A Pew survey reported at CNN.com found that evangelical protestants were the religious group most likely to say that torture of suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified (54 percent) and the group least likely (one in eight of them) to say that torture is "never" justified.
So-called unaffiliated respondents (people who seldom or never attend church services) were less likely to say that torture is sometimes warranted (42%) and more likely (one in four) to say that it is never justified.
An unnamed atheists comments, “Interesting but I must say, not surprising. The blend of right wing politics (hawkish foreign policy, judgmental and intolerant social policy, and a screw the poor economic policy) and "Christianity" that finds expression in the American evangelical movement has always contained enough hypocrisy to gag a horse. Still, when you see data like these, you still get left shaking your head. And to think, we atheists are supposed to be the ones lacking a moral compass.”
Too often we evangelicals so align ourselves with the political right that we do not see the plank in our own eyes. Matthew 7:3 says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye an pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
I remember my boyhood years of the 1950-60’s hearing evangelicals rant against civil rights legislation. As a pastor I have witnessed evangelicals showing racial prejudice against those of different color and race.
There are some questions in my mind for evangelicals?
1. Where do these views of inhumane treatment, social injustice, and racial prejudice come from?
2. Are we so afraid of any political view that is not politically aligned to the right that we accept any and every thing the political right does?
3. Don’t we need to think for ourselves and ask the question, “What would Jesus do”?
4. Do we need to pray and ask forgiveness from God for holding and expressing views that clearly are unscriptural?
What do you think? Leave a comment.
3 weeks ago
