Bizarro World Christian

He must live in a Christian bizarro World.
Of course I've only been a born again, baptized Christian since 1972, but I have yet to come across any Scripture supporting a statement by a national Christian leader saying that our government should assassinate the leader of another country. (And if you support his T.V. broadcast, you're supporting his ideaology.)
Have I missed a New Testament directive to hate your neighbor, to kill those that persecute you?
What I have read is that Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world. "If it were, my servants would fight". (John:18:36)
Jesus was pretty clear in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5): "Blessed are the merciful...Blessed are the peacemakers...You have heard that it was said...'You shall not murder...but I say...if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement...and if you say 'You fool', you will be liable to the hell of fire'".
Or in Matt. 5:43 ff: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven..."
So it would seem to me that if you advocate killing your enemy rather than loving and praying for them, you're not a child of the Father in heaven. Carry the advocating of murdering your enemy and pre-emptive strikes to their logical conclusion. If it's okay to do it if you're in public office or for "God and Country", then it's okay to do it on a personal level. All of a sudden you're in agreement with the abortion clinic bomber who thinks he's doing God's work.
You can't have it both ways. You can't live according to the teachings of Christ in your personal life, and live in total contradiction to them in your public or political life. We only have one life, we only have one "Author and Finisher of our faith": Jesus. He's our example, the one we're to follow. Not some crazed religious leader advocating murder.

© 2005, Bob Cooper

Looks like I made it...

Who would have ever thought that a poor farm boy from a small Iowa town could ever have made it onto an airline Watchlist?
There I was, glibly ready to get my online boarding pass from Southwest the night before I traveled, when a message was returned to my request stating that I'd have to go to the Skycap or a kiosk to check in; that I couldn't do it online. After repeated tries with the same results, (tenacity is a must in my job...), I gave up and went to the Skycap check-in the next morning...where I was told that, no, I couldn't check in there either, or at a kiosk. I had to go to the counter. I politely inquired why, and was told my name was on a Watchlist, or at least my name was close to one on a list. So I went inside, stood in line, and finally did get checked in. When I asked there why I was on a list, I was told that it was just that names like Smith, Jones, or Cooper; common names all, were sometimes flagged.
Believable?
After getting my boarding pass, I sailed right through security, shoes and pants on, carry-ons unchecked other than the usual X-ray. Now just how did that add to the security of my flight? How did that protect other passengers from my wayward ways?
Do I believe I'm on a Watchlist because my last name is Cooper? Is that more absurd than believing it may be because I support Moveon.org, Act For Change; subscribe to the Tom Payne newsletter, and visit Michael Moore's website? Or was it the Clinton book I checked out from the library? Or the letters to the editor that I've had published daring to question the President's motives in taking us to war on a lie.
I'll never know of course. But, hey, maybe Tim Robbins will invite me to his next subversive Hollywood bash.

"Those who would sacrifice a little Liberty for a little Security deserve neither and will lose both." --Benjamin Franklin

© 2005, Bob Cooper