Column for May 27, 2010

I recently took a lot of heat for a commentary I made on former First Lady Laura Bush. As some of you may know, she now has a book that has been released and she has been doing the national talk show circuit to promote her book. During the course of an interview with Larry King, she revealed that she had strong personal disagreement with her husband on the subjects of homosexual marriage and abortion. She was in favor of both. She also later came out in support of the nomination of Elena Kagan.

My initial commentary consisted only of sharing the video clip with my online readers and saying that Laura Bush has lost a lot of respect from me. You would have thought I accused Laura Bush of twisting the heads off newborn kittens. Simply saying that she lost a lot of respect is apparently harsh, judgmental, and cruel.

Personally, I find her revelatory opinions to be extremely hypocritical and an endorsement of both Sodomy and murder, which I later expressed. In this I don't mind being seen as narrow. There is no excusing the killing of innocent babies or for the redefinition of marriage. It is not a matter of being open minded. It is a matter of being accepting of sinful behavior and destruction of the innocent.

If there is one thing with which Laura Bush should be familiar, it is that if you are going to put yourself in the public spotlight and stick your head above the crowd, you are going to have a few tomatoes thrown at you. I have had my share of them, too. In the case of her husband, a lot of tomatoes flew his way. Some of the tomatoes thrown at George W. Bush were justified. Many were patently unfair. When the views that someone publicly expresses are contrary to the faith of the majority of Americans and contrary to the majority of even secularists, then there will be some expressions in contradiction.

As a Christian, I personally believe that it is the duty of believers to do as Proverbs 31:8 states, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves". That would include the unborn, whose wanton slaughter Laura Bush just openly endorsed. We are to cry aloud and spare not. Woe unto Laura Bush or any other who believe as she does. Isaiah 5:20 says "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." I for one will not remain silent in order to be seen as proper in the eyes of anyone who thinks that a Christian is to be quiet and "nicer than Jesus".

Just last month, my wife and I were in her OBGYN's office watching the ultrasound and listening to the heartbeat of our seven-week-old fetus. Just seven weeks and we heard its heartbeat! Nobody can convince me that my baby is not a living creature and to remove it from the womb would not constitute murder.

This begs the question about whether or not it is horribly judgmental to speak out against not only the case of Laura Bush, but about other topics that we know to be a matter of right and wrong. Should we stay silent in order to avoid accusations such as judgmental against the wrongs in our society? Is it wrong for Christians to acknowledge the presence of unrighteousness? Absolutely not. If that were the case, then we would still be a group of British colonies. Preachers like George Whitfield and patriots like Samuel Adams would have been considered heretics in their day. If it were the case, abolitionists of the 1800's would have remained silent and the Negro slave would have been allowed to stay in bondage.

If anyone thinks I just get paid to stir the pot with outlandish statements to attract and maintain readers for the newspaper, try asking the publisher how much I have received in compensation over my nearly four years of writing this column. Yes, I am opinionated and outspoken. But I have been faithful to write every single week to fill this space because I am committed to and passionate about a set of principles. I am committed to the difference between right and wrong; and to long standing values that made my faith, my country, and my God the greatest to have ever existed.

Whether it is Laura Bush, the federal government, a state governor, a local politician, or even clergymen, take a stand for what is right. It is not arrogant to stand on what you believe, especially if you are on the side of righteousness. God has blessed this nation with a form of government in which you have the right and the duty to take a stand. I encourage you all to do so.