So All the Republicans Needed To Do Was...

In Chaucer's story "The Pardoner's Tale," the principle character goes about convincing people to give to the church by constantly telling them "Radix malorum est cupiditas," or "Greed is the root of all evil." The obvious irony is that the church is getting wealthy by exploiting others' guilt.

After the election last Tuesday, James Dobson of Focus on the Family said that Republicans lost control of Congress because they simply did not behave like they really understood and supported conservative Christian values. The idea is that if those candidates really stood on limited government, low taxes, protecting unborn lives, holding to traditional marriage, then they would have won.

There are a couple of problems with this I want to share before I mention what this says about our country. First, the switch from Republican to Democrat in the House was only 30 seats. There were 435 seats up for grabs. Every single seat in the House. Hmm. 30 seats changed party from a total of 435. Not really much of a shake-up.

Now certainly when one party has "control," even if their majority is a mere one vote, they do have far more power than the minority party.

The reason we all believe it was such a slaughter has a lot to do with the second problem: the media coverage. Before the election the media pulled out all the stops to persuade Americans that the Republicans were responsible for every horrible thing in life. So pronounced was their slant that enough votes went Democrat. The Republicans could have been angels from heaven and it wouldn't have made a difference.

This is why I mention "The Pardoner's Tale." It is just not that difficult to manipulate the sentiments of people who just don't have real strength of will to resist brilliant propaganda. I'm not saying this to offer a polemic for Republicans, by any means. I am saying that all those striving valiantly in the Culture War use the same tools of deceit, including James Dobson, someone for whom I do have some measure of respect.

The main reason Dobson's concerns are meaningless is that they are all condemners. For instance, the Republicans instinctively know that if they really cut taxes and reduced federal regulation, they are condemning all those exploited by powerful business interests. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in low taxes-- to the point that one should stand on the law as it is to see how "low" their taxes could actually be.

The problem is that the Democrats, by raising taxes and increasing federal regulation, are condemning all those who work hard and earn the rewards of their industry.

Wow. All of them can't help but be condemners.

The issue then is how one frames his condemnation. That's how you get into office. The Democrats are just as good at condemning as anyone else, but they made their case by pounding down the idea, "We're on your side." Of course people seemed to forget that being on one interest's side necessarily means condemnation of the other guys.'

What Dobson and virtually every committed conservative evangelical just doesn't get is that if they really stood on their principles-- that God told us clearly that homosexuality is bad and abortion is bad and abusive government is bad-- then they'd have to support the death penalty for any active homosexual, aborting doctor, and bad king. Hey, those are indeed pretty bad things, God doesn't particularly like them.

And He doesn't particularly like a lot of other bad things too. Meaning... there's enough wrath for everyone, really.

Ouch.

What Dobson et al end up doing is hemming and hawwing and basically dissembling to hide what they know to be true. To have what they really want you'd need a genuine theocracy to crack heads, and the liberals are scared to death of that. How many times do I hear them speak in the most venomous tone about the "Religious Right." This is why they cheer every time the Dobson/Republican designs are given a stomping as they were on Tuesday.

Fact is, the liberal designs are, as pointed out, just as condemnatory. With Democrats in power you'll surely have many more innocent babies slaughtered, more spiritual violence committed against one another in the name of sexual freedom, more individual God-given abilities to innovate and produce squashed-- those things are just as painful.

Why can't Dobson get the Republicans to do anything about that? It has nothing to do with them being tuned out.

It has everything to do with being grafted the World he so reviles. The Dobson people hold on hard to their incorporations, and as such they're just a loud, argumentative member of the Club. Dobson yells, and then some major progressive guy like Noam Chomsky yells right back. Lots of yelling and arguing and, of course, lots and lots and lots of condemning.

Radix malorum est cupiditas. Now, give us what you've got so you'll be happy again.

The Republicans have taken as much money as the Democrats ever did to build its cathedral of condemnation.

This is why Jesus Christ is so miles out of this. The phenomenal thing is that He loved us so much that He literally took all of this upon Himself, and died on the most profound symbol of condemnation there ever was to take it out so it wouldn't be there any more.

Miles and miles and miles away. As far as the east is from the west, the Bible says.

Do you want to be there, with Him, in bountiful joy being reconciled with that One who loves you that much, or with a major political party in that body of death called condemnation?

You are with one of them.

(And don't come off with some baloney about being in some minor "principled" party. If it's in the World, it condemns too. "You are in one of them" is not talking about on which side of the Culture War Room you are situated. It's all about whether you're in it or out of it altogether.)

For more on the Culture War, go here.

Here are some thoughts on the Jesus who is not one of the straw-man ones the Republicans and Democrats like to say is on their side.