the class division in North Carolina and the United States as a whole, yet with an estimated net worth of 60 million dollars, he seems to be part of the problem. According to Wikipedia.com, Edwards took advantage of a tax-law loophole, paying himself through subchapter S corporate dividends, rather than a salary. This helped him avoid paying $591,000 in Medicare taxes. This is awfully hypocritical considering that one of Edwards' main campaign fronts is a universal health care system. Apparently, everyone in America should have health care paid for by everyone but him.

John Edwards' money came from personal injury mass tort litigation. He sued a pool drain cover manufacturer because someone didn't install their product carefully and nobody watched the children taking apart the drain in the pool. His lawsuits against the medical community have done nothing but raise malpractice insurance and increase the cost of health care for Americans. No wonder millions of Americans cannot afford decent health care; lawyers like him chase ambulances just trying to swindle another dollar.
...

Edwards' new house in Orange County sits on 102 acres, just west of Chapel Hill. It is 28,200 square feet of overindulgence. After completion, its tax value is estimated to be around six million dollars. This will make it the second most expensive private residence in North Carolina, behind the Biltmore Estate. Champion of the poor... I think not.

John Edwards wants to help the poor in this country with health insurance; maybe he should do his part with his taxes. If he wants to be known as a champion of the poor, maybe he should stop being a part of the elitist upper class. If he wants to redistribute my hard earnings (sounds a lot like communism to me) by taxing my hard earned paycheck more and more, maybe he should start with the redistribution of some of his shadily obtained wealth. I bet the homeless folks in Chapel Hill would love to come spend the night at his new estate."

Paul E. Zimmerman said...

Some interesting reading I came across after commenting here, related to this topic:

Christianity and Capitalism in History.

Unknown said...

"In reviewing Christian civilization, it becomes clear that only Christianity fosters individual freedom and limited government."

I couldn't agree more.

Nic said...

I think pride is one of those sins as well...which seems like it might make some of you stop and think about some of the things that are posted, but alas, I must agree with the title of this post.

Paul E. Zimmerman said...

Nic,

The sin of pride is specifically inordinate self love. If you would do us the favor of pointing out some specific examples of this from our posts for consideration, that would be great. Otherwise, what you're doing here could come across as you misapplying a concept in an attempt at undermining us as individuals generally, don't you think?