I’m talking to both of you, Republicans and Democrats.

The latest outrage from the right is another ginned up fake controversy that the Democrats have “removed God from their party platform“.  Somehow, the words used to describe a party’s political platform is supposed prove how righteous they are and they are more qualified to lead the government.

It’s stupid.  No.  It’s beyond stupid to be outraged over this.

It’s beyond hypocritical to tout your piousness when your platform:

• Cuts assistance to the poor and needy in favor of benefits for the wealthy.
• Favors policies that benefit profits over people.
• Supports the death penalty.
• Supports an imperialistic foreign policy, including the use of unmanned drones to kill the ‘enemy’.
• Favors policies that don’t protect all of creation, including the environment.
• Favors policies that molest the alien and foreigner in our land.
• Favors policies that allow businesses to withhold wages through outsourcing, offshoring and exploitation of third-world labor, including children.
• Promotes the heresy and idolatry of individualism over God’s call for us to be in community.

No, please don’t speak of God being on “your” side while “your” side promotes political policies that God, through his prophets, has condemned for centuries.

Brian Leport over at Near Emmaus says it well:

When we talk about the Christian God’s relationship to our politics we must remember that God is never on our side. He is not confined to the Republican agenda, the Democratic agenda, the Libertarians, the Socialist, the Marxists, or fans of Ayn Rand. Our God is not our God because of us. Our God is our God because he chose us freely.

If we are blessed we are on the side of the Christian God on various matters. We find ways to care for the “least of these,” for the poor, for the downtrodden. We take care of our orphans and widows. We do not submit to false deities like Mammon or Ba’al or Mars (sadly, we fail here all too often).

It’s easy to talk about God…. living out the Kingdom, however, is something completely different.

Related articles

• A Tale of Two Political Platforms (bilerico.com)
• Sen. Durbin blasts Fox News: God is not a franchise of the Republican Party (rawstory.com)