Expert: Rev. Stuart Woodward - 10/25/2007

Question
Hello,

I am a Christian who goes to a Baptist Church. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to think of myself as a Baptist. One of the reasons is because of the politics of so many Baptists in this country.

Some Baptists equate faith in Jesus Christ with faith in George Bush. As if the gospel of Jesus Christ has anything to do with George Bush or the Republican party.

George Bush is a big thorn in my side. He stoled the first election in 2000. There were so many votes which were thrown out in Florida in that election, and tons of people were not allowed to vote because their registration was revoked and they were not notified. Its funny how Bush's brother was governor of Florida, and it was the controversies in the voting in that one state which made Bush win by 500 votes. In fact he lost the popular vote.

Bush invaded Iraq when all evidence proved that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, so why invade them? Seems more like revenge for his father than anything else. More Iraqis have died since we invaded than would ever have died if we just left the country alone. Saddam wasn't killing 10,000-20,000 civilians per month. Bush's family is neck deep in the military industrial complex. Whenever there is a war his family and friends make money. Haliburton is getting government contracts without bids, which is illegal, but this is happening because Dick Chaney is a former Haliburton executive, and he still has stock and a pension from them.

The Plame Affair, in which Scooter Libby got a slap on the wrist, proves how vengeful Bush is and how all his talk of being a born again Christian is nothing more than a lie.

This war and this whole administration is all about making money for Bush, and his family, friends, and the people who helped get him into office. The deficit is gigantic and we just keep printing up more money, devaluating the currency. One Euro costs $1.43, but when the Euro first came out it was 95 cents.

At the end of 2001 Bush gave away the government's 99 billion dollar surplus to various companies, many of which were big donors to his election fund. His buddies all made money on that.

Did you see the movie Loose Change, about how the whole 9/11 event is extremely fishy. When the plane hit the pentagon it supposedly disintegrated, which is impossible. No engine was found. And the grass around the pentagon was in prestine condition. Also no wings from the plane were found. And no wings hit anything. All video footage of the event from nearby companies was confiscated by the government and there is no explanation of what happened to the remains of the plane, or why there was no impact from the wings. Looks more like a missile hit the pentagon. And it's funny how the part of the pentagon which was hit was the part which was just recently reinforced.

It is so obvious that this entire war is about nothing more than oil and money, yet rich Christians, and those who are stupid enough to be duped believe in this man as if he was God himself.

I can't stand Bush, and I will be overjoyed when he is out of office. I can picture him roasting in hell for all the people he's killed and mamed due to this war. All for the love of money, which is the root of all evil.

All this sometimes makes me want to join another Church. We have the super-Republican Baptists, which are often rich, and they can afford to tihe, while poor Christians like me are looked down upon in our congregations because we don't have the money to tithe. It's easy when you can afford to tithe out of your excess. And then they have the nerve to tell us to support a money hungry murderer like George Bush. Maybe I should look into joining a Methodist Church, or Presbyterian.

What is your take on this issue.

Answer
Hello Joshua,
Thank you for your question. I am not sure I am the right person to respond as I am English and minister in England but perhaps a more distant perspective might be helpful.
First of all I always thought George Bush was a Methodist though I am not sure about that.
When the US invaded Iraq with British support I was unsure but understood the dangers of the weapons we were told were there. In fairness to George Bush I am sure he believed they were there too - all the intelligence supported that view. However, the intelligence was wrong and that speaks badly of the western intelligence network. An apology from both our governments would have been right.
I believe George Bush has made many mistakes though from my distance I believe him to be sincere enough even though his politics and mine are rather different.
The other things you mention seem to me to be the stuff of politics and I have yet to find a political party who manage to escape from the pocket of the wealthy multinational interests.
My view is that it is the job of the church to be a prophetic voice not aligning with any political party. Our job is to keep speaking God's perspective about righteousness and care for the poor and oppressed and hold all governments to account for their moral choices.
Looking from a distance it seems to me that many US Christians see themselves as Americans first and Christians second and quite a number see themselves as Republicans or Democrats first and Christians second. This is wrong.
I do not believe there is any conspiracy surrounding 9/11. People make a case for all sorts of conspiracies as we in this country know with the ongoing saga of how Princess Diana died.
However I do agree that the love of money is at the root of many of the ills in both our nations. Jesus was right when he said that we cannot serve God and 'mammon' which is the material gain god.
By the way I still think the tithe is good but it is far more God honouring when given from little rather than from plenty.
Where you should worship is for you to work out with God but I would caution you to be careful. It is possible to jump from frying pan to fire and simply get trapped in a different political set of assumptions.
I hope my comments are helpful.
May God bless you
Stuart Woodward