Demonizing Our Opponents?

Posted by Larry Miller on July 21, 2010 under How | Read the First Comment

A few days ago I received a comment telling me that, as a Christian, the lady could take part in politics without being a slave to the GOP and demonizing her opponents. As one who attended a somewhat liberal Christian university, I was way too familiar with this mindset.

Anyone who has read more than half a dozen posts on this blog should be well aware that it is not a house organ of the Republican Party in any way like the formerly main stream media that is the mouthpiece of the Obama administration. In fact, much of our criticisms have been directed toward the GOP for their lack of courage and resolve in standing up to the Democrat majority.

Many of the obstacles to the Republican Party actually acting as an effective opposition party is their breathing the inside-the-beltway air and wanting to be liked and accepted as members of the ruling elite. The ruling elite, as recently described in The American Spectator article America’s Ruling Class – And the Perils of Revolution. I would highly recommend this article that is so much on target that Rush Limbaugh spent the better part of one show reading from and commenting on it.

Trent Lott’s recent comments disparaging the tea parties illustrate this infection. This hero of the right is reported to have said, “We don’t need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples. As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.” It appears that even this perceived “good guy” has sold out to the ruling clique. This is part of the problem and, no, we are not in the pocket of the GOP.

As for demonizing our opponents, this is a measure of how much one regards our struggle as a spiritual battle. Phelim McAleer’s insightful documentary, Not Evil, Just Wrong that destroys the the global warming mythology, says many people are just deceived and have no evil intentions. This is correct in many cases, but not all. Recent revelations of emails showing the suppression of conflicting information shows that some are aware of what they are doing. They are not deceived, they are deceivers.

This brings us to the Christian world view which recognizes the presence of both good and evil… and who the author of lies is. For a Christian to see the suffering and injustice in the world, one has to understand the evil influences in our society.

We just need to remember that not everyone who espouses some of these socialistic approaches to life is evil. They are victims of the lies as much as those they hurt… yet that influence is still with us, and needs to be opposed. Here is where the gift of discernment comes into play. It is the one we need to ask for to make our efforts as effective as possible – so we don’t overlook the fact that many on the other side of issues need our help and prayers as much as their victims.