Church Leaders' Anti-War Message Fails in the Pews

Newhouse News Service ^ | 4/10/03 | Mark O'Keefe

[AppyPappy]

You always were fond of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

[Temple Owl]

I've known the Rev. Robert Edgar for over 40 years. He has been a jerk and Clymer all of that time.

[k2blader]

Thanks--good article.

As a Christian, I think the National Council of Churches is an evil entity that perverts rather than upholds truth.

[George W. Bush]

The Rev. Robert Edgar holds a photo of an Iraqi Christian while arguing that children are the most innocent victims of the war against Iraq.

The truth is that children are the most innocent victims of having avoided war with Iraq. The greater tragedy was in leaving a worse-than-Nazi dictator like Saddam in power.

I don't know why anyone should be surprised by these liberal church leaders failing to understand foreign policy or human rights. They don't even seem to understand the theology of their own denominations. Or their own laity.

To me, this is yet another indication of liberalism in the churches. Churches are not effective in foreign policy or human rights and only do reasonably well at charity work. Let them instead preach the gospel, the one thing that no one else will do. What a novel idea that is, in the modern age.

[Bigg Red]

..the church is constantly making the case against abortion."

I wish!

[RooRoobird14]

Isn't this the same "minister" who is pro-abortion and doesn't give a rat's @ss about the 3600 unborn babies per day slaughtered in the U.S.? Unbelievable hypocrite....

[proud American in Canada]

bump

[McGavin999]

Might have sold a little better before 9-11 but not after. We've seen the fruits of the "peace movement" and they are devistating. Anyone who thinks that Saddam didn't have ties to terrorists doesn't have two brain cells to rub together and the proof is becoming clearer every day.

Church "leaders" had better figure out that if people aren't following, obviously they are not "leaders".

[Saundra Duffy]

LOL!

[thinktwice]

"They should understand pretty clearly that the rank and file take a little longer to focus and to follow."

Dick Morris had it right yesterday, when speaking about why liberals are wrong and can't see that they are wrong.

Morris said something to the effect that liberals are divorced from reality, and that liberal minds are "stuffed full of propaganda."

Theologians and liberals share those Morris identified problems.

[Extremist]

the open door - open minded church.

The UMC Bishop Melvin Talbert's appearance on Larry King prompted me to do some digging into the position of the United Methodist Church (of which I am a Member). What I found out was shocking. The leadership is firmly against the liberation of Iraq but they are for some things, such as....

Abortion

Gun Control

Gays and transexuals in the Pulpit

The U.N.

etc etc etc..............

I'm outta there!

[Kuksool]

I wonder if pastors who use the pulpits to promote the liberal agenda are on the payrolls of various left-wing groups.

[cherry]

I am with you on that....when our priest got up there with his holier than thou sermon, I did walk out...but I did it towards the end of Mass just to make me feel better..lol

told my hubby I wasn't going back....but that is not right either....why let the socialist ruin my religious beliefs?

this whole thing about being "pro war" is stupid....

no one is "pro war"....

what most of us are are "pro usa" and "anti, anti-war protestor"...

[Sam Cree]

I grew up an Episcopalian, but married a Jewish girl and have been living that life for the past 30 years. We belonged to a Reform temple for quite awhile, but dropped out last year because of the persistent leftist bent of the denomination.

However, if my wife gets too sad about not belonging, we might get back in, although then I think I would feel a personal obligation to become something of a thorn in their side.

[Sam Cree]

That is a great Lazarus Long quote on your homepage.

[Sam Cree]

"I'd have to say it's more the leadership than the people."

Agreed. Even a good many of the parish ministers and priests are probably not leftists, though I suppose many are, also.

IMO, it's definitely a problem that leftists have infiltrated the church.

[Carolinamom]

RE #42 Good for you.

[YankeeReb]

As for the Pope, he served nobly in the overthrow of Communism in eastern Europe. However, he has demonstrated once again, it is time for him to retire. His stance was not just one of not supporting the war, a just war by Cahtolic standards, but one of active oppositon to and support for a vicious brutal dictator and continuing statements about Christian and Muslim unity which are simply out of touch with reality. Further indications of his growing administrative ineptitude extend back to the sex scandals.

I consider myself a fairly conservative Catholic, and dispite the pope's anti war stance, I don't lump him in with the left here. As you point out he was very instrumental in the overthrow of communism and the evil empire, and having grown up under communist oppression he knows first hand its horror.

The reason I respect his stance while having complete contempt for the likes of Jimmy Carter, Willard the Slick and the hollywood perverts is that he was one of the few voices who also condemned the slaughter of Serbian Christians in the Balkins. He also came out against the lobbing of cruise missiles into Baghdad in 1998, so he's been consistant. On the current situation I think he's wrong, but in John Paul II's case I believe he's speaking from genuine conviction, and not simply from an "Anti-Bush" viewpoint.

[Sam Cree]

I also am under the impression that the Society of Friends is extremely leftist, almost to the point of endorsing socialism. They are further to the left than most of these other churches, IMO.

My brother unknowingly sent his daughter to a "Friends" school for awhile. He started to get the picture when the school one day provided all the children with T-shirts and sent them home wearing them. The T-shirts had Ronald Reagans face with a "no" symbol printed over the top.

[Sam Cree]

Just read your post. We dropped out of our Reform temple last year for similar reasons.