No, it isn’t. Not even remotely. And yet, that is what we have in this case. Earlier today, I commented on a bogus “poll” (maybe more on that nonsense later) put out by a group called the “Heritage Alliance” and mass emailed by Diane Nusbaum, one of the founders of the Collin County Tea Party and a campaign worker on the failed campaign of Wayne Richard.
A friend, Kimmon Johnson, who used to blog at Lonestartimes.com as Texpat, found a very disturbing article about the founder of Heritage Alliance at the Dallas Observer dating back to 2005. In the article, the founder, Richard Ford, admits to lying about Republican officeholders and says that he would do it again.
“Here’s a guy who co-authored the bill to outlaw gay marriages,” Wentworth says, referring to himself, “yet they put two men in tuxedos cutting a wedding cake on a mailer and said, ‘This is the kind of stuff this guy will do.’ It was the absolute reverse of my actual record, but they didn’t care. Facts never get in Richard’s way.”…..
“I think we were probably a little ahead of the curve,” Ford says now. “Quite frankly, if we had it to do over again, I would try to do it a little more tastefully, because I think it would have been more effective, but the message, I think, was correct.
No.
The “message” was a lie. By definition it cannot be “correct”. And it made me think of the recent email exchange and interview with SREC member John Cook. In his attempt to defeat Speaker Straus, Mr. Cook said:
“I want to make sure that a person I’m supporting is going to have my values. It’s not anything about Jews and whether I think their religion is right or Muslims and whether I think their religion is right. … I got into politics to put Christian conservatives into office. They’re the people that do the best jobs over all.”
Is lying one of Mr. Cook’s values, I wonder? I sincerely doubt it. What is lying anyway? Harper’s Bible Dictionary says this:
Lying
lying, the act of telling falsehoods as truth. Israel is exhorted against using God’s name for false oaths and lying on the witness stand in the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:7, 16; Deut. 5:11, 20). Witnesses who testify falsely will receive the punishment that would have been meted out to their accused (Deut. 19:15-21). Indeed, all falsehoods are prohibited by the Torah (Exod. 23:7; Lev. 19:11). Persons who lie, and thereby defraud their neighbor, must pay restitution for the property loss plus a fine to the owner as well as bring a sacrificial offering before they are forgiven by God (Lev. 6:1-7). Lying is thus an abomination to God and his faithful (Prov. 12:22; Ps. 119:163), for God never lies (Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29).
False prophets are singled out for particular condemnation (Isa. 9:15; Jer. 23:9-32; Ezek. 13) since their lies may influence the people to oppose God’s will. The penalty for false prophecy is death (Deut. 18:20-22; Jer. 28).
In the NT, the ‘father of lies’ is the devil (John 8:44), and Paul condemns those who worship idols because they have exchanged the truth about God for a lie (Rom. 1:25). See also Perjury.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper’s Bible dictionary (1st ed.) (586). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
As noted, John 8:44, Jesus says this about lies:
8:44 You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Jesus says that liars are from the devil himself.
I agree.
Lying about Joe Straus, or anyone else, is evil. It doesn’t matter who does it, be it the Heritage Alliance or Diane Nusbaum or Tea Partiers or anyone else. Including me.
Lying is evil.
Lying is from Satan.
The ends DO NOT justify the means.
Lying doesn’t come from “True Christians”.
For good measure, let’s look at something from the “Judeo/Christian” heritage:
Exodus 20:16 – You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Remember that one? Sometimes we call it the 9th Commandment.
Some “True Christians” ignore it.
These lies truly sadden me because they are being broadcast and put forth under the so-called “Tea Party” brand, of which I am a proud member. Less proud these days but a member nonetheless.
I think of the beautiful prayers I’ve heard Robin Lennon of the Kingwood Tea Party give before their meetings. Of the prayers lifted up by Catherine Englebrecht of King Street Patriots before theirs. Of John Bentley’s prayers before the Clear Lake Tea Party meetings. Of Greg Holloway of the Austin Tea Party reciting the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. And countless others.
And I can’t help but wonder, where did it all go wrong? Under Which God do we stand?