Posted by
Scott Ott on Friday, September 05, 2008 7:35:40 PM
During a
CNN.com panel Thursday at the Republican National Convention, the discussion turned to Gov. Sarah Palin's use of sarcasm to attack the Democrat duo facing off against her and John McCain. As a member of the panel, I was asked if Gov. Palin's
speech was too mean to reflect a "Christian attitude".
My colleague on the panel,
Asma Hasan, author of "Why
I Am a Muslim," is a self-described "religious person," recently-registered Republican and Hillary supporter, who noted, "I did think she [Palin] was a little
mean."
Upon further reflection, away from the glare of TV lights, I'm wondering if a better question might be: Is Sarah Palin meaner than Jesus?
In
chapter 23 of Matthew's gospel, Jesus goes off on a rant against those who "exalt themselves."
Speaking directly to his adversaries he accuses them of hypocrisy for running around proclaiming rules for others to live by, and boasting of their own good behavior, while they slam the door in the face of those others. He says they work hard to make converts to their way, and then they make their followers "twice as much a child of hell" as they are. (v. 15)
That's not a very "Christian" thing to say, Jesus, is it?
But Jesus isn't done yet. He accuses his opponents of focusing on
small matters while ignoring what's really important -- "straining out
a gnat and swallowing a camel!" (v. 24)
If I didn't know it was Jesus talking, I'd think that was sarcasm. I wonder if he's like that because he was homeschooled?
But wait, there's more. He nails them for putting on appearances that don't match their inner character: "you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." (v. 25)
He calls them "blind guides"and says "you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but
within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness." (v. 27)
That's not very nice either. It's kind of "unappealing," don't you think?
His diatribe reaches a crescendo with this ultimate smack down: "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?" (v. 33)
Jesus, of course, is not trying to destroy them, he's trying to teach them the error of their ways and to win some of them over to his way. He could have just stopped at verse 12: "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
But to do surgery, you usually need a scalpel. Sarah Palin's gentle jabs at Barack Obama pale in comparison to the way Jesus "owned" the scribes and Pharisees. That's not to say that Gov. Palin never has, or never will step over the line and wind up on Mean Street. But let's put to rest this idea that you can't express brutal truth, even with sarcasm, and still be a follower of Jesus.