Dear Pastors

Dear Pastor,

I am writing in hopes that you will read this letter with an open mind and pray about the contents of this letter. I read in the Columbus Dispatch recently about a group of pastors in Ohio who are attempting to endorse ultra conservative candidates for political offices. I believe that these ultra conservative candidates have been misleading pastors and other Christians into believing they have a Christian agenda when they, in fact, have an agenda far from any teachings of Jesus Christ I have ever read in the Bible. Although these conservatives like to claim that Jesus has endorsed them and that they have Christian values in mind, none of their actual policies uphold any of the teachings of Jesus Christ. I feel that many Christians would like to believe that these people represent us (as Christians) so they do not look at their actual policies and their record on social issues. This is a dangerous practice and one I would like to see change.
As a concerned Christian I would like you to simply look at each issue and ask yourself the basic question, “What would Jesus do?” Yes, this phrase may be overused on bracelets and bookmarks but I ask you to prayerfully consider whether these ultra conservatives really have Jesus Christ’s own teachings in mind with their policies. Look, for example, at the budget proposed and endorsed by conservatives at the state and federal level. Would Jesus support big business to the detriment of the health and welfare of common citizens? Would Jesus support drug companies and health insurance companies to the detriment of working class and poor people in our country? Would Jesus side with credit card companies and take away the homes of people who can’t pay their mortgage due to bills from a catastrophic illness? Would Jesus support a huge tax cut for the rich when it means cutting programs that provide food, housing, health care and education to 39 million Americans who live in poverty? Would Jesus really support big businesses such as the coal industry who want to relax standards for environmental stewardship? Would Jesus support pillaging our environment just because we feel entitled as a country to whatever we want.
What about nationally? Would Jesus support a war of vengeance or a war to increase the prosperity of one country while another country suffers? Would Jesus support killing 150,000 women and children in Iraq because we as Christian Americans feel entitled to spread our beliefs throughout the world? Would Jesus support lying to the people of our nation in order to gain support for sending thousands of our own men and women to die for their country? Would Jesus support ignoring the millions of people worldwide who are dying from AIDS, malaria and malnutrition while we spend billions of dollars to force countries into democracy? I feel that Christian conservatives have forgotten that Jesus was not pro-American. He did not come to spread a message that Americans shall prosper at all costs and spread freedom and democracy to all lands by force if necessary. Jesus Christ was the prince of Peace. As such he spread a message of forgiveness and hope. Jesus told us to help our neighbor and forgive sins of others. He told us to look at the plank in our own eye before pointing out the speck in our neighbor’s eye. How have we, as Christians, gotten so far away from this message?
Abortion always seems to be the answer to that question. Let me ask you to prayerfully consider what Jesus would do about abortion. Let’s pretend that they had the technology to have abortions in Jesus’ time. I, by no means, suggest that he would approve. In fact, I believe he would not approve of abortion. The question is, based on what he did and said to other sinners of the time, what would Jesus actually do? Would he send his disciples out to lobby for more laws against abortion? Would he lobby the Pharisees to make more laws to uphold God’s teachings? The Pharisees were trying hard at the time to make everyone follow God’s laws by creating their own laws to keep people in line. How did Jesus feel about this practice? Are we not doing the same today? Christians have become the Pharisees of today’s time. We want to create as many laws as possible to keep people from doing things of which God would not approve. We, however, have left out the most important part of what Jesus said. Jesus went to sinners in love. He urged people to provide services to the poor, to the needy, to the “unclean.” He believed that everyone should be equal. He repeatedly chastised the Pharisees for not seeing the “big picture.” That it is not the laws that will change people’s hearts, it is the love.
I have never found a single person (left or right, liberal or conservative, Christian or atheist) who believes we should perform more abortions. I was pregnant 3 times and never did someone come up and tell me I should go abort my baby. Of course not! Because no one believes that abortion is a great wonderful invention that should occur as many times as possible. The argument is truly what to do about it. I believe, as Reverend Jim Wallis writes frequently in Sojourners magazine, that the answer is somewhere in the middle. Ultra conservatives claim to oppose abortion but do absolutely nothing to actually stop the number of abortions each year. In fact they vote against any measure that may stop abortion such as education, daycare for teen moms, healthcare, job training, housing subsidies, increasing minimum wage. The list goes on and on. All of the above measures have been proven to decrease abortion rates. Abortion rates went down drastically during the Clinton years because of the support for these programs. The abortion rate has increased dramatically in the past 4 years with decreased education, unemployment, and decreased programs for the poor and for single women. I am not suggesting that all liberals have it right. I am, however, suggesting that the abortion rate decreases the most when moderates are elected. When both parties increase funding for programs to stop abortions and when abortion laws limit the occurrence of abortions such as late term abortions. I also believe that providing services for the poorest in our country will decrease abortions. I believe that providing healthcare for all Americans will decrease abortions and increase prenatal care (therefore decreasing the mortality rate of infants and increasing the health of these children). I believe that providing housing and food to women will decrease the abortion rate. I believe that providing jobs that pay enough for women to support themselves and daycare while they work will decrease the abortion rate. Moderates believe the same.
I urge you to prayerfully consider my arguments before endorsing any ultra conservative candidate in Jesus’ name. I don’t think Jesus would like everyone he is endorsing nowadays. Please consider whether it is truly Christianity that is calling you to endorse someone or whether it is your own preconceived political opinions. It is difficult to lay aside our own beliefs and let God work in our lives. It is hard to be open to His message when it doesn’t coincide with our need for vengeance or righteousness. All the more reason to look to the Bible and to prayer for guidance.