The 7 Deadly Sins: Republicans' Anger Management Problem

So I'm reading in the NYT about Democrats reaching out to evangelical voters in Ohio, and I come to this:

"The Republican is lying, and the Democrats are secular," said Joshua Porter, a video producer attending Vineyard Columbus [Church]. "Who do we vote for?"

This cognitive struggle personifies the modern Republican Party and pinpoints how it has rotted to the core.

Faith > Honesty?

What I want to know is since when did having faith supersede being honest? Since when did Truth, Justice and the American way turn into Lies, Torture and the Biblical way?

Anyway, this got me thinking about the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, avarice, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and (everybody's favorite) sloth. I think we all know where Foley, Hastert and the Do-Nothing, Rubberstamp Republican Congress fit in here. Same goes for estate-tax repeal and corporate welfare. And for Shrub's refusal to admit error for anything, ever.

But I was especially struck by Wikipedia's definition of wrath:

Inappropriate feelings of hatred and anger.

Denial of the truth, both to others and in the form of self-denial.

Impatience with the law, or seeking revenge outside of justice, such as with unnecessary vigilantism.

Wishing to do evil or harm to others.

A modern definition would also include anger towards others for no good reason, such as their race or religion, leading to discrimination.

Ending on a more positive note, both polling and anecdotal evidence have shown that many evangelicals are souring on the Republican wrath agenda.

"How is it that we evangelicals have become the strongest constituency for war of any group in America?" [Rich Nathan, pastor of the Vineyard Columbus Church,] asked.

When he asked that question from the pulpit, Mr. Nathan said, people stand up and cheer.

•  Tip Jar

  by TXdem on Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 03:54:56 AM PDT

•  trying to figure out..

  ...just which deadly sin fits 'em best is tough.  Hastert obviously has trouble with gluttony, Foley lusts, Rummy is good and wrathful..
   Maybe we can come up with a brand-new term that means ALL of the deadly sins rolled up into one?  Wait a minute - we DO have a term for that...it's "Republican"!

  by drchelo on Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 05:08:07 AM PDT

•  Rec'd - All depends on whose ox is being gored

  A few days ago, I received a particularly goofy forwarded e-mail that said Muslims couldn't possibly be good Americans. I then re-wrote it to apply it to fundamentalist Christians.

  First, the original:

  Can a good Muslim be a good American?

  The answer is from a person who worked in Saudi Arabia for 20 years.

  The following is his reply:

  Theologically - no. Because his allegiance is to
  Allah, the moon god of Arabia.

  Religiously - no. Because no other religion is
  accepted by his Allah except Islam (Koran, 2:256)

  Scripturally - no. Because his allegiance is to the
  five pillars of Islam and the Quran (Koran).

  Geographically - no. Because his allegiance is to
  Mecca, to which he turns in prayer five times a day.

  Socially - no. Because his allegiance to Islam forbids him to make friends with Christians or Jews.

  Politically - no. Because he must submit to the mullah (spiritual leaders), who teach annihilation of Israel and Destruction of America, the great Satan.

  Domestically - no. Because he is instructed to marry
  four women and beat and scourge his wife when she
  disobeys him (Quran 4:34).

  Intellectually - no. Because he cannot accept the
  American Constitution since it is based on Biblical
  principles and he believes the Bible to be corrupt.

  Philosophically - no. Because Islam, Muhammad, and the Quran do not allow freedom of religion and expression. Democracy and Islam cannot co-exist. Every Muslim government is either dictatorial or autocratic.

  Spiritually - no. Because when we declare " one nation under God," the Christian's God is loving and kind, while Allah is NEVER referred to as heavenly father, nor is he ever called love in The Quran's 99 excellent names.

  Therefore after much study and deliberation....
  perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL MUSLIMS in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" Muslims and good Americans.

  Call it what you wish.... it's still the truth.

  If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with
  the above statements, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.

  Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious war is
  bigger than we know or understand.

  And then what I wrote:

  Can a good fundamentalist Christian be a good American?

  The answer is from a person who's been in, or related to members of, fundamentalist churches for over 50 years.

  The following is his reply:

  Theologically - no. Theology has nothing to do with being a good American. He not only doesn't understand this, but feels that those who do understand it are "of this world" at best or "of the devil" at worst.

  Religiously - no. Religion has nothing to do with being a good American. He not only doesn't understand this, but feels that those who do understand it are "of this world" at best or "of the devil" at worst.

  Scripturally - no. Scripture has nothing to do with being a good American. He not only doesn't understand this, but feels that those who do understand it are "of this world" at best or "of the devil" at worst.

  Geographically - no. Geography has nothing to do with being a good American.

  Socially - no. His church teachings forbid him to make friends with those who don't share his beliefs, except in an attempt to convert them to those beliefs. There are many non-fundamentalists who think fundamentalists really are their friends; but they would be shocked to hear what the fundamentalists tell their fellow prayer meeting participants about those people when safely behind the church doors.

  Politically - no. He believes that the Bible is superior to the United States Constitution, and that the former is therefore to be obeyed even when doing so specifically violates the latter. (See also "Intellectually," below.)

  Domestically - no. He cannot view women as equals because the Bible teaches that man is to be the head of the household, and there can be only one head.

  Intellectually - no. He mistakenly believes the U.S. Constitution was originally "based on Biblical principles" but has been "corrupted" by "liberal activist judges" and no longer is as valid as it once was. (See also "Politically," earlier.)

  Philosophically - no. Because fundamentalist Christianity does not believe in true freedom as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Instead, it binds its members to a strict code of conduct based on an ancient document from thousands of years ago -- because it is from God. How does he know this? Because it SAYS so. End of the argument.

  Spiritually - no. Spirituality has nothing to do with being a good American. He not only doesn't understand this, but feels that those who do understand it are "of this world" at best or "of the devil" at worst.

  Therefore after much study and deliberation....
  perhaps we should be very suspicious of ALL fundamentalist Christians in this country. They obviously cannot be both "good" fundamentalist Christians and good Americans.

  Call it what you wish.... it's still the truth.

  If you find yourself intellectually in agreement with
  the above statements, perhaps you will share this with your friends. The more who understand this, the better it will be for our country and our future.

  Pass it on Fellow Americans. The religious war is
  bigger than we know or understand.

  I'm sure fundamentalist Christians would have as little use for my version as Muslims would for that original. It just all depends...

  by bwintx on Tue Oct 31, 2006 at 05:14:59 AM PDT