Self-righteous and self-serving
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson has given an executive order to provide medical benefits to unmarried city employees who are nevertheless in committed relationships. The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona Christian group, has filed suit in Utah alleging the mayor's order is unconstitutional.1 Rocky Anderson is obviously pushing limits, mostly because no one knows where the limits are. Utah's marriage amendment, like every other marriage amendment that was passed in the U.S., uses such broad and vague language it is now up to the courts to interpret the law. Rocky is just getting the ball rolling. But an Arizona group? Frankly folks, it's none of your business. Go home.
In other news John Ashcroft has declared Oregon's assisted suicide laws which allow such action to be taken—passed twice by voter referendum—are illegal. He seems to think the federal Controlled Substances Act applies here, taking the stance that the drugs administered to cause death are being used counter to their medical purpose.2 We'll just skip the part that most drugs have multiple uses and if a doctor administers a lethal dose at the request of the patient, then that is their medical purpose.
These two items have one thing in common: non-resident individuals and/or groups trying to intervene in and meddle with the local affairs of a state because actions taken there offend their personal sense of morality. These are not isolated incidents. Michigan groups have been behind recent petition drives in Massachusetts attempting to force a marriage amendment vote in that state as well.3 You can bet good money that Roy Moore and his rock will not be content to rule only Alabama from On High. Should he be elected governor, which at this point seems more likely than not, you can be sure he will use that position to push his agenda nationwide. Some, such as Roy Moore, publicly declare they are on a mission from God. I would also bet good money that those who make no such public statement, maintain a similar privately held belief.
What I don't understand is how they justify their behavior. The last time I read the Gospels, and it has admittedly been a while, I didn't get the impression that Jesus was a political activist. He regularly and loudly criticized the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of the day (modern day analogies of Jimmy Swaggert and Jim Bakker come to mind), but he didn't seem to have much to say about Pontius Pilot or Tiberius Caesar. In fact, when someone tried to drag him into political territory, he refused to engage.
Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied. Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."4
In fact, you have to go back to the Old Testament to find God mixed up in politics. I may have misunderstood scripture, but I thought Christ brought with him a higher law and declared the old one fulfilled.
You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.' But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also."5
Let us back up for just a moment. What was the "evil intent" Christ discerned in his adversaries? They wanted him to make a political statement against Rome so they would have legal grounds to prosecute Him. In other words, Jesus was no dummy. As a religious organization, there were no punitive measures available to them which would accomplish their goal of silencing this trouble maker. Christ obviously had little interest in being accepted as a member of the Jewish church of the time. If, on the other hand, they could get him to say something seditious, they could invoke civil law and have him flogged and/or imprisoned. Indeed, it was on the trumped up charge of treason that he was crucified.
So who does Roy Moore and his ilk sound more like: Christ or the Pharisees? Any humility evidenced by any of these men is false. They may have convinced themselves they are merely a tool in God's hands, but they are not. Nowhere in their own scripture is there justification for their approach to faith and morality. They seek not to preach and teach as Christ exhorted (Matthew 5:19-20), but to rule and reign. Make no mistake people, these men want to dictate to you how you should live your life, what is appropriate behavior and what is not, and they want the rule of law to inflict punitive measures against you if you fail to live up to their standards.
4Matthew 22:17-21, New International Version
5Matthew 5:38-40, New American Standard Bible
Mother(?) Nature
Just got back to civilization after a week of canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). We saw a remarkable amount of wildlife this year: three bald eagles, two otters, a dozen or so loons, and the obligatory seagulls, chipmunks and squirrels. Mother Nature, on the other hand, was something of a bitch. The trip had been planned based on normal weather patterns, which would have put any wind at our backs most of the time. Mother Nature, however, decided not to do normal last week.
Day one started out beautifully. It was sunny and warm, temperatures near 70.
Day two was a little cooler, but still beautiful. At one point during the day we were paddling on glass. Not a single ripple marred the surface of the lake. The wakes of our canoes was the only disturbance in the placid surface. The fall colors reflected perfectly in the water was amazing. However, as the day wore on the wind started to come up, bringing little rain showers with it. Not a big deal, except that paddling into a head wind is not nearly as fun. By the time we paddled into camp, we were paddling against a stiff breeze. Day three started out with more of the same, dawning cloudy and breezy. By the afternoon, however, the wind had picked up and it began to rain in earnest, forcing us into our rain gear.
The wind continued to rise and while slogging through a marshy area, we decided it was time to find a camp and get off the water. By the time we put in at the nearest camp site, the wind was driving the rain between 30 and 40 mph and whipping the lake surface into whitecaps. We spent most of the next 48 hours huddled in our tents to stay out of the wind and rain, and thus (relatively speaking) warm and dry. By the afternoon of day four, the rain had let up, but the wind continued to blow and kept the lake churned up into something six desk jockeys not too keen on taking a swim prefered to watch from shore. More than tired of being cooped up in tents, we set up some tarps in an area as sheltered from the wind as we could find and fixed ourselves something hot to eat.
The morning of day five, the winds had changed directions, which meant the storm had finally passed us. However, having lost as much time as we had, we couldn't continue on the planned route and had to turn around a go back the way we came, which meant paddling into the wind...again. The weather teased us all morning long with the sun breaking through the clouds for about 30 seconds every five minutes or so. Between sunshine breaks we were pelted with rain, sleet and snow. As the day wore on the ratios slowly changed until we had sunshine most of the time with the occasional snow flurry thrown in just to keep us guessing.
Watching the sun rise on day six, I was reminded of one of a scene from the movie Jeffrey, one of my favorites from any movie. In it, Jeffrey (Steven Weber) is talking to a priest (Nathan Lane) about evil in the world. The priest likens life to Broadway musicals (it's a movie about gay issues, what do you expect?) and tries to focus Jeffrey's attention on the good in the world, but Jeffrey keeps bringing the topic back to evil and misfortune. Finally, frustrated, the priest exclaims, "Evil bores me! It's one note! It doesn't sing!"
Day six seemed almost an apology for the preceding two days. The temperature was around 50. The wind was never more than a light breeze and the sun was shining as white clouds scudded across the sky. It was perfect canoeing weather. We were even treated to a display of the northern lights that night.
As if to remind us that Mother Nature was still Queen Bee (and still a bitch) day seven dawned cold and windy and we paddled the last 3.5 miles to the cars in a stiff head wind.