Gutter Politics and Assumptions

NEWSWEEK reports:

Sunday may be a day of rest, but not for the political dirty tricksters. When Mike Huckabee emerged from the Cornerstone Family Church in Des Moines on the Sunday before the Iowa caucuses, he found that someone had papered the cars in the suburban megachurch's parking lot with fliers asking, MIKE HUCKABEE—A 'TRUE' CONSERVATIVE? The leaflet accused the former Arkansas governor of, among other sins, releasing a convicted rapist who raped again (and murdered) and saying nice things about Bill Clinton. "Don't be fooled by that smooth voice," warned the flier. Credited to an anonymous group called the Lynchburg Christian Students for the Truth, the circular had been spotted first at Huckabee rallies in South Carolina in the fall...The flier was a fairly typical—and relatively benign—example of the trash flying around Campaign 2008. Huckabee has not been a particular victim; his foes have been slimed with much worse, sometimes from "independent" groups backing Huckabee. Evangelical Christians, or at least their fringe groups, seem to be especially practiced at anonymous smears (possibly for the same reason that the worst wars are often religious ones: sins are easier to forgive if you know that God is on your side). Dark arts are hardly new to politics, and dirty tricksters have always been inventive. In 1964, operatives working for the re-election of President Lyndon Johnson circulated a coloring book in which children could color pictures of LBJ's opponent, Barry Goldwater, wearing the robes of the Ku Klux Klan. But 2008 promises to be a banner year for gutter politics. "I think this will be the nastiest campaign we've seen in a long time," says Darrell West, a professor of political science at Brown University.

Strike anyone else as bizarre that Newsweek would point out that sinning is easier if you happen to believe God is on your side? What a strange and twisted point of view in regards to following Christ. I have found items on my windshield outside Seacoast, also known as a mega-church in South Carolina; and yet I have never thought that the item came from within the church itself. It could as easily come from anywhere! Why is it that this media giant concludes that "Evangelical Christians...seem to be especially practiced at anonymous smears?"

Now, I am certain that there are persons who misunderstand Jesus Christ and use Him to promote some sort of campaign against others; suggesting that they are better at a fundamental level.

But, anyone who knows Jesus Christ knows that all alike have fallen short of the Glory of God and there is no room for judgment.