I'll admit it: I don't know much about Jesus.
I've never worn a cross, prayed in a church, expressed distress about the "War on Christmas," or voted to strip any group of its rights because I believe that's what Jesus would want me to do. And no, it's not because I'm a bad Christian. It's because I'm a Jew, and frankly, the carpenter's son just didn't come up much in our dinner table conversations.
But from what I understand of the man (mostly gleaned from seeing Jesus Christ Superstar as a child), he probably would not have advocated political assassinations.
Via The Washington Monthly:
Last night, on Fox News, Sean Hannity insisted that United States needs to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Warren said he agreed. Hannity asked, "Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?"
[Rick] Warren responded, "Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped.... In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers." (Emphasis added.)
Rick Warren? Pastor Rick Warren? The founder of the Saddleback Church? The guy whose own website says:
Why do any of us do what we do in ministry? It’s not to make money, not to make a name for ourselves and not for duty to our nation. We do it out of love. Jesus stated it as the Great Commandment: "Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself."
...
We’re motivated to keep at the hard work of ministry because we love God, and our love for God compels us to love other people. It is love that never gives up; it is love that keeps moving forward despite the appearance of impossible odds; and it is love that outlasts any problem.
Pardon my confusion, but does this mean that loving your neighbor as yourself doesn't include all your neighbors? Or do we just discount the Iranian neighbors? And the gay neighbors? And the not-yet-saved neighbors?
This isn't the first time a man who claims a direct phoneline to god calls for political assassination.
Remember this gem from that lovable goof, Pat Robertson, in 2005?
We have the ability to take him [Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez] out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.
But of course, it isn't just professional pastors.
That other lovable goof, George W. Bush, in a presidential debate in 2000, said:
Surely this nation can come together to promote the value of life. Surely we can fight off these laws that will encourage doctors or allow doctors to take the lives of our seniors. Sure, we can work together to create a culture of life so some of these youngsters who feel like they can take a neighbor's life with a gun will understand that that's not the way America is meant to be.
Yes, that George Bush. The one who, as governor of Texas, oversaw the exeuctions of more than 150 men and women. The one who mocked Karla Faye Tucker, one of the women who died on his watch, with his approval.
Not to mention the "culture of life" Bush has sought to create as president.
"I want justice. And there's an old poster out West that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' "
But then, he was talking about a bad guy, wasn't he? And certainly Jesus made exceptions for bad guys.
It's a little harder to understand why 89,550 to 97,768 Iraqi civilians are dead. That body count hardly seems consistent with Bush's ideal "culture of life."
But, as I said, I don't know much about Jesus. Maybe there is a parable about taking out "strong-arm dictators" because it's cheaper than war? Perhaps at the Last Supper, Jesus mentioned something about punishing evildoers?
Or maybe, just maybe, these guys need to stop plotting the next war, the next execution, the next assassination, and give that Jesus fellow a closer read.