Belief in God, Family and Country. That is what most of the candidates for office in these mid-term elections want the public to believe about them, whether democrat or republican. It has become almost a mantra in every positive political appearance and ad that I have seen. At least, that is what they want you to believe....
My question is this, "How can you claim to believe in God and run negative political ads?" I don't know what Bible these politicians read, but mine tells me that you cannot believe in God and run negative political ads that border on slander.
Walk with me for a moment while we look at my statement that one cannot be a Christian or a Jew and run negative political ads. All quotes will be from the New American Standard Bible and will be in context. My favorite professors told me many years ago that a text without a context is a pretext. Since that is still true today, I will be quoting in context.
The first verse that caught my eye while researching the word slander was Psalm 15: 1-3: "O LORD , who may abide in Thy tent? Who may dwell on Thy holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend." This verse tells me that (1) a believer does not slander, and (2) nor does he do evil to his neighbor. Who is our neighbor? EVERYBODY whether we are running for office or not.
As I continued down the list of references, I also found Psalm 50: 16-20: "But to the wicked God says, 'What right have you to tell of My statutes, And to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil, And your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.'"
There is a whole political discussion in just that one verse. But let's stick to the topic at hand. A believer is not suppose to let his mouth loose in evil or allow his tongue frame deceit. I don't know about other elections, but this really applies to one candidate in the 8th Congressional district race. The candidate who is running the negative ads has just published a book entitled, "God and Politics: How Can a Christian Be in Politics?" This "gentleman" has released ads accusing his opponent of breaking the law and even though this man is a lawyer, he has not fulfilled his legal duty to report him. Hmmmm...me thinks there is something amiss here. Going back to the first verse, isn't he supposed to "walk in integrity?" Is there any integrity in slamming the other candidate instead of talking about what you believe in? Gives one pause to think...especially about his book.
To balance this discussion I also searched the word "slander" in the New Testament and found these words spoken by Christ in Mark 7: 20-23: "And He was saying, 'That which proceeds out of the man is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.'" Wow! Even Jesus was against believers saying negative things about other believers! In fact, taking one part of one sentence in an entire article and making it appear to have been the emphasis of the ENTIRE article is deceitful, is it not? These candidates project evil thoughts into the minds of the voter and it is up to the voter to find out the truth. However, candidates know that the vast majority of voters will not bother to check and can be influenced by what they tell them is true. There is also a pride issue here. The one running the negative ad is trying to elevate himself above the other candidate as his ad states, "Dear Lord, I am glad that I am not like this sinner here." Sound familiar.
Even though there are many more references to slander in the Bible, let me close with Ephesians 4: 29-32: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you."
Negative campaign ads put out by believers against other believers definitely qualifies as many "unwholesome words." Further, I never saw a negative ad that EDIFIES the other candidate. In fact, the whole point of the negative ad is to destroy the reputation of the opponet. And the last verse tells us to be kind to one another. I have never seen a kind negative campaign ad.
A political analyst said on the news last night, "If a candidate spends all his time talking about the other candidate, it is because he has nothing to say about himself." I whole-heartily agree!
Hey you candidates out there! My mom taught me, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything." Wouldn't campaign season be so much more tolerable if the candidates would listen to their mothers and to God and stick to issues instead of focusing on slander and innuendo?
No comments:
Post a Comment