According to Billy Graham, Fox News is doing God's work, part of which is a constant whine about mythical Christian persecution. So we shouldn't be surprised that America's Christian morning show gushed over Billy Graham's granddaughter who played the persecuted Christian card and for added celestial points endorsed Fox's and God's chosen one, Donald Trump!
Tuesday, unashamed and unabashed Christians Ainsley Earhardt and Steve Doocy reported that while Billy Graham doesn't endorse presidential candidates, his granddaughter is "breaking with tradition" and enthusiastically endorsing Donald Trump. They then read a statement from Cissie Graham Lynch in which she explained that the Supreme Court is "the main reason for Christians to vote."
Lynch began her homily with the statement that she wasn't "speaking as a Graham" but as a concerned Christian who is urging her fellow Christians to vote. She stressed the importance of the Supreme Court and "who is going to protect my rights as a Christian and my religious freedoms."
Doocy provided her with the opportunity to articulate VERY IMPORTANT FOX/CHRISTIAN RIGHT TALKING POINTS with his question about what court issues really worry her. She claimed - wait for it- "Christians are being persecuted." She stressed her "faith in Jesus Christ" and did the perfunctory whine about how "Christians are being persecuted every day." In keeping with the standard Christian right script, she said that we need leaders "who won't attack faith based institutions" and "who are going to fight for the unborn." Doocy grunted in agreement.
Earhardt asked what message Lynch had for Christians who have problems with both candidates and are not voting. Lynch said that she looks "at who Trump has surrounded himself with" and - wait for it - Trump "has surrounded himself with godly men." (Right, like Steve Bannon, voice of the racist and hate-filled alt-right!) She cited Ben Carson and Mike Pence as examples of these godly men. (Guess Kellyanne Conway isn't a godly woman?) She gushed over Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, because he talks "about his faith in Jesus Christ" and added that Trump/Pence "will fight" for Christians. (Non-Christians, not so much)
Doocy: "Sure."
Doocy asked if the famous Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women "impacted" Graham's "decision." Doocy noted that Trump said "it was just locker room talk." Graham responded that while Christians "don't make excuses" about the "vulgar and nasty" statements, Trump has apologized so it's all good. She reiterated the need for Christians to vote because of SCOTUS. Doocy summed it up by saying that "all that other stuff is just noise" because "it comes down to you and the Supreme Court."
In expressing revulsion over how, at the last debate, Hillary Clinton spoke too casually about abortion, Lynch defined abortion as "murder." (Not legally but who cares about that?) Earhardt chimed in "late term abortion." Lynch added that she was disgusted by the vulgarity of abortion being "defended on a national stage." and made a bizarre comment about how, when she was in Kurdistan, she saw a buried "bus full of dead unborn children."
In closing, Doocy and Earhart thanked her family "for what they have done for this country."
Well there you have it - Donald Trump isn't just blessed by God, but by Fox News!
I mean no offense to real Christians. Though I cannot bring myself to accepting primitive guesses about the Great Beyond as gospel (so to speak), the philosophies attributed to Jesus make for a damned good approach to life.
Throwing out the money lenders, the hypocrites, the proud, those who would throw the first stone and those who can walk by the unfortunate and afflicted without helping as the good Samaritan did… well, it would make a good start.
Christ said “Love thy neighbor as thyself” which is completely different from the “hate the sin” idea; Christ commanded His followers to accept others the same way they accept themselves—flaws and sins included. Remember, it was Jesus who condemned the hypocrites—that whole “speck in your neighbor’s eye” thing (Matthew 7:3-5).
It was actually Gandhi, paraphrasing St Augustine (a guy who never met Christ personally—the two were separated by some 3 or 4 centuries). Augustine’s exact quote was “Cum dilectione hominum et odio vitiorum” (loosely translated as “With love for mankind and hatred for sin”). Even Gandhi didn’t mean it the way it’s usually taken. Gandhi’s full quote was “Hate the sin and not the sinner is a precept which though easy enough to understand is rarely practiced, and that is why the poison of hatred spreads in the world.”
But I think Donald Trump is a love the sin kind of guy. If I were to see Donald Trump reading the Bible, I gotta think he’s looking for loopholes.
