UPDATE: You can sign the statement here.
So far more than 1,400 have signed, included distinguished religious leaders like Brian McLaren, Douglas W. Kmiec, Rev. Dr. Susan B. Thistlethwaite, Vince Miller, Peter Vander Meulen, Rev. Dr. Derrick Harkins, Bart Campolo, Sharon Daly, Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, and Delores Leckey.
Add your voice for a more civil and compassionate religious voice in politics.
-------------
Governor Palin, Put Away Falsehood
September 4, 2008
The Matthew 25 Network is extremely disappointed in Governor Sarah Palin's address last night at the Republican National Convention.
We call on her not only as a political figure, but also as a prominent
Christian, to commit herself to campaigning in good faith, with a
strong commitment to truth-telling.
As Christians, we
are called to be respectful and loving toward our neighbors, honoring
their intentions even if we disagree. We are also called to be truthful
in all things, to "put away falsehood" (Eph 4:25) and refrain from
slandering, belittling, or speaking out of contempt for anyone.
If these are the standards God has set for us in our personal lives,
our church communities, and our neighborhoods, how much more so should
they be for those of us who choose to be in the public eye?
Shouldn't we expect our brothers and sisters in politics to also speak
the truth in love and to extend respect and goodwill even to those who
disagree with them?
Sarah Palin has shaped much of her
life around her Christian faith.[1] It has been continually suggested
that one of the major reasons John McCain
chose Palin as his running-mate was her Christian faith and her ability
to energize evangelical Christian voters. Thus, it is not a stretch to
say that Palin has been thrust into the position of being one of the
more visible faces of Christianity in today's political scene.
As such, she has a calling higher than her responsibility to her
party's victory in November - a calling to represent Christ in the
world. This is why her speech at the Republican National Convention
last night was so disappointing to us at the Matthew 25 Network.
To be blunt, we saw very little of Christ's love in Sarah Palin's
speech last night, as she heaped contempt on those who disagree with
her politically, while offering no vision for how to resolve the
critical issues facing Americans today like job loss, health care,
growing child poverty rates and the war in Iraq.
In questioning not only Barack Obama's
policies but also his motivations, and mocking his career, Palin went
far beyond what could be considered acceptable disagreement and into
what looked like open hatred for her political opponents. The name of
Christ should never be associated with hate or contempt for one's
fellow human being, but last night, in Sarah Palin, we believe it was.
Moreover, as has been documented by major media sources including the
Associated Press [2], Palin engaged in falsehoods not only about her
own record, but about Barack Obama's record as a State Senator and as a
U.S. Senator. As Christians, we are called throughout Scripture to
speak the whole truth, to put away falsehood, to bear true witness even
when it hurts our own interests. The name of Christ should never be
associated with falsehoods or deception, but last night, in Sarah
Palin, we believe it was.
As a prominent face of Christians in politics, Sarah Palin is called to
do more than represent her party - she is tasked to represent Christ to
the world. We in the Matthew 25 Network call on Gov. Sarah Palin to
repudiate her attitude of contempt towards her political opponents and
tell the whole truth - if not for the sake of a more honorable
politics, then for the sake of our Christian witness in the world.
Senator McCain
is no less responsible because he selected Gov. Palin and praised her
speech, and he claims to be a Christian as well. It is ill-fitting to
use Christian identity
and language for one's political advantage without seeking to live up
to that high calling. Ultimately, as the Presidential candidate,
Governor Palin's tone and infidelity to truth reflect negatively on
Senator McCain as well.
[1] - TIME Magazine interview,
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1837536,00.html
[2] - "Attacks, praise stretch truth," International Herald-Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/04/america/CVN-Fact-Check.php
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What about the 49,000,000 million babies who were slaughtered while in the womb. Who is speaking out on their behalf?
Hello,
I just wanted to advise for all those people on here talking baby killing speech, that you guys need to seriously read up on the bible. If you knew what Matthew 25 was about you would understand that God said judgment was left up to him and we are suppose to show sensitivity to all of his creatures. Not some but all.
Obama doesn't approve of killing babies, he approves to let people make their own decisions and then they would be accountable to god not him. Obama is not responsible for being everybody's mother and father. The last time I checked, I think God would be the highest authority on the matter which would leave that up to the individual and GOD. Not the public, not the people that are a part of the public but the person and GOD.
So since you guys have always failed to do that, then might don't you think about it before you decide to stand before God one day. He does not need people being forced to be Christian or believe in him. I think from the beginning he has always given us a choice in the matter.
The greatest gift that he every granted anybody was the right to a choice. That happened in the garden of eden for which is my "memory" serves me properly was a decision that Eve made herself. He did not say I grant you this gift so I can tell you how to use it. Otherwise, the gift of choices towards our lives would not be a gift and he would have never given it to us.
So stop pushing this slander please... I think you have other things to worry about like Palin's fanatic Christian views and if she plans on making her bid for the white house a bid to endocrine us all into Joel's Army.
ruth: As I see it Sarah talked like a lamb...and she did not tell one lie...
Wow. You must have a very flexible - or perhaps nonexistent - standard for truth if you think Palin didn't tell any lies. FactCheck.org put out a pretty good roundup of all Palin's lies and falsehoods - including her claim that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere (she didn't until it became politically inconvenient) and that Barack Obama hasn't done anything in the Senate (he has, in fact, been instrumental in ethics reform and anti-proliferation efforts).
Of course, that hasn't stopped McCain-Palin from continuing to lie about her stance on the Bridge to Nowhere, about her stance on pork in general (she was all for it when she was the mayor of Wasilla, and was all too happy to serve on a 527 devoted to re-electing the King of Pork, the indicted Sen. Ted Stevens), and about Obama's tax proposals and legislative record. It would appear that the McCain-Palin campaign puts a lower priority on truth-telling than they do on winning... and this from a campaign where both principals claim to be Christians.
Should a Christian lie to get ahead? In any other situation, Christians would say absolutely not. But when politicians who claim to be Christian come along and lie continually and brazenly, long after they have been made aware that their claims are untrue even by those outside the campaign (to say nothing of the fact that their campaign should also be engaged in fact-checking), this is excused by politically conservative Christians.
Even if conservative Christians aren't going to change their support for McCain-Palin - which is their right - shouldn't they be the loudest, strongest, and boldest voices demanding that a campaign claiming to represent them do nothing but tell the whole truth at all times? The silence of prominent Christian conservatives - to say nothing of the rank and file - in taking McCain and Palin to task for their continual engagement in falsehoods is nothing short of deafening.
Palin, whether she likes it or not, represents Jesus Christ. Is Christ well-represented by someone who is willing to stand in front of millions of people and lie simply to further her own career?
Sarah Pelin said sending troops to Iraq is God's will. That's offensive. The Iraq war is Bush and Cheney and some other disgraced politician (such as Paul Wolfowitz and "Scooter" Libby)'s will. It's Pelin's choice if she decides to regard those people as God, but clearly they are not my God. My God is Jesus. My God will never endorse a war with misleading information (or called false intelligence). My God is always telling the truth to his people.
Also I want to point out that my God does not like his name used for dirty politics. His name is holy and shall never be related to lies and personal attacks.
I pray for Sarah Pelin. I pray my God Jesus will give her wisdom so she will stop the disgraceful acts.
It's a little late for this but I have to say something. I doubt you would find enough voters who even know what Matthew 25 is, much less care, to elect a sewer commissioner in Peoria.
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