If I Were An Elder . . .

. . And if I were the host of a widely read right-leaning blog, the readers of which are virulently anti-Obama and often not terribly discerning, I wouldn't print the following story without noting that -- ha-ha -- it's just a joke. Frankly, I wouldn't print it even with a flashing, 72-pt. red font proclaiming it to be a joke, because it's mean-spirited and contributes to an already ugly debate. But that's me. I wish it weren't Dale Courtney, host of Right-Mind.us and an elder at Christ Church.

An elder at the city's largest and most influential church should have the bar of wise and mature behavior set just a wee bit higher than the tops of his loafers. Courtney already disgraced himself in October by reprinting a racist cartoon about Barack Obama. Once having been called out on it (yeah, by me), that silly "avoiding the appearance of evil" thing would, or should, make a reasonable person want to be more careful in the future. That appears not to be high on the list of Right-Mind's creator.

See, I wouldn't print the article below because it says that Obama has declared statehood for Kenya, thus -- giggle, giggle -- putting to rest any further questions about his birth. Lots of Americans, and lots of Courtney's Right-Mind readers, still, almost 10 months after his election, engage in shameful, ugly speculation that he's some shadowy, sinister foreign national who arrogantly refuses to produce for Bigoted America his original birth certificate, something that neither Courtney nor any other American can do, either, what with original birth certificates being the property of the state from which they're issued and all.

The "story" continues with the knee-slapping news that Kenyans will now be eligible for health benefits from the United States government, which, if true and not just part of a chuckle-fest, would make that one fat, bloated Statist sow from whose teats the Kenyans and other Christians can suckle once they roll out of the bed they share with government. We can thank Doug Wilson for the "piglets suckling at the teat" metaphor that he extends even to those in his congregation who receive any kind of social services. Real pastoral, huh?

But with Courtney's pastor's recent declaration that believers cannot in good conscience find themselves in receipt of stolen property -- what the reasonable world calls tax-funded social services -- and the ugly political environment we have today that fears immigrants and attacks the poor, wisdom and prudence would dictate that a Christian's role in it all would be one of truth-speaking and peacemaking. Both privately and publicly, Courtney demonstrates he is not that kind of guy. He is, nonetheless, an elder at a Christian church. I find that regrettable.

Whether in wacky fun or not, this article, which I've copied below, only furthers a debate that Christians, and especially Christian church leaders, ought to decry as divisive, unproductive, and uncharitable. Many have, actually. The ones from Moscow? Not so much. It's not a particularly funny joke, and I imagine not a few readers failed to see it as a joke. Those would likely be the ones who already go to sleep at night praying against the evil they see as Obama, and an article like this offers them, if not a hearty laugh, then fuel for the fire. I think Christian elders have some responsibility in not perpetuating conflict, suspicion, and falsehood.

I pray for the day that "Christian" leaders here and throughout this country would begin to take seriously the Lord's commandment to not bear false witness. It's not a sin to say that Obama's health care policies might be bad for America, or to remind anyone who'll listen why you didn't vote for him, but it's absolutely a sin to continue to perpetuate, in the name of humor or patriotism or whatever else, lies about who the man is. A "joke" like this is very likely over the heads of some of its readers -- Courtney really ought to keep that in mind -- but it shouldn't be too hard to grasp that we Christians aren't supposed to lie about those in authority over us, further the lies of others, and engage in suspicion of and hatred for the one we're supposed to honor and pray for.

Here's the article, in its entirety and without a caveat of comedic intent:

(From Right-Mind.us, August 4, 2009)


Obama marks birthday with Kenya statehood declaration

From the Washington Examiner:

President Barack Obama today celebrated his 48th birthday with a retroactive declaration of statehood for Kenya, his father's homeland and the nation where some skeptics say he was born on August 4, 1961.

Conspiracy theorists, collectively called 'birthers' by those who trust the president's version of events, say Obama has refused to release his official birth certificate, so no one can be sure that he's a 'natural born' U.S. citizen, or even that he's at least 35 years old and, therefore, Constitutionally qualified for the office.

By declaring Kenya a U.S. state retroactive to July 1961, the president said he hoped to "put an end to fruitless speculation about my citizenship, which should -- by the way -- be a private matter between a woman and her obstetrician, or village midwife as the case may be."

Obama added: "We need to get the nation's focus back on the worst economy since the Great Depression, the 46 million uninsured Americans, and the global warming crisis that threatens our coastal cities with a briny death. More people believe in that stuff than will ever believe that I was born in Mombasa. I was elected to bring about change you can believe in."

As a citizen of either the 50th or the 51st state, Obama's eligibility for office is now unquestioned. For their part, citizens of Kenya will soon qualify for U.S. government-run health care, as well as a program designed to reduce greenhouse gasses by allowing people to trade in old chickens for more modern, efficient poultry -- a pilot project dubbed 'cash for cluckers'. (end of Right-Mind.us text)