On my previous post, I began interacting with Phil Zuckerman on his Huffington Post article, “Why Evangelicals Hate Jesus.”
His article has the stench of mindless, hateful rhetoric, which is especially clear when one counts the sheer number of logical fallacies he commits, and his inaccuracies in interpreting polling data.
In this post, I will continue the conversation. Zuckerman’s comments are inboxed while my responses are in between. Headings are mine.
JESUS AND GUN CONTROL
Jesus exhorted humans to be loving, peaceful, and non-violent. And yet Evangelicals are the group of Americans most supportive of easy-access weaponry, little-to-no regulation of handgun and semi-automatic gun ownership, not to mention the violent military invasion of various countries around the world.
Christians are also the people who started World Vision, Compassion International, Samaritan’s Purse, and thousands of other missions agencies designed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and attempt to improve lives all around the world.
Christians who are against gun control (and there are many, many, many who are in favor) are against it because they do not see guns and weapons as the real problem. The implied caricature that Zuckermans paints is that Christians want to give gun access to the looniest loons in the land, allowing them to use the weapons to commit crimes. Pro-gun Christians are not pro-crime. They just don’t see the gun as the problem. They see the heart of the person as the problem.
Its like this – lots of people drive cars everyday. Sometimes a loon will get behind the wheel of a car, perhaps drunk, and will injury or kill many others on the roadway. Is the problem the car? No, the problem is the loon. Banning cars is not the solution. Making sure a loon doesn’t get one is a better solution.
As far as supporting violent wars, Zuckerman knows that many people on both sides of this divide are in favor of the quick, violent use of force, and many people on both sides are in favor of slower, more diplomatic approaches.
Perhaps because Christians have a strong foundation for justice, they are quicker to see a violent attack as a just response to evil activities (like Sept 11 for example).
Either way, Christians have long articulated the Just War Theory as an approriate guide to conscious on matters of war and peace. Many of us in the conservative Christian camp absolutely hate war in every sense. We want nothing to do with guns or tanks, and see the Gospel as the most powerful force at work in the world.
Zuckerman has done a very poor job in truly representing Christian views on these issues, and nuaced reasons why they hold these various views. Certainly, it isn’t because they “hate Jesus.”
JESUS, WEALTH AND THE POOR
Jesus was very clear that the pursuit of wealth was inimical to the Kingdom of God, that the rich are to be condemned, and that to be a follower of Him means to give one’s money to the poor. And yet Evangelicals are the most supportive of corporate greed and capitalistic excess, and they are the most opposed to institutional help for the nation’s poor — especially poor children.
Jesus was not opposed to the pursuit of wealth. He was opposed to the pursuit of wealth as one’s priority in life. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be added to you.”
As John Wesley famously preached, the Bible’s first teaching on money is to get as much of it as one can in an honest way, while setting aside appropriate times for rest and worship. To do otherwise is considered lazy and wasteful. Just read the Proverbs to see this.
It is precisely because the Samaritan had the means that he was able to give so much to the man who had been beaten by the side of the road.
Additionally, there is not an evangelical alive who is “supportive of corporate greed.” There are many evangelicals who are in favor of people and companies having the freedom to make a lot of money in honest ways, but greed, especially in many of its illegal forms is not something evangelicals hope and push for! Do you see how horrible Zuckerman’s reasoning process is here? Are there people out there who honestly believe his conclusions? Surely not.
And again, I will remind readers that Christians have started and sustained hundreds and hundreds of charities in this country and around the world to help feed poor children. Christians who go to thousands of churches give large sums of money to support these organizations in an ongoing basis.
Mr. Zuckerman, are you aware of these organizations? Would you say the people who run and support them care about the poor or not?
JESUS AND SOCIALISM
They hate anything that smacks of “socialism,” even though that is essentially what their Savior preached. They despise food stamp programs, subsidies for schools, hospitals, job training — anything that might dare to help out those in need. Even though helping out those in need was exactly what Jesus urged humans to do.
Jesus Christ did not preach socialism. His ultimate views of government were centered on the Kingdom of God, its expansion, and His own rulership over it.
Socialism as a godless government philosophy has led to the deaths of millions and millions of people, and has proven itself to be an utter and dispicable failure. Sure it bills itself as a philosophy that helps the poor, or blue-collared, but in its outworkings it always creates two classes – the regulars who are supposedly all equal, and the powerful ruling class who always have creative ways to shut up those who oppose their programs.
Phil, you know that conservative Christians are not the only ones opposed to socialism, right? You have heard of the Libertarian Party I’m sure.
And as for “despising” these social programs that help people, again we see another logical fallacy. Christians are actively involved in starting and sustaining hospitals all across the country, opening free health clinics, offering food and clothing to the poor out of their churches and other benevolence ministries, and many times paying utility payments for this going through a hard time.
Surely readers can see that conservative Christians do not “despise” helping people. We just don’t believe the government should force a society to help people, which is ultimately what socialism is. And in the end, it helps nobody, but destroys a people. Instead, Jesus taught us to help and love others because we want to, because our heart is so inclined to.
WHY LISTEN TO ZUCKERMAN?
In short, Evangelicals are that segment of America which is the most pro-militaristic, pro-gun, and pro-corporate, while simultaneously claiming to be most ardent lovers of the Prince of Peace.
As you can see, Zuckerman’s arguments are not sound or well-founded. They aren’t even well argued. So why does he bill himself as a smart man, and why do people read his hateful, inaccurate writings as though he is speaking truth? How could a college feel comfortable retaining him an a professor?
Answer: people who hate Christianity want to see it go away. They are doing all in their power to shut it up. They know that the masses do not think and do not evaluate arguments well, and do not engage in the research needed to know the facts, so they write articles like this one and the mindless masses, who also hate Christianity, jump on the bandwagon, all pumping their fists and smiling as though some victory has been achieved. But whenever truth is shunted in this way, nobody wins.
Part 3 coming soon.
On the 
